Lesson 8: Desu (Present/Past/Negative Tenses)

Desu is a copula, a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate. It shows that something is or isn't something else.

Present Tense

ゾウは 大きい です。 
zou wa ookii desu. 
Elephants are large. 
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-are]

Past Tense

ゾウは 大きい でした。
zou wa ookii deshita.
Elephants were large. 
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-were]

Negative Tense

ゾウは 大きい でわ ありません。
zou wa ookii dewa arimasen.
Elephants  are not large. 
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-are not]

Past Negative Tense

ゾウは 大きい でわ ありません でした。
zou wa ookii dewa arimasen deshita.
Elephants were not large. 
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-were not]