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Verb Groups
Japanese verbs are divided into three groups based on the
last syllable of the basic (dictionary) form. You need to know
which group a verb belongs to in order to produce the
conjugated forms.
Grouping rules:
Group 1:
Verbs in group 1 end with the syllable ru (る), with the
preceding syllable containing the vowels e or i. Some
exceptions are kaeru (帰る "return home"), hashiru (走る
"run"), kiru (切る "cut"), iru (要る, "need"), and hairu (入る
"enter").
Group 2:
Verbs in group 2 end with
syllables ku (く), gu (ぐ), su (す), mu (む), nu (ぬ), bu (ぶ), u
(う), tsu (つ), or ru (る). Verbs ending in ru (る) contain the
vowels u, o or a in the preceding syllable. Some exceptions
are kaeru (帰る "return home"), hashiru (走る "run"), kiru (切
る "cut"), iru (要る, "need"), and hairu (入る "enter").
Group 3:
Verbs in group 3 are suru (する "do") or kuru (くる "come").

Potential form
This verb form expresses a certain ability of the Topic or the possibility
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of an event.
How to derive the Potential form:

 Group 1: Change the final る to られる

 Group 2: Change the final vowel u to e and add る
 Group 3: くる→こられる、する→できる
できる is really not the potential form of the verb する. できる
individual verb. Since できる already exists, it can be used as the
potential form of the verb する.
How to use the form:
The following sentence is an example in which an ability of the Topic is
expressed. The Direct Object should be marked by が instead of
this construction.
がくせい かん じ か
あの 学生は漢字が書けます。
'That student can write Kanji.'
The following example indicates that the form may be used to express
the possibility of an event.
とうきょう い
あのバスで 東京 に行けます。
'You can go to Tokyo by that bus.'
Some verbs that refer to a condition or event that a person has no
control over lack the potential forms （ある ("possess"), 分かる（わか
"understand"）, 雨が降る（あめがふる "rain"）, 下さる（くださる）、
いる （"need"））.
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Passive Form
This verb form has three functions:
1. The regular passive (the Topic of the passive sentence
is normally in the Object place in an active sentence)
2. The affective passive (the speaker wants to express an
event that he or she finds undesirable)
3. The speaker shows respect to the Topic of the
sentence.
How to derive the Passive form:

 Group 1 and Group 2: Change the final

vowel u to a and add れる
 Group 3: くる→こられる、する→される
There is no passive form for stative and honorific verbs: e.g.
ある ("exist"), いる ("need"), くださる (honorific "give me").
Consider the single vowel u （う） at the end of certain
verbs such as kau （かう） as having the hidden
consonant w before the vowel u. In other words, the original
form of kau （かう） is ka(w)u. For instance, the passive
form of the verb かう is かわれる rather than かあれる.
How to use the form:
The following sentence illustrates the affective passive:
わたし はは ともだち て がみ よ
私 は母に友達からの手 紙 を読まれました。
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'I was disturbed that my mother read a letter from my friend.'

The following is an example of a regular passive:
お
ほん ひと よ
お
こ
の 本は多くの人に読まれています。
'This book is read by many people.'
This verb form also expresses the speaker’s respect
towards the Topic of the sentence.
かあ こ
さん
お母 が 来られました。
'Your mother is here.'

Causative Form
This verb form expresses that one person causes another person do
something.
How to derive the Causative form:
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 Group 1: Change the final る to させる

 Group 2: Change the final vowel u to a and add せる
 Group 3: くる→こさせる、する→させる
Consider the single vowel u （う） at the end of certain verbs such
as kau （かう） as having the hidden consonant w before the vowel
In other words, the original form of kau （かう） is ka(w)u. For examp
the causative form of the verb かう is かわせる rather than かあせる
How to use the form:
The causative form is used in a sentence to express that the Topic
makes, forces, or lets the other do something.
The following sentence expresses that the Topic makes the Object do
something:
せんせい がくせい に ほん ご つか
先生 は学生に日本語を使わせます。
'The teacher makes his students use Japanese.'
In the following sentence, the Topic forces the other person do
something (the use of the particle を rather than に after the noun
indicating the other person, in this case, gives the sense of "forcing").
ちち わたし にほん い

