Mnemonic Device: (sung to the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree”)

Oh MI NI BI
Oh MI NI BI
MI NI BI to NDE!

Oh I CHI RI
Oh I CHI RI
I CHI RI to TTE!

SHI toSH*TE
KI to ITE
GI to IDE
And SH*TE, KITE

Oh MI NI BI
Oh MI NI BI
Now I know my TE forms!

Explanation: for Japanese verbs

• Converting Group 1 Japanese verbs to their TE form (plus the irregular SURU and KURU).
• Take your polite form verb (the MASU form) and remove the MASU.
• Then, look at the last hiragana and replace it with what the song tells you to.