# Use of -te Conjugation



## Rxa

The other day I was looking at japanese verb conjugation and came across the -te conjugation (tabete, nonde, motte, etc.)
However, I couldn't fully understand when one would conjugate a verb like this, although I do come across it quite a lot.
I would be most grateful if somebody could explain to me when this sort of conjugation is necessary and how it is different to the other conjugations.
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Ilmen

What a great question. ♪

The ～て form whose rightful name is _cunjunctive form_ has many very useful usages. Basically, it enables you to create verb sequences:  [verb1:cunjunctive]、[verb2:cunjunctive]、[verb3ther-tense] = [verb1] and then [verb2] and then [verb3].

For instance: 「本を読んで、歯を洗って、寝に行く。」= I'll read a book, wash my tooth, and then go to sleep.
Each verbs conjugated to the cunjunctive depends on the last verb (that must not be at cunjunctive unless the sentence is not entire) to indicate their positive/negative and past/non-past parameters.
Thus: 「本を読んで、歯を洗って、寝に行かなかった。」= I didn't read book, didn't wash my tooth, and didn't go to sleep (all verbs are at negative past tense).

There is some very interesting pages about the conjunctive form:
Tae Kim's Grammar Guide :: Compound Sentences
Tae Kim's Grammar Guide :: Other uses of the te-form

Enjoy!


----------



## Rxa

thank you very much, this has helped a lot


----------



## fitter.happier

Ilmen said:


> Thus: 「本を読んで、歯を洗って、寝に行かなかった。」= I didn't read book, didn't wash my tooth, and didn't go to sleep (all verbs are at negative past tense).



Sorry Ilmen, but this is not entirely correct. The last verb only determines the *tense*, so you still need to turn the other verbs into their negative form (読まなくて and so on).

Also, to brush one's teeth is 歯を磨く (みがく), not 洗う - unless you're cleaning dentures, in which case I guess 洗う is fine


----------



## almostfreebird

I didn't read book, didn't wash my tooth, and didn't go to sleep too=

本を読まず、歯を磨かず、そして寝ることもしなかった。(hon wo yomazu, ha o migakazu, soshite nerukotomo shinakatta.)


----------



## fitter.happier

Thanks for pointing that out, AFB. I figured ～て would sound weird because it expresses a sequence of actions (roughly "and then..." in English which is indeed odd when listing negative verbs). The negative ～ず definitely makes more sense.


----------



## Ilmen

Oeps, I apologize. ^^'' You are right, the last verb does not determines the "positiveness" of the conjunctive verb chain in any manner. The worst is that I knew this fact, but I was certainly somewhat tired when I wrote this. ^^''

Regarding the use of 洗う, it is because my example is inspired by another one I taken somewhere (I do not remember where it came from, but it is not from the Tae Kim's JGG) more than one year ago, wherein 歯を洗う was already used.

Original sentence: 「宿題を終わって、歯を洗って、ベッドに行く。」
I therefore always thought you say 歯を洗う to express the fact of washing (brushing?) one's tooth. Thank you for having pointed this out. 

As for the negative conjunctive, I didn't know there was an alternative to it (the ～ず form), although I've already seen verbs with this ending. Let me guess: it is the negative equivalent of the adverbial form? Just like the fact that the positive conjunctive is similar to the adverbial form (this last one being more formal and more for logical enumeration than for event sequence)?


----------



## Rxa

Is the -te form used only for listing verbs? (somewhat similar to "and then" in english)
I am asking this because I seem to recall seeing it used where verbs have not been listed, and possibly where other conjugations could work too. (maybe a replacement?)
This is the main thing which has confused me, any further explanation would be very much appreciated. 





> the fact of washing (brushing?) one's tooth


I am aware this isn't the english board, but to my knowledge I am certain that the verb "brushing" is more suitable to use here than "washing".
The pluralisation of "tooth", to "teeth" would also be more suitable.
I just wanted to clear that up for you.


----------



## xiaolijie

Rxa said:


> Is the -te form used only for listing verbs? (somewhat similar to "and then" in english)
> I am asking this because I seem to recall seeing it used where verbs have not been listed, and possibly where other conjugations could work too. (maybe a replacement?)
> This is the main thing which has confused me, any further explanation would be very much appreciated.


I think if you give an example where the te-form is not for listing verbs, it would be very helpful in knowing the case you're referring to and need help with. But in absence of that, I can say generally that yes, the te-form is very versatile and is used for many functions other than verb-listing. For example: 
ては...
ても...
てから...
てまで...


----------



## uchi.m

The て-form is not exactly a verb tense. This grammar construction is used with verbs and adjectives in many different ways.


----------



## Ilmen

Rxa said:


> I am aware this isn't the english board, but to my knowledge I am certain that the verb "brushing" is more suitable to use here than "washing".
> The pluralisation of "tooth", to "teeth" would also be more suitable.
> I just wanted to clear that up for you.



Thank you for you clarification about washing/brushing, I had I strong doubt on this point. 
And yes, you are absolutely right about tooth/teeth. How come I to do such a tremendous error?


----------

