The inflections of verbs. How the endings of verbs change to reflect grammatical factors such as tense and aspect.
3
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0answers
156 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 ...
6
votes
3answers
318 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 ? ...
1
vote
1answer
149 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 ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
Is Japanese really an agglutinative language?
In the linguistics topic of language typology, Japanese is often included in lists of agglutinative (or agglutinating) languages, but when learning or reading about Japanese grammar exclusively this ...
4
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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 ...
5
votes
1answer
208 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
2answers
135 views
What does みても mean here? Problem from workbook
From "Japanese for Busy People Level II" p 46, there is the following question:
Fill in the blank with the appropriate particle:
この くつを （ ）みても いいですか。（はきます）
In other words, modify はきます so that the ...
14
votes
1answer
668 views
～うございます - keigo い-adjectives
I'm not sure if this is actual keigo, or just a polite form of adjectives. Anyway, there are several that we're all familiar with that are still used today.
はやい → おはようございます
ありがたい → ...
5
votes
1answer
198 views
Does the 助動詞「ます」 still have a 連体形 in modern Japanese?
Does the 助動詞「ます」 have a 連体形? According to 大辞林, it's ます, and I see the old forms ます／まする on 学研全訳古語辞典. However, in the comments on this question, Darius Jahandarie wrote the following:
@snailplane ...
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 ...
5
votes
2answers
105 views
Help to understand the ending verb “動かねーんじゃね”
Original sentence: アドビやら、お絵描き系のアプリは、誰かが実証しない限り、動かねーんじゃね？
I can't understand the structure of the last verb. So far I understood that 動か(conjugated form) + ねー(negative particle) + んじゃ(???) + ね(question ...
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
164 views
足って used in Ponyo Song [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are these forms: かけちゃお, つないじゃお?
Is this って equivalent to 「と」？
From the Ponyo theme song:
ペータペタ ピョーンピョン
足っていいな かけちゃお!
Why is 足 given the て conjugation, as if ...
4
votes
1answer
105 views
What does the ぬ in 詰まぬ mean?
I encountered a Shogi saying:
三桂あって詰まぬこと無し
And I'm pretty confused about the ぬ there. If it was る I'd expect the meaning to be something like:
"If you have 3 knights, you can't be mated"
But ...
14
votes
2answers
285 views
Why is it なさそう and not なそう
"It seems there is none" is なさそう, which escapes the usual rule for 形容詞 (イ-adjectives), which says "drop the い and add そう".
Is there a historical explanation for this exception? And does it have ...
3
votes
1answer
125 views
“don't say it, if you don't want to” in japanese
Don't say it, if you dont want to.
You don't have to say it, if you don't want to.
How do i convey these in japanese correctly?
My idea is 言えないこと言ってないもいいです。
But I am really confused by verb ...
1
vote
1answer
97 views
言わない VS 言わなくない A negative verb conjugated as an adjective?
While reading a text in Japanese, I came up with the phrase "何も言わなくなったから"
I don't understand what the ~くない stands for. As far as know is used as the negative for of an adjective... but 言う is a verb! ...
6
votes
3answers
158 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 ...
34
votes
5answers
3k views
Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc.
Japanese language has a lot of patterns for "if" clauses. What are the differences among the following patterns and how do we choose to use one over the others?:
行ったら
行くなら
行けば
行くんだったら
行くのなら
行くとしたら
...
8
votes
1answer
156 views
Can けれども be analysed further?
Consider the conjunction ども, e.g.:
行けども
言えども
Formation rule:
Verb Hypothetical form (仮定形) + ども
This leads me to hypothesise that the conjunction けれども (meaning "but; however; although") is ...
23
votes
7answers
942 views
Difference between negative forms {-ず} and {-ぬ}
{-ず} and {-ぬ} are two alternatives to the negative form {-ない} / {-ません}. But I noticed that depending on the word, it's either {-ず} or {-ぬ}, although it seems like some words can take both suffixes. ...
9
votes
2answers
195 views
What is the purpose of the suffix “さ” on adjectives?
What is the purpose of the suffix "さ" on adjectives like 美しさ and 多さ?
The former is the title of an essay by Banana Yoshimoto, so I don't have much context for it. The book editors translated it as ...
