verbs

Layout and design: Aeron Buchanan, 2010

http://respectthebeard.com/japanese/

endings

/ / / / / /

examples
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Dictionary or Plain Form Conjunctive form Imperative form
(non-past: habitual or future) stem (Connective, Adverbial, Imp.)
(Sentence Joining)
(negative -adj.)
(negative imperative) (without ~ing)
(desire -adj.) (neg. form) (volitional / tentative / presumptive) (benefit being given or received)
(desire vb) (neg. form) (continuing change of state)
Nominalization (strong neg. desire) (neg. cond.) (continuous/habitual action)
(forming noun-phrases or gerunds) (preparatory action)
(while ~ing) (neg. vol.) (completed action)
(emphatic/informal) *
(tends to ~) (I'm glad that ~)
(abstract) (way of ~ing) (don't have to ~ informal)
(try ~ and see)


(use by default)
(it looks like ~)
Formal Informal (favour request)
(yakuza super rude) Compulsion must ~ (changed state)
(able to do ~ing) (difficult to ~) ... (after ~ing ...)
(easy to ~) Obligation must/have to ~ (state change)

}

(too much) Conditional Idiom **
(occasional occurrence) (conditional)
[verb of motion] (go & do) ** (must not ~)
speaker's non-speaker's
(I wish that ~)
(to decide to ~) (negative old) (potential) (suggestive)
[verb] (compound verb) (permissive)
[noun] (e.g. ) (without ~ing formal) * *
(as a result) ( when spoken) (permissive)
(noun from verb target) (even if ~)

... (before ~ing ) Polite (passive / honorific)
*new verb ( )
(apologetic)
(non past) * * * vb. In speech: **polite version:
(as soon as)
(negative)
or
or




(causative)
(without intent)
(past) * * Honorific Verb Form
(idealistic should) (past neg.) ( ** alternative) (alternative **)
(formal neg. volitional)
(volitional) (causative passive) [ ] vb.
(it seems that ~) (connective rare) * * [ ] hon.irreg.vb.
(I've heard that ~) (conditional rare) ( * alternative) (alternative not used)
(apparently -adj.) Humble Verb Form
(imperative) *new verbs **new verbs
[ ] irreg.
= / / /
Alternative English names for verb types:
vbs: one-row, group II, type , vowel-stem
vbs: five-row, group I, type , consonant-stem

Imperative There are no verbs in modern Japanese ending with
, , or . Only ends with .

(imperative) form
Past (action completion)
(reason for next clause)
- AERON BUCHANAN'S


repeated
(~ etc. / opposites
(If/When ~, ...)
)

JAPANESE VERB CHART v2.7

(just happened)
(suggestive)
verbs For more information and examples, see e.g. Oxford Japanese Grammar & Verbs or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugations_and_adjective_declensions

 For more information and examples, see e.g. Oxford Japanese Grammar & Verbs

AERON BUCHANAN'S
or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugations_and_adjective_declensions

JAPANESE VERB CHART v2.7

Layout and design: Aeron Buchanan, 2010 http://respectthebeard.com/japanese/

Irregular Verbs Confusing Verbs

Some verbs are pronounced the same in plain form, but conjugate differently depending on which meaning is being used, e.g.:
Form to do to come
Verb meaning meaning
Dictionary (Plain)
to exist to be necessary
stem (conj.) *&** ** to go in
stem * * to roast
Passive ** * ! to stay alive to become sultry
Causative ** ** * * to obtain to choose
to win to carve
Passive-Causative ** *
to alter to turn over/invert
Imperative * ! ! to exchange to return (home)
Conditional

to put on (clothes) to cut
Potential * !
* to close (something) to be damp
Volitional * * to sleep to refine
to pass (time/through) to decrease
form * ** &
**
There are many other verbs that end in and and therefore look like verbs in plain form, for example:
form * ** &
**
to hurry to kick to shine to fart
* from * from
Mnemonics to tamper to know to grasp to visit
** from ** from
to undulate to speak to fall over to belittle
to fall, sink to slip, ski to enter to cross
Irregular / form in other verbs: to limit to compete to run to pass by
to go
and
to ask
and
to request
and Honorific & Humble Irregulars Adjectives
Verb Honorific version Humble version
has an irregular negative ( ) form: * Form -adj.
adjectives
* Stem <remove ~ >
The copula is also irregular (note: [written] [spoken]): ( -adjectives)

* Conjugates: see table Negative
Form Informal Polite * For polite forms, Past
* Note:
Non-past Past Negative
Negative Conjunctive
adjectival nouns
Past Neg. Conj.
( -adjectives)
Past Negative
*
Conjugates: Adverbial
Conditional Adverbial: Conditional
Neg. Cond. Attributive:
Note: some end in , e.g.
Neg. Cond.
Conjunctive , , , When Cond.
but none have ,
Neg. Conj. Neg. When
except
Conjugate as verbs. Except *irregular variation:
Tentative : :