How to use japanese verb te-form shimaimashita?
How to use Verb te-form しまいました?
What is the difference between tabemashita and tabete shimaimashita? What is the purpose of changing the verb to te-form and then adding shimaimashita?
There are basically two ways how you can use Japanese verb te-form shimaimashita. One is when you want to emphasize completion (of certain task) and another one is when you want to express regret or embarrassment (normally used for bad events).1. When used for emphasizing completionExample 1
Normally when you want to say you have eaten the whole cake, you will say...
watashi wa kinou ooki ke-ki wo zenbu tabemashitaMeaning
: I have eaten the whole big cake yesterday.
Although 食べました (tabamashita) also indicate the completion of eating the whole cake, to emphasize
that you have actually finished eating the whole cake, you can change the sentence to...
watashi wa kinou ooki ke-ki wo zenbu tabete shimaimashitaExample 2
When your father drank one whole bottle of whisky, you will usually say...
chichi wa yuube uisuki- wo ippon nomimashitaMeaning
: My father drank one whole bottle of whisky last night.
To emphasize that your father has actually finished up the whole bottle of whisky, you can change the sentence to...
chichi wa yuube uisuki- wo ippon nonde shimaimashitaExample 3
When your sister read the whole book, you will normally say...
ane wa senshuu kono hon wo zenbu yomimashitaMeaning
: My elder sister read this whole book last week.
To emphasize that your elder sister has actually completed reading this whole book, you can change the sentence to...
ane wa senshuu kono hon wo zenbu yonde shimimashita
In the above case where you want to emphasize the completion of certain task, the sentences are often used together with adverbs like...
a. 全部 (zenbu - all/whole)
b. もう (mou - already)
c. 終わりまで (owarimade - till the end)
d. amount like 一本 (ippon - one bottle)2. When used for expressing regret or embarrassmentExample 1
If you want to say you have forgotten to do your homework, you will normally say...
watashi wa kyou shukudai wo wasuremashitaMeaning
: I forgot my homework today. (show no sign of regret from the sentence)
To show your regret or embarrassment, you can change the sentence to...
watashi wa kyou shukudai wo wasurete shimaimashitaExample 2
If your brother has lost his wallet, you will usually say...
otouto wa kyou saifu wo otoshimashitaMeaning
: My younger brother lost his wallet today.
Now this situation is slightly different from previous example where the event was not occurred to you. It's your younger brother who has encountered the event. Of course your younger brother was regretful and felt embarrassed for losing his wallet.
However even though this event was not occurred to you, you still show the sympathy you have on this event. Therefore in this case, you can also use verb te-form shimaimashita to show your sympathy towards others on the bad event occurred to them. Hence you can change the sentence to...
otouto wa kyou saifu wo otoshite shimaimashitaExample 3
If your mother overslept this morning, you will normally say...
haha wa kesa nebou wo shimashitaMeaning
: My mother overslept this morning.
To show your sympathy towards your mother's embarrassment, you can change the sentence to...
haha wa kesa nebou wo shite shimaimashita3. Using it in present tense
By the way, the dictionary-form of shimaimasu is しまう (shimau). Japanese verb te-form shimaimashita is not limited to only past tense like in the previous examples. You can use verb te-form shimaimasu to emphsize that you will complete the action in the future.Example 1
goji made ni hon wo yonde shimaimasuMeaning
: I will finish reading the book by 5pm.Example 2
If you are urging your son to finish his homework, you can say...
hayaku shukudai wo yatte shimainasaiMeaning
: Finish your homework quickly.Example 3
ashita made ni sore wo sumasete shimau beki desuMeaning
: You ought to have done it by tomorrow.Related Pages
1. Japanese verbs te-form
2. Explanation of several uses of the verb しまう(shimau) and Verb te-form shimau
Hope this helps,