Questions tagged [renyōkei]

連用形. An inflection of verbs and adjectives known by various names in English, including "continuative form", "infinitive", "the stem", "conjunctive form", and even "Vmasu form" (since it's the form that appears before 〜ます, although of course this name doesn't work for adjectives). Sometimes called 中立形 in Japanese. Formed with -i for consonant-stem verbs, -∅ for vowel-stem verbs, and -ku for adjectives.

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Meaning of ぬ added to 連用形 / masu-stem, as in 風立ちぬ

What does the ぬ at the end of 立ち specify? I can't find a verb that is just 立ちぬ, is this some kind of special form? Can this be done with other verbs as well? 風立ちぬ, for reference, is Miyazaki's new ...
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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
14 votes
1 answer
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Etymology of 見舞い

Visiting someone in hospital clearly involves seeing that person. But dancing? Does 舞 have some other, relevant meaning? Did it pertain to a traditional, sacred dance for health? Or is this ateji?
Mathieu Bouville's user avatar
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1 answer
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なく vs. なくて and stem form vs. てform as conjunctions

I have been wondering about this, since every time I hand in a 作文 in a Japanese class, I'm corrected on conjunctions. It seems to me that whenever I use a てform as a conjunction, a response comes back ...
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What does the word 「ありゃしねえ」mean?

It is a situation which a salesperson announces to a group of people to attract them to buy his goods. Here is the full sentence. こんなお買【か】いどくはどこの世【せ】界【かい】へいったって ありゃしねえよ
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What is this form : Verb + はせん?

I am currently trying to read Bleach in Japanese. So far I haven't ran into any difficulty that a good dictionary cannot overcome. However in this particular scene I am puzzled by a particular scene, ...
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9 votes
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Removal of て in Japanese novels

Is て sometimes dropped in Japanese Novella? I'm asking as I recall being told (in one of my previous question's comment section) that て is sometimes dropped in Japanese novels. And yet, when I went ...
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What does the "〜やしない" conjugation mean?

In episode 76 of Fairy Tail, Gildarts said this to Natsu: 本気でそう思ったら、止めやしないよ。 (honki de sou omottara, tomeyashinai yo) Which was translated in the subtitle as: If that's what you honestly ...
Lukman's user avatar
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What is this や in 大きすぎや?

Is this a contraction along the same lines of なければ → なきゃ? 反乱を抑えるためだけが目的だとしたらリスクが大きすぎやしないか Also, can you contract 言えば or あれば?
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Meaning of 誰もいはしない in this sentence

「どうせ誰もいはしないと高をくくっていたところもある。」 This one's throwing me for a bit of a loop. The translation says "He also didn't really take the possibility of anyone being there seriously." It makes sense to me ...
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五段動詞特異的なイ音便について

Are there any explanations for the 五段動詞-specific イ音便 of 連用形+た/て that aren't based/dependent on the 子音語幹/母音語幹 explanation for the differences in 五段動詞/上一段動詞 conjugations? For example, take 開く and 飽きる, ...
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What is "masu-stem + ざま"?

Here is a part of a sentence from my book: ・・・・手裏剣をよけざま・・・・ I can't find any help in any of my references on the pattern of "masu-stem + ざま", which makes me hesitant to say that's exactly what it ...
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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 ...
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Using に twice in the [Verb-連用形]に行く sentence pattern

Consider these example sentences given by my grammar dictionary: (1) 私はデパートへ贈り物を買いに行った。 (2) そこへ何をしに行くんですか。 Observation: The location is marked by へ instead of に. Considering that a sentence such as ...
Flaw's user avatar
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Is there a term for using conjugating verbs such that the sentence continues with another clause?

I'm referring specifically to using the て form to form a pseudo conjunction, and specifically the transformation of verbs in formal writing by using the verb stem instead of て form. For example the ...
ssb's user avatar
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Is 仕方 a particular case of the pattern V連用形 + 方?

There is a pattern to express the way of doing things. First comes a verb in the 連用形 form, and after that comes the word 方{かた}. For example: 食べ + 方 → 食べ方 (the way of eating) 読み + 方 → 読み方 (the way of ...
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How to use に with "masu-stem (連用形 stem) + に + Verb" structure

Could somebody provide a bit more explanation, possibly giving correct and incorrect examples on how to use に with "masu-stem (連用形 stem) + に + Verb" as illustrated in the following examples? Both ...
Tim's user avatar
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What is the meaning and application of ren'youkei?

