012: Grades

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.