User:Elaeum/Testbed/Japanese/Retropunk/Lesson4

Lesson 4 (第四課): Looking for someone

Grammar (文法):

Verbs

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

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.

る-verb conjugation table

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

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:

う-verb conjugation method

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:

う-verb conjugation 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

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.

Irregular Verb Conjugation Table

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

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.