4
votes
2answers
230 views
Help with the difference between causative and the causative-passive for the verb 笑う
I've always had a hard time immediately understanding the differences between passive, causative, and causative-passive. If I really sit down and try to work out the meaning I can generally get it, ...
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。
2
votes
1answer
404 views
How do you conjugate i- and na- adjectives (into the presumptive, imperative, conditional, provisional, and progressive forms)?
I feel like mastering conjugations is a major contributor to self expression in Japanese. I realized that some of the grammar points I have been working on have taught me new conjugations.
Usually ...
6
votes
1answer
138 views
What is going on with 書けている? What is Potential Form+ている?
I'm having difficulty in understanding 書けている (initially observed from an answer to "パソコンが 得意だ/わかる/上手だ"). Also observed from SPACEALC:
この小説は上手に書けている。
最もよく書けている記事。
...
1
vote
1answer
228 views
[plain form]-んじゃない
When I was first learning Japanese, I learned that the explanatory form, -んです is always constructed by conjugating the verb in short form and adding -んです, and that the です part is never conjugated. But ...
3
votes
1answer
229 views
Examples of when passive form in English takes active/non passive form in Japanese
Can anyone give a few more common examples (or even more insight) of when we should be "switching" from English passive into Japanese active/non-passive?
(A joint effort might help a lot of us to ...
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
253 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
310 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
1answer
237 views
Understanding ありやな
貯金も確かにありやな！！
お金があったら何でも出来るし.
I'm definitely into saving money too! If you have money you can do anything.
My young friend wrote this to me. Would someone be kind enough to explain the やな for ...
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 ...
1
vote
2answers
78 views
Translation for 食べ物を腐らせずに保存する
Saw this in my textbook. The translation is "to preserve food from decay". I get it, but I am not clear about the ず after 腐らせる. Where is it coming from?
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
341 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.)
...
10
votes
1answer
554 views
Where does the verbal form しとく come from?
In a manga I am currently reading, one of the character exclaims:
安心しな。秘密に しとく から。
The general meaning of the second part ("I'll keep it a secret") is quite obvious, and it seems that "しとく" ...
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, ...
8
votes
2answers
218 views
What's the meaning of ず in 通ず? (Not a negative)
It's from the Japanese saying, 読書百遍意自ずから通ず(Repeated reading makes the meaning clear). In this case, the ず ending doesn't make the verb negative. What is the function and nuance of this usage? Is this ...
2
votes
3answers
215 views
い-Adjective declension apparent inconsistency when turning into a noun
Consider these adjectives:
赤い
近い
The い-declension works for sentence ending as well as directly modifying a noun:
Now if I want to express the adjective as a noun, for example I'm talking about ...
4
votes
2answers
192 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 ...
4
votes
3answers
239 views
what does it mean when a causative verb is conjugated in the causative form?
If ”かぶせる” is a "causative verb," what does it mean when a causative verb is conjugated in the causative form?
プランターに生えているカタバミの葉を用意し、アルミホイルをかぶせさせる。
...
5
votes
3answers
161 views
Is there a past tense conjugation form for ば？
I have been looking at conjunctive forms of verbs and my grammar books shows me a negative and affirmative version of ば but what about a past tense and a past tense negative?
Would they be じゃなてれば and ...
2
votes
2answers
251 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
200 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
211 views
When is it appropriate to use [v] ないでくれ instead of [v] な?
Initially I wanted to compare the rudeness level of [v]ないでくれ。 and[v]な。 but since that may be a rather vague question:
In what situation is it appropriate to use [v]ないでくれ。 but not [v]な。 ?
In what ...
9
votes
3answers
547 views
What exactly is the difference between <verb>-てしまう and <verb>- [切]{き}る?
I've read that both the ～てしまう and ～きる (18th meaning of 切る at http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUE%E5%88%87%E3%82%8B) forms are used to signify something has been ...
11
votes
4answers
300 views
“Unsolvable problem”
What is the correct construction of "unsolvable problem"? Is it "解{と}けられない問題{もんだい}"？(Question 1)
Plain(intransitive): 解{と}ける "To be solved".
Potential form(of intransitive): 解けられる "can be ...
