Verb Bases

So far, you've been using verbs but only in the informal present tense form. As for our own examples, we have shown verb conjugations but have not explained how they were conjugated that way in Japanese.

There is a system with Japanese that can be used to very easily explain and demonstrate grammar. You'll have seen this chart in our previous lesson about Verbs when we looked at the Dictionary Form; this system is called Verb Bases and follows some simple rules.

There are only a total of seven verb bases in Japanese and all verb types use them. Remember, there are three verb types: Ichidan, Godan and Irregular. Ichidan verbs are usually called ru-verbs and Godan verbs called u-verbs. Ichidan verbs are those that end in eru or iru with a few verbs that are not Ichidan. Everything else is generally a Godan verb except for a few Irregular verbs.

※ You can revisit our Verbs lesson any time if you need a reminder of which each verb type is. If you are unsure what type a verb is or how to conjugate it, check out online dictionaries such as japandict.com or jisho.org.

Ichidan Verbsru-verbs

Ichidan verbs are the easiest to conjugate so let's begin with those first. Remember, most Ichidan verbs end with either eru or iru in romaji; the vowel sound preceding る is an /e/ or /i/ sound. Here are some Ichidan verbs to remember and practice using.

Ichidan means "one grade" or "one step" because all that is needed to conjugate these verbs is to remove the final る which is literally just only one step to follow. Below is a chart demonstrating these five new words as an example of each base type for you to check out. This system works for all Ichidan verbs.

• Base 1 and Base 2 are the same in dropping the る (ru).
• Base 3 is called the Dictionary Form because this is what the dictionary uses for its verb entry. Nothing needs to change.
• Base 4 replaces る (ru) with れ (re)
• Base 5 replaces る (ru) with よう (you)
• Base te and Base ta replaces る (ru) with the matching base ending て (te) and た (ta)

Godan Verbsu-verbs

For this section, here are some Godan verbs to remember and practice using. We will use these to show how the bases conjugate so make sure to check them out.

To conjugate Godan verbs correctly, we need to remember the order of vowels in Japanese: A, I, U, E, O. Bases 1 to 5 follow this order. However, there is a different way of changing the Base te and Base ta forms. Make sure to remember these new rules.

Godan means "five grades" or "five steps" because there are five ways to conjugate these verbs; do this by replacing う using the vowel order: A, I, U, E, O. Literally five steps to follow (not including base te/ta).

• Base 1 changes the /u/ sound to an /a/ sound. However, if the last character is a hiragana う (u) then that う changes into a わ (wa) instead.
• Base 2 changes the /u/ sound to an /i/ sound.
• Base 3 is the dictionary form and nothing needs to change.
• Base 4 changes the /u/ sound to an /e/ sound.
• Base 5 changes the /u/ sound to an /ou/ sound.

Base ta and Base te are a little more trickier and follows a different set of rules than the Ichidan verbs do. The ending character needs to be replaced with the related base types:

Below is another chart demonstrating these five new words as an example of each base type for you to check out. Notice the differences with Bases te, and ta.

Irregular Verbs

The problem with Irregular Verbs is that they don't follow any of the simple rules we've just looked at. Because of this, you'll just have to memorise them. Fortunately, there are only 2 main verbs that are Irregular. Unfortunately, they are also very common.

You may have wondered why いく was listed here too and that is because despite being a Godan Verb, the Base te and Base ta forms are different. There are a few other words that are like this too so remember to regularly check a dictionary if you are not sure.

As this can be a lot to take in, you should revisit this lesson whenever you become unsure or forget anything covered here. I would not expect anyone to remember these rules so easily. I'll be sure to point out whenever we come across any other irregular conjugations just like "iku" (to go).

We'll be using all of these verb bases to easily explain and organise grammar in later lessons. The next time we use some of these will be very soon when we cover verb tenses. It will prove very useful.