Lesson 12: みずを かいます

N5 · Lesson 12 · 20 min — 〜ます・〜ません + を

In this lesson you'll learn 12 of the most common verbs. Learn each verb in its 〜ます form, then change it to 〜ません (don't do) and 〜ますか (will you?). Buying a train ticket, buying water, taking photos — you can use them right away at the station! Let's start with the four-panel comic.

After this lesson, you can:

• Use 〜ます to say "I do / I will do ~": eat, drink, buy, watch…
• Use 〜ません to say "I don't ~"
• Use を to say what you eat or buy, e.g. 水みずを 買かいます

Sensei won't drink?

This weekend they're taking the train to eat ramen! First, buy train tickets and water at the station...

〜ます is do, 〜ません is don't; add を after the thing. Someone who says のみません may still drink it... Next episode: the first bowl of ramen!

12 Verbs

• 食たべます (tabemasu): eat
• 飲のみます (nomimasu): drink
• 買かいます (kaimasu): buy
• 見みます (mimasu): see, watch, look at (movies, views, TV)
• 読よみます (yomimasu): read (books, text)
• 聞ききます (kikimasu): listen, hear
• 書かきます (kakimasu): write
• 撮とります (torimasu): take (photos)
• します (shimasu): do, play (games, sports)
• 使つかいます (tsukaimasu): use
• 待まちます (machimasu): wait (for)
• 探さがします (sagashimasu): look for

Words Before を: Things You Eat, Drink, Watch and Use

• 水みず (mizu): water
• お茶ちゃ (ocha): tea
• 写真しゃしん (shashin): photo
• 映画えいが (eiga): movie
• カード (kādo): card
• 切符きっぷ (kippu): ticket (review)
• コーヒー (kōhī): coffee (review)
• パン (pan): bread (review)
• おにぎり (onigiri): rice ball (review)
• 本ほん (hon): book (review)
• バス (basu): bus (review)

Grammar 1 / 3: 〜ます

〜ます: the polite form of a verb, placed at the very end of the sentence

• ます = polite verb ending: 食たべます, 飲のみます, 買かいます… they all end in ます. Use this polite form with shop staff, teachers and people you don't know well. Just learn the 12 verbs in this lesson as whole "〜ます" words.
• The verb goes last: In Japanese, the action comes at the end: わたしは 飲のみます (I drink). Listen all the way to the end to find out what someone is going to do!
• Usually + will do: 飲のみます can mean "I usually drink" or "I will drink (soon)". In English you choose between "I drink" and "I will drink", but in Japanese the verb doesn't change: one ます covers both. ます does not mean "want to". "Want to drink" is a different form you'll learn later. ("Am drinking" and "drank" are other forms too, coming later.)
• Pronunciation tip: The す in ます at the end of a sentence is usually very soft, so it sounds like "mas" — just like です.

• わたしは 食たべます。 — I (will) eat.
• せんせいも 飲のみます。 — Sensei will drink too.
• わたしも 買かいます。 — I'll buy too.
• わたしは 待まちます。 — I'll wait.

Grammar 2 / 3: 〜を

Nを + Vます: put を after the thing you eat, buy, etc.

• を = the object of the action: Put を after a noun to show "the action is done to this thing": 水みずを 飲のみます (drink water), 写真しゃしんを 撮とります (take a photo).
• Topic 〜は first, then the thing 〜を, action last: English says "read a book"; Japanese says "本ほんを 読よみます" — the thing first, then the action. To say "I", use は (topic): は first tells us who the sentence is about. The most common order is わたしは コーヒーを 飲のみます (I drink coffee). When everyone knows it's "I", わたしは is often dropped: コーヒーを 飲のみます.
• を is read "o": を is used only as a particle, and it sounds the same as お (o). It's like the particle は, which is read "wa": the spelling and the sound don't match, but when writing you must follow the rule and write を.
• Asking "what": なにを: Replace the thing with なに and add か at the end: なにを 食たべますか (What will you eat?). To answer, put the thing back in place of なに: パンを 食たべます.

• わたしは コーヒーを 飲のみます。 — I drink coffee.
• 写真しゃしんを 撮とります。 — (I'll) take a photo.
• バスを 待まちます。 — (I'll) wait for the bus.
• なにを 食たべますか。 — What will you eat?

Grammar 3 / 3: 〜ません

〜ません: change ます to ません to say "don't (do)"

• ます → ません: 食たべます → 食たべません, 買かいます → 買かいません. All 12 verbs work the same way: just change the final ます.
• Questions: 〜ますか: Add か at the end to make a question: コーヒーを 飲のみますか (Will you drink coffee?). Just like です → ですか.
• Answering: say the verb again: はい、飲のみます / いいえ、飲のみません. The most natural answer repeats the verb. そうです and じゃありません are for noun sentences (AはBです).
• も: I don't ~ either: わたしも 飲のみません (I don't drink either). Just like Rin asked in the comic: せんせいも 飲のみますか (Will you drink too, Sensei?).

• パンを 食たべません。 — (I) don't eat bread.
• わたしは 買かいません。 — I won't buy.
• コーヒーを 飲のみますか。 — Will you drink coffee?
• いいえ、飲のみません。 — No, I won't.
• わたしも 見みません。 — I won't watch either.