父は 私 を日本に行 かせました。
'My father forces me to go to Japan.'
In Japanese, when someone does someone else a favor, one of the
giving verbs must follow the causative verb:
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はは わたし にほん りゅうがく

母は 私 に日本に 留学 させてくれました。
'My mother allowed me to study in Japan.'
There is no causative form for honorific verbs: e.g. いらっしゃる
("be/go/come"), おっしゃる ("say")、くださる ("give me"). There is als
no causative form for stative verbs:　e.g. ある ("need"), いる
Also, some verbs have morphologically related verbs that already have
the causative meaning (e.g. 起（お）きる "wake up") has 起（お）こす
"wake someone up").

Causative-Passive Forms

The causative-passive form is used for the passive

form of causative sentences.
How to derive the Causative-passive form:
If you are familiar with the formation of the causative
verbs, then you need to know only one thing, which i
to change the final る of the causative form to
If you need to review the causative form and then ad
the passive form to it, then the following are the rules
for deriving the causative-passive form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to させられる
 Group 2: Change the final vowel u to a and add
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られる
 Group 3: くる→こさせられる、する→させられる
There is no Causative-Passive when the verb has no
causative forms.
Consider the single vowel u （う） at the end of
certain verbs such as kau （かう） as having the
hidden consonant w before the vowel u. In other
words, the original form of kau （かう） is ka(w)u
The causative-passive form of かう therefore is
せられる rather than かあせられる.
How to use the form:
When the Topic is made to do something by someon
else, you can use the causative-passive, as in the
following way:
がく せん さく か
せい せい ぶん
学 は先 にたく 作 を書 かせられ
生 生 さん 文 ます。
'The students are made to write many compositions
by the teacher.'
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Negative Imperfective Form

As the name of the form suggests, this form is used

for the negation of the habitual or future aspects of
the verb.
How to derive the Negative Imperfective form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to ない
 Group 2: Change the final vowel u to a and add
い
 Group 3: くる→こない、する→しない
Exception: The negative imperfective form of the ver
ある is ない.
Consider the single vowel u （う） at the end of
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certain verbs such as kau （かう） as having the

hidden consonant w before the vowel u. In other
words, the original form of kau （かう） is ka(w)u
This information is important when the last
vowel u changes to a in the negative form before
adding nai （ない）. The negative of kau （かう）
therefore is kawanai （かわない） rather
than kaanai （かあない）.
How to use the form:
When this verb is used in speech at the end of a
sentence, it indicates casual speech. When used in
writing, this form indicates that the writing is
impersonal (such as newspaper articles, essays,
journals, etc.).
わたし た
私 はすしを食べない。
'I don’t eat sushi.'
OR
'I won't eat sushi.'
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Positive Perfective Form

The positive perfective form expresses an action or

state that has been perfected, so the form can
express a past event when used at the end of a
sentence.
How to derive the positive perfective form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to た
 Group 2: When the final syllable is
く, change it to いた
ぐ, change it to いだ
す, change it to した
む, ぬ, or ぶ, change it to んだ
つ, る, or う, change it to った
Exception: いく (to go) →いった
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 Group 3: くる→きた、する→した
How to use the form:
This form is a plain form rather than a polite form. So
when this form is used at the end of a sentence, it
indicates that the speaker and the addressee are in
close relation (such as friends or family members). If
this form is used at the end of a sentence in a piece
of writing, it indicates that the style of the writing is
impersonal (such as in essays and articles, as
opposed to personal letters).
きょねん にほん い
去年、日本に行った。
'I went to Japan last year. ' 

Negative Perfective Form

This form expresses an event that did not take place

How to derive the Negative Perfective form:
If you are familiar with the formation of the negative
imperfective form, then you need to know only one
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rule, which is to change the final い of the negative

imperfective form to なかった.
If you need to review the negative imperfective form
before adding the perfective aspect, then the
following are the rules for deriving the negative
perfective form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to なかった
 Group 2: Change the final vowel u to a and add
かった
 Group 3: くる→こなかった、する→しなかった
Exception: the negative perfective form of ある
かった.
Consider the single vowel u （う） at the end of
certain verbs such as kau （かう） as having the
hidden consonant w before the vowel u. In other
words, the original form of kau （かう） is ka(w)u
This information is important when the last
vowel u changes to a in the negative perfective form
before adding nakatta （なかった）. The negative
perfective of kau （かう） therefore
is kawanakatta （かわなかった） rather
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thankaanakatta （かあなかった）.
How to use the form:
When this verb form is used in speech at the end of
sentence, it indicates casual speech. When used in
writing, this form indicates that the writing is
impersonal (such as newspaper articles, essays,
journals, etc.).
きのう べんきょう
昨日は 勉強 しなかった。
'I did not study yesterday.'

