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Notice the differences between the two languages:

English (SVO) Japanese (SOV)
I drink water. わたしは みずを のみます。
SVO SOV

In Japanese, the verb is always going to come at the very end of a

sentence. The ending of a sentence is crucial in Japanese. Listen
carefully because you don’t know the main part of the sentence until the
very end!!

There are three types of verbs in Japanese.

1. Ru-verbs
2. U-verbs
3. Irregular verbs

Ru-verbs are all verbs that end in either –eru (える) or –iru (いる).
It helps to think of the verbs in romaji to picture what their endings are.
For example:
たべる (taberu) This ends in –eru, so it is a –ru verb.

There is one exception!

かえる (kaeru) – to return
Even though this verb ends in –eru, it is NOT a ru-verb. Instead, it is an
u-verb. Please remember this important exception.

In Lesson 3 of Genki Vol. 1, the following are ru-verbs, which end in /

eru/ or /iru/.
みる – to see
おきる – to get up
たべる – to eat
ねる – to sleep
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U-VERBS are the Verbs that end with any other combination of
syllables
The majority of verbs in Japanese are u-verbs, since they end with any
syllable as long as it isn’t /-eru/ or /-iru/.

For example:
はなす(hanasu) This doesn’t ends in –eru or -iru, so it is an u-verb.

Remember that there is an exception!

Even though かえる (to return) ends in –eru, it is an exception and is
considered an U- VERB, NOT a ru-verb.

IRREGULAR VERBS: The entire Japanese language has only two

irregular verbs – くる (to come) and する (to do).
べんきょう する (to study) has the verb する as a part of it, so it is
considered an irregular verb by default.
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DICTIONARY FORMS

All these verbs you see here are listed in their DICTIONARY FORMS.
This means the verb has not been conjugated yet and is in its basic,
untouched form. It is the way the verb looks like in the dictionary. It is
similar to the English INFINITIVE FORM.
(As we discussed, we normally use the dictionary forms to converse for
non-formal situations)

Infinitive forms of all Genki book’s Lesson 3 Verbs

みる – to see たべる - to eat する – to do

よむ – to read はなす – to speak きく -to listen
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ねる – to sleep かえる – to return いく – to go

べんきょうする – to study おきる – to get up
くる - to come

In English, can you use the infinitive/dictionary form when making a

sentence?
Does anybody say, “Today, I to eat hamburger?” NO!

That’s where VERB CONJUGATION comes in. Conjugating a verb

means that you change/transform a verb from the dictionary form into
another form, so that you can actually use it when making a sentence.

Verb conjugation in Japanese is very easy, as long as you know:

(1) the dictionary form
(2) the type of verb (u-verb, ru-verb, irregular verb)
Present Tense Verb Conjugation

In Lesson 3, we study the polite form - present tense verb conjugation

style. This is a formal speech when speaking to social superiors
(teachers, bosses) or strangers/people you don’t know well.

ます is used for conjugating verbs in present affirmative (positive)

sentences. For instance: somebody goes, eats, sleeps, etc.
ません is used for conjugating verbs in present negative sentences. For
instance: somebody DOESN’T go, DOESN’T sleep, etc.

ます and ません are VERB ENDINGS that are used when you
conjugate verbs into the polite form present tense.
They do not mean anything by themselves – you need a verb before
them in order to give them meaning.
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That’s why the ending of Japanese sentences with verbs are so

important. Until you hear the ending, you won’t know the meaning!
たべます (someone eats) v. たべません (someone doesn’t eat)

Each verb type has a different conjugation rule/pattern for the present
tense polite form.

RU - Verb Conjugations
1. In the dictionary form, drop the –ru
2. Add ます (for present affirmative) or ません (for present negative)

おきる (to get up)

PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE: おきます (gets up)
PRESENT NEGATIVE: おきません (doesn’t get up)
Remember to drop the る when conjugating!

DICTIONARY ENGLISH PRESENT PRESENT

FORM MEANING AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

たべる to eat たべます たべません
ねる to sleep ねる ねます
おきる to get up おきます おきません
みる to watch, see みます みません

Remember! For る verbs, in the dictionary form, just drop the る and
add ~ます (for present affirmative) or ~ません (for present negative).

