Page 137 - Basic Japanese

公園へ行って散歩しませんか。

Kōen e itte sanpo shimasen ka.
Won’t you go to the park and take a walk?

3.11. Use of the imperfect, perfect, and tentative
moods

The imperfect mood (sometimes called the present tense or

non-past tense) indicates that an action has not been
completed: it may or may not have begun, but it must be a
definite, decided action. In the following sentence, we use the

imperfect because I’m still sick today:

昨日から病気です。

Kinō kara byōki desu.

I’ve been sick since yesterday.

In the following sentence, perhaps you haven’t even started
to go yet, but it’s definite that you will go:

どこへ行きますか。

Doko e ikimasu ka.

Where are you going?

On the other hand, the perfect mood (sometimes called the
past tense) shows that the action has been completed:

田中さんは病気でした。

Tanaka-san wa byōki deshita.
Mr. Tanaka was sick (but he’s well now).

どこへバスで行きましたか。