Volitional Form

This verb form is used in sentences in which the

speaker suggests, urges, or initiates an act. This form
is a plain form of the equivalent polite form ending
しょう.
How to derive the Volitional form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to よう
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 Group 2: Change the final vowel u to oo

 Group 3: くる→こよう、する→しよう
How to use the form:
When this form is used in speech at the end of a
sentence, it indicates casual speech. When used in
writing, this form indicates that the writing is
impersonal (such as newspaper articles, essays,
journals, etc.).
しょくどう い
食堂 に行こう。
'Let’s go to the dining room.'
When the volitional form is used as the final verb of a
sentence, the stative and honorific verbs have no
volitional forms: e.g. ある ("exist"), くださる (honorif
"give me").

Imperative Form

This verb form expresses a strong command

How to derive the Imperative form:
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 Group 1: Change the final る to ろ

 Group 2: Change the final vowel u to e
 Group 3: くる→こい、する→しろ
There is no imperative form for stative and honorific
verbs: e.g. ある ("exist")、いらっしゃる (honorific
"be/go/come").
How to use the form:
This verb is used as a strong command by a person
in a dominant position.
かえ
帰れ！
'Go home!'
This form can also be used in an embedded clause
expressing what someone asks the other to do.
ちち はや かえ い
父に早く帰れと言われました。
'I was told by my father to come home earlier.'
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Stem + ます (Polite Form)

The Stem of a verb is seldom used in isolation. Whe

it is used alone, it is used as a noun. Most of the time
the Stem is followed by another element. We form a
polite form by changing the dictionary form of a verb
to the Stem and by adding ます to the Stem. What
you need to know is the conjugation of the Stem.
How to derive the Stem:
 Group 1 verb: drop る of the dictionary form
 Group 2 verb: change the final vowel u to 
 Group 3 verb: くる→き、する→し
Exceptions: the ending of the Stem of the five
honorific verbs should be い rather than り （いらっ
しゃい "be/go/come", おっしゃい "say", ください
"give me", さない "do", ござい "be") when ます
added.
How to use the form:
The Polite Form is created by adding ます to the
Stem in all cases. For instance, the Stem of the verb
行く（いく）, which means 'to go,' is 行き, so the
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polite form is 行きます. This newly-created polite for

of the verb has the following five aspectual forms.
Notice that the changes occur only on the ending,
す.
に ほん い
日本に行きます。
'I will go to Japan.'
OR
'I (normally) go to Japan.'
に ほん い
日本に行きました。
'I went to Japan.'
に ほん い
日本に行きません。
'I will not go to Japan.'
OR
'I (normally) do not go to Japan.'
に ほん い
日本に行きませんでした。
'I did not go to Japan.'
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に ほん い
日本に行きましょう。
'Let's go to Japan.'

Stem + たい (Expression of the speaker's wish)

The Stem of a verb is seldom used in isolation. Whe

it is used alone, it is used as a noun. Most of the time
the Stem is followed by another element. In this
exercise, we will create a form that expresses the
speaker's wish by adding たい to the Stem of a verb.
So, what you need to learn is how to form the Stem.
How to derive the Stem:
 Group 1 verb: drop る of the dictionary form
 Group 2 verb: change the final vowel u to 
 Group 3 verb: くる→き、する→し
How to use the form:
For instance, the Stem of the verb 行く（いく）
which means "to go", is 行き（いき）, so when you
add たい, it yields the form 行きたい（いきたい）
meaning "I want to go." This newly-formed word is an
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adjective and has the following four aspects. Notice

that the changes occur only on the ending, たい
に ほん い
日本に行きたいです。
'I want to go to Japan.'
に ほん い
日本に行きたかったです。
'I wanted to go to Japan.'
に ほん い
日本に行きたくありません。
'I do not want to go to Japan.'
に ほ い
ん
きたくありませんでし
日本に行 た。
'I did not want to go to Japan.'
Although you cannot use the Stem with たい to
express the third-person's wishes, it may be used to
ask questions directly to the addressee.
に ほん い
日本に行きたいですか。
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'Do you want to go to Japan?'

