The Te-Form and Its Uses
- Form the te-form of verbs from each verb group
- Use the te-form to connect sequential actions
- Use te-kudasai to make polite requests
The te-form is a connector
The te-form (て形, tekei) is one of the most useful conjugations because it links things together — it is not a tense by itself. Its jobs include joining actions in sequence (“do X and then Y”), forming requests (〜てください), and building the progressive (〜ている, next lesson). For a ru-verb, just drop る and add て: 食べる → 食べて (taberu → tabete, “eat and …”). Irregulars: する → して (shite), 来る → 来て (kite).
U-verb te-form: the euphonic changes
U-verbs form the te-form with sound changes (音便, onbin) grouped by their final syllable. う・つ・る → って: 買う → 買って (kau → katte), 待つ → 待って (matsu → matte). む・ぶ・ぬ → んで: 飲む → 飲んで (nomu → nonde), 遊ぶ → 遊んで (asobu → asonde). く → いて / ぐ → いで: 書く → 書いて (kaku → kaite), 泳ぐ → 泳いで (oyogu → oyoide). す → して: 話す → 話して (hanasu → hanashite). One irregular to memorize: 行く → 行って (iku → itte), not iite.
Connecting actions and making requests
To describe actions in sequence, chain te-forms and put the final verb in your chosen tense: 朝起きて、朝ご飯を食べて、学校へ行きます (Asa okite, asagohan o tabete, gakkō e ikimasu, “I get up, eat breakfast, and go to school”). Only the last verb shows the tense/politeness for the whole chain. To make a polite request, add ください to the te-form: 待ってください (Matte kudasai, “Please wait”), パスワードを入力してください (Pasuwādo o nyūryoku shite kudasai, “Please enter the password”).
Form the te-form of 飲む (nomu, “drink”), 書く (kaku, “write”), and 行く (iku, “go”), then use them to say “Please write your name here.”
- 1.飲む ends in む, so it takes the んで change: 飲む → 飲んで (nonde).
- 2.書く ends in く, which normally becomes いて: 書く → 書いて (kaite).
- 3.行く is the special irregular: despite ending in く it becomes 行って (itte), not iite.
- 4.For the request, take 書いて and add ください: ここに名前を書いてください (Koko ni namae o kaite kudasai).
What is the te-form of the u-verb 待つ (matsu, “to wait”)?
Memorize the one big te-form exception: 行く (iku, “go”) becomes 行って (itte), not the regular 行いて. Every other く-verb (書く → 書いて, 聞く → 聞いて) follows the いて rule, but 行く breaks it. This irregular shows up constantly.
In the sentence 朝ご飯を食べて、学校へ行きます (Asagohan o tabete, gakkō e ikimasu), which statement about the te-form 食べて is correct?
The te-form unlocks a huge range of grammar (〜てもいい “may,” 〜てはいけない “must not,” 〜ている progressive, 〜てから “after doing”). Master te-form formation early — it is the single highest-leverage conjugation for scoring across the AP tasks.
Answer the 2 checkpoints as you read.
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