Summary:
For all ru-verbs, just drop the る and add ~ます for present positive, and
~ません for present negative. Now, it’s all conjugated!
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U-Verb Conjugations
1. In thedictionary form,change the entire last syllable of the verb (-ku, -
mu, -su, etc.) into an i-ending (-ki, -mi, -shi, etc.)
2. Then, add ます (for present affirmative) or ません (for present
negative)

はなす (to speak)

PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE: はなします (speaks)
PRESENT NEGATIVE: はなしません (doesn’t speak)
Remember to change the last syllable ending in –u to an –i!

のむ (to drink)
PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE: のみます (drinks)
PRESENT NEGATIVE: のみません (doesn’t drink)
Remember to change the last syllable ending in –u to an –i! Now you
can use it in a sentence.

かえる (to return) 1. U-VERB (exception)

PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE: かえります (return)
PRESENT NEGATIVE: かえりません (doesn’t return)
Remember to change the last syllable ending in –u to an –i! Now you
can use it in a sentence.

DICTIONARY ENGLISH PRESENT PRESENT

FORM MEANING AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

いく to go いきます いきません
よむ to read よみます よみません
きく to listen, hear ききます ききません
かえる to return かえります かえりません
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Remember! For う verbs, in the dictionary form, just convert the last
syllable ending in –u to a syllable ending in –i. Then, add ~ます (for
present affirmative) or ~ません (for present negative).

Summary:
For all u-verbs, just convert the last syllable of the dictionary form
(which ends with an –u) into a syllable ending with (-i). Then, add ~ま
す for present positive, and ~ません for present negative. Now, it’s all
done!

Irregular Verb Conjugations

Remember that there are 2 irregular verbs in Japanese: する (to do) and
くる (to come). べ んきょうする (to study) counts as an irregular
because it contains する.
These verbs are irregular because they don’t abide by either conjugation
pattern. You just have to memorize the -ます form for each.

くる (to come)
PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE: きます (comes)
PRESENT NEGATIVE: きません (doesn’t come)

する, (to do)

PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE: します (does)
PRESENT NEGATIVE: しません (doesn’t do)
This is irregular, so there is no rule to be learned here. Just memorize!
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べんきょうする (to study) contains the irregular verb する – so you

just put べんきょう in and conjugate the する part.
PRESENT AFFIRMATIVE: べんきょうします (does study)
PRESENT NEGATIVE: べんきょうしません (doesn’t study)

Summary:
For all irregular verbs, just memorize the ~ま す and ~ません forms.
They don’t subscribe to any patterns, so you just have to remember these
2 conjugations. Now, it’s all done!
Once it is conjugated, these verbs are ready to use in a sentence.
Direct Object Particle を

By the end of this section, you will learn how to:

• Make sentences containing a direct object, using the particle を
• Ask and answer yes-no and content questions about what somebody is
doing containing direct objects
Direct Object Particle を

Here is the sentence formula:

SUBJECT は OBJECT を VERB ます。or VERB ません。
Takeshi reads a book.
What if you want to say that Takeshi reads a magazine, instead of a
book? Just replace “book” with “magazine” - but keep the direct object
particle を!

Takeshi reads a book.

たけしさん は ほん を よみます。
Takeshi reads a magazine.
たけしさん は ざっし を よみます。
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SUBJECT は OBJECT を VERB ます。

たけしさん は アイスクリーム を たべます。

1 2 3
Takeshi eats ice cream .
1 3 2

Another scenario:

1 DON’T drink coffee. (But) I DO drink tea.

Make two sentences in Japanese. Remember: put を after the direct

object! Also, when starting your second sentence, you can use the word
for “but” – でも.

1. Idon’tdrinkcoffee.(negativeform!)
わたし は コーヒーを のみません。
2. BUT, (I) drink tea. (affirmative form!) でも、(わたし は) おちゃ を
のみます。

でも (but) can be used to show contrast in a second sentence when

compared to the first sentence. It comes at the beginning of the second
sentence. Here, you said that you don’t drink coffee, BUT you do
drink tea – so you are contrasting.