1 Conjugation rules for negative verbs 1.

see
2. come; next
For ru-verbs: Drop the and attach
3. go; conduct
Example: + =
4. go home
For u-verbs that end in : Replace with and
5. eat; food
attach
6. drink
Example: + + =
7. buy
For all other u-verbs: Replace the u-vowel sound with the a-vowel
8. sell
equivalent and attach
9. hold
Example: + =
Exceptions:
wait
1.
2.
read
3.
walk
2 To change ru-verbs into the past tense
run
Drop the part of the ru-verb and add
Examples
play
1.
2.

Past tense conjugations for u-verbs Exceptions

Ending Non-Past changes to Past Non-Past Past

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

In Japanese, sometimes there are two types of the same verb often referred to
as transitive and intransitive verbs. The difference between the two is that one verb is
an action done by an active agent while the other is something that occurs without a
direct agent. In English, this is sometimes expressed with the same verb, such as: The
ball dropped vs I dropped the ball but in Japanese it becomes
vs . Sometimes, the verbs changes when translated into
English such as To put it in the box ( vs To enter the box
but this is only from the differences in the languages. If you think in Japanese,
intransitive and transitive verbs have the same meaning except that one indicates that
someone had a direct hand in the action (direct object) while the other does not. While
knowing the terminology is not important, it is important to know which is which in order
to use the correct particle for the correct verb.

Since the basic meaning and the kanji is the same, you can learn two verbs for the price
of just one kanji! Lets look at a sample list of intransitive and transitive verbs.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive Intransitive

to drop to fall

to take out to come out; to leave

to insert to enter

to open to be opened
 to close to be closed

to attach to be attached

to erase to disappear

to extract to be extracted

Pay attention to particles!

The important lesson to take away here is to learn how to use the correct particle for the correct type of verb. It might
be difficult at first to grasp which is which when learning new verbs or whether there even is a transitive/intransitive
distinction. If youre not sure, you can always check whether a verb is transitive or intransitive by using an online
dictionary such as jisho.org

Examples

1.
I am the one that turned on the lights.
2.
The lights turned on.
3.
Turn off the lights.
4.
Lights turn off.
5.
Who opened the window?
6.
Why has the window opened?

The important thing to remember is that intransitive verbs cannot have a direct object because there is no
direct acting agent. The following sentences are grammatically incorrect.

1.
should be replaced with or
2.
should be replaced with or
3.
should be replaced with or

The only time you can use the particle for intransitive verbs is when a location is the
direct object of a motion verb as briefly described in the previous section.
1.
I left room.

Volitional form conjugation rules

1. For ru-verbs: Drop the and add

Example: = =
2. For u-verbs: Replace the u-vowel sound with the o-vowel equivalent and
Example: + + =
3. Exceptions:
becomes
becomes

To change ru-verbs into the te-form

Drop the part of the ru-verb (same as the stem) and add
Examples
1.
2.

Te-form conjugations for u-verbs Exception Verbs

Ending Non-Past changes to Te-form Non-Past Te-form

 Using for progressive tense

To describe a continuing action, first conjugate the verb to the te-form and then attach
the ru-verb .
Examples
1.
2.

Progressive Conjugation Examples

Positive Negative Positive Polite Negative Polite

Ru-verb

U-verb

Exception *

Exception *

Exception *

Plain past verb tense conjugation rules

Past tense: Conjugate to the te-form and replace with and with

Examples
1.
eat ate
2.
drink drank
3.
eating was eating
 Negative past tense: Conjugate to the negative and replace the last with

Examples
1.
eat not eat did not eat
2.
drink not drink did not drink
3.
eating not eating was not eating