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Grammar · です and negatives

じゃなかったです, was not

The pattern

[Noun] ja nakatta desu

The past negative. The formal version is ではありませんでした.

The mistake to avoid

Long, but built from parts you already know: じゃない plus the past かった.

Examples

Rōmaji help
ame ja nakatta desu.
It wasn't raining.
kinō wa yasumi ja nakatta desu.
Yesterday was not a day off.
ano hito wa sensei ja nakatta desu.
That person was not a teacher.
bangohan wa sakana ja nakatta desu.
Dinner was not fish.