Making Sense of Japanese Grammar

48. There are only two tenses in Japanese: non-past and past

48 There are only two tenses in Japanese: non-past and past The Japanese language distinguishes between only two basic tenses: non-past and past. Non-past tense is also known as “present tense,” but its use is not limited to present events or conditions; it covers present events or conditions, future or yet unrealized events, and general or habitual conditions: Nihon-wa ima fukeiki-da. “Japan is now in a recession.” (present condition) Keizai-wa izure-wa kaifuku-suru-ga, yagate mata fukyoo-ga otozureru. “The economy will eventually recover, but a slump will come again.” (future event) Genzai-no keizai shisutemu-de-wa kono kurikaeshi-wa hitsuzen-da. “Under the current economic system, this repetition [of booms and slumps] is inevitable.” (general condition) Nakamura-san-wa shitsugyoo-chuu-de-mo mainichi roku-ji-ni okimasu. “Mr. Nakamura gets up at six every day even when he is unemployed.” (habitual condition) Note that the subject’s plans about his/her future action are also expressed with a non-past tense form, as shown below. Nakamura-san-wa gogo shokuan-e ikimasu. “Mr. Nakamura is going to an employment security office in the afternoon.” Kongetsu-chuu-ni atarashii shigoto-o mitsukemasu. “He (hopes he) will find a new job within this month.” A word of caution: Although the progressive construction “be . . . -ing” is sometimes used in colloquial English to talk about intention, as in “We are going to the beach tomorrow,” this option does not exist in Japanese. Instead, use ordinary non-past tense, as in: 117 Ashita umi-ni ikimasu. “We will go to the beach tomorrow.” The Japanese progressive construction -te-iru/ te-imasu, describes a condition or an action in progress, as in: Shigoto-o sagashite-imasu. “I am looking for a job (now).” Checking your comprehension: Translate the following into Japanese: What are you doing tomorrow? Can you tell the difference between the following sentences? Ashita-no gogo toshokan-de benkyoo-shite-imasu. Ashita-no gogo toshokan-de benkyoo-shimasu. For related topics, see also Units 49, 51, and 53. 118 ...