なる
naru
to become
覚える
oboeru
to memorize
道に迷う
michi ni mayou
to get lost
Activities: How to use the ta-form in Japanese?
By: Nora Farley
Exercise 1: Which ta-form is being used?
Identify which of the given usages of ta-form best describes each of the following examples.
窓を開けておけば部屋は涼しかったのに。
Mado o akete okeba heya wa suzushikatta no ni.
If you’d kept the window the room would have cooled down.そうね、真里ちゃんのお母さんは合唱団の指揮者だったね。
Sō ne, Mari-chan no okā-san wa gasshōdan no shikisha datta ne.
That’s right, Mari’s mom’s a choir conductor, isn’t she?熱いよ、食った！食った！
Atsui yo, kutta! Kutta!
It’s hot! Come and eat!壊れたおもちゃを見て男の子は泣き出した。
Kowareta omocha o mite otoko no ko wa nakidashita.
The boy looked at the broken toy and burst into tears.よし、決めた！イタリア料理にする。
Yoshi, kimeta! Itaria ryōri ni suru.
OK, that’s that decided. We’ll get Italian food.
Exercise 2: Counterfactual statements
Practice with counterfactual statements. Fill in the blanks with contextually appropriate words from the word bank below. Make sure they’re in the appropriate version of ta-form: affirmative or negative.
Word Bank:
地図を持っていれば 。
Chizu o motte ireba...
If I’d had a map...大事だと分かっていればのに！
Daiji da to wakatte ireba ... no ni!
If I’d known it was important ... !親が音大に行かせてくれていれば、多分サラリーマンにと思うよ。
Oya ga ondai ni ikasete kurete ireba, tabun sarariiman ni ... to omou yo.
If my parents had let me go to music school I probably ... an office worker.
Exercise 3: Remix and match
Put the following verbs into ta-form and write the appropriate letter to match them with the nouns you think they’re most likely to modify based on context (indicate by writing A, B, C, D, or E).
Nouns:
弁当
bentō
boxed lunch
女性
josei
woman
傘
kasa
umbrella
時計
tokei
clock
ケーキ
keeki
cake
濡れる
nureru
to be wet
ta-form:
Noun (A, B, C, D, or E):
止まる
tomaru
to stop (moving)
ta-form:
Noun (A, B, C, D, or E):
温まる
atatamaru
to warm up
ta-form:
Noun (A, B, C, D, or E):
焼き上がる
yakiagaru
to be done baking
ta-form:
Noun (A, B, C, D, or E):
着物を着る
kimono o kiru
to wear a kimono
ta-form:
Noun (A, B, C, D, or E):
