Okay back to verbs. Now that you know how to spot Ichidan, Godan and Exception verbs we are going to start into conjugation. There are 7 verb bases, each of which adjust the ending of two main types of verbs, Ichidan and Godan. We are going to start by learning the first 5 bases as they are the easiest.
First off, by changing the bases you can change the meanings of any of the verbs you use. By conjugating verbs we not only change the form we also slightly change the function. Think of each of these bases like puzzle pieces. You have to have the verb in the correct form to connect it to the correct suffix.
Each one of these bases correlates to a vowel:
Base 1: a/あ
Base 2: i/い
Base 3: u/う
Base 4: e/え
Base 5: ou *long sound おう
Here are some basic examples with each verb type as they conjugate slightly differently.
Godan Verbs: nomu – to drink
Nomu in Base 1 = noma のま
Nomu in Base 2 = nomi のみ
Nomu in Base 3 = nomu のむ
Nomu in Base 4 = nome のめ
Nomu in Base 5 = nomou のもう
Are you spotting a pattern here?
For Godan verbs, simply shift the verb into romaji and then change the last letter of the base verb. Now one more note. You notice that we call this verb Nomu? Base 3 is called the dictionary form. It is the most basic form of a verb. When you search a verb in the dictionary or hear it without any honorifics or form changes it will be in Base 3.
Ichidan verbs are a little more tricky because they don’t logically follow a standard pattern like the Godan Verbs.
Ichidan verbs: taberu – to eat
Taberu in Base 1 = tabe たべ
Taberu in Base 2 = tabe たべ
Taberu in Base 3 = taberu たべる
Taberu in Base 4 = tabero たべろ
Taberu in Base 5 = tabeyou たべよう
With Ichidan verbs base 1 & 2 are the same, simply cut off the last る.
But base 4 and 5, you add ろ & よう respectively.
For today's test spot the Godan verb used in this chapter, and change it into all 5 forms.
おい - Hey (Male informal)
遊び(B2 あそぶ)- To Play
に - Direction Particle
行こう(B5 行く) - To Go
ぜ - Male Exclamitive
行きたい (B2 行く + Tai) - Want to Go
けど - But
行けない - (Potential Form 行く)
んだ - Indicates Explanation
なんで - Why
だ - Predicate
よ - !
なに - What
か - Question Particle
する - To Do
こと - Intangible Thing
ある - To Exist
の - ?
勉強する(べんきょう)- To Study
しない(B1する+ない)
んだ - Indicates Explination
といけない - Must Verb
Asobu =
B1 Asoba
B2 Asobi
B3 Abosu
B4 Asobe
B5 Asobou