Lesson Twenty Three: Verb Bases
The verb conjugation covered in lessons 19 and 21 are very similar to what you’ll see in many Japanese textbooks. There is a system with this language that can be used to easily explain and organize grammar. This system uses bases, and I’ll be using those to teach you new grammar. It follows some simple rules, so let’s get on with it.
Let me explain bases by using what we covered before. There are only seven bases, and all verb types use them. In lesson 21 I introduced four bases, so I’ll go into more detail now.
Speaking of verb types, remember that there are three of them: ichidan, godan and irregular. (Ichidan is sometimes called ru-verb and godan is sometimes called u-verb).
All ichidan verbs end with eru or iru in romaji. There are a few verbs that end with iru and eru that aren’t ichidan though. Be sure to check how they are conjugated in the dictionary of ask a native speaker if you’re not sure which kind they are!
Godan verbs are pretty much all the verbs that are not ichidan or irregular. And thankfully there are very few irregular verbs. I’ll be sure to warn you when I show you one! Godan verbs are the most common. Be sure you know how to use them!
There are seven bases to conjugate into for each verb type. Below is the word たべる (taberu) “eat” in all seven bases.
taberu – to eat | |
Base 1 | tabe |
Base 2 | tabe |
base 3 | taberu |
Base 4 | tabere |
Base 5 | tabeyou |
Base 6 (te) | tabete |
Base 7 (ta) | tabeta |
In this lesson I’m just going to cover the bases that are used for the verb forms that I talked about in previous lessons. Those connect with bases 1, 2, 3, and ta. We’ll hit the rest later. And don’t worry too much about the deeper meaning behind the bases. They all have more than one use.
Ichidan verbs are easier to conjugate, so I’ll start with though. The first two bases are the same, just drop the ru. Base 3 is simple, just leave it like you find it in the dictionary. This is why it is also called “dictionary form.” Lastly, for base ta you simply replace the る (ru) with a た (ta).
Now for godan verbs! To conjugate them correctly we need to remember the order of vowels in Japanese: A, I, U, E, O. Bases 1-5 follow this order. So for base 1 change the u to an “a,” base 2 takes the u to an “i” and base 3 stays as a “u” at the end.
yomu – to read | |
Base 1 | yoma |
Base 2 | yomi |
Base 3 | yomu |
Base 4 | yome |
Base 5 | yomou |
Base te | yonde |
Base ta | yonda |
But when the last character is a hiragana う (u) then base 1 changes the u into a wa instead.
au – to meet | |
Base 1 | awa |
Base 2 | ai |
Base 3 | au |
Base 4 | ae |
Base 5 | aou |
Base te | atte |
Base ta | atta |
Since I’ve covered all the bases needed for formal verbs, here’s a chart of them with the base method.
Future/Present: Base 2 –masu
Negative: Base 2 –masen
Past: Base 2 –mashita
Past negative: Base 2 –masen deshita
The tricky thing about godan verbs is conjugating bases te and ta. This is a little more confusing because it depends on what the last character of the verb is!
If the last character is an う (u), つ (tsu), or a る (ru) then the last character needs to be replaced with った (tta) for base ta.
au – to meet | |
Base 1 | awa |
Base 2 | ai |
Base 3 | au |
Base 4 | ae |
Base 5 | aou |
Base te | atte |
Base ta | atta |
If the last character is a ぶ (bu), む (mu) or a ぬ (nu) then the last character needs to be replaced with (nda) for base ta.
yomu – to read | |
Base 1 | yoma |
Base 2 | yomi |
Base 3 | yomu |
Base 4 | yome |
Base 5 | yomou |
Base te | yonde |
Base ta | yonda |
If the last character is a く (ku) then the last character needs to be replaced with いた (ita) for base ta.
kaku – to write | |
Base 1 | kaka |
Base 2 | kaki |
Base 3 | kaku |
Base 4 | kake |
Base 5 | kakou |
Base te | kaite |
Base ta | kaita |
If the last character is a ぐ (gu) then the last character needs to be replaced with いだ (ida) for base ta.
isogu – to hurry | |
Base 1 | isoga |
Base 2 | isogi |
Base 3 | isogu |
Base 4 | isoge |
Base 5 | isogou |
Base te | isoide |
Base ta | isoida |
If the last character is a す (su) then the last character needs to be replaced with した (shita) for base ta.
hanasu – to relinquish | |
Base 1 | hanasa |
Base 2 | hanashi |
Base 3 | hanasu |
Base 4 | hanase |
Base 5 | hanasou |
Base te | hanashite |
Base ta | hanashita |
Using these bases it is very easy to set up the informal verbs.
Future/present: base 3
Negative: base 1 –nai
Past: base ta
Past negative: base 1 –nakatta
Let’s get some verbs for you to practice these on!
make | tsukuru | つくる |
enter | hairu | はいる |
exit | deru | でる |
receive | ukeru | うける |
give | ataeru | あたえる |
Can you tell which are ichidan verbs and which are godan verbs?
rest | yasumu | やすむ |
sleep | nemuru | ねむる |
die | shinu | しぬ |
kill | korosu | ころす |
build | tsukuru | つくる |
That’s a lot to take in. Let’s have a simple little game to relax a little bit.
GAME: Flash cards
I’ll go over the rest of the bases in a later lesson, but for now just concentrate on getting a good hold of conjugating verbs. It will make it fairly easy to pick up the rest of the bases.
Try getting the correct conjugation in this game!
GAME: Bridge builder
Be sure to keep practicing! It’s the only way that you’ll learn Japanese!
