い-Adjective (Past)
Was, Were (Past tense)
Structure
Examples
おもしろ
新し
Explanation
To change an い-Adjective into its past tense, you replace the final い with かった. This ending combines the stem かっ with the past tense auxiliary verb た. This form is used to express that something 'was' a certain way.
楽しい - 'Enjoyable' in its base (dictionary form).
楽しかっ - The stem that is combined with た (and some other auxiliary verbs).
- 先週は忙しかった。Last week was busy.
- 頭が痛かった。I had a headache. (Literally: My head was painful.)
The examples above illustrate the plain, or casual, past form. In contemporary Japanese, the standard polite past tense is created by simply attaching です to the end of the かった form.
- その公園は広かったです。That park was spacious.
- このカバンは高かったです。This bag was expensive. (Not 'was tall')
Caution
While adding です after かった is the prevailing polite form in everyday speech, it is worth noting that some grammarians consider this a colloquialism. Despite this, its use is so widespread that it is perfectly acceptable in nearly all polite conversations.
Examples
暑かった。
It was hot.
その試験は難しかったです。
That exam was difficult.
この映画が面白かった。
This movie was interesting.
昨日は忙しかったです。
I was busy yesterday.
その車は新しかった。
That car was new.
駅は遠かったです。
The station was far.
あの鞄は、安かった。
That bag was cheap.
天気は悪かったです。
The weather was bad.
公園は広かった。
The park was spacious.
彼の言葉が嬉しかったです。
His words made me happy.