Japanese Verbs - please help!

yappey · (#1 (**permalink**))

hi, konnichiwa!

i'm teaching myself Japanese (and looking for people to teach me!)
i'm having trouble with verbs, because of all the different forms.

Can someone explain to me:
When do you use 'ta' form and when do you use 'masu' form?
for example, when do you say:

Banana o tabeta.

and when do you say:

Banana o tabemashita.

????

Many thanks to anyone who replies to this!
Arigato!!

KyleGoetz · (#2 (**permalink**))

The former is the "plain" form, and you use it in essays, with your friends, with your family, within quotation marks, etc.

The latter is "polite" form, and you use it with your Japanese teacher and other people who outrank you, with strangers, etc.

Speaking polite Japanese - Tae Kim's Japanese grammar guide

Khengi · (#3 (**permalink**))

Yeah, Kyle pretty much summed it up right there. Though Japanese Television commentators often use the polite form as well. I'm not sure why.

Columbine · (#4 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khengi

Yeah, Kyle pretty much summed it up right there. Though Japanese Television commentators often use the polite form as well. I'm not sure why.

Maybe it's because they're providing something like a 'narration service' and 'service' usually means polite language? But as it's a general TV thing, it doesn't need to go as far as full-blown keigo necessarily? Not sure, but that's how i'd interpret it.

Nyororin · (#5 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khengi

Yeah, Kyle pretty much summed it up right there. Though Japanese Television commentators often use the polite form as well. I'm not sure why.

Because viewers are customers, and customers outrank them... Not to mention that they`re speaking toward strangers - and you should always be polite in that situation.

Nagoyankee · (#6 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Because viewers are customers, and customers outrank them... Not to mention that they`re speaking toward strangers - and you should always be polite in that situation.

Exactly.

You've never seen Peter Jennings or Walter Cronkite going "Hey viewers, how are they hanging today?", either.

KyleGoetz · (#7 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nagoyankee

Exactly.

You've never seen Peter Jennings or Walter Cronkite going "Hey viewers, how are they hanging today?", either.

Well, I did party with a TV anchor once. They don't call him Walter Crunkite for nothing!