What happened?

こんにちは！

きのう、にほんごをべんきょうしました。
昨日、日本語を勉強しました。

That is: Yesterday, I studied Japanese.

Yes, I said "studied"--past tense! While this is still a basic and limited form, it doubles the types of thoughts that I am able to convey in Japanese. Here is the basic conjugation:

copula

present affirmative:     desu           　   　 です
present negative:        janaidesu　　    　じゃないです

past affirmative:          deshita　　　　   でした
past negative:             janakattadesu　　 じゃなかったです

U-verbs

present affirmative:      u->i + masu                   ＋ます
present negative:          u->i + masen   　          ＋ません

past affirmative:          u->i + mashita                 ＋ました
past negative:              u->i + masendeshita　　＋ませんでした

RU-verbs

present affirmative:    drop -る    +masu　　　　　＋ます
present negative:        drop -る   +masen　　　　　＋ません

past affirmative:          drop -る    +mashita　　　　＋ました
past negative:              drop -る    +masendeshita　　＋ませんでした

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Now, let's have some fun with this, jisho, google translate, and our imagination. I dedicate this first sentence to a stranger that I once met on the Ball State University shuttle bus. She had an amazing collection of languages in her own personal phrasebook. On one page, she had the same sentence written in somewhere around 50 languages:

私は屁をしました。
watashiwa he-o shimashita. (I farted.)

Some other interesting and useful phrases might be:

私は村上春樹の本を読みました。
watashiwa murakami-haruki-no-hon-o yomimashita. (I read Haruki Murakami's book.*)

私はお酒を飲みました。
watashiwa osake-o nomimashita. (I drank sake/alcohol.)

私はおなたの妻にキスしました。
watashiwa onata-no-tsuma-ni kisu-o shimashita. (I kissed your wife.)

So, hope you have enjoyed and/or learned something! Please comment or email me at mcalister.thom@gmail.com to let me know your sentences or to help me make corrections.

さよなら！

P.S. I am currently reading Sputnik Sweetheart right now, and I am already enamored by his writing.