The polite verb form ます

Verb ます verb masu Do; will do

ます (masu) is the polite verb ending. One form covers habits and the future: 行きます is "I go" and "I will go". A time word shows which.

Level: JLPT N5, beginner
Type: Verb forms
English links: present simple, future forms, subject-verb agreement

What it means

ます is the polite ending for verbs. You hear it all day at school: in the staff room, in class, and with parents. If you learn one verb form first, learn this one.

Japanese has no separate future tense. 毎日行きます is "I go every day", and 明日行きます is "I will go tomorrow". The verb is the same. The time word does the work.

The verb does not change for the person, either. 私は行きます, 彼は行きます and 生徒は行きます all use 行きます. English adds -s for he, she and it, and this small ending is one of the hardest things for our students to remember.

How to build it

Pattern	How it works
Group 2: drop る, add ます (食べる → 食べます) taberu → tabemasu	The -ru verbs. The stem stays the same.
Group 1: change the u sound to i, add ます (書く → 書きます, 飲む → 飲みます) kaku → kakimasu, nomu → nomimasu	The -u verbs. 帰る looks like Group 2 but is Group 1: 帰ります.
Irregular: する → します, 来る → 来ます suru → shimasu, kuru → kimasu	Only two. Learn them by heart.

Examples

毎朝コーヒーを飲みます。 maiasa koohii o nomimasu. I drink coffee every morning.
明日、東京に行きます。 ashita, toukyou ni ikimasu. I am going to Tokyo tomorrow.
私は八時に学校に来ます。 watashi wa hachiji ni gakkou ni kimasu. I come to school at eight.
週末はテニスをします。 shuumatsu wa tenisu o shimasu. I play tennis at the weekend.
生徒は毎日英語を勉強します。 seito wa mainichi eigo o benkyou shimasu. The students study English every day.

How English says it

English splits what ます does into two. Habits take the present simple: "I drink coffee every morning". The future takes "will", "be going to", or the present continuous: "I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow".

English also marks the person. "I drink", but "she drinks". Japanese never does this, so the -s has nothing to hang on.

Why it can make English hard

One Japanese form has two English partners. Students must choose between the present simple and a future form, and the time word alone does not tell them which.
Many students use "will" for every future, even for fixed plans where English prefers "be going to" or the present continuous.
The third person -s is easy to explain and hard to use. You will often hear "she play" long after students know the rule.

Mistakes you will hear

She play tennis every Sunday. She plays tennis every Sunday. Japanese verbs do not change for he or she. English adds -s.
I go to Tokyo tomorrow. I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow. A direct copy of 明日行きます. English uses a future form for a personal plan.
I will study English every day. I study English every day. For a habit, English uses the present simple. "Will" sounds like a new promise.

In the classroom

Draw a timeline. Put 行きます under "every day" and under "tomorrow". Then write the two English sentences under it. Students see that one Japanese form becomes two English forms.
For the -s, I give each student a card with a name: "Ken", "my mother", "I", "we". They read a verb sentence and add -s only when the card says he, she or it.
Let students write five things they do every week and three things they will do this weekend. Check the verb forms, not the vocabulary.

Practice

Try each one, then open it to check.

1. Make the polite form: 読む

Answer: 読みます

Group 1: the u sound む changes to the i sound み, then add ます.
2. Make the polite form: 見る

Answer: 見ます

Group 2: drop る and add ます.
3. Translate: 明日、図書館に行きます。

Answer: I am going to the library tomorrow. (or: I will go to the library tomorrow.)

The time word 明日 shows the future. The verb form is the same as for a habit.
4. A student writes "My father drink coffee every morning." Fix it.

Answer: My father drinks coffee every morning.

Japanese verbs do not change for he or she. English adds -s.