My knowledge about ren'youkei is limited to "tabe is the ren'youkei of taberu". I would like to know what the meaning of ren'youkei is, what linguistic idea lies behind this term and for what it is ...
eugene_laserhair's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
802 views

Nominalizing verb with い-ending vs ーの

In my Japanese class today, we were supposed to say a sport we liked. I said: 泳ぎが好きです。 We haven't learned this way of nominalizing verbs or the names of many sports, so my 先生 shook her head no and I ...
ringo's user avatar
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連用形+は+せん (殺しはせん。) meaning? [duplicate]

The line 「殺しはせん。」 is said by a character in anime. What is せん here (I assume it's somehow related to negative form of する)? Plain negative (I'm not killing you)? Volitional neg. (I'm not intending to ...
user9771's user avatar
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What's the grammatical breakdown of "知りもしないわ"?

Can you do this with any verb? e.g."食べもしないわ" Also what's the meaning of "わ" at the of verbs like "壊すわ"?
Izuna's user avatar
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2 answers
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Masu stem to connect sentences

When using masu-stem to connect sentences, is the short form for shimashita = shi? 昨日無事に大学を卒業しました。日曜日に国へ帰ります。 = 昨日無事に大学を卒業し、日曜日に国へ帰ります。 Is his correct?
Denise's user avatar
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Is the 「て」 missing from 「され」 in this sentence?

Here is the sentence. ソフトのプレイ中にHOMEボタンを押すと、ソフトが中断されHOMEメニューが表示されます。 I think 「て」 should follow the verb 「中断され」 to create conjunctive/continuative form.
George's user avatar
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Why do they use the 連用形 instead of the て form here? [duplicate]

I know that the て form can be used to connect verbs together, like the English "and": 毎日私は食べて寝る。 I eat and sleep every day. And I know the 連用形 can be used to connect verbs as well, but it ...
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Use of verb ます-stem when て-form seems possible

I saw this line in a song: 時計塔の頂上椅子に座り微笑んでるあなたは I'm curious why it uses 座り rather than 座って? Since it's a sequence of actions I would've thought that 座って would be more applicable, but since 座り ...
Museum of Truisms's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
426 views

How to understand "きざみ角煮{かくに}"

In today's endeavour to augment my ability to read onigiri labels I came across this in Naha, Okinawa: きざみ角煮 Google Translate does a terrible job: Boiled angle increments WWWJDIC has an entry ...
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How do you formulate the 連用中止 with 形容動詞 (な adjectives) and 名詞 (nouns)?

According to my textbook, verb and i-adjective sentences can be chained with the 連用中止【れんようちゅうし】 form like this: Later on, I came across this exercise where I'm required to replace the adjectives' ...
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4 votes
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When an -i form (連用形{れんようけい}) of a verb seems to be a suffix rather than a prefix?

In a previous question about コーヒー割り I learned that 割り is a form of the verb 割{わ}る "to dilute". Now I'm trying to understand the grammatical process by which this 割り form of 割る can be added to nouns ...
hippietrail's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
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Difference between ざまに and ながら

お姉ちゃんが振り向きざまにきっぱりと言い切った Big sister turned around and ?? clearly asserted... From the answer on this question about ざまに, I understand ざまに to mean "while". But in what way does it differ from ながら? ...
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Stem of ます-form as conjuction

おはよう! I came up with the stem of the ます-form while trying to read a book. I already checked the questions Connecting phrases with the stem of masu-form and なく vs. なくて and stem form vs. てform as ...
user2553780's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
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Why do things which attach to the 連用形 of 動詞 attach to the stem of 形容詞?

When you want to connect a 活用語 (inflectable word) to something else, generally you inflect it to the 連用形 (continuative form). However, with 形容詞 (i-adjectives), there are certain times where you affix ...
Darius Jahandarie's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
196 views

Use 連用形 as a 形容動詞 (na-adjective)

In the lyric of 余白 by 尾崎由香, there is the line 言わば引きこもりなくせに In this line, the 連用形 of the verb 引きこもる seems to be used as a 形容動詞. While it is quite common to use the 連用形 of a verb as a noun, this is ...
Weijun Zhou's user avatar
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2 answers
264 views

根も葉も火種も -- is it proverbial?

