Japanese verb conjugation is a bit more complicated than English because we rely heavily on helper words to change the meaning of verbs, whereas Japanese relies more heavily on suffixes. Japanese verb structure also mirrors the society's class driven structure. If someone is above or below you in station (or life), you speak to them using different verb forms.
~ます Forms
If someone is your boss, a year (or more) older, been at a job longer, or you just want to be polite, you speak to them using the polite (also called formal, ていねい) form. Many other verb forms are also derived from the polite ~ます form, so we will be starting here.
| |
Positive |
Negative |
| Present |
~ます |
~ません |
| Past |
~ました |
~ませんでした |
~ます form is the present positive form.
まけます
Lose.
ます - す + せん = ません
~ません is the present negative form.
まけません
Do not lose.
ます - す + した = ました
~ました is the past positive form.
まけました
Lost.
ません + で + した = ませんでした
~ませんでした is the past negative form.
まけませんでした
Did not lose.
~ます has 2 other forms: "Let's~!" and "Shall we~?"
ます - す + しょう = ましょう
~ましょう means "Let's ~!"
まけましょう
Let's lose.
ますせん + か = ませんか
~ませんか means "Shall we ~?"
まけませんか
Shall we lose?
~たい Form
The ~たい form is used to express the desire to do (or not to do) something.
Removing ~ます and adding ~た~ changes from ~ます to ~たい form.
| |
Positive |
Negative |
| Present |
~たい |
~たくない |
| Past |
~たかった |
~たくなかった |
~ます - ます + たい = たい
~たい is the present positive form.
しゅっちょうしたい
Want to go on a business trip
たい - い + くない = たくない
~たくない is the present negative form.
しゅっちょうしたくない
Do not want to go on a business trip
たい - い + かった = たかった
~たかった is the past positive form.
しゅっちょうしたかった
Wanted to go on a business trip
たくない - い + かった = たくなかった
~たくなかった is the past negative form
しゅっちょうしたくなかった
Did not want to go on a business trip.
Like ~たい form, drop ます for the following.
~ へ ~ にいきますmeans "Go to ~ and ~."
としょかんへよみにいきます
Go to the library to read.
~ へ ~ にかえります means "Return to ~ and ~."
うちへよみにかえります
Return to my house to read.
~ へ ~ にきます means "Come to ~ and ~."
こうえんへあそびにきます
Come to the park to play.
~て Form
The rules for the Informal Forms are decided by a verb's ~て group, making it the next logical form to cover. ~た form follows the same rules as ~て form, just swap "て" for "た". We will cover the た form in more detail in the Informal Forms section below.
~て form is derived from ~ます form, by removing ます and either changing the last character or just adding て.
By itself, it is the imperative (also called command) form and is used to tell someone to do something.
The official groups are:
1. い
2. え, い special
3. します, きます
Nothing is ever really that simple, though. I've broken them into groups based on their final form.
Note: The difference between し and します verbs is, can the part of the word before "します" stand alone?
I.E. せいちょうします's せいちょう is its own word with the same meaning, whereas はなします's はな is not its own word.
(Yes, はな means flower, but it is a completely different meaning from はなします.)
Verbs ending in え、い special、し、します、and きます
まけます - ます + て = まけて
Lose -> Lose!
たります - ます + て = たりて
Be enough -> Be enough!
おもいだします - ます + て = おもいだして
Reminisce ->
しゅっちょうします - ます + て = しゅっちょうして
Go on a business trip -> Go on a business trip!
きます - ます + て = きて
Come -> Come!
Verbs ending in い、り、and ち
ならいます - います + って = ならって
Learn -> Learn!
のぼります - ります + って = のぼって
Climb -> Climb!
かちます - ちます + って = かって
Win -> Win!
Verbs ending in き
あるきます - きます + いて = あるいて
Walk -> Walk!
Verbs ending in ぎ
いそぎます - ぎます + いで = いそいで
Hurry -> Hurry!
Verbs ending in み and び
のみます - みます + んで = のんで
Drink -> Drink!
あそびます - びます + んで = あそんで
Play -> Play!
The ~て form is more than just the command form. It changes depending on what you add after it.
~てください means "Please ~ ."
きて ください
Please come
~てもいいですか means "May I ~ ?"
わたしは(wa)きて もいいですか
May I come?
~ています means "(Currently) ~ing."
きて います
(currently) coming
~てはいけません means "Must not ~ ."
きては(wa)いけません
Must not come
~て~て ~ます means "Immediately after ~ do ~ then ~. "
たべて シャワーをあびて ねます
(immediately after) Eat, then shower, then sleep.
