Questions tagged [conjugations]

活用. The inflections of verbs and adjectives. How the endings of verbs and adjectives change to reflect grammatical factors such as tense and aspect.

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Imperative form is rude...?

So I've been digging around some more and found this image from a PDF here. Basically, it said that the Imperative form (such as 見ろ{みろ} or 飛べ{とべ}) is usually considered ruder than the ~て form (such ...
Williem F.'s user avatar
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Difference between ろ and なさい?

ろ seems to be a common imperative conjugation of verbs. なさい seems to act in a similar way (maybe not so demanding) but it is also described as an imperative form: なさい【為さい】 expression do ... (usually ...
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Transforming (conjugating) verbs

So I am studying from an online site called Memrise but they seem to teach pretty straightforward stuff that you have to memorize in order to do them. Yeah I can ask and say things but I can notice ...
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Contraction of past form of 失う? [closed]

While looking at example sentences, I came across this on tangorin: 彼{かれ}は視力{しりょく}を失{うし}った。 My understanding is that this is still the verb 失{うしな}う. Searching for the kana form うしった hasn't led to ...
Joe Mastey's user avatar
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For 知る what is the difference between the simple present (知る) and 知っている forms?

あなたは電話番号を知りますか (anata wa denwa bangou wo shirimasu ka)? あなたは電話番号を知っていますか (anata wa denwa bangou wo shitte imasu ka)? In my book "あなたは電話番号を知っていますか" (anata wa denwa bangou wo shitte imasu ka) ...
Animewar Oficial's user avatar
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2 answers
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Meaning of どく in sentence

I have a sentence in Haruki Murakami's 海辺のカフカ which reads: でも形而上的であり象徴的でありながら、同時にそいつは千の剃刀のようにするどく生身を切り裂くんだ。 I understand the first part of the sentence as: May it be metaphysical or symbolical, ...
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When would you use 敬語 in its plain forms?

Are there any examples of people using verbs such as いただく, 参る, 申す, いたす (and their 尊敬語 counterparts, along with the various other humble/respectful verbs) in those plain forms, rather than conjugated ...
charlieshades's user avatar
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Does "te-form" of a verb always include て/で? Why?

In so-called 学校文法 (the Japanese grammar which all native Japanese speakers learn at around middle school), one form of a verb is called 連用形 (aka continuative form), which looks like this (screenshot ...
naruto's user avatar
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when to use formal and informal conjugations?

wakatta and wakarimashita are used sometimes in anime. I understand one is informal and the other is formal past tense. When do you have to use the informal and when to use the formal tenses of the ...
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What's is the difference between these two forms?

So for what I knew the "potential form" of the verbs are for example: 話せる for 話す, a godan verb. 見られる for 見る, an ichidan verb. But then I find this form for the ichidan verbs that seems to mean the ...
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Adjective + 出す?

Recently I watched this and the translator gives me something I didn't know. I know that a verb + 出す means to start..... 走り出す - To start to run 逃げ出す - To start to escape 登り出す - To start to ...
user15855's user avatar
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-まする verb ending. Is る a particle?

Has anyone ever come across the form -まする where -ます would be expected? I have just come across a sentence ending ...と存じまする. My first thought was that る must be a particle, but I can't find any ...
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Conjugation for the verb しろって

I recently came across the following sentence in an English comic book that was translated into Japanese: 先生が僕らに何をしろって? I checked the verb しろって and found out that it was conjugated from する? May I ...
cgo's user avatar
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Confused over 「ろうそくが置かれている」

I encountered this sentence. 「ろうそくが置かれている」 I can tell from context it means something like "Candles are placed", but I'm confused about the usage of ている with a transitive verb. Genki tells me that ...
Benjamin Good's user avatar
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Which form is はじめまして?

So I've learned that はじめまして is used in first meetings and that it stems from the verb はじめる (to start; to begin). But what form is it? It's apparently not the polite past form, which has a -た at the ...
elzell's user avatar
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Possible conjugations on certain grammar patterns

On "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar", when a grammar pattern works with the informal form of a verb, they only talk about the positive present tense and the positive past tense. (At least until ...
オスカー's user avatar
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What is the verb ending of われん mean?

