Verbs such as いる, おく, しまう, and つづく which can follow the て-form of another word. Called 補助動詞(ほじょどうし) in Japanese. Sometimes also used to describe 助動詞(じょどうし), which are conjugatable function words such as ない and ます.

learn more… | top users | synonyms

0
votes
1answer
164 views

Can 助動詞(auxiliary verbs) be used with other 助動詞?

I've been learning about these for awhile, but everything I've seen them used in doesn't use more than 1 at a time. Is there a reason for that? Also my materials don't really explain the subtleties ...
3
votes
2answers
206 views

What is なく・ない and why is it used?

This question showed the following: 言わない (negative) 言わなく・ない (negative+negative) 言わなく・なかった (negative+negative+past) I've never seen this conjugation before. Why would you have a negative + ...
0
votes
1answer
126 views

Why “you don't have to want to hold”? [closed]

ベルボーイがいますから、にもつをもたくなくてもいいです。 The sentence above has --for me-- some confusing verb tensing. In particular, もたくなくてもいい. This much I think I understand: Because there is a bellboy, I don't need to want ...
2
votes
1answer
157 views

What is the etymology of 〜ません(でした)?

I have always been interested in the negative polite (〜ません) and negative past-polite (〜ませんでした) inflections of verbs. My understanding is that ます is an inflectable function word (助動詞), so I'm ...
5
votes
2answers
208 views

Which verb receives a negation in a Japanese sentence?

I can say 歩いて渡る which translates to "to cross by walking". However, if I would like to say "I am not going to cross by walking, but by some other means", would I say 歩かないで渡る or 歩いて渡らない? There are ...
4
votes
1answer
85 views

Meaning of auxiliary ゆく/いく in this context

While translating a song, I've stumbled upon the following sentence: 落ちた希望を拾って明日に繋いでゆけば Which got me wondering what the difference between the following two is: 落ちた希望を拾って明日に繋いでゆけば ...
5
votes
1answer
214 views

Is ない an “auxiliary verb”?

My dictionary says 助動詞{じょどうし} means "auxiliary verb". This sounds intuitively correct; 動詞 means verb, so 助動詞 sounds like a type of verb. But the 助動詞「ない」 looks like an auxiliary adjective, not an ...
4
votes
1answer
176 views

Is 来おった the 連用形{れんようけい} of くる plus おる → おった?

I came across the following dialogue, which occurs right as the hero arrives: 「やっと来おったか。」 I'm not sure how to parse 来おった. Is it 来{き} + 居{お}る? If so, what exactly does this form mean? Do other ...
6
votes
1answer
109 views

Cohortative ましょう with and without the auxiliary construction ~てみる

In "何かしてみましょう。" meaning "Let's try/do something.", what is the literal translation of "してみましょう"? I've got "して" means "doing" and "みましょう" means "let's watch or let's?". How is "してみましょう" different ...
5
votes
2answers
260 views

What does the “~ておく” mean in “任せておく”?

Good afternoon all, From what I understand, "~ておく" basically has 4 meanings: to do something for a purpose / reason used as a softener (source) to do.. for now or for the time being (source, ...