Giving a simple instruction
In lesson 47, you formed polite statements from dictionary forms. Now a fictional teacher gives short instructions: read, listen, come here or wait a moment. The stated group remains your starting point, but you form a different verb ending. You do not need to memorise everything at once; use the reference rows while practising and return later without support.
Who should do something?
本を読みます states that someone reads or will read a book. 本を読んでください asks the listener to read a book. In the second sentence, the teacher is not describing their own reading: the learner receives an instruction. Identify that purpose before examining the verb form.
This lesson practises short instructions in an appropriate situation, such as a teacher guiding an exercise. てください is politely worded but can sound direct. It is not a universal replacement for every English request beginning ‘could you possibly’. Other ways of asking favours come later.
Build the full て form + ください. A て form can also end in で, as in 読んで. Do not attach ください directly to ます or to a dictionary form. A suitable short reply when you understand an instruction is はい、わかりました: ‘Yes, understood.’
はい、わかりました。
Group 2 and the irregular pairs
For group 2, remove the final る and add て. 見る becomes 見て and 食べる becomes 食べて. Then add ください. The group again tells you what to do, but this ending differs from the ます ending in lesson 47.
Group 3 has two fixed pairs: する → して and 来る（くる） → 来て（きて）. Notice the reading きて for 来て. A familiar verb ending in する follows the same pattern: 勉強する → 勉強して. You are learning the form here, without adding a new rule for tense or negation.
見て
食べて
して
来てください。
Group 1: small sound changes
For group 1, look at the final kana of the dictionary form. Do not make the て form by attaching て to the stem used before ます. 読む becomes 読んで, not 読みて. Keep the meaning ‘read’ and learn how the ending group changes the form.
Start with two small families. A group 1 verb ending in む, ぶ or ぬ changes that ending to んで: 読む → 読んで and 飲む → 飲んで. An ending of う, つ or る changes to って: 待つ → 待って. The small っ is part of the word; briefly hold before the following consonant.
The rule for る in this family applies only when the verb belongs to group 1. Group 2 keeps its own る→て rule. Read the group label before checking the final kana. You may keep these two reference rows available while practising.
読んで
飲んで
待ってください。
く, ぐ, す and the exception 行く
The remaining group 1 families are short: く→いて, ぐ→いで and す→して. This gives 書く → 書いて, 聞く → 聞いて and 話す → 話して. You do not need to learn a new verb for every table row immediately. Use the row required by the verb you are given.
行く（いく, to go） is the important exception to く→いて: its form is 行って（いって）. Learn the pair as a whole. It differs in meaning from 来て: 行って asks someone to go somewhere, here, 来てください asks the learner to come towards the teacher.
Your complete group 1 reference is now: う・つ・る→って; む・ぶ・ぬ→んで; く→いて; ぐ→いで; す→して; 行く→行って. If unsure, return to the dictionary form and group. Guessing from a separate ます form would mix up the steps.
書いて
聞いてください。
話してください。
行ってください。
Connecting the action and its object
Now add a familiar object: この文を + 読んでください. を keeps the same role as in a statement: here it marks what should be read. The instruction ending does not suddenly change the object marker. You can also add a familiar place block when it is useful.
Compare lesson 6: 水をください asks to receive water. 水を飲んでください asks the other person to drink water. In the second sentence, 飲んで is a complete verb form before ください. First decide whether you are asking for an item or asking someone to carry out an action.
Then read or listen for the intended action. A learner can use はい、わかりました to acknowledge understanding. That does not by itself mean the action is already finished. The short dialogue gives several instructions in sequence; picture carrying them out in that order.
この文を読んでください。
水を飲んでください。