Lesson 21

Base 1 + nakereba narimasen

This verb ending is not only a long one, it's a bit of a tongue twister. It is used quite a lot because
it means "must do." Let's take iku (to go), change it to Base 1 ika, and add nakereba
narimasen to make this simple example sentence: Watashi wa ikanakereba narimasen. (I
have to go.)
Looking at it literally, the nakereba means "if one does not...," as you will remember from
Lesson 20, and narimasen means "will not become"; so in the example above you are saying
"If I don't go it won't do."
Here are some more examples:

Jim wa ima kaeranakereba narimasen. (Jim has to return now.)

Laura wa kasa o kawanakereba narimasen. (Laura has to buy an umbrella.)
Kodomotachi wa tabenakereba narimasen. (The children must eat.)
You have probably noticed that the polite negative ending masen is used on the end here. Yes,
this is a verb within a verb ending: naru (to become) is the root word here, which is in its Base 2
form with masen added on (narimasen). If we were to use the plain negative form of naru
(naranai) instead, the ending becomes nakereba naranai, which changes the whole sentence
to a plain and informal construction. This can be handy when adding other endings, like deshou
from Lesson 18. Let's use this ending with the three examples above and see how the
meanings are "softened":

Jim wa ima kaeranakereba naranai deshou. (Jim probably has to return now.)
Laura wa kasa o kawanakereba naranai deshou. (Laura probably needs to buy an
umbrella.)

Kodomotachi wa tabenakereba naranai deshou. (The children probably need to eat.)

As you grow accustomed to Japanese verb usage and ending patterns, you will see how the
entire meaning or "feeling" of a sentence can be adjusted or "fine tuned" at will by combining
the right ending components as you finish the sentence up.
Good luck with nakereba narimasen. I already mentioned that it's a tongue twister. More than
memorizing its meaning, mastering a clean, clear pronunciation of it is usually the most difficult
part.

Word Check
ima: now
kasa: umbrella

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Lesson 22
Base 1 + seru / saseru
These are used when you want to let/have/make someone do something. In English we
fortunately have three different words which allow us to easily adjust the meaning to the one we
want to convey. Accordingly, "I'll let him go to the store," "I'll have him go to the store," and "I'll
make him go to the store" all have different nuances. In Japanese, however, seru, for yodan
verbs, and saseru, for the others, are used for all of these. By the overall context and by using
other "helper" words the different meanings, or feelings, as in "let him" vs. "make him," can be
conveyed.
The important thing to remember is that yodan verbs use seru, like this:

Obaa-san wa kodomotachi ni soto de asobaseru. (Grandma lets the children play

outside.)

Okaa-chan wa Kimiko ni kasa o kawaseru. (Mom will have Kimiko buy an umbrella.)
Sensei wa gakusei ni mainichi shimbun o yomaseru. (The teacher makes the students
read the newspaper every day.)
And ichidan verbs and the irregular kuru use saseru:

Roku ji ni kodomotachi ni yuushoku o tabesaseru. (I'll have the kids eat dinner at 6:00.)
John ni raishuu made ni kimesaseru. (I'll have John decide by next week.)
Kare ni ashita kosaseru. (I'll have him come tomorrow.)
With suru verbs, suru is simply replaced with saseru:

Otou-san wa Bob ni benkyou saseru. (Dad will make Bob study.)

Kanojo ni saseru. (I'll have her do it.)
As you can see, in these constructions the person being let or made to do something becomes
the indirect object, which is signified by adding ni after it.
One tricky thing is that there are some verbs which already have a "set form" to convey this
meaning, and do not follow the above rules. A good example is miseru, which means "to show"
or "to let see," as in:

Kare wa karera ni mainichi terebi o miseru. (He lets them watch TV every day.)
So, although miru is an ichidan verb, you won't hear or see "misaseru." As you get used to
more and more natural Japanese expressions, you will know which verbs are conjugated as
outlined above and which have their own set forms which are used instead.
Now for the easy part: Since seru and saseru end in eru, they can be conjugated further like
any other ichidan verb, making it easy to apply what has been learned in the previous lessons in
order to make them negative, past tense, polite, etc. For example:

Ritsuko wa Kumi ni pen o kawasemashita. (Ritsuko had Kumi buy a pen.)

