User:Elaeum/Testbed/Japanese/Retropunk/Lesson4
Lesson 4 (第四課): Looking for someone[edit | edit source]
Overview[edit | edit source]
Conversation (会話):[edit | edit source]
日本語:[edit | edit source]
English (英語):[edit | edit source]
Vocabulary (単語):[edit | edit source]
Expressions[edit | edit source]
Grammar (文法):[edit | edit source]
Verbs[edit | edit source]
In the Japanese language, verbs act much like the copula. They are always the last word in the sentence, and have different conjugations depending upon if they are affirming or negating a fact, and their tense.
There are three different types of verbs in the Japanese language. There are る-verbs, う-verbs, and irregular verbs. These different groups conjugate slightly different, so when memorizing verbs, it is also important to memorize which type of verb it is.
る-verbs[edit | edit source]
Every る-verb ends with the kana る. To conjugate these verbs, drop the final る kana, and add ます for the affirmative form of the verb, or ません for the negative form. The following table illustrates this behavior with the example verb たべる.
Dictionary Form | Affirmative | Negative |
---|---|---|
たべる | たべます | たべません |
There are no rules or exceptions to this behavior.
う-verbs[edit | edit source]
Notice that the last kana of the dictionary form of every う-verb is in the う column of the Hiragana chart (hence the name of the group). That is, a う-verb may only end in the following kana: う, く, す, つ, ぬ, ふ, む, or る. To conjugate one of these verbs, change the last kana of the dictionary form of the verb from the う column of the Hiragana chart to the い column, and add ます for the affirmative form of the verb, or ません for the negative form. The following chart illustrates this behavior:
Dictionary Form Ends With | Changes To |
---|---|
う | います |
く | きます |
す | します |
つ | ちます |
ぬ | にます |
ふ | ひます |
む | みます |
る | ります |
A few examples for the conjugation for う-verbs are in the following table:
Ending | Dictionary Form | Affirmative | Negative |
---|---|---|---|
う | あう | あいます | あいません |
く | かく | かきます | かきません |
す | はなす | はなします | はなしません |
る | かえる | かえれます | かえりません |
It is important to note that a few う-verbs end in る. Therefore it is impossible to tell which category a verb is in simply by looking at it. It is very important that when memorizing verbs, to memorize how to use them as well. It is advantageous to do this at the same time.
However, if the conjugated form of the verb is known, it is possible to deduce which category the verb is in. For example たべる in the affirmative conjugates to たべます. Because the る was dropped, instead of becoming a り, it is known that the verb たべる is in the る-verb category.
Irregular Verbs[edit | edit source]
There are only two irregular verbs in the Japanese Language. They are くる and する. There is no rule to understand how they work, however because there are so few verbs in the irregular category it is easiest just to memorize the pattern for each verb separately. The following table illustrates the conjugation patterns for each verb.
Dictionary Form | Affirmative | Negative |
---|---|---|
くる | きます | きません |
する | します | しません |
する is also special in that it is used to form compound verbs. There are many nouns which may come before する which when combined together, create a new verb related to the meaning of the noun. For example, べんきょう is a noun which means study. When, paired with する to form べんきょう する, the new verb means "to study." Not all nouns can be used in this manor, so it is best to again memorize する verbs separately.
を-particle[edit | edit source]
Many verbs have a direct object, that is something that they act upon. This object is usually marked by the particle を. However, there are some exceptions, so when memorizing verbs make sure to memorize the particles that accompany them.