N4-G-020
Verbて＋みました (I tried doing…)
Supporting / Experience & Results
👀 Layer A: Visual Guide
📝 Quick Summary
This is the past tense of “te-mimasu”. It means you actually performed an action to see what it was like. You use this to report on new experiences, experiments, or things you did out of curiosity.
Structure: [Verb て-form] + みました。
Example: 新しい（あたらしい） お店（みせ）へ いって みました (I tried going to the new shop).
🔗 Connected Grammar:
🔍 Layer B: Deepening
💡 Raya’s Hack
The “Opinion” Follow-up
When you say you “tried” something in Japanese, it is incredibly natural to immediately follow it with your review or result. It shows good conversation flow!
– なっとうを たべて みました。 とても おいしかったです。 (I tried eating natto. It was very delicious.)
– かんじを かいて みました。 でも、むずかしかったです。 (I tried writing Kanji. But, it was difficult.)
Never leave the listener hanging; always tell them how the experiment went!
🚧 Joy’s Mistake
Scene: Joy tried to lift a heavy rock, but he couldn’t move it at all.
Joy: 「いしを もって みました。でも、だめでした。」
(Ishi o motte mimashita. Demo, dame deshita.)
❌ Failed Attempts!
Why?
In English, “I tried to hold it” implies you attempted it. But in Japanese, “motte mimashita” means you successfully held it to see how heavy it was!
If you attempted to do it but failed, you CANNOT use “te-mimashita”. (You will learn how to say “I attempted” later using the Volitional form + to shimasu). For now, remember that “te-mimashita” requires 100% completion of the action!
🔥 Layer C: Practice Loop
Master recounting your experiences! (Answers in Hiragana and English)
Level 1: Conjugation to Past Experience
Q1. Tried eating (たべる)
Q2. Tried going (いく)
Q3. Tried reading (よむ)
Q4. Tried wearing (きる)
Q5. Tried listening (きく)
Level 2: Full Sentences
Q6. I tried eating natto.
Q7. I tried going to that shop.
Q8. I tried reading a Japanese book. (にほんご / ほん)
Q9. I tried making sushi. (すし / つくる)
Q10. I tried talking to the teacher. (せんせい / はなす)
