Polite Form of Japanese Adjectives
To study this grammar point, please make sure you understand the following:
When you look up words in a dictionary, they are written in plain form which you would say casually in your daily life.
Polite Form for い-adjectives
You may change an an い-adjective phrase to polite form by adding です (polite form of verb to be) at the end of the sentences. Of course だ (plain form of verb to be) should be dropped, if it exists. It applies for present, negative and past tense forms.
- 大きいです。
- It is big.
- 大きくないです。
- It is not big.
- 大きかったです。
- It was big.
- 大きくなかったです。
- It was not big.
Polite Form for な-adjectives
For な-adjectives, treat it like a noun and apply the same rules as the conversion between verb to be だ and です.
- 元気です。
- I am healthy.
- 元気ではありません。
- I am not healthy.
- 元気でした。
- I was healthy.
- 元気ではありませんでした。
- I was not healthy.
Related Grammar Points
- Polite Form of Japanese Verbs and ます-Stem
- Negative Form of Japanese Adjectives
- Conjugation of Japanese Verbs and Adjectives
- Introduction to Japanese Adjectives
- Past Tense of Japanese Adjectives
- Modifying Japanese Adjectives to Adverbs
- Negative Form of Japanese Verbs and ない-Form
- Japanese て-form and Action Verbs