I am reading the Fullmetal Alchemist manga and came across the following in the first volume: 祈り信じよ されば救われん The subtitles of the anime translate this to be: "Pray and you shall be saved." ...
crimsonspectre's user avatar
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Meaning of 言われ + ても

I was looking up the conjugation of 言う, and the passive form of it is 言われる. In the sentence below, which I did not write, ても gets attached to that verb form after first dropping る. Can someone please ...
BJ Dela Cruz's user avatar
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て-form and other conjugations of 謙譲語

In my limited exposure to 尊敬語【そんけいご】 and 謙譲語【けんじょうご】, I feel like I've only really seen them used in their normal -ます forms and never in て form or conjugated such as a -たい form. Are honorific and ...
charlieshades's user avatar
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What is the correct なさる masu form? [duplicate]

Im getting two different conjugations of なさる masu form from different sites some say なさります some say なさいます I know that the conjugation rule for godan verbs ending in る is to convert the る into り and ...
Koden's user avatar
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Desire form verbs (~たい), is there a polite form?

I was just curious if there is a way to make the ~たい form polite? for example 戦いたい - Want to fight I was thinking possibly using the honorific form instead of the masu form might be acceptable? ...
Koden's user avatar
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What is potential form?

I am in my fourth online Japanese class at UMUC Asia and we just started learning about potential form of verbs. I was wondering if there is an easy way to explain what it is? My teacher's explanation ...
Briana Stroll's user avatar
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Is 食べてたい correct?

The following sentence was written by a Japanese. 最近のお気に入りケーキ🍰💕 毎日食べてたい Is 食べてたい just a typo, or is it a short form of something, like 食べておきたい or 食べていただきたい?
Chris's user avatar
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Proper form of なさる - なさります or なさいます

In Genki II (second ed.), page 168 we are given polite forms of some verbs, among them する with なさる. They have also written that some of them have irregular conjugations in long forms, among them なさる, ...
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面白かった Vs. 有名だった

So, I'm relatively new to Japanese and I'm learning. And I notice that some words are paired with かった or だった, even though they're both for referencing past. So, my question is: When is it appropriate ...
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What is しか here?

[至誠]{しせい}に[悖]{もと}る[勿]{な}かりしか [言行]{げんこう}に[恥]{は}づる[勿]{な}かりしか... What part of speech is it? Wiki translates it as 真心に反する点はなかったか, which going by meaning only fits with 2(連語) here, but I couldn't find ...
user12413's user avatar
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19 votes
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Conjunctive form (e.g. 書き) vs Conj + mono (e.g. 書き物)

I'm trying to fully understand the plain conjunctive form without a suffix. I've seen it mainly in the form of 話, where it means a talk or speech. So I think it means something along the lines of "the ...
Benjamin Lindley's user avatar
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Breaking down a translation: 彼は大政治家になりたいという大望を忘れたことはなかった。

I've found this example sentence at the tangorin.com dictionary: 彼は大政治家になりたいという大望を忘れたことはなかった。 It is translated as "He never forgot his ambition to become a major politician." There is two aspects ...
Gabu's user avatar
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ない in つまらない and similar adjectives and their conjugation with すぎる

The usual path for conjugation would be: 高い → 高すぎる  (drop い, append すぎる) ない → なさすぎる (drop い, append さ, append すぎる) Is ない in つまらない treated as the negative ない which conjugates as 2.? Or is つまらない a ...
Flaw's user avatar
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conjugation: やあります vs やります [closed]

When conjugating yaru to yarimasu, does it become やあります or やります?
holymushy's user avatar
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見る + に particle: why is る not dropped?

I found this sentence in Tofugu's workbook. 続きを見るにはこちらから。 My question is: Why is the る not dropped so it becomes 見に, as in this sentence: 映画を見に行きます。
BJ Dela Cruz's user avatar
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Is there a word for "studied" or I have to use 勉強はした?

My question is if there is a word for "studied", or you have to do "study + did" to say "studied". And if that applies to all other words. Like "to work" would be 仕事はする? Does everything work with する? ...
Felipe Müller's user avatar
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Translation help: 私が困っているのがはつおんですね

This is a trascript from a podcast I was listening to. The woman was asked about what she thought was the hardest aspect in learning english, to which she replied 私が困っているのがはつおんですね So... why 私が ...
Gabu's user avatar
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とまらない in One Punch Man OP meaning とまれない (negative potential)

The negative form of 止{と}まる (to stop) is 止まらない, and the negative potential form is 止まれない. However, I've noticed that 止まらない can be used in the sense of 止まれない. For example, the OP for One Punch Man ...
rhyaeris's user avatar
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Which conjugation is this? 吸わないようにしています

マスクをして、花粉を鼻から吸わないようにしています It has the general meaning of "they use masks so that they don't breathe pollen through their noses". My question is about the 吸わないようにしています part. Which ...
Gabu's user avatar
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Which conjugation is this 生きていこう?