Ojii-san wa kodomotachi ni ame o tabesasemasen. (Grandpa won't let the children eat
candy.)

Watashi wa Kenji ni eigo o benkyou sasetai desu. (I want to have Kenji study English.)
John ni mise ni ikasemashou. (Let's have John go to the store.)
Kodomotachi ni terebi o misemashou ka. (Shall we let the kids watch TV?)
These examples all use verbs in their Base 1 form with seru or saseru, which are changed in
order to add Base 2 endings. Please review any you may have forgotten.

Word Check
sensei: teacher
gakusei: student(s)
mainichi: every day
shinbun: newspaper
yuushoku: dinner
taberu: to eat
raishuu: next week
made ni: by (a time or date, to set a deadline: by 5:00, by tomorrow, etc.)
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kimeru: to decide
kare: he, him
ashita: tomorrow
kuru: to come
benkyou suru: to study
kanojo: she, her
karera: they, them
ame: candy, sweets1
eigo: the English language
mise: a store, a shop
iku: to go
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. Yes, "rain" is also ame, but it uses a different kanji. The word ame for sweets is usually
written in hiragana.

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Lesson 23
Base 1 + zu ni
Use zu ni with Base 1 to say that someone did something without doing something else which
was expected. Yes, that's a tad confusing, but these examples should make it clear:

Kare wa yuushoku o tabezu ni nemashita. (He went to bed without eating dinner.)
Kyou Shizuka wa kyoukasho o motazu ni gakkou ni kimashita. (Today Shizuka came to
school without her textbook.)
Bob wa maemotte denwa sezu ni John no ie ni ikimashita. (Bob went to John's house
without calling first.)
Please note that in some cases the ni after the zu may be omitted, especially when no
particular emphasis needs to be applied.

Word Check
neru: to sleep
kyoukasho: textbook
motsu: to hold; to have
gakkou: school
maemotte: beforehand; in advance
denwa suru: to telephone (someone)
ie: house; home
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 24
Base 3 + deshou
Even though deshou was already introduced in Lesson 18, I thought it would be a nice and
easy way to begin the Base 3 verb endings. But before we begin, please remember that Base 3
is actually the root or "dictionary" form of the verb; the plain, unsophisticated form used by kids
or in very familiar situations, as explained in Lesson 1. (To my mind it would make more sense
to call this form Base 1, but I suppose we must allow each language its quirks.)
Remember these examples?

Jim wa manga o yomu.

Ojii-san wa sugu kaeru.
Watashi wa ringo o taberu.
Naomi wa terebi o miru.
Mama wa mise de banana o kau.
Not only should you be able to translate these, you should know which are ichidan and which are
yodan. Please review Lesson 1 if necessary.
Let's get back to deshou. This is an easy add-on which means "perhaps" or "probably." For
example, add it to kau (to buy) in Mama wa mise de banana o kau and you have Mama wa
mise de banana o kau deshou (Mom will probably buy some bananas at the store). Let's do a
few more:

Raishuu watashi wa Okayama ni iku deshou. (I'll probably go to Okayama next week.)
Kenji wa atarashii kuruma o kau deshou. (Kenji will probably buy a new car.)
Ashita wa ame (ga furu) deshou.1 (It will probably rain tomorrow.)
Base 3 + deshou is very handy when you are not sure of something. Use it when you don't want
to take full responsibility for an outcome. That is why you will hear it used at the end of practically
every sentence of a weather forecast in Japan.
Another use for this form is questioning or confirming something already assumed, as we would
use tag questions in English. Please note that ka is not added at the end; a rising intonation is
used instead:

Osaka ni iku deshou? (You're going to Osaka, aren't you?)

