Difference between た and です in declaratives

[gryffindor]

Hi guys,

Went to the guidetojapanese.org website. I was utterly confused by some of the examples given.

The webmaster used the verb た in declaratives, but in many websites and even Japanesepod, I thought to express a state of being, です should be used?

What is the difference between these two verbs?

[Bueller_007]

Hi guys,

Went to the guidetojapanese.org website. I was utterly confused by some of the examples given.

The webmaster used the verb た in declaratives, but in many websites and even Japanesepod, I thought to express a state of being, です should be used?

What is the difference between these two verbs?

You should try a search before you post.
http://www.japanesepod101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=53

Basically, です (short for でございます) is more polite than だ (short for である, which you will also see in written Japanese). There are some differences in usage, but that's the gist of it.

As a beginner, you should primarily be using です, until you have it explained to you in greater detail.