です・でした
ABOUT:
■ です is a copula. You can think of it as like the English "to be" except it does not show existence--Japanese uses two other verbs for that いる iru and ある aru for that. A copula links the subject of a sentence with an expression that describes or renames the subject. In English, this is "to be."
One function of です is like an equal sign.
クレイです。 "I am Clay." [I = Clay]
これは、本です。 "This is a book." [this = book]
It also describes some property or state of the subject.
この猫は、白いです。
This cat is white.
[white describes the cat.]
How to Use:
■ There are two forms: polite and informal, each with negative and past forms.
Polite | Informal | |
|---|---|---|
Non-past | です | だ |
Non-past Negative | ではありません | ではない |
Past | でした | だった |
Past Negative | ではありませんでした or | ではなかった |
