How to conjugate verbs in Japanese Part Ⅱ

How to conjugate verbs in Japanese Part Ⅱ

Last time Shiho explained the very basics of verb conjugations in Japanese, including the three verb groups (u-verbs, ru-verbs, and irregular verbs) and how to conjugate each group from its “辞書形 (dictionary form)” to the masu- and nai-form.
In this lesson Shiho reviews some of the grammar from Part Ⅰ and explains further about exceptions from previously established rules.

[Revision]

In order make the following explanations easier to understand, let’s first of all review some of what we learned last time. Let’s start off with a little quiz – can you guess which group every verb belongs to and how to conjugate it into the dictionary, masu- and nai-form? See the solutions at the bottom.

Q1. 私わたしはりんごを食たべたい。
I want to eat an apple.

Q2. 明日あした、服ふくを買かいいに行いこう。
Let’s go clothes shopping tomorrow.

Q3. 週末しゅうまつは、映画えいがを観みようと思おもいます。
I’m thinking of going to see a movie on the weekend.

Q4. 今日きょうの午後ごご、家いえに遊あそびに来きてください。
Please come over to my house this afternoon.

Q5. 掃除そうじしてから遊あそびに行いきなさい。
You can go play once you’re done cleaning.

Q1. Group ②: ru-verb
辞書形じしょけい：食たべる
マス形けい：食たべます
ナイ形けい形：食たべない

Q2. Group ①: u-verb
辞書形：行いく
マス形：行いきます
ナイ形：行いかない

Q3. Group ②: ru-verb
辞書形：みる
マス形：みます
ナイ形：みない

Q4. Group ③: irregular verb
辞書形：来きる
マス形：来きます
ナイ形：来きない

Q5. Group ③: irregular verb
辞書形：掃除そうじする
マス形：掃除そうじします
ナイ形：掃除そうじしない

[Two expressions using “ナイ形”]

Now that you have learned how to conjugate verbs and adjectives into their negative form, let’s take a look at two expressions for which you always have to utilize the “ナイ形”.

あまり～ない
あまり＋negative

Example:
この魚はあまりおいしくない。
This fish is not very/particularly delicious.

全然～ない
全然＋negative

Example:
私は全然お金を持っていない。
I don’t have any money at all.

Remember that these two expressions always need to be constructed with a negative. If you for example say “この魚はあまりおいしい”, lots of listeners, even native speakers, may be confused as to what you want to express – is this fish good? Is it bad? So make sure to conjugate the verb/adjective you are using correctly and always use “ナイ形” with these expressions.

[Exceptions]

Lastly please take a look at the following verbs:

According to the rules we’ve learned so far, you’d think that all of these verbs belong to the group of ru-verbs. Which means you’ve understood how the rules work and is commendable – however, these verbs are all exceptions and actually belong to the group of u-verbs!

And the list of exceptions goes on. Please check the list below for further common verbs ending on ru but belonging to the group of u-verbs:

You will have to remember these words as belonging to the u-verbs and conjugate them to those rules.

[How to determine which group a verb belongs to]
With all these exceptions it may seem impossible to distinguish between the different groups. However, there is a 4-step-flow you can follow to help you determine what group a verb belongs to:

Step ①
Is the verb in question “くる” or “する”?
Yes → It’s an irregular verb!
No → Proceed to Step ②

Step ②
Does the dictionary form of the verb end on “ru”?
Yes → Proceed to Step ③
No → The verb belongs to the group of u-verbs!

Step ③
Is the syllable before “ru” either “i” or “e”?
Yes → Proceed to step ④
No → The verb belongs to the group of u-verbs!

Step ④
Is the verb in question part of the group of exceptions?
Yes → The verb belongs to the group of u-verbs!
No → The verb belongs to the group of ru-verbs!

It is important to be able to distinguish between the different groups to know how to conjugate the verb in question. Therefore try practicing verb conjugations, and you will see, at some point it will start coming naturally to you!

Don’t forget to check out the video on this class and tune in to our livestream every wednesday at 6pm (JST) for the real deal!

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How to conjugate verbs in Japanese Part Ⅰ

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How to conjugate verbs in Japanese Part Ⅲ

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