早い
はやい
early
i-adjective
Conjugation Table
Present
早い
Negative
早くない
Past
早かった
Past Negative
早くなかった
Te Form
早くて
Adverbial
早く
Conditional
早ければ
Presumptive
早いでしょう
Example Sentences
あなたの時計は早いです。
Your clock is fast.
Anata no tokei wa hayai desu.
昨日は早かったです。
Yesterday was early.
Kinō wa hayakatta desu.
今日は早くないです。
It's not early today.
Kyō wa hayaku nai desu.
Grammar Notes & Usage Tips
•Conjugation Reminder**: Since 早い (はやい) is an i-adjective, remember to drop the い and add くない for the negative form, making it 早くない (はやくない) for "not early."
•Particle Pairing**: When talking about doing something early, use 早く (はやく) with the particle に (ni) to indicate a point in time, like 早くに起きた (はやくにおきた) for "woke up early."
•Distinguishing 早い and 速い**: Be careful not to confuse 早い (はやい) for "early" with 速い (はやい) for "fast"—context is key, but remember that 早い often relates to time.
•Politeness in Speech**: To make 早い more polite, you can use the form 早いです (はやいです) when speaking to someone formally, much like adding "desu" to end other adjectives.
•い-adjective: Conjugates by changing the い ending