Verbs

7.3. Verbs

7.3.1. Group I and Group II

Japanese verbs are divided into two groups with different inflection styles. One group is called the Group I verbs, the -u verbs, the Godan verbs, the consonant verbs, and the strong verbs. The other is called the Group II verbs, the -ru verbs, the Ichidan verbs, the vowel verbs, and the weak verbs. I use the terms Group I and Group II here. Other than the two groups, Japanese has two irregular verbs.

Japanese has two tenses - the nonpast tense, which is used for both present and future, and the past tense. All the Japanese verbs end with the vowel "u" when used in the nonpast tense. Group II verbs always end with either "-iru" or "-eru". The two irregular verbs are

"suru" and

"kuru", which have different inflection from each other.

A verb consists of a stem and a suffix. The stem never changes, but suffixes can change. In English, a verb's stem is its nonpast form, and you can make the past form with the suffix -ed, such as learn - learned. You can make the gerund with the suffix -ing, such as learn - learning.

The final "-u" in the nonpast form of a Group I verb is the suffix, and the rest is the stem. The stem of a Group I verb always ends with a consonant. The final "-ru" in the nonpast form of a Group II verb is the suffix, and the rest is the stem. The stem of a Group II verb always ends with either "i" or "e".

The first "s" is the stem of the irregular verb

"suru", and the first "k" is the stem of the irregular verb

"kuru".

This is a table of nonpast form examples:

Group

Verb

Stem

Suffix

Meaning

Group I


ha	na	su

hanas

-u

speak


ki	ku

kik

listen to


o	yo	gu

oyog

swim


ta	tu

tat

stand up


u	ru

sell


a	ra	u

araw ^*

wash


si	nu

sin

die


to	bu

tob

fly


yo	mu

yom

read

Group II


mi	ru

-ru

watch


o	ti	ru

oti

fall


ne	ru

sleep


ta	be	ru

tabe

eat

suru


su	ru

-uru

kuru


ku	ru

-uru

come

* The last "w" guarantees that all Group I verbs have a stem that ends with a consonant. Since Japanese doesn't have "wi", "wu", "we", or "wo", these phonemes become "i", "u", "e", and "o" respectively. In this case, the stem "araw" and the suffix "u" makes "arau", not "arawu". Whenever you use a Group I verb which ends with a vowel and "u", assume the hidden "w" before the final "u". For example, the stem of the verb

"iu" (means say) is "iw", not "i".

When you Romanize a Japanese verb, do not use a circumflex for the suffix. For example, the Group I verb

(eat) is Romanized as "kuu", not "kû".

All the Group II verbs end with either "-iru" or "-eru", but verbs which end with these suffixes are not necessarily Group II verbs. Some are Group I verbs, which end with "-u".

Here are examples of Group I verbs with the ending of "-iru" or "-eru":

Group

Verb

Stem

Suffix

Meaning

Group I


si	ru

sir

-u

know


ha	si	ru

hasir

run


ha	i	ru

hair

enter


ka	e	ru

kaer

go back, return


su	be	ru

suber

slide, skate, ski


sya		be	ru

syaber

chat

The verb

"suru" can combine with a noun to make a verb which is related to the noun.
Here is an example:

Kana:
Romanization:	be	n	kyô
Meaning:	study (noun)

Kana:
Romanization:	be	n	kyô	su	ru
Meaning:	study (verb)

7.3.2. Polite forms

Japanese has a plain mode and a polite mode. To make a sentence polite, add the suffix

"masu" to the verb at the end of the sentence. It is good to write it as "-(i)masu" to show how it is connected to a verb. If the stem of a verb ends with a vowel, add "-masu". If the stem ends with a consonant, add "-imasu" because Japanese doesn't allow a consonant that is not followed by a vowel. In other words, add "-masu" to Group II verbs, and add "-imasu" to Group I verbs,

"suru", and

"kuru".

The suffix

"masu" also works like a verb. For example, it has a past form. Its stem is "mas", and "-u" is the suffix for the nonpast form. It has irregular inflection. It cannot be an independent verb, and it must be added to a verb.

