Tagged Questions

3
votes
0answers
155 views

Are many する verbs becoming 五段 verbs?

I noticed recently that 愛する has a negative form 愛さない. This surprised me because, as far as I'm aware, さない is not a negative form of する. In fact, it looks like 五段活用 to me, so I decided to look up 愛す ...
10
votes
1answer
133 views

Meaning of せい conjugation of する?

I came upon this line of dialogue in a book I'm reading, from a character who has old-fashioned speech patterns: できる限りの鶏肉を用意せい… I assume this せい is some form of the verb する, though I'm not even sure ...
2
votes
2answers
187 views

I am confused about the meaning of the conjugations of [買]{か}う

I am on Livemocha and it says that 買います。 means "I am going to buy it." But I figure that should be 買いに行きます。 . Also I know that ぎゅうにゅうを買っています。 is "I am buying milk." But for some reason, I thought that ...
6
votes
3answers
317 views

Positive Past Plain form of Iku is Itta not iita?

I thought when you get a type one verb ending with "ku" you replace it with ita. For example Kaku (to write) goes to Kaita. So I'm guessing Iku is an exception, does this happen with other verbs too ? ...
6
votes
3answers
157 views

Which forms of a verb do I need to memorize to distinguish ichidan from godan?

Can I get away with memorizing only these two forms of a verb? Dictionary form かえる ("to return") Positive polite non-past form, like かえります If I compare these two forms, I can determine whether ...
6
votes
3answers
197 views

It's time to [verb]

I know this is dangerously close to a translation question, but bare with me. Today I found out a co-worker of mine is studying Japanese as well. And at the end of the conversation I wrote: Jikan wa ...
4
votes
1answer
173 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
149 views

What forms of verbs (potential or passive) are more frequent in Japanese?

A simple question to those speaking and the native ones. What of the two forms (potential verbs or passive voice verbs) in Japanese verbs is more frequent? This question may seem strange, but I need ...
6
votes
1answer
245 views

How to distinguish between passive and potential forms of the verb?

I've read that potential form of the ru-verb is formed by replacing る with られる, which is exactly the same for the passive form of ru-verbs. How can we tell the passive form and potential apart in this ...
5
votes
1answer
307 views

How many forms can a Japanese verb take?

Japanese verbs are quite complex compared to English verbs (Most English verbs have five or six forms and to be has eight not including archaic forms). Their agglutinative nature means they have ...
8
votes
3answers
308 views

What conjugation/form is the ませ (for example: いらっしゃいませ)?

I know it's used for greetings in a restaurant or store. But what type of verb conjugation (ex: polite, plain, honorific, imperative, or something else) is it? Is it used with other verbs? Is it ...
2
votes
2answers
145 views

What is って doing in this sentence?

From Noir, Episode 2 (anime). I don't get what the って is doing in this sentence. For context, the father came home early from work. He quickly answers his wife in the first sentence then in the ...
14
votes
2answers
1k views

Why is 知りません the negative form of　知っています？

I'm reading Minna no Nihongo (Chapter 15) and it says what I wrote in the question. I would think the negative would be 知っていません。
4
votes
2answers
249 views

Can there be such a thing as のんでましょう？

I know のみましょう but I was wondering if the above was legal japanese as well.
7
votes
1answer
340 views

What is the difference between 見える／聞こえる and 見られる／聞ける?

In Japanese, there is a potential form to express that it's possible for something to be done. My own examples of potential form: 辛【から】い食【た】べ物【もの】が食【た】べられる。 (I can eat spicy foods.) ...
6
votes
1answer
161 views

Does the verb 死ぬ has a 死ぬる form?

I have come across a conjugation of 死ぬ verb which I've never heard before. It is 死ぬる, I have heard it in a TV show, you can see the relevant part in this video. Is this a depreciated form? If so, ...
4
votes
2answers
190 views

〜(ら)れる - Ambiguity between passive and Keigo

In my Japanese Bible, it often uses the 〜(ら)れる Keigo form when talking about God's actions. However, there are certain cases when talking about both people and God in the same sentence where the use ...
2
votes
2answers
250 views

How to Convert Na-adjectives and Nouns to the ば-form?

I am practicing the ば-conditional and my main reference right now is the oxford grammar book. It only mentions how to convert keiyoushi or i-adjectives and not keiyoudoushi or na-adjectives. Can ...
6
votes
2answers
197 views

How is 「なう」most commonly appended to verbs?

I read the other two questions on なう on this site, and I want to know what the most common way to add なう after a verb is. I've seen なう most frequently with nouns. This is supported by ...
5
votes
2answers
411 views

How is なっている different from なっていた?