~てから~ます means "Somtime after ~ , ~ ."
たべてから テレビをみます
Sometime after eating, watch TV.
The next three forms are all expressions of gratitude.
~ は ~てくれます means "~ does ~ for me."
はは は(wa)せんたくして くれます
My mom does laundry (for me).
(Only used when the action is for yourself)
~ は ~ に ~て あげます means "~ does ~ for ~ ." (Give)
はは は(wa) ちちにせんたくして あげます
My dad is grateful that my mother did the laundry for him.
Note: There is no real equivalent in English for "~ は ~ に ~て あげます"
It is to gratefully give an action to someone
Something like "My father is grateful my mother gave doing the laundry to him."
~ は ~ に ~て もらいます means "~ does ~ for ~ ." (Receive)
はは は(wa) ちちにせんたくして もらいます
My mother is grateful that my dad did laundry for her.
Note: There is no real equivalent in English for "~ は ~ に ~て もらいます"
It is to gratefully receive an action from someone
Something like "My mother gratefully received my dad doing the laundry"
Informal Forms
The Informal (ふつ) Forms are for addressing people close to you, like friends, or people below you in station, like a work subordinate. These forms consist of dictionary form (じしょけ), the ~な forms, and ~た form, making it less cohesive than the previous sets.
| |
Positive |
Negative |
| Present |
~じしょ |
~ない |
| Past |
~た |
~なかった |
Dictionary form (じしょけ) also depends on the て group.
For い special and え drop ます and add る.
For い, き, ぎ, り, び, ち, and し, change from the い sound to the う sound.
I.E. い -> う
き -> く
します and きます become する and くる respectively.
Dictionary form (じしょけ) is the present positive form.
まけます - ます + る = まける
To lose
のぼります - ります + る = のぼる
To climb
しゅっちょうします - します + する = しゅっちょうする
To go on a business trip
きます - きます + くる = くる
To come
Dictionary form can be combined with こと~ to change the meaning.
~ことができます means "Can (do) ~ ."
いそぐことができます
Can hurry
~ことができません means "Cannot (do) ~ ."
いそぐことができますせん
Cannot hurry
~ことがです means "Usually (do) ~ ."
いそぐことがです
Usually hurry
As mentioned previously, ～た form follows the same rules as ~て form.
~た form is the past positive form.
まけた
Lost
ならった
Learned
おもいだした
あるいた
Walked
いそいだ
Hurried
のんだ
Drank
~た form's meaning also changes depending on what you add after it.
~たことがあります means "Have experienced ~ ."
きたことがあります
Have come
~たり ~たりします means "Usually (do) ~ and ~ ."(In no particular order)
どようびにせんたくしたりかいものしたりします
On Saturdays I usually do laundry and go shopping
(In no particular order)
With the ~な~ forms, for え, い special, します, and きます て groups, drop "ます" and add "な~"
For り, ち, し, き, ぎ, み, and び groups the い sound becomes あ
I.E. り -> ら
For い て group, い -> わ
~ない form is the present negative form.
まけます - ます + ない = まけない
Do not lose
のぼります - ります + らない = のぼらない
Do not climb
ならいます - います + わない = ならわない
Do not learn
ない - い + かった
~なかった Is the past negative form.
まけない - い + かった = まけなかった
Did not lose
のぼらない - い + かった = のぼらなかった
Did not climb
ならわない - い + かった = ならわなかった
Did not learn
The ~な forms' meaning also changes depending on what you add after them.
~ないでください means "Please don't ~ ."
こないでください
Please don't come
~なければなりません means "Must (do) ~ ."
こないければなりません
Must come
~なくてもいいです means "Don't have to (do) ~ ."
こないくてもいいです
Don't have to come
Formal Possibility
Forms
The Possibility Forms are for giving permission to do something. Like the Informal Forms, these forms consist of dictionary form, the ~な forms, and ~た form
Note: Converting "ません" to ~ない form changes from formal to informal.
| |
Positive |
Negative |
| Present |
~>Dictionaryかもしれません |
~ないかもしれません |
| Past |
~たかもしれません |
~なかったかもしれません |
Dictionary form + かもしれません is the present positive form.
いそぐかもしれません
Might hurry
~ない + かもしれません is the present negative form.
いそがないかもしれません
Might not hurry
~た + かもしれません is the past positive form.
いそいだかもしれません
Might have hurried
~なかった + かもしれません is the past negative form.
いそがなかったかもしれません
Might not have hurried