I guess the title says it all. Which conjugation is this: 生きる -> 生きていこう ? Thank you very much.
Gabu's user avatar
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Which conjugation is this 進む → 進め

I'm translating a song and came across the following sentence: 明日の岸辺へと夢の舟よ進め If it was 明日の岸辺へと夢の舟よ進む it would mean "move on the dream boat to the shores of tomorrow". What changes with this ...
Gabu's user avatar
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When to use these plain Te-Forms?

I've studied the use of a polite(?) te-form conjugation that is used to enumerate actions or for a request (adding ください). Examples would be 聞いて, 死んで. But what about non-polite(?) te-form conjugations?...
Christopher Francisco's user avatar
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1 answer
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What's the difference between あって vs ありまして?

I was taught that the て form of the verb ある is あって, but I sometimes see the word ありまして acting in the same way. What's the difference and when would you use one or the other?
charlieshades's user avatar
1 vote
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木 を 切り に VS 木 を 切る に in the ももたろう tale

In the ももたろう tale there's a sentence that goes like: おじいさんが山{やま}へ木{き}を切{き}りにいけば、 おばあさんは川{かわ}へせんたくにでかけます。 Which translates as If the old man went to the mountain to cut trees the old woman ...
Gabu's user avatar
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What conjugation of 願う is 願わくば, and what does it mean here?

This is my first post here, I'm sorry if I didn't follow any formatting or posting rules. Original sentence, from a character's monologue: 願わくばこの時間が少しでも長く続くことを。。。 The English translation I have (...
chesnutcase's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
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Connective だって and use of せっかく

It's hard to tell where the following breaks up as it's in one bubble. まあまあ せっかくだから[買]{か}いに[行]{い}ったらどうだ [山田]{やまだ}だって[必要]{ひつよう}だろ Anyway. My attempt at (somewhat literal) translation here is: ...
johnnd's user avatar
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Infinitive form + た or た form

兄ちゃんも行きたいって言ってたし。 I'm pretty sure it's 言. The only difference is the top mark is horizontal. Every time time I analyze it, though, I wind up with 言. Anyway, my question regards the 行きた. According ...
johnnd's user avatar
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1 answer
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Possible use of isolated し?

I came across a sentence that doesn't make sense no matter how I try to break it up. The context is a person's reply to a question about cutting their hair. 切るタイミング逃しちゃっただけ。 I'm not 100% sure ...
johnnd's user avatar
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Verb negative-form + なる [duplicate]

寝る → 寝るようになる 寝ないようになる 寝なくようになる 寝なくなる Hi guys, sorry if this has been asked before. I've learned in class that 寝なくなる is the valid form, but are the first two forms valid as well?
John's user avatar
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連用形 used instead of regular 連体形 directly modifying nouns

I'm attempting to read my first light novel and am unsure about whether I am misunderstanding the function completely, or if it is merely a literary usage. Here is an example: ...
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1 answer
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Location of pitch-accent on conjugated auxiliary verbs

I've been using online tools to learn the pitch-accent rules that affect verb and adjective conjugation, and memorising the rules that govern how conjugation affects the location of the accent in ...
Harith Vasant's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
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meaning of 歩けなくなっちゃって

I'm trying to translate 駅から歩けなくなっちゃって. I don't really speak Japanese but this is what I got so far: なっちゃって apparently means having done something against one's intention 駅から is "from the station" ...
NounVerber's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
430 views

てえな attached to verb stem

Hello fellow inquisitors of Japanese. In my classroom today - in Balamb Gardens of course - my students and I were gleefully reading through Shiwon Miura's latest novel あの家に暮らす四人の女 when we - to our ...
Quistis Trepe's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
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Should I use 「なすぎる」 or 「なさすぎる」?

As I was taught, with verbs and adjectives, when you want to express an excessive degree, you simply attach 「すぎる」 to the stem of the word, as below. 食【た】べる 食べ過ぎる 多【おお】い 多すぎる However, when it comes ...
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