Japanese i-adjectives also can express situations in the past. Whereas in English you have to use “was” in front of the word, i-adjectives can build the past on its own. Remove the い (i) at the end of the plain form and add かった (katta) to the stem of the i-adjective as described in the following examples:
- 高い => 高- => 高 + かった => 高かった
- takai => taka- => taka + katta => takakatta
| Plain Form | Romaji | Meaning | Negation | Romaji | Meaning |
| 高い | takai | high | 高かった | takakatta | it was high |
| 安い | yasui | cheap | 安かった | yasukatta | it was cheap |
| 美味しい | oishii | tasty | 美味しかった | oishikatta | it was tasty |
| 広い | hiroi | spacious | 広かった | hirokatta | it was spacious |
| 寂しい | sabishii | lonely | 寂しかった | sabishikatta | it was lonely |
Example
| Kanji | この話はあまり面白くなかったです。 |
| Furigana | このはなしはあまりおもしろくなかったです。 |
| Romaji | kono hanashi wa amari omoshirokunanakatta desu. |
| English | This story was not very interesting. |
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