I apologize if I am beating a dead horse with this question but is this correct? なっている: have (already) become as opposed to なっていた: had become so often the meaning of なっている can be thought ...
3
votes
1answer
281 views

What would be the literal meaning of the causative form here? 暴風警報発令中のため本日の営業はお休みとさせていただきます。

暴風警報発令中のため本日 bōfū keihō hatsurei chū notame honjitsu の営業はお休みとさせて no eigyō wa oyasumi to sasete いただきます。 itadakimasu. 暴風 bōfū = storm winds 警報 keihō = warning 発令 hatsurei = official ...
5
votes
1answer
108 views

Is the regular form of verbs with irregular polite/honorific forms still grammatical?

Hi all I was wondering for verbs with irregular polite/honorific forms, is the regular form still used/grammatical ? For example, the humble form of 借りる is 拝借する. But would お借りする be acceptable ? ...
8
votes
1answer
349 views

Usage and meaning of [passive verb]-てみれば

I am familiar with the set phrase 「言われてみれば」 as a way to say "Now that you say that", but as I examine the phrase further, the phrase structure strikes me as strange. The 〜てみる conjugation is commonly ...
2
votes
1answer
190 views

Plain verbs vs [conjunctive form 連用形]+をする (e.g. 間違える vs 間違えをする)

(Question 1) Are there any differences in nuance and usage of conjunctive form of verb (連用形) + をする compared to the plain form of those verbs whose conjunctive forms can be used as nouns? For ...
2
votes
1answer
112 views

Can the ったら form of a verb be used to mean “after?”

Take this example: AったらB Could this mean, "After doing A, B happened?"
8
votes
1answer
234 views

What form is 恐るる?

In Final Fantasy VIII, Bahamut has a little speech: …G.F.とは我らのことか 我らを力として使うとは… 恐るるべきは人間どもよ I'd never seen two るs doubled up like that. Which conjugation is this? It seems to have plenty of ...
1
vote
1answer
281 views

What does しちゃい mean?

I know it is some form of する。The context is this tweet: いいえ！無視は しちゃい けませんな(^-^)/気持ちは受け取って♪(´ε｀ )RT @PuyoPuyoStar: @shinji_sid すみません。先程ツイート送ったんですが、「無理してはいけません」と書きたかったところ、「無視してはいけません」と書いてしまいました。本当すみませ
0
votes
1answer
143 views

What is the らせ form of a verb?

I'm trying to understand this: 賞品？おそらく！リナちゃん.....私の後ろの笑い声輝くん​がたくさんで黙らせ The last word, 黙らせ, is confusing. Is this a combination of different forms?
14
votes
1answer
209 views

General applicability of the ～ませ conjugation

I have only found the ～ませ conjugation used in the following honorific verbs: いらっしゃいませ くださいませ なさいませ Can the conjugation be applied to other honorific verbs, like おっしゃいませ or めしあがりませ? Or even common ...
3
votes
1answer
228 views

What are the “slots” in the Japanese agglutinative verb system?

In another question we established that Japanese is an agglutinating language (more here), if only in its verb system. Since it is not traditional in Japanese grammar or teaching to go into this ...
9
votes
1answer
175 views

How should I use 始める (はじめる) and 始まる (はじまる) as a suffix to intransitive verbs?

When describing intransitive actions that are commencing, I often end up saying dumb things like 沸き始まる (わきはじまる) instead of 沸き始める (わきはじめる) - starting to boil. Perhaps it's some meta pattern I am ...
8
votes
2answers
554 views

How to differentiate ～られる conjugation between passive form and potential form?

For verbs of group 2, whose ～ます form is formed by dropping the ending ～る from the plain form, both the passive and potential forms have the same conjugation: ～られる. Example: 食べられる 1. to be eaten ...
2
votes
1answer
311 views

The differences and similarities between ーたら and ーば [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc. There are different ways to say "if" in Japanese. I want to concentrate on these two verb endings which mean "if": たら and ば. ...
17
votes
5answers
770 views

Does -ou / -you / -mashou conjugation have a negative form?

Does the -ou / -you / -mashou (the "let's X") form have a negative counterpart? For example, how do I say "let's not X" for the following?: 行こう 食べよう 寝ましょう As far as I can remember, the Japanese ...
10
votes
2answers
202 views

Which verbs have 辞書形 (dictionary forms) that look like ~ます conjugations?

I recently confused 励ます (hagemasu) for the ~ます form of 禿げる (hageru). Although this actually lead to a rather amusing conversation, I'm wondering if there are other examples of this to watch out for?
7
votes
5answers
185 views

Is there a general rule for deriving xasu→xaseru intransitives such as 死なせる from 死なす?

There are a number of verbs where there is a 〜xasu → xaseru transformation to produce an transitive verb from an intransitive, eg: 死なす→死なせる 生かす→生かせる 飲ます→飲ませる Is this some kind of generalized rule? ...