I suspect「根も葉も火種も」 is an allusion to something I do not recognize. To what does it refer? Consider this couplet from an amusing song released in March by IOSYS called 「ステマの女」(CD and promotional ...
celeriac's user avatar
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1 answer
3k views

Connecting phrases with the stem of masu-form

When is it possible to connect sentences using the stem of masu-form? Are there restrictions on the use of this form?
roby's user avatar
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What does the word 「してやせんっ」 mean?

I have come across the word in a manga. It is said by a boy who was talking about the future plan of selling prizes awarded from playing Pachinko. Here is the sentence including the word: いつまでも ...
George's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Is this a 仮定形 (kateikei) form, and how to analyse it?

I'm stuck with the word かけ in the following text below (towards the beginning of Japanese tale, Kachikachi yama). Obviously, "(こしを)かけ" stands for "(腰を)掛ける" (to sit down). But what's the grammar ...
suizokukan's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
506 views

What does おり mean in this sentence?

Is it from the verb 居る? If it's so, why is not it ております? 怪人による被害はこれまでにない規模の拡大を続けており、…
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Which form is 切り?

On a Japanese package I've found this inscription: ここからお切り下さい。 This obviously means: "Please cut here (to open)". With my very basic knowledge of Japanese I would instead of お切り (お being the ...
elzell's user avatar
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1 answer
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Grammar justification for 連用形 + 係助詞「は」+(ない・ある)

So recently I came across these two answers to two very interesting questions, and related: one and two. Both mention the following form: (連用形{れんようけい} of something) + (optional 係助詞{かかりじょし}) + (...
xTCx's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
597 views

Why does 逃げよ mean 'Escape!"?

I have been watching some anime recently and I often hear people say にげよ (逃げよ in kanji maybe?) and it is usually translated as "(Let's) escape!". I want to know why it is translated this way. ...
Sweeper's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
127 views

Use of 揺らせ as 連用形

I've come across the following clause in ノルウェイの森. 十月の風はすすきの穂をあちこちで揺らせ, ... 揺らせ here clearly seems to be functioning as a 連用形, but I'm not quite sure how this can be derived from 揺らす as it's not 揺らして. ...
Dragonsheep's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
157 views

Grammaticality of two kanji verbs without their conjugating part

A friend told me he's going to get a tattoo with "頑張". 頑張 doesn't exist on the dictionary without its -る conjugating part, so is it grammatically correct using it alone, as if it was a noun? Does it ...
Marco's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
219 views

Meaning of ようになり

The problematic part is emboldened. 縄文時代は、縄文土器が使用された時代を示す呼称であったが、次第に生活内容を加えた特徴の説明が為されるようになり、磨製石器を造る技術、土器の使用、農耕狩猟採集経済、定住化した社会ととらえられるようになった。 I can't understand how does the ようになり function here. ...
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

meaning of なく followed by なし

In the context of a very well fortified place, what does 入る者なく出る者なし mean? It seems like it would mean: none may enter, none may leave, but I'd like to make sure, and understand the naku form better. ...
David Song's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
252 views

Can たり be used without する at the end?

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/compound#part8 explains what たりする is. I read "地面が40cm以上高くなったり、1m20cm以上低くなった所もありました" on http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10010492331000/k10010492331000....
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
477 views

連用形 of 「だ」 - difference between 「だっ」「で」「に」

Out of the conjugations of だ, the 連用形 is what is confusing me. I understand だ、だろ、な、なら fine, but I'm confused about だっ、で、に. I think my question might be a bit too broad and that's because I really ...
J.Doe's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
720 views

Verb Stem vs. の Nominalizations

I've been wondering about the difference between verb stem (e.g. 話) vs. の (e.g. 話すの) nominalizations. From what I gather, they refer to different things. It seems the verb stems refer to the objects ...
mouldyfart's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
490 views

How does "koe" mean "went over"?

山 を こえ、 たに を こえ、 うみ に でる と、 おに の ふね が ありました It translates as They went over the mountains, and over the valleys And came out to the sea, and there was a devil boat Why is it "koe" means "went ...
toby's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
385 views

I don't understand what this verb conjugation is: 見えなくなった

This is a quote from Tae Kim's Guide 下に入って、富士山が見えなくなった Can someone explain what this form of 見える is? It almost seems like they are trying to make a negative verb into an adverb but is that ...
Sleepy's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
305 views

Why is 暗い conjugated as 暗くsometimes?

I know in past tense, you use く like 暗くない but even in present tense, I see example phrases where 暗く is used. For instance: もう暗くなったから、帰りましょう。 I'm a beginner so bear with me please and thanks!
Owen's user avatar
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