japanese verbs at a glance

An Outline of Japanese Verb Forms Conjugation Groups 12 Verb Conjugations 14 Tense 18 Chapter 2 How Verbs Are Used Formal Forms 24 Continuing Actions 25 Asking Favors and Making Reques

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Copyright © 2001 by Naoko Chino

All rights reserved Printed in Japan

An Outline of Japanese Verb Forms

Conjugation Groups 12 Verb Conjugations 14 Tense 18

Chapter 2 How Verbs Are Used

Formal Forms 24 Continuing Actions 25 Asking Favors and Making Requests 27 Commands and Prohibitions 29 Polite Forms 36 Giving and Receiving 46 Asking for Permission 52 Making an Invitation 55 Expressing Intention 57 Expressing Wishes 61 Conditionals 64

Expressing Requirements and Obligations 66 Describing a Past Experience 68

Describing a Habitual Action 69 Expressing Ability 71

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 74

States of Being 79 Passive Voice 80 koto ni wa 133 koto mo nai 134

Expressing Time Relationships 88 shiy6 ga nai 138 sae -ba 138 shika nai 139

Giving a Reason 96 Expressing Regret 97 ni shitagatte / ni tsurete 139 nỉ suginai 140

Reporting Something Heard or Experienced 101 -tara kaette 141 -te wa irarenai 143

-te tamaranal 143 -te hajimete 144 -te bakari wa irarenal 144 -te mo -te mo 145

Verb Endings 103 -yõ to maito 147 yaina ya 148

Continuation of Action 105 End of Action 105

Thoroughness of Action 106

Incomplete or Failed Action 109

Redoing or Rechecking an Action 113

Mutual Action 113 Excessive Action 114

_Attaching Actions 114

Going or Coming for a Purpose 115

Going, Coming, or Returning after Doing

Something 116 Gradual Change 117

-Ba hodo 119 dake atte 120

dake demo / dake wa 120 -gachi 121

gurai nara h6 gaii122 ikura-te mo nai 123

to ieba 123 to itte mo ii hodo da 124

wa iu made mo naku 125 to iu yori wa mushiro 126

(to iu) wake de wa nai 126 A kara B ni kakete 127

to kuraberu to 128 o kagiri ni 128 kagiri wa 129

ka to omou to / ka to omottara 129

kanarazu shi mo to wa kagiranai / to wa ienai 130

kaneru 131 ni kakawarazu 132 koto wa nai 133

About This Book

This book provides useful information about verbs for be-

ginning and intermediate students of Japanese It’s a handy

reference to turn to when you have questions about J apanese

verbs and how to use them

Charts and tables make the key points understandable at a

glance, and the many example sentences show how to use

verbs correctly in context This book does not attempt a

complete exposition of Japanese grammar Instead, it pro-

vides a wealth of practical information in one specific area

for people who need to speak or write Japanese

The book is organized according to how verbs are used If

you want to know how to ask a person to do something, for

example, just check the Index for “asking favors and making

requests” and go to that page

Special sections are devoted to areas of Japanese verbs

that often cause difficulty for students, including polite

forms, causatives, passives, and transitive/intransitive pairs

Fach of these areas is covered clearly and in detail with

charts, explanations, and example sentences

Finally, the appendix lists the conjugations of verbs that

are most often encountered by beginning and intermediate

students If you are unsure how to conjugate a verb cor-

rectly, a quick trip to the back of the book will provide the

answer

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7

About Japanese Verbs

The meanings and functions of Japanese verbs vary accord-

ing to the suffixes that are attached to the verb stem These

verb conjugation patterns, which determine the forms of the

suffixes, fall into three main categories:

1 When the verb stem ends in a consonant

2 When the verb stem ends in a vowel

3 When the verb is irregular

In some languages, such as French or English, the rules

for conjugating verbs are quite complex, but in Japanese

they are relatively simple, partly because the conjugation

patterns are not affected by gender, person, or number Even

tense conjugations are quite regular Whereas in English

many common verbs (such as go) have irregular forms for

the past tense (went) and past participle (gone), Japanese’

rules for the formal and informal past tense apply equally to

all verbs with only a handful of exceptions

One irregular form in Japanese is the copula da £, which

corresponds roughly to “be” verbs in English Its basic forms

are the formal present desu CF, the informal past datta

=> 72, and the formal past deshita C U7:

As in English, there are both transitive and intransitive

verbs But not all verbs are paired in this way, and Japanese

transitivity is quite different from that in English This fea-

ture of Japanese is explained in the section on transitive and

intransitive verbs (p 74)

Perhaps the most complicated area of Japanese verbs is

keigo #8, or polite language In Japanese, the level of po-

liteness varies depending on the relative age and social posi-

tion of the speaker and hearer While the full ins-and-outs.of

Japanese polite language are quite complex, there is an easy

solution for students who are afraid that an inappropriate

form may sound rude: use the verb’s formal (-masu —£ )

form It will be appropriate in almost any situation Later, as your understanding of polite language deepens, you’ll be able to branch out into more sophisticated structures that

will help you better understand and communicate with

Japanese people

Abbreviations

@® Group 1 verbs nomu #Xt

(consonant-stem verbs) tatsu >

(vowel-stem verbs) mu #5

(irregular verbs) suru $4 [ ] Shows the plain form of {nomu âkÙ]

verbs used in illustrative examples

/-masu/ /—%%/ Form of verbs after the nomUPIEH/

final -masu — # has RA / eR / been removed; removal

of -masu is often indicated tabe/®RER/

thus: /##ZM/ a=; the âAx⁄#©e⁄ result might be called the

“⁄-masu/ stem”; to be

distinguished from the

-masu form itself, which

has -masu appended (e.g.,fabemasu ®^A\‡ 3)

Form of verbs after the noma/tf/

final -nai — #t\ has been RE / ae /

removed; removal of -nai

is often indicated thus: tabe/ta/

đtÐ/ „2= ⁄; the result BA / te / might be called the “/nai/

stem”; to be distinguished from the -nai form itself, which has -nai appended (e.g., tabenai B13) Stem of the plain form of nom/#/ (#RÐ}) verbs after the final -u

—3 has been removed;

removal of /-uv/is often indicated thus: /#/ (which can be done only in romanization)

Form of verbs after the tabe/FR/

final -ru —4 has been â^x⁄4⁄

removed; removal of -ru is often indicated thus: #4 ⁄#⁄

Negative form Intransitive verb

Japanese verbs fall into three main conjugation groups ac-

cording to their plain form (dictionary form) In this book,

the groups are called Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3

Group 1: -U Ending The plain form suffix of Group 1 verbs is the vowel -u The conjugation pattern depends on the vowel or consonant that precedes the -u In the following examples, the verbs are grouped by final syllable (left-hand column in Japanese order) In all but the first category (the -u category, where -u

is preceded by a vowel), the preceding sound is a consonant

iru BBA

kaeru JữŠ kiru W4 shiru 04 hairu Ä 2 hashiru #4

Group 2: -Eru and -Iru Endings

These verbs end in either -eru or -iru All Group 2 verbs

have the same conjugation pattern

-eru | akeru BAITS to open

kakeru 2134 to suspend, to cover

taberu BS to eat đeru H15 to go out neru 84 to sleep

norikaeru 3%) A43 2 to change (trains)

JAPANESE VERB FORMS

-ku —< aruku 2B < to walk

ugoku 8) < to move

kiku fAl< to hear, to listen

migaku FB < to polish -gu —S oyogu ik¢< to swim

nugu a ¢ to take off (clothing) -su — 9 orosu FAS ‘| to lower

kasu BT to lend

kesu HS to extinguish

hanasu #&T to speak

matsu ft 2 to wait

-bu —& asobu X3 to play

tobu RS to fly yobu WS to call

yomu zt? to read -u —4 oriru KES to get down

to put on (a hat, etc.)

to get on (a train, etc.)

14 JAPANESE VERB FORMS

Terminology

Japanese textbooks and dictionaries use a variety of names

for the three conjugation categories Here are some of the

more common terms

a Group 1 verbs

godan döshi TiEtÑUñn| godan verbs

shiin gokan doshi ¥3#5#?8)4] consonant-stem verbs

kyohenka déshi (RE (CHa strong verbs

= Group 2 verbs

ichidan döshi —EXiñl ichidan verbs

boin gokan döshi BtññfffÖñR| vowel-stem verbs

Jjakuhenka döshi BZ{tMiRl = weak verbs

= Group 3 verbs

fukisoku déshi AAD irregular verbs

ka-gyo henkaku katsuy6 doshi_ _ka-row irregular verb

APRS AMA (ka-hen (The only example is

doshi 7 BHR) kuru #4.)

sa-gy6 henkaku katsuyo déshi_ _sa-row irregular verb

TAR Dal (sa-hen (The only example is

doshi + Baia) suru 34.)

