Part I: Verbs, Verb Types and Verb Conjugation
In Japanese, verbs in and of themselves can be the most frustrating to deal with in the entire language (besides kanji). There are several different forms that verbs take on in Japanese sentences (perhaps even more than English). We'll only be learning the basics here, though, so no need to panic just yet.
The first thing to know about verbs in Japanese is that there are essentially three types of verbs: u-verbs, ru-verbs, and irregular verbs. U-verbs and ru-verbs will be most of the new verbs you'll be learning through these lessons, but irregular verbs have a substantial place as well (why will become apparent soon).
I-A: U-Verbs
U-verbs can snap apart to form the verb stem and the suffix う. Conjugations are formed by taking the verb stem, dropping the suffix and adding either ~います or ~いません.
Ex. 行く/いく (iku) — to go
Verb Stem: Ik-
Dictionary/Plain From: 行く
Present Affirmative: 行きます
Present Negative: 行きません
Some consider these verbs a bit more difficult conjugation-wise than their ru-verb counterparts because of the extra vowel, but once you get used to it, it's easy.
I-B: Ru-Verbs
Ru-verbs snap apart forming the verb stem and the suffix る. Conjugation is the same as with u-verbs, except they take on the suffixes ~ます and ~ません.
Ex. 見る/みる (miru) — to look; see; watch
Verb Stem: 見
Dictionary/Plain Form: 見る
Present Affirmative: 見ます
Present Negative: 見ません
The thing to remember about both sets is their conjugation pattern. Since the two sets conjugate differently, it's important to learn groups of verbs as a set rather than just memorizing the dictionary form. (i.e. かえる—かえります [u-verb]; ねる—ねます [ru-verb]).
One way to tell for definite that a verb you're learning is an u-verb is to look at the vowel before the suffix. If it's あ, お or う, it's definitely an u-verb. Unfortunately, there's no such trick for ru-verbs. From now on, I'll be grouping the new verbs we learn according to type (like I did in this lesson's vocabulary section), but be sure to double check when you study on your own.
I-C: Irregular Verbs
There are two irregular verbs in Japanese: する (to do) and くる (to come). These verbs, especially する, are used to make compound verbs, but can also stand on their own.
する くる
Verb Stem: し Verb Stem: き
Dictionary Form: する Dictionary Form: くる
Present Affirmative: します Present Affirmative: きます
Present Negative: しません Present Negative: きません
Did you notice why these verbs are called irregular verbs? By logic's standard, one would consider these u-verbs (as they follow the rule explained in the last section), but these verbs are always conjugated this way no matter what. They also get some crazy treatment in other forms that we'll study in later lessons. The only thing is that there are words that are similar to くる in the language and you have to be careful to conjugate those appropriately. We'll discuss these as they come up.