Here are examples of polite forms:

Group

Plain nonpast form

Polite nonpast form

Group I


ha	na	su


ha	na	si	ma	su


ki	ku


ki	ki	ma	su


o	yo	gu


o	yo	gi	ma	su


ta	tu


ta	ti	ma	su


u	ru


u	ri	ma	su


a	ra	u


a	ra	i	ma	su


si	nu


si	ni	ma	su


to	bu


to	bi	ma	su


yo	mu


yo	mi	ma	su

Group II


mi	ru


mi	ma	su


o	ti	ru


o	ti	ma	su


ne	ru


ne	ma	su


ta	be	ru


ta	be	ma	su

suru


su	ru


si	ma	su

kuru


ku	ru


ki	ma	su

Please remember actual sounds are sometimes different from what you might expect from the spellings. The verb

has a pronunciation of "tatsu", and its polite form

has a pronunciation of "tachimasu". You can easily derive "tatimasu" from "tatu" and "-(i)masu", but it would be difficult to derive "tachimasu" from "tatsu" and "masu". This is why I use Kunrei Romanization in my site.

Polite mode is recommended when you talk or write to a person who is not so close or who has a higher position than you. Plain mode is better when you talk to people such as your family and close friends, and it is also better when you write text written for a general readership such as novels, articles, theses, etc. You cannot use both of the modes at the same time in a document. Once you begin writing, go on with the mode you use for the first sentence. Native Japanese speakers think in plain mode.

Please note that the polite form of a verb doesn't mean doing politely what the verb means. The polite form stands for the speaker's politeness to the addressee. (The speaker and the addressee are grammatical terms. The speaker is a person who sends a sentence, i.e. a person who speaks or writes. The addressee is a person who receives the sentence, such as a person the speaker is talking to. I will often use the terms in later chapters.)

You will learn relative clauses, but it is not allowed to use

for verbs in relative clauses. It is only used for the last verb of sentences. I will explain it again later.

If at first you find polite mode too difficult, use only plain mode until you are more advanced. But keep in mind using plain mode for people who are not so close is rude. To avoid this problem, form a sentence in plain form, then add the magic word

"desu" at the end of the sentence. It often produces grammatically incorrect sentences, but they will be understandable and still polite. I will explain how to use the word

properly in a later chapter.

7.3.3. Past forms

Adding the suffix

"ta" to a verb makes the past form. It is good to write it as "-(i)ta" to show how it connects to verbs. The meaning of the "(i)" is the same as that in "-(i)masu". So use "ta" for Group II verbs, and use "ita" for Group I verbs,

"suru",

"kuru", and the polite suffix

"masu".

For ease of pronunciation, Group I verbs change the phonemes when they are combined with

. The last phoneme of the stem determines how it changes the phonemes.

Nonpast form ending	Past form ending	Description
-su	-sita	s + (i)ta = sita (no change)
-ku	-ita	k + (i)ta = kita, then it is changed to ita
-gu	-ida	g + (i)ta = gita, then it is changed to ida
-tu	-tta	t + (i)ta = tita, then it is changed to tta
-ru		r + (i)ta = rita, then it is changed to tta
-wu^*		w + (i)ta = wita, then it is changed to tta
-nu	-nda	n + (i)ta = nita, then it is changed to nda
-bu		b + (i)ta = bita, then it is changed to nda
-mu		m + (i)ta = mita, then it is changed to nda

* Remember the hidden "w".

There is no other kana that can be the last one of Group I verbs. Note that only Group I verbs change the phonemes.

There is an exception to this table. The verb

"iku" (means go) has a stem which ends with "k", so you may expect it to have

"iita" as the past form, but actually its past form is

"itta".

Here are examples of past forms:

Group

Nonpast form

Past form

Verb

Meaning

Verb

Meaning

Group I


ha	na	su

speak


ha	na	si	ta

spoke


ki	ku

listen to


ki	i	ta

listened to


o	yo	gu

swim


o	yo	i	da

swam


ta	tu

stand up


ta	t	ta

stood up


u	ru

sell


u	t	ta

sold


a	ra	u

wash


a	ra	t	ta

washed


si	nu

die


si	n	da

died


to	bu

fly


to	n	da

flew


yo	mu

read


yo	n	da

read

Group II


mi	ru

watch


mi	ta

watched


o	ti	ru

fall


o	ti	ta

fell


ne	ru

sleep


ne	ta

slept


ta	be	ru

eat


ta	be	ta

ate

suru


su	ru


si	ta

did

kuru


ku	ru

come


ki	ta

came

-masu


ma	su


ma	si	ta

* This is not a verb but a verbal suffix for polite mode.

When you want to make a polite past form, make a verb polite first, then change it to the past form. For instance, if you want the polite past form of the verb

"tobu", change it to the polite form

"tobimasu", then change it to the past form

"tobimasita". This is because the politeness suffix

"masu" has a past form but the past suffix

"ta" doesn't have a polite form.

Further readings:

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