Japanese verb guide

NOVEMBER TUTORIAL CHALLENGE #1

The down-and-dirty on Japanese verbs

Just like there are two types of adjectives in Japanese, namely the i-adjectives and the na-adjectives, you've also got two types of verbs: ichidan and godan. The -dan counter means "steps," so they're also known the one-step and five-step verbs, and a few texts refer to them as Group 1 and Group 2 out of laziness.

Identifying whether a verb is ichidan or godan can be done straight from the formal stem- i.e., a -masu verb without the -masu suffix.

The formal stems of ichidan verbs mostly either:
- only have one kana, e.g. 見ます, 寝ます
- end with an e, e.g. 食べます, 覚えます

Most other verbs are godan; their formal stems have more than one kana and end with an i, e.g. 飲みます or 会います. The annoying part is that there are a few verbs that should be godan but actually are ichidan- 借ります, できます, and 起きます (not 置きます! that's godan) are a few that come to mind. It's like those stupid na-adjectives that like to screw with you by ending with an i.

Once you've identified which type of verb you're dealing with, conjugation becomes a cinch. The rule to remember is that ichidan verbs add stuff to the formal stem; godan verbs change the formal stems. (Notice how we're changing the stems only, and discarding the -masu or -masen suffixes.)

The plain / dictionary / -u form:
- Ichidan verbs simply add -ru. 見ます -> 見る; 寝ます -> 寝る
- Godan verbs change the last kana from an -i ending to an -u ending. 飲みます -> 飲む; 会います -> 会う

The plain negative / -nai form:
- Ichidan verbs add -nai. mimasu -> 見ない; 寝ます -> 寝ない
- Godan verbs change the last kana from an -i ending to a -a ending before adding the -nai suffix. 飲みます -> 飲まない; 会います -> 会わない*

The te-form:
- Ichidan verbs add the -te suffix. 見ます -> 見て; 寝ます -> 寝て
- Godan verbs change the last kana into some variation of -te: learning that ichiri-tte te-form** song is the way to go here.

All (well, most) other verb conjugations are derived fairly straightforwardly from these forms: the plain past tense simply replaces the -te with a -ta, the plain past negative treats the -nai suffix like an i-adjective and changes it to -nakatta, and you've got -masen, -mashita, -mashou, and so many other suffixes you can tack on to that beloved formal stem.

Ganbatte!

*Notice how the i kana changes to wa, not a.
**いちり -> って
みにび -> んで
き -> いて, ぎ -> いで
Find the ending kana and then see what ending the arrow points you to. Sung to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine.