One piece of good news for English speakers: Japanese verbs do not change based on who does the action. "I eat", "she eats", and "they eat" all use the same verb. What changes instead is tense, politeness, and mood.
The three groups
Every verb falls into one of three groups, and the group decides how it conjugates.
Group 1: godan (u-verbs)
The largest group. The stem changes sound before an ending. 飲む (nomu, to drink) becomes 飲みます (nomimasu).
Group 2: ichidan (ru-verbs)
Verbs ending in -iru or -eru that simply drop る. 食べる (taberu, to eat) becomes 食べます (tabemasu).
Group 3: irregular
Only two real members: する (suru, to do) and 来る (kuru, to come). You memorise these.
Dictionary form and polite form
The form you find in a dictionary is the plain present. The -masu form is the polite present you use with strangers and at work.
taberu to tabemasu, to eat
nomu to nomimasu, to drink
suru to shimasu, to do
Past and negative
From the polite form, past and negative are regular. 食べます becomes 食べました (tabemashita, ate) and 食べません (tabemasen, do not eat). The plain forms are 食べた (tabeta) and 食べない (tabenai).
Where to go next
Once the -masu form is comfortable, the te-form is the next thing to learn, since it unlocks requests, the continuous tense, and connecting actions. The te-form guide covers it.
Test one of these examples in the translator and see how it comes out.
Open the Translator