Verb Conjugations 212] O74A

Japanese verbs conjugate according to the suffixes that at-

tach to the verb stem These suffixes express a wide range of

meanings, including tense, negation, passive mood, and cau-

sation Two or more suffixes may be appended to a single

stem

The following sections describe the conjugation patterns

for the -masu, -te, past tense, and negative forms The rules

for attaching other suffixes are introduced later in the book

@ kuru — kimasu HSE +> KET

The -masu form is commonly used in formal situations It

is added to the plain form of the verb as follows:

® Drop the final -u and add -imasu:

nomu —> nomimasu Rt +> RAKES

Note: Final -£sw —“2 becomes -chi —% and final -su —t be- comes -shi —- UL

@ Drop the final -ru and add -masu:

taberu > tabemasu BGA SO BRET

@® kuru — kimasu KS > RES

suru —> shimasu #4 >LU‡#

Copula: The formal form of da 72 is desu CT.

16 JAPANESE VERB FORMS

= Formal examples

D BERET @FA=AeLET.,

Sake o nomimasu Tenisu o shimasu

I (will) drink saké I (will) play tennis

@ XELAFEBENET,

Sashimi o tabemasu

I (will) eat sashimi

Copula CHISSHOMRCT

Kore wa kyé no shimbun desu

This is today’s newspaper

= Informal examples

Sake o nomu Tenisu o suru

I (will) drink saké I (will) play tennis

@ &ELAEBNS Copula CHIESA OMMZ

Kore wa kyo no shimbun da

This is today’s newspaper

Sashimi o taberu

I (will) eat sashimi

The /-Mfasu/ /—# 3 ⁄ Stem

Many verb suffixes are attached to the -masu form of verbs

after the masu £> has been removed, leaving what might

be called the /-masu/ stem In this book the removal of masu

is indicated by placing it within slashes and striking through

it (77eR/) Examples follow for the three verb groups, the

plain form followed by the -masu form with the -masu

struck through, leaving the /-masu/ stem

formed as shown below

The -te form of Group 1 verbs varies depending on the sound that precedes the final -u in the plain form

The -7Je Form Ti?

@® (See chart below.)

-au = a/#/ + tte arau — aratte #5 > HoT

-iu = / + He monoiu > monoitte | 4Ä 3 — 1B 2C

-Mu = u/W/ + te kuu —* kutte â5 >8a€

-0U = O/E/ + tte hirou —* hirotte t2 >ilầ›

-ku = /#W/ + ite kiku — kiite El< — HVT

Note (irregular form):| fT < — fT7T

iku — itte

-gu = /ER/ + ide | oyogu — oyoide KO + KUT

-su = /38/ + shite | hanasu —* hanashie | ññŸ — HUT

-tsu = SH + te | matsu — matte 2 > HoT

-nu =/#H/ + nde | shinu — shinde HW > HAC -bu = /$8/+ nde | asobu > asonde eS + HAC -mu = ARR/ + nde | yomu — yonde me > RAC -ru = /FR/ + tte kaeru — kaette đ 4 — lữ 27C

hashiru — hashitte | #4 —-#7T noru —> notte HS > HIT

-eru = e/FR/ + te | tâberu — tabete BRA BENT

-iru = i/FR/ + te miru — mite R2 ¬>]R(C

Present and Future BA cK

The present and future tenses are expressed by the -masu

form in formal use and by the plain form in informal use

u Formal present-tense examples

l§ : t2 Š f[Kft “e6 š ETD,

JSY§ : 7t\ 6š ‡†

Hara: Itsumo nanji ni okimasu ka

Hirose: Shichiji ni okimasu

Hara: What time do you get up every day?

Hirose: I get up at seven o’clock

= Informal present-tense examples

BA Ob AFIS 4 ?

AMR : 7< * á

Hara: Itsumo nanji ni okiru?

Hirose: Shichiji ni okiru

Hara: When do you get out of bed every day?

Hirose: I’m up at seven

Past i@AT

TENSE

= Formal future-tense examples

FAH: BAA RICA ETA,

HỊEI: 8t H‡+

Tanaka: Ashita wa nanji ni ie o demasu ka?

Yamaguchi: Hachi-ji ni demasu

Tanaka: What time will you leave home tomorrow?

Yamaguchi: I'll leave at 8 o’clock

a Informal future-tense examples

FAA : HH!‡+#ift<Z ¿m4 ?

th: 8R#£t<t Š ko

Tanaka: Ashita wa nanji ni ie o deru?

Yamaguchi: Hachi-ji ni deru yo

Tanaka: When are you going to leave home tomorrow?

tabe/-E#/ — tabeta BA /S/ > BRE

non/-88/ — nonda RA /S/ > RAF

@ kuru > kita HSE +> Re

Copula: da 7 has the formal past tense deshita GL and the informal past tense datta 72372

19

20 JAPANESE VERB FORMS

The formal past tense of Groups 1 and 2 verbs is formed

from the -masu form by replacing the final -masu —#4

with -mashita —-E UZ

nomimasu— nomimashita KAET ~>RAELE

[ÂX‡? nomu]

The informal past tense verbs are formed by replacing the

final -e of the -te or -de form with -a:

nonde —nonda BRAC > RAPE

mite > mita Bat > Gk [AS miru]

The irregular Group 3 verbs have the following formal past

The informal past forms for Group 3 are:

kuru — kita HA > Ki

= Formal examples

FAH PER ISS AIBA ELEK, [45 au]

WO: WAS AI, WRMCUEM, [7 da]

Tanaka: Kind wa Yamada-san ni aimashita yo

Yamaguchi: Yamada-san ni? Genki deshita ka?

Tanaka (male): I met Ms Yamada yesterday

Yamaguchi (male): Ms Yamada? How was she?

= Informal examples

WA: WAS AI, THE EM,

Tanaka: Kind wa Yamada-san ni atta yo

Yamaguchi: Yamada-san ni? Genki datta ka?

Tanaka (male): I saw Ms Yamada yesterday

Yamaguchi (male): Ms Yamada? How is she doing?

Negatives GETZ

The negative form is often called the “-nai form” because

the informal present tense ends in -nai — 21)

® kuru — konai HS > HAV

The formal present negative of all verbs is formed from the

-masu form by replacing the final -masu — #*† with -masen

—#t+tÁ

ikimasu — ikimasen fT X EF > FR EA [F< iku]

The informal present negative of Group 1, 2, and 3 verbs

Note: Final -tsu —2 becomes -tanai —7:%\)

If the final -u is preceded by a vowel, change the -u to

-wanai Note that -w- is inserted to separate the vowels

au — awanai 22 > b#\›

@ Drop the final -ru —4 and add -nai — 3š \ 3

taberu — tabenai BSA >? BREW

@® kuru — konai KA > KE

The negative form of the copula da 7 is de wa nai "€3 %:

\ In conversation, this form is often contracted to ja nai U ZV,

JAPANESE VERB FORMS

®Formal examples

Hh:7—=^4#LU‡3»› [#5]

HIEI : ÄI‡Z= 4+ # +

Tanaka: Tenisu o shimasu ka?

Yamaguchi: Watashi wa tenisu wa shimasen

Tanaka: Do you play tennis?

Yamaguchi: No, I don’t play tennis

Tanaka: You play tennis?

Yamaguchi: No, I don’t

eThe /-Nai/ /—%\\/ Stem

Some verb suffixes are attached to the informal present

negative form of verbs after the -nai —zr\ suffix has been

removed This form is called the /-nai/ stem and is abbrevi-

ated /-#/ / —%==/ in charts Here are examples of /-nai/

-masen — -masen deshita kta > EHACUK

ikimasen — ikimasen deshita {1ï Š ‡ + 2 —>

FFHREGACLE

TENSE

mimasen —* mimasen deshita R3 +4 —>

BEtACLE Informal

The formal past negative of all verbs is formed by adding

deshita C U7: after the formal present negative (-masen — =

@ Formal examples

PERE RIAL EHA CLE,

Yamada: Tanaka-san wa gogo, kaisha ni imashita ka?

Sato: le, imasen deshita

Yamada: Was Mr Tanaka at the company during the af- ternoon?

Sat6: No, he wasn’t

@ Informal examples

WAS SAIS RR, ARIK ?

(ERE DAP, Wt Pods, Yamada: Tanaka-san wa gogo, kaisha ni ita?

Sato: Iya, inakatta

Yamada: Was Tanaka in the office this afternoon?

Satd: No, be wasn’t

23

Formal Forms TUiaUaRR

In situations requiring politeness or a degree of formality,

the -masu form (see Chapter 1) is used Forms expressing

more pronounced formality are discussed below under the

heading “Polite Forms 484.”

S AISRANT AES

Kyo wa Ginza e ikimasu

I will go to Ginza today

In informal settings among friends and family, the plain

form is used

SAE < E [spoken by man]

Kyo wa Ginza e iku yo

I’m going to Ginza today

2Ht4#Z^Íï <b [spoken by woman]

Kyo wa Ginza e iku wa

I'll be off to Ginza today

® kiku — kiite imasu H< > Becks

® kuru kite imasu KS > KWOVET

Informal -te+iru — C+t\ìấ

® kiku — kiite iru l< —> eT

®@ taberu — tabete iru â^A42 PBST

@® kuru — kite iru %2 >*%€\›2 suru — shite iru THErULTAS

Continuing actions are expressed by the -te form followed

by imasu \\£F (formal) or iru \»4 (informal)

Present Progressive B)/FAHERLY TU SER —em

The -te form followed by imasu \3£7T or iru \»4 can be used to describe actions that are taking place in the present

This form is often translated with the -ing form of English verbs

HH: #X⁄èš¿, \›‡ 2, {ri : lk\t, Œ¿2, #8ãt#UC\šs# 3 [Ÿ 35 suru]

Tanaka: Suzuki-san, imasu ka?

Sato: Hai, demo ima, denwa o shite imasu

Tanaka: Is Ms Suzuki here?

Sato: Yes, but she’s making a telephone call now

In speech, the verb ending may be contracted to -te ’masu

— TT or, as in the following example, -te ’ru —T4

ARB EF 1SET?

26 HOW VERBS ARE USED

—R§ : 8l €7 ù#Ñ.-€4

KAS miru]

Taro: Hanako wa doko?

Jiro: Heya de terebi mite ’ru

Tard: Where’s Hanako?

Jird: She’s watching TV in her room

The -fe form plus imasu \}X TF or iru 34 can also describe

constant states or repeated actions

fee X ANS FARK IEA COED, [Ete sumu]

Sato-san wa Chiyoda-ku ni sunde imasu

Mr Sato lives in Chiyoda Ward

PRES AILSA ASH CMY TIS [fUS hataraku]

Itd-san wa boeki-gaisha de hataraite iru

Ms Itd works at a trading company

Conditions KREERTHEA

This form can also describe a condition or situation

ZH: RROMPRILOOBBA CLE TH [Rt komu]

A: AY CTA

Tada: Tokyo no chikatetsu wa itsumo konde imasu ne

Mori: Honto desu ne

Tada: Tokyo subways are always crowded

Mori: That’s really true

triết * Ald, Ree AR BEE AUT TET,

Sat6-san wa, toki-doki megane o kakete imasu

Mr Sat6 sometimes wears glasses

BE: WH SAORRBO BARRO TIETHA, [DS

tsuku]

WO: 5 Ci PBC 4hhLHEtAA,

Goto: Yamada-san no heya no denki ga tsuite imasu ne

Yamaguchi: So desu ne Heya ni iru kamo shiremasen ne

Goto: The light’s on in Mrs Yamada’s room

Yamaguchi: So it is Maybe she’s in the room

There are many ways to ask favors and make requests in

Japanese depending on the relationship between the speaker

and hearer The following sections describe some of the

most common patterns

Polite Requests

— THIET EAD BCOREWGERA

™, [544 miru]

—T€C+ S#Z#*\t\# #À LU€S#št›‡##¿

m(1) -te + itadakemasen ka —T + Ute f2 TERAAY

BRI TAECAM, THES CHMEBO TORE

28 | HOW VERBS ARE USED

Ten’in: Sumimasen ga, kochira ni go-jiisho o kaite itadake-

masen ka?

O-kyaku: li desu yo

Store clerk: Excuse me, but would you please write your

address here?

Customer: Okay

m(2) -te + kKudasaimasenka —T+ CE EWEKAD

WHA BAe UTC RAVE AD,

Myéonichi denwa o shite kudasaimasen ka?

Could you please call tomorrow?

m (3) -nai + de itadakemasen ka —75\\ + GCUEEITERAD

GAEtA, TICANAEMHEVYCRLEVY EGA

2>, [I3 sưu]

Sumimasen, koko de tabako o suwanai de itadakemasen ka?

Excuse me, would you please not smoke here?

= (4) -nai + de kudasaimasen ka —73\\+ CC ER SWERAD

ZOITAREBTER CK FEEWKUCAD, [HTS

suteru]

Koko ni gomi o sutenai de kudasaimasen ka?

Would you please refrain from throwing away trash here?

Placing Orders, Requesting Delivery and Repairs, etc

SEMPRE 618 ở £f£@ 5125

(1) -te + hoshii n’ desu (ga) —T+IELBATHF (23)

naoshite hoshii n’ BUTIELIA CTA,

desu ga [E> naosu]

(2) -te + moraitai n’ —T+EBWKRVACT

desu (ga) (2)

todokete moraitai n’ BUTE SVEVACT

desu ga 3`, [J 4 todokeru)

These two largely interchangable forms can be used when

COMMANDS AND PROHIBITIONS | 29 making purchases or asking to have something delivered or repaired

m(1) -te + hoshii n’ desu (ga) —T +tELUATCF (A)

Be : Ate EU TIEL IA CTR, BAS bea ERT FS,

O-kyaku: Tokei o naoshite hoshii n’ desu ga

Ten'in: Chotto misete kudasai

Customer: I'd like to have a watch repaired

Store clerk: Let me take a look at it

u (2) -te + moraitai n’ desu (ga) —T + HOWKWACH (A) The verb moraitai & 5\7:\) is the -tai form of morau B59

BE: SULRAMAY TEGVEVATCTA, SUB LMUCEODELK BRME THEME ES,

O-kyaku: Sushi o gonin-mae todokete moraitai n’ desu ga Sushi-ya: Kashikomarimashita O-namae to go-jiisho o d6zo

Customer: I’d like to have five servings of sushi delivered

Sushi seller: Very well Your name and address, please

HOW VERBS ARE USED

/ RR / + ?¡ È\›

B/S RED

—€ Su ENTS

—#\ 7£ S ‡t

EREWCSH / FB) + ?:

BIND Co ThE EWECAMD, [TRI sun]

Tabako wa soto de sutte kudasaimasen ka

Would you please be so kind as to smoke outside?

To make a negative command—that is, to tell someone not to do something—use the plain negative (-nai) form of

the verb followed by de kudasaimasen ka 7€ < ?Š X\š‡+t 2L

a The negative form is somewhat more polite than the pos- itive form

CIOCHNAERDEWCS KEWEVAD,

Koko de tabako o suwanai de kudasaimasen ka

Would you be so kind as not to smoke here?

= Formal Formal commands can be given with the -te form followed

by kudasai <S ?Š š \3:

z;3t‡?#‡ €2 *€ < ?Z š \ì, Tabako wa soto de sutte kudasai

Please smoke outside

Teachers use this pattern to give directions to students

AA: COMMLAWAKGICLUTK Fk, [FS suru]

PE LILO, bDPNELE,

Kyéshi: Kono shukudai o ashita made ni shite kudasai

32 HOW VERBS ARE USED

Gakusei: Hai, wakarimashita

Teacher: Please do this homework by tomorrow

Student: Okay, I will

The negative command is made with the plain negative

(-nai) form followed by de kudasai @< 72 &\.,

ZCOCHNAERbDEAWCS FSW,

Koko de tabako o suwanai de kudasai

Please do not smoke here

An indirect way of telling people what to do is to use the

formal volitional form Add -mashé — ¥ U & 3 to the -masu/

stem

zz;ï¬t‡?‡€1%\t›# U x5

Tabako wa soto de suimasho

Let’s have people smoke outside

a Informal

The -te form can be used by itself to make informal com-

mands among family or close friends

Hirota: Sono shashin misete

Yamaguchi: Dame yo

Hirota: Hey, show me the picture

Yamaguchi: No way!

The negative version of this form is the plain negative

(-nai) form followed by -de —C

EMILBREWC [ANS taberu]

Sore wa tabenai de

Don’t eat that

The -te form followed by chédai 5 & 5 721) is slightly

more formal than the -te form by itself As in the following

COMMANDS AND PROHIBITIONS

example, adults often use -te + chodai -T + BEF when speaking to children or informally to other people of

an equal or lower status This pattern is more often heard in women’s speech than men’s

BR: S kot Hao TE KGW, [RES tetsudau]

TH: CaP oRBUA<Y POESECH,

Hahaoya: Chotto tetsudatte chédai

Kodomo: Kore kara asobi ni iku kara ato de ne

Mother: Could you help me a bit?

Child: I’m going out to play now I'll do it later

Another type of informal command is formed by adding -nasai —7% & «> after the /-masu/ stem This form is often used

by mothers to their children or by teachers to their students

Hayaku ikinasai

Hurry up

The word kure < # can be used after the -te form as a

blunt command in informal situations It is characteristic of

Tabako wa naka de suwanai de kure

Don’t smoke inside

The particle na % is added after the -masu form to make

an informal command Note that, despite its resemblance to

the negative -nai —%\» suffix, this na z is affirmative It is

characteristic of men’s speech

Hayaku ikina

Hurry up

34 HOW VERBS ARE USED

mBlunt

The following pattern, sometimes called the brusque impera-

tive, is used for very blunt commands It is characteristic of

men’s speech

@ Replace the final -u with -e:

iku — ike §T << > FTF

tatsu — tate WO7r VT

@ Replace the final -ru with -ro:

taberu — tabero BRS? BRA

As shown by the following examples, this blunt impera-

tive is sometimes used rhetorically

RK, Reh, [KES furv]

Ame yo, fure

Fall, O rain!

AAA KM eed, [2% 4S naru]

Ashita tenki ni nare

O, let it be a fine day tomorrow

sutte wa dame desu -te + wa ikemasen sutte wa ikemasen

Informal -te + wa dame da sutte wa dame da -te + wa ikenai sutte wa ikenai

plain form + bekarazu

wrong, or objectionable, so the -te form followed by wa

dame desu t472% CF means that one cannot or should not

do something

BOBO S RATLEDTH Lik< oyogn]

Nami ga takai kara, oyoide wa dame desu

The waves are high, so you shouldn’t go swimming

Another way to say the same thing is with ikemasen \ it

K +t A, the negative potential form of iku {7 <:

BYWBERMA CILAT EA, [Bet nomu]

O-sake o nonde wa ikemasen

You shouldn’t drink alcohol

a Informal

In informal situations, desu C+ becomes da 77:

36 HOW VERBS ARE USED

BABE TCAISPS, BATo TILED [ATS iku]

Taifu ga kite iru kara, umi e itte wa dame da

A typhoon is coming, so you can’t go to the beach

Similarly, ikemasen \3(} H+EA becomes ikenai \ 3L} HW:

WeRA CII AW,

Sake o nonde wa ikenai

Don’t drink alcohol

The next pattern is used more in writing than in conversa-

tion It often appears on warning signs The plain form of the

verb is followed by bekarazu A3 b `:

¿zZicl4ÁA22:b*%,

Koko ni wa hairu bekarazu

Do not enter

BERKoNPSF,

Sake o nomu bekarazu

Alcohol not permitted

Another way to make a strong negative imperative in in-

formal situations is to follow the plain form with the particle

na %:

HOME I &,

Ano hito ni wa au na

Don’t meet that person

Be careful not to confuse this pattern with the affirmative

imperative formed with the -masu form followed by na #%

(see page 33)

Polite Forms #i2

There are two types of polite forms in Japanese: honorific

and humble The honorific form is used to show the speak-

er’s respect toward an older person or a person in a higher

social position The humble form is used when the speaker

talks about himself or herself to a superior

[R< kaku]

0 + /-HRESH + nỉ narw 0-kaki/RBHSN/ nỉ naru

In this form, the honorific prefix o- %— is added before

the /-masu/ stem, which is then followed by the particle ni {= and the verb naru % 4 Since the -masu form of kaku #<

“to write” is kakimasu 4% & ¥, the /-masu/ stem is kaki #8 š and the honorific polite form is okaki nỉ naru 3® š \š #: 5

Gakusei: Sensei, kesa no shimbun o o-yomi ni nari- mashita ka?

Sensei: Hai, yomimashita ga

Student: Teacher, did you read this morning’s newspaper? Teacher: Yes, I did

In the next example, Yamamoto uses the honorific because

he is talking about the company president and his family

LAS: FL RAE RABID TRV ANBEBICE

38 HOW VERBS ARE USED

Yamamoto: They say that the president and his family are

leaving for America at 1:00 p.m

Tanaka: Today? I didn’t know that

= Using the Same Form as the Passive 23 ¢ fh) UC

® kuru — korareru KE ->RKSEHNS

suru — sareru #2 ¬ ă‡Lã

This honorific polite form is the same as the passive form,

sO it is created as shown by the chart above (As mentioned

on page 22, the abbreviation /-#e#/ indicates that -nai is

dropped; in other words, that the /-nai/ stem is used in form-

ing the passive.)

e@ Examples

In the first example, Yamamoto uses the honorific when

talking about the company president

BR : AOR ROPE, DPS?

th: 3 27t°f?2»›UL2ŸEc+† [f4 iku]

Buchö: Nichiyö no shachö no yotei, wakaru?

Yamamoto: Gorufu ni ikareru yotei desu

Division chief: Do you know the president’s schedule for

Sunday?

Yamamoto: She’s scheduled to go play golf

In the next example, Yamamoto uses the honorific be-

cause he is talking to his boss

WAS BECERRA, LSEOFN—} CHRdA

kT, [BD kau]

BRI CIMA, EVER OT IS — b Eda,

Yamamoto: O-taku de wa kagu nado wa, dochira no

depato de kawaremasu ka?

POLITE FORMS

Kacho: S6 né, daitai Shinjuku no depato da ne

Yamamoto: In your family, at which department store do

you buy furniture and things like that?

Section chief: Usually a department store in Shinjuku, I guess

The following example has Yamamoto using the hon-

orific when talking about an older person

FFIVANMM DHE ETI CT (HOBAS

norikaeru, la > mukau]

te ( \AL FIV AE

Yamamoto: Tanaka-san no ot6san wa, Narita de norikae- rarete, Furansu e mukawareru so desu

Kacho: Hé, Furansu made

Yamamoto: I heard that Mr Tanaka’s father will change

planes at Narita and head for France

Section chief: Really, all the way to France!

The honorific is used in the next example because Yama- moto is talking to (and about) his boss

WAS CORMBACHIDIS URIS, ETIMSIEDS

NMELEM, [9654 irassharu, 1k4S tomeru]

ands ES ISR A Ho Tha, STICIEME,

Yamamoto: Kono mae kaisuiyoku ni irashita toki wa,

doko ni kuruma o tomeraremashita ka?

Kacho: Chikaku ni yasui chishajo ga atte ne, soko ni

39

40 HOW VERBS ARE USED

Aoki: Tani-san no okasama mo pati ni koraremasu ka? |

Yasuda: E, korareru daré to omoimasu yo Okasama, o-

' wakai toki ni wa, yoku dansu o sareta so desu yo

Aoki: Will Ms Tani’s mother come to the party, too?

Yasuda: Yes, I think she will I hear that she used to

dance a lot when she was young

O + /-FRERR/ + itashimasu 3ä + /—#ER/ + VE LES

o-yomi/FEBH itashimasu BRA /PR/ ARLES

In the humble polite form, the honorific prefix o- 4- is

added before the /-masu/ stem, which is then followed by the

verb suru $4 (formal: shimasu LUX) For even greater

humility, suru $4 can be replaced by its humble version

itasu \72F (formal: itashimasu wk: LET)

a Examples

In the following example, the student uses a humble form

when talking to the teacher The humble form—not the hon-

orific—is appropriate here because the verb refers to the stu-

dent’s own action

SE MEAIB LET ERIK tetsudau]

RAN > THlLHY BEI,

Gakusei: Watashi ga o-tetsudai shimasu

Kyoshi: Sore wa arigatai na

Student: ll help you

-Teacher: I’m grateful for that

Yamamoto uses the humble form to his boss:

WARS OAV KE a-FCLES, PMB RVACHERA

WeELET, [MAS oshieru]

BE: HIKE CH AMH,

POLITE FORMS Yamamoto: Sono kompyita deshitara, watashi ga tsukai- kata o o-oshie itashimasu

Kacho: Boku ni mo dekiru ka na

Yamamoto: If you need to use that computer, I can teach you how to operate it

Section chief: I wonder if I can do it

In the next two examples, service workers use the humble

form when speaking to their customers

RTORRA : FROBGReEELOLELEGA [k

% toru]

WTS: öfl\šU *† [ER3 negau]

Ryok6 no tenjd-in: Mina-sama no o-shashin o o-tori shi- masho ka?

Ryokésha: Onegai shimasu

Tour conductor: Shall J take a picture of you all?

Tourists: Please do

Note that the tourists and the customer at the florist’s use

onegai suru HAV 4 Although in derivation this phrase

is the humble form of the verb negau ŠR 2, it has become a set expression for making polite requests While these peo- ple would not use other humble forms when speaking to ser-

vice workers, onegai suru %A\ 4 and its variants onegai shitai HAV.U Ze.) and onegai shimasu RAY L EF are

used in nearly all situations to mean “please do this for me.”

41

42 | HOW VERBS ARE USED POLITE FORMS | 43

Irregular Honorific and Humble Forms 243% ¢ Plain Honorific "Humble

Beaman OFAN AZ to drink 7 —

The following table shows the verbs that have irregular hon- en meaning aru, itadaku, itadaki-

orific or humble forms The honorific and humble forms are ALL ne imasu ey,

iku irassharu, irasshaimasu— mairu, mairimasu iu ossharu, osshaimasu mésu, méshimasu

kuru irassharu, irasshaimasu— mairu, mairimasu to know

iru irassharu, irasshaimasu —oru, orimasu Sareru, saremasu

oide ni naru, oide ni kiru o-meshi ni naru, kiru, kimasu

Note: The previously nonstandard otabe ni naru B#NI-%4 has to hear or ask

now become frequently used kiku o-kiki ni naru, ukagau,

Bl < o-kiki ni narimasu ukagaimasu

HOW VERBS ARE USED

BMEICES, fad, fava #

BH #ice yn Es

to visit

tazuneru o-tazune ni naru, ukagau,

Usenet

to sleep

neru O-yasumi ni naru, yasumu, °

BKAILES, Kir, KAET

BKAILE OES

to give

ageru O-age ni naru, sashiageru,

LVS o-age ni narimasu sashiagemasu

to receive

morau o-morai ni naru, itadaku, itadakimasu

POLITE FORMS

= Examples

In the next two examples, Yamamoto uses the honorific

form when talking to his superiors

HịÊ : 2HI‡Rff# €Ê#tZtv5 2U etš# 32, [2

iru]

Rie: VHSRMSSPS, WES ECISE,

Yamamoto: Ky6é wa nanji made kaisha ni irasshaimasu ka? Kacho: Yiigata kaigi ga aru kara, yoru osoku made iru yo Yamamoto: Until what time will you be at the company today?

Section chief: I have a meeting beginning in the early

evening, so I’II be here until late

UA: BR SHAR LLANE, (ANZ taberu] BE: TIER ALSVICHA CERNE SD,

Yamamoto: Buchd, kyé wa nani o meshiagarimasu ka?

Bucho: S6 da ne, hisashiburi ni sushi de mo tabeyo ka

Yamamoto: What would you like to eat today?

Division chief: Let me see Maybe I'll have sushi I haven’t had that for a while

In the next example, Yamamoto and the division chief use

the humble o-me ni kakaru 3% H\“3»2¬ when speaking in reference to themselves and their meeting the company’s

vice-president, who is ranked above them both When in ref- erence to the vice-president and his actions, they use hon- orific forms (ogenki SICA, ikareru TPNS, go-shisatsu ffl

ĐỨ, ossharu È ¬ L ® 4%) Yamamoto also uses the hon- orific nasaru 7% & 4 when talking about the action of the di- vision chief, who is his superior

WAS KODA, ARR EBICS AIP POEL 7% [25 au]

BRI T5, ‡L€7L§( + ? th: 33, #4 HZIcld3—n ¿21A7 ĐEI:tte NEEM, BoLeotTKELEL, [F< iku, 35 iu] BER: SHUSLORIZ, SKOEKBBI OOo THI RAB tr,

th: #32 xš2£Z21(354352* 6 lu ‡ #34 [#6 suru]

45

46 HOW VERBS ARE USED

Yamamoto: Kino wa honsha de, Sato-fukushaché ni o-me

ni kakarimashita

Bucho: S6, sore de o-genki datta?

Yamamoto: E, nandemo getsumatsu ni wa Yoroppa e go-

shisatsu ni ikareru to ka, osshatte ’mashita yo

Buché: Sore ja sono mae ni, chotto o-me ni kakatte oita

hỗ ga ii ka na

Yamamoto: So nasatta hé ga ii ka mo shiremasen ne

Yamamoto: Yesterday I met Vice-President Sat at com-

pany headquarters

Division chief: Is that so? How was he?

Yamamoto: Fine I understand that he’s going to Europe

on an inspection trip at the end of this month

Division chief: Then maybe I should drop in on him be-

forehand

Yamamoto: That might be best

Giving and Receiving #202W\A

The forms for giving and receiving depend on the direction

of the action and the relations of group membership, respect,

and humility among the giver, receiver, and speaker

B<-A Breceives N from A

BwaAniNomoraimasu BIXAILN# 8 5DEF,

When the respect relation between the parties is not im-

portant, the verbs ageru (74, morau $55, and kureru

< 4 are used to describe giving and receiving The choice

of verb depends on whether or not the giver or recipient is in

GIVING AND RECEIVING | 47

the speaker’s group (which, of course, includes the speaker)

If the recipient B is not in the speaker’s group, then the

following is possible (The formal patterns appear on the left, the informal on the right.)

B receives N from A B receives N from A

In the following pattern, the recipient B must be in the speaker’s group:

Awa BniN o kuremasu A wa B ni N o kureru

AlLBILN&@&<nHET, AILBIZEN#<hS,

Another word meaning “give” is yaru 4 This some- what brusque verb is used only when the recipient is much lower in status than the giver—typically, younger brothers

or sisters, plants, and animals

= Formal examples Piss AIF SITE UE,

Otdto wa Tayama-san ni kitte o agemashita

My younger brother gave some stamps to Ms Tayama

Tayama-san wa otéto ni kitte o moraimashita

Ms Tayama received some stamps from my younger brother

BRILAAIC HEARS < MELE,

Haha wa watashi ni y6fuku o kuremashita

My mother gave me some clothes

= Informal examples FEIZKA Po ?e,

48 | HOW VERBS ARE USED

Hana ni mizu o yatta

I gave some water to the flowers

RED 5RBMOUILF LER EGO,

Tomodachi kara kekkon-iwai ni terebi o moratta

We received a television from our friends as a wedding

present

BSAIRILT — FLIER < hee,

Tani-san wa watashi ni kéki to hana o kureta

Tani gave me a cake and some flowers

A>B A does N for B

AwaBniNoverb-te AltitBILN#e —T SI

agemasu kT

B+A_ B receives (the favor) N from A

There are parallel patterns using the -te form to express

the idea of one party doing a favor for another

Here is “A does N for B” when B is not in the speaker’s

group:

A wa B ni N o verb-te agemasu AIkKBIZLN% —T

biy‡+

Next, “B receives (the favor) N from A” when B and the

speaker are in the same group and in a different group from A:

BwaAniNo verb-te moraimasu B ii All N & —T

BEWET, The third pattern is “A does N for B” when B and the

speaker are in the same group:

Polite and Humble Forms #22023

GIVING AND RECEIVING | 49

A wa B nỉ No verb-te kuremasu Ati BIZ N & —T

<tL‡%

u Formal examples

BACAURELBSECRLTHITEUZ

Aoki-san wa tomodachi ni o-kane o kashite agemashita

Ms Aoki lent some money to a friend

Haha wa watashi ni séta o ande kuremashita

My mother knit a sweater for me

u Informal examples

šØ 5 #ÀI‡#R(<SEHE +fE TC ð ?*o

Kinö watashi wa imoto ni ryori o tsukutte ageta

Yesterday I cooked a meal for my little sister

Nishi-san wa otosan ni atarashii kuruma o katte moratta

Mr Nishi had a new car bought for him by his father (I.e., Nishi’s father bought him a new car.)

REIRTOBReRUTS hi

Tomodachi wa watashi ni ryokd no shashin o misete kureta

My friend showed me her travel photos

A>B AgivesNtoB

AwaBniNo sashiagemasu Atk BIZLN® ELH

TES

B«+A Breceives N from A

xử,

50 HOW VERBS ARE USED

WET

When the relative social positions of the parties come into

play, special respectful and humble forms are used To say

“A gives N to B” when B is in a higher social position rela-

tive to A and the speaker, use the humble verb sashiageru &

LOIS:

A wa B ni No sashiagemasu

AIS BIEN @&2ULHITETF,

A gives N to B

To say “B receives N from A” when B and the speaker

are in the same group and are in a lower social position than

A, use the humble verb itadaku \37272<:

BwaAdAniN 0 itadakimasu

BILAICN#WVKEXETF,

B receives N from A

To say “A gives N to B” when B and the speaker are in

the same group and are in a lower social position than A, use

the honorific verb kudasaru < 72% 4:

Awa B ni N o kudasaimasu

AltBICN#<Zàt\›‡ở

A gives N to B

e Examples

MILs AHS, FREELSVELE,

Murayama-san wa sensei ni, shashin o sashiagemashita

Mr Murayama gave a photograph to the teacher

PNLMARIZ, REVEER EL

Watashi wa Hayashi-kydju ni, hon o itadakimashita

I received a book from Professor Hayashi

BES, BICKSE CE SEVELE,

Hayashi-kydju wa, watashi ni hon o kudasaimashita

GIVING AND RECEIVING Professor Hayashi gave me a book

wu The -Te Form

A>B AdoesNforB

A wa Bni No verb-te Al‡4BI:N#ẻ_— sashiagemasu SLHITET

B«+A_B receives (the favor) N from A

A>B AdoesN forB

A wa B ni N o verb-te kudasaimasu

A wa B ni N o verb-te AIRBILN@ =% sashiagemasu SLHVTET, Next, “B receives (the favor) N from A.” Here, B and the speaker are in the same group and are in a lower social posi-

e@ Examples

ASH RIL FMERETE LHIPELK,

Watashi wa shacho ni tegami o yakushite sashiagema- shita

52 HOW VERBS ARE USED

I translated the letter for the president

RIL ay VU VRAIL, ETI ERA TORERELK,

Imoto wa Jonson-sensei ni, piano o oshiete itadaki-

mashita

My younger sister was taught piano by Ms Johnson

Jonson-sensei wa, im6to ni piano o oshiete kudasai

sasete itadaite mo sashitsukae nai deshé ka?

~SHTOEEOTE SLOMPARWCL EDD

sasete X+tT, the -te form of saseru <++4, which itself is the

causative form of suru $4 The first pattern literally means

“Would it be acceptable for you to allow me to do .?”:

sasete itadaite mo yoroshii deshd ka?

Yamaguchi: Dozo, o-tsukai kudasai

Hori: May I have your permission to use this telephone?

Yamaguchi: Please go ahead and use it

MPL AWEOCHMAOSILAMEUE TALEO TES LOMPARWICLEDM., [FS suru]

Kaze o hiita no de, myOnichi no kai ni kesseki sasete itadaite mo sashitsukae nai deshé ka

I’ve caught a cold, so I wonder if it would not be a bother

if you were to allow me to be absent from tomorrow’s meeting

Formal The next three patterns for asking permission are slightly less polite than those given above, though they are still suit- able for most formal situations They all use the -te form of the verb (in these examples it is LT shite, the -te form of

34 | HOW VERBS ARE USED

@ suru) The first pattern could be translated literally as

“Would you mind if I .?”:

Shite mo kamaimasen ka? ~UT&HMmEVETAD,

The next pattern literally means “Would it be all right if

I ?”:

~LUY€Cẻt›ty€3#2›,

The direct meaning of the third pattern is “Would it be

wrong to ~?”:

shite mo ii desu ka?

s Examples

tomeru]

WAR OWUOA, BEZTHOEKERTTE,

Yamada: Koko ni kuruma o tomete mo kamaimasen ka?

Ten’ in: Ie, asoko nara daijabu desu yo

Yamada: Would you mind if I parked my car here?

Shop employee: No, right there is fine

Yamada could also have used the second or third patterns:

CTILHBS IEDM TEU TA,

Koko ni kuruma o tomete mo ii desu ka?

CTILBS EM TILIU ETA,

Koko ni kuruma o tomete wa ikemasen ka?

Informal

The next two patterns are used between close acquaintances

in informal situations The first is the same as the second

formal pattern above without the formal desu ka C32 To

mark it as a question, the phrase is pronounced with a rising

intonation

Shite mo ti? ~LU*€$t»ty?

The second pattern is also pronounced with a rising into-

nation The literal meaning is “Is it wrong if I .2”

Shite wa dame? ~UTILE® ?

uw Example

MAKING AN INVITATION

ABS: FAA Ta TB? [F< ku]

46F : AAA ISHED Taro: Ashita itte mo ti?

Hanako: Ashita wa dame

Taro: Okay if I come over tomorrow?

Hanako: Tomorrow’s no good

oyomi ni nari-

masen ka Formal

/-FRERR/ + mashd Lk/PPRGH/nashö

/-FRASR/ + masho ka Lk/<NŒH/mashõ ka /-FRERR/ + masen ka IkUE4#H/masen ka Informal

O/-W/ +6

IWwW

@ /*W/ + yo mifFR/yo

56 HOW VERBS ARE USED

Polite

To make a polite invitation, use the honorific polite form o +

|-RRESW/ + ni naru, changing the final naru %& 4 to the formal

negative question narimasenka 7%) EtAD

bmAI Ee OKA, [ft yomu]

O-yomi ni narimasen ka

Would you like to read (this)?

u Example

AN DWoULEKE-LEBRAILE DEAD, [Peip

nomu|

AA Cod, KRAELED,

Ogawa: Issho ni biru o o-nomi ni narimasen ka

Kyoshi: Ii desu ne Nomimasho

Ogawa: Would you like to go and have a beer together?

Teacher: That'd be nice Let’s do that

Formal

‘ One way to make an invitation in a formal conversation is

change the -masu — £3 suffix to -mash6 —¥U& 3 This

is called the formal volitional form of the verb Thus {Tf %

+> becomes:

Ikimasho TEEULED [ATS iku]

Let’s go

The question marker ka 2 can be added to make the invita-

tion a bit less direct

Tkimasho ka

Shall we go?

fFXRELEAD, You can also use the formal negative (-masen) followed by ka

Wouldn’t you like to go?

a Examples

WoLeICmMBeAELED

Issho ni eiga o mimasho

EXPRESSING INTENTION | 57 Let’s see a movie together

\12 U ¿I<WEi# R # U + 3 34

Issho ni eiga o mimashé ka

Shall we see a movie together?

\12 +t<Bi # R # tt À2, Issho ni eiga o mimasen ka?

Wouldn’t you like to see a movie together?

Note: Final tsu changes to td

@ Change the final -ru of the plain form to yé:

miru — miyd B4>REI

® kuru —* koyð 35 >#%+5 Suru —* shiyö #á >LU+35

mu Examples

t2 + =RkEi & Rk 2

Issho ni eiga o miyo

Let’s see a movie together

It’s also possible to use the plain negative (-nai) form with a rising tone, so you could also say:

t12 + =Wắi# R và ?

Issho ni eiga o minai?

Do you wanna see a movie?

Expressing Intention BRERTEWUA

The following describes two techniques for expressing one’s intention to do something The first uses the word tsumori

HOW VERBS ARE USED

2, while the second uses the volitional form plus the

verbs omou #5 or kangaeru % & 4 “to think.”

Tsumori 24 Y

Formal

plain form + tsumoridesu BRÖÉẾ + 2Š D€*†

kiku tsumori desu BS OSOTT

Yamamoto: Itsu Amerika e ikimasu ka

Nakata: Rainen iku tsumori desu

Yamamoto: When are you going to America?

Nakata: I plan to go next year

In the next example, Ms Sato drops the copula altogether

and employs a rising intonation for her question Ms Tanaka

replies with the feminine explanatory ending nano 40

EXPRESSING INTENTION

trữ : + PA BEEESZOEO ? FAH: SRRISIt CRNS ODEO EO,

Saté: Komban, donna ryori tsukuru tsumori?

Tanaka: Komban wa soto de taberu tsumori na no

Sato: What do you plan to cook this evening?

