Japanese たべる (taberu): eat

The idea

This is an ichidan verb: remove る and add ます or て. Change ます to ません for the polite negative and to ました for the polite past. Mark the food with を; the object can be omitted when understood. The polite non-past can describe a habit or a future meal. Here ています describes an action in progress, while ませんか makes a polite invitation.

Examples

• 毎朝まいあさ、朝あさご飯はんを食たべます。I eat breakfast every morning.
• 今日きょうは昼ひるにパンを食たべません。I will not eat bread at noon today.
• 昨日きのう、友達ともだちと寿司すしを食たべました。Yesterday I ate sushi with a friend.
• どうぞ、りんごを食たべてください。Please have an apple.
• 子こどもが今いま、果物くだものを食たべています。A child is eating fruit now.
• 明日あした、いっしょにカレーを食たべませんか。Would you like to have curry together tomorrow?

Watch out

The plain dictionary form is not a polite sentence ending; use たべます in polite conversation. A clear object need not be repeated.

Try it yourself

1. パンを＿。（食たべる→ます）

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   食べます

   食たべます is the polite non-past of 食たべる; context tells whether it refers to a habit or the future.

2. りんごを＿ください。（食たべる→て）

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   食べて

   食たべて is the て form of 食たべる. Before ください it forms a polite request.

3. りんご＿食たべます。（を／に）

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   を

   を marks the direct object: the thing affected by or involved in the action.

Use it today

Say what you eat in the morning, what you did not eat today, and invite a friend to a meal. Check the particles and verb forms against the examples.