A Japanese laundromat

Activities: "Present tense vs. future tense in Japanese"

By: Hiroki Fukushima
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our Japanese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Present or Future?

Choose the appropriate tense for each sentence.

  • A: 「雨は降ってないみたいだよ。」[Ame wa futtenai mitai dayo.]
    B: 「ちょっと外で犬と遊ぶね。」[Chotto soto de inu to asobune.]

  • A: 「お風呂（ふろ）に入らないの？」[Ofuro ni hairanai no?]

    B: 「うん、いつも僕は朝 、お風呂に入る。」[Un, itsumo boku wa asa ofuro ni hairu.]

    A: 「もう12時だよ」[Mō 12 ji dayo.]
    B: 「本当？じゃあ、シャワーを浴びるね。」[Hontō? Jā, shawā o abirune.]

  • 私は和田さんの新しい漫画を読みます。[Watashi wa Wada-san no atarashii manga o yomimasu.]

  • 鈴木「その映画、おもしろいよ。」[Suzuki: Sono eiga, omoshiroi yo.]
    松井「そうなんだ。じゃあ私も見るね。」[Matsui: Sō nanda. Jā watashi mo mirune.]

  • 本田さんは電話で話しています。[Honda-san wa denwa de hanashiteimasu.]

  • 昨日の約束通り、阿部さんはきっと来るだろう。[Kinou no yakusoku dōri, Abe-san wa kitto kuru darō.]

  • 山田さんは図書館にいるかもしれない。[Yamada-san wa toshokan ni iru kamoshirenai.]

  • 沖縄は暖かいかもしれません。[Okinawa wa atatakai kamoshiremasen.]

  • 彼が来たら、私がその件を話すつもりです。[Kare ga kitara, watashi ga sonoken o hanasu tsumoridesu.]

Activity 2: Dialogue

  • Word Bank
    Japanese
    Transcription
    Translation

    サッカーの試合

    sakkā no shiai

    soccer game

    緊張する

    kinchōsuru

    to be nervous

    手のひら

    tenohira

    palm

    信じる

    shinjiru

    to believe

    飲み込む

    nomikomu

    to swallow

    ゴールを決める

    gōru o kimeru

    to score a goal

    日焼け

    hiyake

    sunburn

    スタジアム

    sutajiamu

    stadium

Following is a dialogue between Matsui and Suzuki, a soccer player. If the dictionary form of verb in red is the future tense, write F; if it's the present tense, write P. Let’s try!

  • 松井「明日はサッカーの試合だね。」

    Matsui: "Ashita wa sakkā no shiai da ne."

    Matsui: Tomorrow, you have a soccer game.

  • 鈴木「うん、緊張する。」

    Suzuki: "Un, kinchōsuru."

    Suzuki: Yeah, I'm very nervous.
    ➥ 緊張する indicates not an action, but the (static) state or an attribute of Suzuki.

  • 松井「手のひらに「人」という字を書くと、緊張しないよ。」

    Matsui: "Tenohira ni "hito" toiu ji o kaku to, kinchōshinai yo."

    Matsui: If you write the character “人(person)” on your palm, you won't get nervous.
    ➥ Here, 書く is in a conditional clause with the particle と and it indicates a future action.

  • 鈴木「そういうの、信じるんだね。」

    Suzuki: "Sōiu no, shinjiru ndane."

    Suzuki: You believe in that kind of thing, don't you?
    ➥ 信じる(believe) is a stative verb, not an action verb.

  • 松井「それから、書いた字を、飲み込むんだよ。」

    Matsui: "Sorekara, kaita ji o, nomikomu nda yo."

    Matsui: Then, swallow the letters you wrote.
    👉 That’s a famous charm action in Japan!
    ➥ 飲み込む(swallow) is an action verb.

  • 鈴木「ありがとう。みんなのために、ゴールを決めるよ。」

    Suzuki: "Arigatō. Minna no tameni, gōru o kimeru yo."

    Suzuki: Thanks. I'll score goals for you all.

  • 松井「そしたら、みんなが鈴木の写真を撮るね。」

    Matsui: "Soshitara, minna ga Suzuki no shashin o toru ne."

    Matsui: Then everyone will take Suzuki's (your) picture.

  • 鈴木「うん、みんな写真を(1) 撮るのが上手だよね。松井は試合を見に(2) 来るの？」

    Suzuki: "Un, minnna shashin o toru no ga jōzu dayone. Matsui wa shiai o mi ni kuru no?"

    1.

    2.

    Suzuki: Yeah, they are all good at taking pictures. Will Matsui (will you) come to watch the game?
    ➥ 撮る(good at something) is an attribute of everyone, so it is interpreted as present tense.

  • 松井「ううん、(1) 行かないよ。(2) 日焼けするから。」

    Matsui: "Uun, ikanai yo. Hiyakesuru kara."

    1.

    2.

    Matsui: No, I won’t come. Because I get sunburned.
    ➥ 行かない is a negative form of an action verb, so it’s future tense. When you stay outside, 日焼けする is habitual action or a common fact, so it is interpreted as present tense.

  • 鈴木「そうなんだ。がんばるよ。」

    Suzuki: "Sō nan da. Ganbaru yo."

    Suzuki: I see. But I'll do my best.

  • 松井「でも、テレビで見るよ。がんばって！」

    Matsui: "Demo terebi de miru yo. Gannbatte!"

    Matsui: But I'll watch it on TV. Go for it!

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