て-form by verb group, and ~て います
In lesson 8 you memorized a handful of て-forms (たべて, きいて, まって…) as fixed pairs. Today the lid comes off: every Japanese verb has a て-form, and the shape it takes depends on a small set of rules sorted by the verb's last syllable. Once you can run those rules, you've unlocked half of intermediate Japanese — including chained actions (たべて、ねます = 'I eat and then sleep') and the progressive 〜て います = 'is doing'.
Two verb families: ichidan and godan
Japanese verbs split into two main groups. ichidan verbs end in -る with an i or e vowel right before: たべる (eat), みる (see), ねる (sleep). To make the て-form, drop る and add て: たべる → たべて, みる → みて, ねる → ねて. Clean and uniform. godan verbs are everything else — they end in -う, -つ, -る (with an a/u/o vowel before), -ぬ, -ぶ, -む, -く, -ぐ, -す. Each ending follows its own て-form rule.
godan rules: -う / -つ / -る → って
Verbs ending in -う, -つ, or -る (the godan kind) all become って: かう (buy) → かって, まつ (wait) → まって, とる (take) → とって. The small っ doubles the t — say it with a tiny pause. あう (meet) → あって, のる (ride) → のって, わかる (understand) → わかって. Tip: how do you tell a godan -る from an ichidan -る? Look at the vowel right before. a/u/o (like わかる, とる, のる) → godan. i/e (like みる, たべる) → ichidan. There are a few ichidan-looking verbs that are secretly godan (かえる = return is the famous one — godan, so かえって), but the vowel test gets you 90% there.
godan rules: -ぬ / -ぶ / -む → んで
Three more endings collapse into 〜んで (note the で, not て, because of the n): しぬ (die) → しんで, よぶ (call) → よんで, のむ (drink) → のんで. Also あそぶ (play) → あそんで, よむ (read) → よんで (same shape as 'call'! context tells you which), すむ (live) → すんで. The ん + で has a slight nasal hum — feel it in your nose.
godan rules: -く → いて, -ぐ → いで, -す → して
-く verbs: drop く, add いて. かく (write) → かいて, きく (listen) → きいて, あるく (walk) → あるいて. -ぐ verbs: drop ぐ, add いで. およぐ (swim) → およいで, いそぐ (hurry) → いそいで. -す verbs: drop す, add して. はなす (speak) → はなして, かす (lend) → かして. One famous exception: いく (go) doesn't follow the -く pattern — it's いって, like a godan -る/つ/う verb. (Same shape as いう → いって 'say', as you saw in lesson 8.)
ichidan and the two irregulars
Ichidan, again, is the easy group: drop る, add て. たべる → たべて, みる → みて, ねる → ねて, おきる (get up) → おきて, おしえる (teach) → おしえて. Just two irregular verbs in the whole language for the て-form: する (do) → して, くる (come) → きて. (Yes, only two — Japanese is brutally consistent here.)
Linking actions: 〜て、〜
The most basic use of the て-form is to chain actions in order — like a comma-then in English. あさごはん を たべて、がっこう に 行きます。 = 'I eat breakfast and (then) go to school.' しゅくだい を して、ねます。 = 'I do my homework and go to bed.' Only the LAST verb carries the polite ending and the tense; everything before it sits in plain て-form: きのう、こうえん に 行って、しゃしん を とりました。 = 'Yesterday I went to the park and took photos.' The past ました lives only on the final verb — 行って stays neutral.
〜て います — is doing / am doing
Add います after a て-form and you've got the progressive: 'is/am/are (currently) doing'. たべて います。 = '(I) am eating.' テレビ を 見て います。 = '(I) am watching TV.' アナさん は 本 を よんで います。 = 'Anna is reading a book.' Negative: 〜て いません (= 'isn't doing'). Past: 〜て いました (= 'was doing'). Note: with verbs of state — しる (know), すむ (live), もつ (have / hold) — the 〜て います form translates as a present state, not an ongoing action: とうきょう に すんで います = 'I live in Tokyo.'
