The -te form
The -te form is used to combine two verbs or two sentences. The function of this combination can be extremely varied depending on the verb with which the main verb is combined. We will discuss some of these combinations in this lesson, others will be discussed in later lessons. Generally the verbs that have a special meaning in combination with the -te form are written in kana rather than kanji, since their original meaning is lost.

The -te form, like the past tense (the -ta form), is constructed by combining the ren'youkei of the verb with て (te). The same contractions occur in the -te form as occur in the past tense with the exception of だ, however this conjugation cannot be used as a rentaikei, so a sentence cannot end with a word in the -te form. (In the spoken language this does sometimes occur in informal requests. In those cases the closing verb is left out as it's considered to be overly polite.)

For these examples I've used the gerund as as translation, though many other translations can be possible.

Like the past tense 行く is again an exception:

All group 2 verbs and all other group 4 verbs are regular, as are the irregular verbs する (suru) and 来る (kuru).

Rentaikei		-te form
買う	kau	買って	katte
書く	kaku	書いて	kaite
泳ぐ	oyogu	泳いで	oyoide
出す	dasu	出して	dashite
行きます	ikimasu	行きまして	ikimashite
待つ	matsu	待って	matte
死ぬ	shinu	死んで	shinde
遊ぶ	asobu	遊んで	asonde
飲む	nomu	飲んで	nonde
入る ④	hairu	入って	haitte
行く	iku	行って	itte
いる	iru	いて	ite
食べる	taberu	食べて	tabete
出る	deru	出て	dete
見る	miru	見て	mite
する	suru	して	shite
来る	kuru	来て	kite

だ (da)
The -te form of だ (da) is で (de).

Functions:
The verb in the -te form is subordinate to the verb in the rentaikei that follows it. The relation between the words can be that actions are performed simultaneously, consecutively or have a causal connection, depending on the context.

～ていく (-te iku) & ～てくる (-te kuru)
When combining a verb in the -te form with the verbs 行く (iku) or 来る (kuru), the relation is generally consecutive. It can also describe a process but I will discuss that in a later lesson.

In Japanese adding the fact that you will be coming back is important. It doesn't really matter when you are intending to come back. The more commonly known さよなら (sayonara) or さようなら (sayounara) means farewell. This is used when there is no intention of coming back or it is very unlikely that you will return.

The subordinate clause
You can combine two sentences by ending the first sentence or subordinate clause with the -te form, immediately followed by the second sentence without placing the "kuten" or "maru" between the sentences.

The tense of the subordinate clause is determined by the closing verb:

As mentioned, the relation can also be causal but since there are words for "because" in Japanese, it is usually best to translate it with "and":

You can also indicate a slight contrast between the two sentences. Again, Japanese has words for "but", so the best translation option is to use "and":