Tanaka: I plan to eat out tonight

With Volitional Verbs #332

Formal

® /#/ + 6 to omoimasu, omotte imasu, kangaete imasu

ÂX 5k Ct\à

#* [ÂKÙ nomu]

@ /R/ + yo to omoimasu, omotte imasu, kangaete imasu

dekakeyõ to omotteimasu WattkjieBoT

nomo to omotte imasu

koy6 to omoimasu, koyé

to omotte imasu

Informal

—*33.—+Đ k5 8

DOA, BATS {1z 5k5

-0, -y6 to omou, omotte

When the verbs omou J8 3 and kangaeru # 4.4 are used

to express intention, they follow the informal volitional form

(see page 57) plus to & These verbs make the speaker’s in-

tention seem less definite than with tsumori 2% In this construction, omou i can be used either in the present tense (formal omoimasu B\\*X TF and informal omou B35)

or the present continuous (formal omotte imasu Bo TW

J, informal omotte iru > T\+4) However, kangaeru ¥

4 is used only in the present continuous (formal kangaete

59

60 HOW VERBS ARE USED

imasu 5 Ä*C\#**†, informal kangaefe iru 5 Ä C\14) In

these usages, the two words are basically interchangeable, al-

though omou 45 in its various forms is more widely used

Here are the formal versions with the verb nomu Bt “to

drink.” Its informal volitional form is nomd Kd 3

Nomo to omoimasu Nomo to omotte imasu

I think Pll drink I’m thinking of drinking

REDEBATOET,

I’m thinking of drinking

Here are the informal versions:

Nomo to omotte iru

REAL BIS,

I’m thinking of drinking

Nomo to omou

X2 R52

I think I'l drink

Kyoshi: Daigaku o sotsugy6 shitara, do suru n’ desu ka

Gakusei: Sotsugyo shitara, daigakuin ni ikõ to kangaete

AER: BRR EDL RBCS [HS miru]

Hanako: Nichiyobi, nani suru tsumori?

Taro: Kabuki miyo to omotte ’ru

EXPRESSING WISHES

Hanako: What do you plan to do on Sunday?

Taro: I’m thinking of going to see Kabuki

Expressing Wishes #202 eHRT SUA

-Tai —72\

Formal

/-FREGR/ + tai desu J WRB FIDO CF Lki/J8Htai desu {TE /PF/ ECT /-FRERR/ + taitoomoimasue / EP / + he

Ry Iki/WEH/Iai to omoimasu †r * ⁄/%#///-\ì + R

WET /-RREEH/ + tai to omotte imasu //—3###°/⁄ + ?-\x*

TOES IkEEHldi to omotte tmasu 11 š /3#2P//?-\+ RR

+¬"€\ts‡*+

itte mitai desu Fo TARWI CF

itte mitai to omoimasu To CARLES

62 HOW VERBS ARE USED

Third Person

tabetai —* tabetagaru 8Ậz\t› >âA2-212

The -tai form is used to express wishes and desires in the

first and second person Add -tai —7£\ to the -masu form:

tabeRGSHIai BC /SR/ TV

In formal situations, the -tai form is followed by desu C

3, by to omoimasu & BE TF, or by to omotte imasu LB

QTWEF,

I want to eat

Tabetai to omoimasu ECKVERBVET,

I'd like to eat

Tabetai to omotte imasu EBRRWVERSTRET,

I am thinking of eating (I hope to eat)

To say that you want to try something, use the -te form of

the verb followed by mitai 472\ This pattern is often used

when trying something for the first time

Sore o tabete mitai desu ENEBRTAEWCT,

I’d like to try that

Sore o tabete mitai to ENEBERTARWLE

I think I'd like to try that

I am thinking of trying that

In informal situations, the -tai form is followed by noth-

ing, by to omou & JA 3, or by to omotte iru & a TV 4:

I want to eat

Tabetai to omou

I think I'd like to eat

Tabetai to omotte iru

Sonoda: Natsu yasumi ni nani o shimasu ka

Sase: Shingaporu e itte mitai desu ne

Sonoda: What are you going to do during summer vacation? Sase: I'd like to go to Singapore

Ms Sase could also say:

VVYAR-WAFT a TARVER COEF,

Shingaporu e itte mitai to omotte imasu

I’m thinking that I’d like to go and see Singapore

= Informal examples

I: KAIF SO ?

EWA DY VA R-NAF TAR,

Sonoda: Yasumi ni nani suru no?

Sase: Shingaporu e itte mitai

Sonoda: What’ll you be doing during the vacation?

Sase: I want to go to Singapore

Or:

VYAR-NAT 2 TARVER DTS

Shingap6ru e itte mitai to omotte ’ru

I’m thinking I'd like to go and see Singapore

-Tagaru —7?=2*}

The -tai form is used primarily when speaking in the first or

second person When talking about a third party’s desires or

wishes, replace -tai —72\) with -tagaru —72254

63

64 | HOW VERBS ARE USED CONDITIONALS | 65

HEHE DEBATED EF Note: tatsu — tateba 2 > #ct#

Children are always wanting to eat sweet things taber/-W + eba *tabereba A\5 —> A\†ul‡

Otéto wa atarashii kuruma o kaitagatte imasu suru —sureba #5 > †+u

My younger brother wants to buy a new car

To make the -ba conditional form, drop the final -u of the

plain form + to ii desu(ne) BÉ + LEVY CH (Aa) 2¿i##utyfU 4 kb 3# +

hareru to ii desu ne HAS LWT Ame ga fureba suzushiku narimasu yo

If it rains, it’ ll become cooler

plain form + to ử (ne, nã) — BỞÉ + +ktšv3 (, Xš) Sake o nomeba unten dekinai

hareru to ii ne BS LV 7a If I drink, I can’t drive

followed by to ii desu (ne) H\V3\V¥@F (4a) in formal situa-

tions or to ii (ne, na) & V3\3(4a, 2%) in informal situations: @,@ -tat+ra f—te/ +6

Ame ga hareru to ii ne RR ASH ATS L934, nomu]

It’d be nice if it stopped raining tabeta — tabetara BN > BNKKG [BNS

There are two main strategies for expressing the idea of “if”

mal past tense (-ta) form

-Ba (EOF

= Formal examples

rh: MLE SLED ETA,

nom/ + eba > nomeba Kits — BRIE Tanaka: Renshii shitara jozu ni narimasu ka

66 | HOW VERBS ARE USED EXPRESSING REQUIREMENTS AND OBLIGATIONS | 67

MALEGAES USE, ika/#H/nakeraba ikemasen FT ip / tees / FF ts

If you practice, you’ ll get better,

ika/a/makereba naranai {TD / = / \}†v

ZÃấ8I “f7 L}IŸb 2P ¿ Ñ 2 C3 C R š Là, /-ta/ + nakereba ikenai LAPS + %:\}†vit

HHHN2lf#‡ðu#, 21432? v@U k3, ika/aVnakereba ikenai †T2›//% ⁄* \}‡u Ashita ame ga fureba, gorufu wa yameta hé ga ii desho RÈv v7 t5

If it rains tomorrow, you should cancel the golf

To express “have to,” “must,” or “should,” use the /-nai/ stem followed by nzkereba naranai ? \} †v\ỀX B Z\ (for- Expressing Requirements and Obligations mal: nakereba narimasen 7% \t HIP % 0 KA) or nakereba BEART EWA ikenai Zeit HUF UV tev (formal: nakereba ikemasen ?r L}†}U

iZvalt EA) Here are the forms for suru $4:

7B REVS

— shinakereba narimasen —> U*#\}†u3*x 0 *++^À„

—> shinakereba ikenai —> U#t†‡u#tvš AW

— shinakereba ikemasen => L#\}†LlẰ\šI} #32

HOW VERBS ARE USED

It’s also possible to replace -nakereba with -nakute wa:

shinakute wa naranai L&a< Tae Sta

In colloquial speech, the ending may become nakucha 3%

Watanabe: Ja komban wa hayaku neta ho ga ii desu ne

Ishida: E, demo komban-jii ni kyé no kaigi no hokoku o

kakanakute wa naranai n’ desu yo

Watanabe: Sore wa taihen desu ne

Ishida: I have to take the Shinkansen tomorrow at eight

Watanabe: Then you should get to bed early tonight

Ishida: I know, but sometime tonight I have to write up a

report on today’s meeting

Watanabe: That’s really tough

SDA OT CTP ES 6 [Íf4 iku]

Mo kuji da Sugu ikanakucha

It’s already nine We have to get going

-ta + koto ga aru —7+72eEMSS

atta koto ga aru BokZTemas

To say that one has done something in the past, use the

informal past tense (-ta) form followed by koto ga aru Z&

43% (formal: koto ga arimasu 7 EAH) EF)

DESCRIBING A HABITUAL ACTION | 69

Examples

AGL EEF oR TEMEOACTE, —Bfo thr

BACT Eta

Hirose: Tai e itta koto ga arimasu ka

Kubo: Mada itta koto ga nai n’ desu yo Ichido itte mitai n’ desu kedo ne

Hirose: Have you ever been to Thailand?

Kubo: Not yet, but I’d like to go sometime

BHIAY ERHEACSKEIEMSDVD ETH [BXS

taberu]

yl: —BEUV RSE LE, BMoKETTE,

Ishii: Indo ryéri o tabeta koto ga arimasu ka

Yamazaki: Ichido dake tabemashita Karakatta desu yo

Ishii: Have you ever eaten Indian food?

Yamazaki: Just once It was really spicy

Describing a Habitual Action Bi(22RT EW

(1) plain form+kotomoaru K+ Ch bH4 miru koto mo aru Rj2#kt¿»42 (2) plain form + koto ni shite iru KB + TEI UTS yomu koto ni shite iru mee KIS UTWIS

tabetari nondari suru ERKORAED TS

Here are the three ways to describe a habitual or repeated action

(1) Koto mo arwu — & #8

To say that you do something occasionally, use the plain

form followed by koto mo aru 7& § #@ (formal: koto mo arimasu ZL & HOVE).

70 | HOW VERBS ARE USED

= Formal examples

REA CRE RNT ICSE TES HBOET

Tokidoki asagohan o tabezu ni kaisha e iku koto mo ari-

masu

Sometimes I go to work without eating breakfast

= Informal examples

HiỆHI+7—^4##† 4/22,

Nichiyobi wa tenisu o suru koto mo aru

I occasionally play tennis on Sundays

(2) Koto ni shite iru TEIZL TUS

To say that you consciously make a habit of doing some-

thing, use the plain form followed by koto ni shite iru Z Liz

UCTS (formal: koto ni shite imasu T LIZ UTWEF),

This can often be translated as “make a point of doing”:

hashiru koto ni shite iru

ESTLIZULTIA

to make a point of running

= Formal example

BARE CBUOTCHS TEI UTIIEF,

Mai-asa eki made aruite iku koto ni shite imasu

I make a point of walking to the station every morning

= Informal example

(AM EMIS, 24 7 CaaS BCBS TEISUTIIS,

Kojin-teki na tegami wa, taipu de wa naku te de kaku koto

ni Shite iru

I make a point of writing personal letters by hand, not

typing them

(3) -Tari -fari suru ~~—†= L ~—]†- U d.¿ ——

To say that there are several things you do habitually, add -ri

—) to the informal past tense (-ta) forms of the verbs, with

the last verb followed by suru $4 (formal: shimasu L ¥ 4):

EXPRESSING ABILITY | 71 tabetari nondari suru EBCN?720RKAF OFS

to eat, drink, etc

There are two main strategies for saying that one is able to

do something, the pattern koto ga dekiru 7LAXCHS and the potential form

Koto ga dekiru — t bÌ%G % &

plain form + kofo ga dekiru RIG + CEACHS iku koto ga dekiru {F< TEMBCHS

The plain form of the verb is followed by koto ga dekiru

¿ È3‡€ š á (formal: koto ga dekimasu 2 LACH ETF):

= Formal example

Bi CPHWTSCEMCEETA,

Denwa de yoyaku suru koto ga dekimasu ka

Can you make reservations by telephone?

72 | HOW VERBS ARE USED

a Informal example

BRCPHTSTEATES

Denwa de yoyaku suru koto ga dekiru

You can make reservations by telephone

Note that in reference to sports and language the form

noun ga dekiru is often used For example,

ACR ETA,

Eigo ga dekimasu ka

Can you (do you) speak English?

Another way to express ability is with the verb’s potential

form, which is derived as follows:

® Drop the final -u of the plain form and add -eru:

iku — ikeru {7 < > TUS

tatsu —tateru 2> Cá

Note that final -tsu becomes -te

@ Drop the final -ru —4 of the plain form and add -rareru

—5n4:

Suzuki: Can you come early tomorrow?

Division chief: Yes, I can What’s up?

Note 1: The Changing Potential Form Recently many people omit the ra 5 from the potential suffix for Group 1 verbs and the irregular verb kuru %4, producing:

tabereru #\%.4 (instead of taberareru #N5H4) koreru ®#.4 (instead of korareru K5H4)

Although this shorter form is frowned upon by some grammarians, it has become common in speech, especially among young people, and is even seen in informal writing such as advertising copy The following are some typical ex- amples from casual conversations:

AY: COBB RCO ARTEL & 5B da,

RBI ARK FPSCEAHNSE, [R3 miru]

Tomoko: Kono eiga mitai n’ da kedo, md osoi wa ne

Jiré: Daijobu, ima kara de mo mireru yo

Tomoko: I want to see this movie, but it’s already too late Jird: It’s okay There is still time to see it

BAS th ECRAN4AD ? [BSB taberu]

We HANS +

Matsumoto: Sore, nama de tabereru no?

Ochi: Tabereru yo

Matsumoto: Can you eat that raw?

Ochi: Sure you can

= Note 2: The Praising Potential

In colloquial speech, some potential verbs such as ikeru \\t

4 and hanaseru ait 4 may indicate that something is good

or worthwhile

COR, BPEAUISU Steir, [VS iku]

Kono sake, nakanaka ikeru ja nai

This saké is pretty good, huh?

SRORR, HtSOK, [98S hanasu]

Kondo no kacho, hanaseru no yo

74 HOW VERBS ARE USED

The new section chief is someone you can talk to

Pe SRAM A TI Eta, [HD tsukau]

Tanaka to iu shinjin wa tsukaeso da ne

It looks like that new employee Tanaka will work out well

EOKR-NWNY, BYETD [B< kaku]

Sono bérupen, kakemasu ka

Does that ballpoint pen write well?

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

b5) c H Đã]

Many Japanese verbs can be grouped into transitive/intransi-

tive pairs Most verbs ending in -su are transitive, but other-

wise there are no hard-and-fast rules for forming transitive

verbs from intransitive verbs or vice versa The following

table shows several common patterns

muku JB]S to turn

toward

ugoku 8)< to move tobu FR& to fly

naku Wi < to cry

au &% to match mau #5 to dance

okiru #2 % 4 to get up ochiru %% @ to fall oriru fe) 4 to get down

Transitive akeru FAlt 4 to open

tsukeru Dit % to stick to mukeru (aty 4 to turn toward

ugokasu $a F to move tobasu 7&\Ÿ'† to set flying

nakasu 3W2»'† to make

(someone) cry awasu ‡b› to match

mawasu #bT to cause to dance okosu #22 to rouse otosu %& F to drop orosu Ÿ# 2 3Ÿ to lower

TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS | 75 Pattern Intransitive

-eru — -asu— akeru AAIt 4 to

become light nigeru ¥E\t 4 to flee

-eru — -yasu hieru Y3 Š to

become cool fueru 38% 4 to

increase moeru lÄ 3 4 to burn

-reru — -rasu đr€rH Tu to

be devastated okureru ɆtŠ to

come off

Transitive

akasu a> to reveal

nigasu XA SF to let go hiyasu i? > to make cool

fuyasu 34°? F to increase

moyasu tk? F to set fire to

arasu x25 F to devastate

okurasu 32 5 $ to delay

ageru t5 to ralse

atsumeru 4% to collect

sageru Pi¥4 to lower kaeru & 4 4 to change sueru #24 4 to set

down tsutaeru {<3 3 tO

convey

oru #f4 to break

wuru ZE5 to sell nugu R S to take off

Using Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in Sentences

hepa & BBO RA

The basic structure of a sentence with an intransitive verb is:

76 | HOW VERBS ARE USED

Transitive verbs (with the subject often omitted) take di-

rect objects The basic sentence pattern is:

(subject +) direct object + o + verb

The subjects of intransitive verbs are often inanimate ob-

jects, while the subjects of transitive verbs are almost always

people, organizations, animals, or other animate objects

These patterns are summarized in the following table:

in -su — J are transi-

tive

Subject + direct object +

In the following examples, the pronoun watashi # is as-

sumed to be the subject of the sentence when no subject is

stated in Japanese In context, of course, the actual subject

T let the air in

TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS | 77 Intransitive

Mizu ga deru

KAS Water comes out (of the

The light goes out

(Watashi ga) asa okiru

78 HOW VERBS ARE USED

Intransitive

Keshiki ga utsuru

REMES

The scenery appears

(in the photo)

I burn the paper

Some further examples with longer sentences

Please stop the car at that

Intransitive Verb 4 Si"

(formal: imasu \}* 7) if the verb is intransitive and shows

nothing more than a continuous state of being, and by aru 4

% (formal: arimasu 40 £7) if the verb is transitive and shows purposeful action that has led to the present state of

being

Intransitive Verb Examples

A SA ORMBOBR, OWT ETA, [D<

Tanaka: The lights are on in Mr Yamada’s room.