~て Conjunctive form with いる

The Conjunctive form of a verb is used with another

element to form a meaningful unit. In this exercise, w
will learn the combination of the Conjunctive form of
verb and the verb いる, which expresses continuous
action or state.
How to derive the Conjunctive form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to て
 Group 2: When the final syllable is
く, change it to いて
ぐ, change it to いで
す, change it to して
む, ぬ, or ぶ, change it to んで
つ, る, or う, change it to って
Exception: いく (to go) →いって
 Group 3: くる→きて、する→して
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How to use the form:

The Conjunctive form of the verb よむ, which means
"to read", is よんで, so when you add いる to this
form, the newly-formed verb phrase is よんでいる
This phrase can have the following two meanings.
いま おもしろ ほん よ
今、
面白い本を読んでいます。
'I am reading an interesting book now.' OR 'I have
been reading an interesting book now.'
When the verb in the Conjunctive form cannot
express repeated action, then ている describes a
continuing state rather than an ongoing action.
ひと お
あの人はもう起きています。
'That person has been awake [=that person is alread
up].'
くるま と
車 が止まっています。
'The car stopped (and it is there now).'
When the verb is already stative, the Conjunctive
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form is not used with いる. For instance, you may no

say お金（かね）があっています to mean "I have
money."　This is because the verb ある ("have") is
stative. The same is true with other stative verbs suc
as いる　("need") and いる ("exist").

~たら Conditional Form

This verb form expresses a condition for the main

clause.
How to derive the Conditional form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to たら
 Group 2: When the final syllable is
く, change it to いたら
ぐ, change it to いだら
す, change it to したら
む, ぬ, or ぶ, change it to んだら
つ, る, or う, change it to ったら
Exception: いく (to go) →いったら
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 Group 3: くる→きたら、する→したら
How to use the form:
This form indicates a condition of the main clause.
The main clause expresses an unexpected event
when the verb in the main clause is in the perfective
aspect.
うち かえ はは
家に帰ったら、母がいました。
'When I went home, to my surprise, my mother was
there.'
When the verb in the main clause is in the
imperfective aspect, the conditional clause expresse
a condition upon which the speaker will decide to
engage in the action described in the main clause.
じ か え が い
ん い
があった きま
時間 映画に行
ら、 す。
'If I have time, I will go to a movie.'
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~ば Situational Conditional form

This verb form expresses a situational condition upo

which the speaker would take some action.
How to derive the Provisional form:

All verbs: Change the final u to e and add ば

How to use the form:

This form expresses a situational condition upon
which the speaker would take some action, or realize
some possibility, which is expressed in the main
clause with an imperfective verb form.
べんきょ じょう
う ず
もっ 勉強 すれ 上 になります
と ば、 手 よ。
'If you studied harder, you would be better.'
かね い
お金があれば、行きます。
'If I have money, I will go.'
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OR
'If I had money, I would go.'

~たり Representative Form

This verb form is used to express an action that is

representative among many other possible actions.
How to derive the Representative form:
 Group 1: Change the final る to たり
 Group 2: When the final syllable is
く, change it to いたり
ぐ, change it to いだり
す, change it to したり
む, ぬ, or ぶ, change it to んだり
つ, る, or う, change it to ったり
Exception: いく (to go) →いったり
 Group 3: くる→きたり、する→したり
How to use the form:
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This form is never used at the end of a sentence. Th

most common way to use this form is to link two or
three たり-forms and end the sentence with the verb
する（します for polite）. This construction
expresses actions that stand out among many other
possible ones. The sentence implies more actions
than those explicitly mentioned.
つ も
あした か い
く の
明 ケー った ったりし
日 キを 作り、 買い物に行 ます。
、
'I will do things like make a cake and go shopping
(among other things) tomorrow.'