Verbs

There are two types of verbs: u-verbs and ru-verbs. U-verbs can be broken down into the base of the verb, and then the suffix "u." 　Ru-verbs can be broken down into the base, and the suffix "ru." Verbs conjugate for tense (present, past, etc.) in Japanese.

Present/Future Tense
U-Verb Conjugation

Let's work with the verb きく (to listen). きく is the dictionary or infinitive form, which means that it has not been conjugated. The base of the verb is "kik." To change the verb to the present, affirmative form, remove the suffix "u," leaving the base "kik." Then add "imasu" to the base, which gives us ききます (kikimasu). To change the verb to the present, negative tense, add "imasen" to the base: ききません (kikimasen). All regular u-verb conjugation works in the same manner, removing the suffix "u" and replacing it with the proper suffix to indicate your desired tense.

Ru-Verb Conjugation

Ru-verb conjugation is a bit easier than u-verb conjugation. You simply remove the "ru" suffix to get the base and add either "masu" for the affirmative form, or "masen" for the negative. So the verb たべる (to eat) becomes たべます (I eat) and たべません (I don't eat).

affirmative	negative
base + ます（たべます）	base + ません (たべません）

 

Past Tense
U-Verb Conjugation

いました (imashita) is added to the base for the affirmative form, and いませんでした (imasendeshita) is added to the base for the negative form.

affirmative	negative
base + いました（ききました）	base+ いませんでした （ききませんでした）

Ru-Verb Conjugation

ました (mashita) is added to the base for the affirmative form, and ませんでした (masendeshita) is added to the base for the negative form.

affirmative	negative
base + ました（たべました）	base + ませんでした （たべませんでした）

Irregular Verbs
I will go over the conjugations for two irregular verbs here.

する (to do)

	affirmative	negative
present	します	しません
past	しました	しませんでした

くる (to come)

	affirmative	negative
present	きます	きません
past	きました	きませんでした

Hiragana Katakana Greetings Numbers Verbs Particles Location Adjectives Kanji Dialogue Links    Home

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws