Starry's Ultimate Verb Review

[Starry Starry Fright]

Verbs are so very, very important. So important, in fact, that progressing past the lessons I've posted so far will be all but impossible if you haven't mastered verb conjugation.

But never fear, dear students! Starry Starry Fright will take care of you. This thread will review just about all of the basic verb information you need to know, and will be open to questions if you are struggling.

So, without further ado... LET THE VERBS BEGIN!

To start, there are three types of verbs:

"Group 1" verbs, also called -u verbs or godan verbs. In -masu (formal) form, these verbs USUALLY don't have an "e" sound before the -masu, but there are exceptions. The only way to know for sure is memorization.

Examples:

nomimasu / nomu - to drink
asobimasu / asobu - to play
kikimasu / kiku - to hear

"Group 2" verbs, also called -ru verbs or ichidan verbs. In plain (dictionary) form, these verbs always end in -ru. Not every plain form verb that ends in -ru is a Group 2 verb, however. Also, most -masu verbs that have an "e" before the "masu" are group 2 verbs, but there are exceptions. The only way to be sure? Memorization.

Examples:

Tabemasu / Taberu - to eat
okimasu / okiru - to sleep
yasemasu / yaseru - to lose weight

EXAMPLE OF AN IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: The plain-form verb "aru" LOOKS like a -ru verb, but in -masu form, it becomes "arimasu" (to be, in reference to inanimate objects) - an -u verb. Be careful out there, kids.

"Irregular Verbs". There are two of them. Memorize.

Examples:

Shimasu / Suru - to do
Kimasu / Kuru - to come

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about conjugations.

First off - what is verb conjugation, anyways? We do it in English.

I run. I ran. I will run. I am running. I do not run. - All of these are conjugations of the verb "to run". The meaning of the verb doesn't really change (you're still talking about propelling yourself through the world by rapidly moving your legs) but the way you've presented the verb has changed (present tense, past tense, future tense, etc). Japanese is a little more complicated. In addition to the past/present/negative tenses, they change their verbs to entirely different formats and THEN apply those tenses.

The three "formats" we'll be looking at are ~masu, ~te and plain form.

~masu is the "formal" way of saying the verb. This is used in polite conversations. You can recognize a ~masu verb, because it will always end in ~masu. No exceptions.

~te form is the "imperative" or "linking" form of the verb. If you are telling someone else what to do, or stringing multiple actions together, this is the verb form that is used. You will recognize it by the way it ends in ~te or ~de.

Plain form is the form found in the dictionary. This is the verb form that people use in casual conversation with friends and relatives. You can can recognizing plain form verbs because they always end in an -u syllable.

Any questions so far? Because sensei is an overworked university student, she is going to bed now, but there will be more verb-y goodness on the way in the next few days. Start going over the verb lessons and leaving me some questions, so I know what to focus on.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

we change the letter to different vowel in each word when conjugation is that right Sensei?  

[Starry Starry Fright]

FROM DICTIONARY TO FORMAL

Alright, you've found this nifty verb that you want to use, but it's in plain form. How do you change it to ~masu form? Let's find out.

First, we need to decide if the verb is an -u verb or a -ru verb (or an irregular - if the verb is "suru" or "kuru", then it is irregular). Look at the last syllable. If the last syllable is NOT "ru", then we know that it's an -u verb. If it IS "ru", then it could be either. I hope you have them memorized. So, how do we deal with each type?

GROUP ONE VERB (-U VERB)

What you'll need to do is change the last -u sound on the end of the verb to an "i" and add "~masu". Let's go through some examples.

(to meet) au becomes aimasu - the "u" changes to "i"
(to drink) nomu becomes nomimasu - the "mu" changes to "mi"

GROUP TWO VERB (-RU VERB)

These ones are dead simple. All you have to do is drop the -ru and add "masu".

(to eat) taberu becomes tabemasu
(to wake up) okiru becomes okimasu

IRREGULARS

These are just plain old memorization.

(to do) suru becomes shimasu
(to come) kuru becomes kimasu

And that should just about cover changing dictionary forms to formal forms. Any questions? Ask them here.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

um thanks sensei for correction me. that it pretty much i was asking.  

[Starry Starry Fright]

Phoniex of Darkness

um thanks sensei for correction me. that it pretty much i was asking.

Yeah, it's not sure much that you change the vowels, but the end of the verb. Every verb has a "verb stem" that doesn't change no matter how you conjugate.

I'll be putting up more info on different conjugations to make this a little clearer. biggrin  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

Thanks Sensei. I have hard time what i want to say that is why type it out fast. thanks. more would help of breaking it down please and thank you.  

[Starry Starry Fright]

FORMAL TO TE FORM

Okay guys, this is the real important stuff right here. I'm going to review how to convert ~masu vers to TE-form verbs.

But first - what is TE form? Why do we need it? Well, TE form by itself can be used to command someone to do something. You can also combine TE form verbs with other words to create more complex sentences. You can learn more about this in the other lessons.

Now, to start the conjugations. Suppose you have a Group 1/U/Godan ~masu verb that you want to convert to a TE verb. First, take the "masu" off of the end. Now, look at the last character of the verb stem that's left and use the following guide to convert it:

If the last syllable is:

mi, ni or bi -> change it to "nde"

Example:
(to drink) nomimasu -> nonde
(to invite) yobimasu -> yonde
(to read) yomimasu -> yonde

If you read that carefully, you'll notice that both of the verbs "to invite" and "to read" change to "yonde".There are many cases like this in dealing with TE form. This is why context is everything in Japanese.

If the last syllable is:

i, chi or ri -> change it to "tte"

Example:

(to return) kaerimasu -> kaette
(to hold) mochimasu -> motte

If the last syllable is:

ki -> change it to "ite"
or
gi -> change it to "ide"

Examples:

(to listen) kikimasu -> kiite
(to swim) oyogimasu -> oyoide

There IS one very important exception here. "Ikimasu" turns into "itte", NOT "iite". Keep that in mind.

If the last syllable is:

shi -> change it to "shite"

Example:

(to speak) hanashimasu -> hanashite

Now, if the verb in front of you happens to be a Group 2/RU/Ichidan ~masu verb, you have a much easier task.

1. Drop the masu.

2. Add te to the end.

That's it. You're done.

Examples:

(to see) mimasu -> mite
(to eat) tabemasu -> tabete

If your verb is irregular, you're just going to have to memorize it.

(to do) shimasu -> shite
(to come) kimasu -> kite

That should hopefully clear up any issues you had with TE form. I will be posting some TE-form learning aids up in the "learning aids" section, so make use of those.

Any questions? Let me know. It's extremely important that all of you understand this lesson.  

[Nana Shinu Ai]

Thanks for posting this up for me. it sort of helps out