Sue wa kuru deshou? (Sue's coming, isn't she?)
Tomoka wa eigo no shukudai o suru deshou? (Tomoka will do her English homework,
right?)
And Deshou!? alone is often used to say emphatically, "See, I told you!" or "Just as expected!"
The plain forms darou and yarou are sometimes used in place of this more polite deshou.
Personally, I have seldom heard darou used in conversation, while yarou is used frequently.
However, it can be considered vulgar in some situations, so don't use it unless everyone else
around you does.

Word Check
raishuu: next week
atarashii: new
kuruma: car
ashita: tomorrow
ame: rain
furu: to fall (rain, snow, etc.)
shukudai: homework

Notes
1. The verb furu used in this example means "to fall," but only if it's rain or snow that's doing the
falling. (A falling object uses the verb ochiru). As in English, the fact that the rain will fall is
understood, making the verb unnecessary, so it is often omitted.

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Lesson 25
Base 3 + hazu
When something is "supposed to be," "ought to be," or "expected to be," we use the Base 3
form of the verb with hazu (plain) or hazu desu (polite) added on:

Raishuu Teruko wa Osaka ni iku hazu desu. (Teruko is supposed to go to Osaka next
week.)

John wa sugu kuru hazu. (John should be coming soon.)

Kaigi wa mokuyoubi ni hirakareru hazu desu. (The meeting is supposed to be held this
Thursday.)
Hazu can also be added to some conjugated forms:

Bob mo ikitai hazu. (Bob will surely also want to go.)

Use datta (plain) or deshita (polite) for the past:1

Kimiko mo tetsudau hazu deshita. (Kimiko was also supposed to help.)

Erika wa ninjin mo kau hazu datta. (Erika was supposed to buy carrots, too.)

Word Check
iku: to go
sugu: soon
kuru: to come
kaigi: meeting
mokuyoubi: Thursday
hiraku: to open; to hold (a meeting or event)2
tetsudau: to help
ninjin: carrot(s)
kau: to buy

Notes
1. Please review Lesson 7 if necessary.
2. Hirakareru is the passive form of hiraku. See Notes on Japanese Verbs for more.

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Lesson 26
Base 3 + hou ga ii
This one is used for "should do," "had better do," "would rather do." Actually, the hou means
"way" or "method," and ii means "good" or "better," so when you use hou ga ii you are literally
saying "...way is good/better."
Examples:

Kanojo ni denwa suru hou ga ii. (I/we should call her.)

Watashitachi wa sukoshi yasumu hou ga ii. (We had better rest a little.)
Anata wa motto nihongo o benkyou suru hou ga ii. (You should study Japanese more.)
Hou ga ii is especially fitting when expressing a preferred choice or method:

Kyou densha de iku hou ga ii. (It would be better to go by train today.)
Raishuu suru hou ga ii. (It would be better to do it next week.)
Ato de taberu hou ga ii. (It would be better to eat later.)
Please note that the plain past Ta Form is used much more often with hou ga ii in daily
conversation these days than this present Base 3 form. For more see Lesson 73.
When showing personal preference, you can skip the verb and use hou ga ii right after a noun
with no:

Yakiniku no hou ga ii. (I'd rather have a barbeque.)

Inu no hou ga ii. (I'd rather get a dog.)
Hawaii no hou ga ii. (I'd rather go to Hawaii.)
As with most verb endings, and according to the grammar books, desu can be added to hou
ga ii to make it more polite, but, frankly, I have yet to actually hear hou ga ii desu in daily
conversation. When you hear it, the sentence will usually end with hou ga ii, which makes it
easier to catch than many other endings.
If there is any confusion between hou ga ii and hazu, which was covered in the last lesson, just
remember that hou ga ii is generally active: should do, prefer; while hazu is more passive:
should be, should happen.

Word Check
kanojo: she, her
denwa suru: to call (someone) on a telephone
sukoshi: a little
yasumu: to rest
motto: more
nihongo: the Japanese language
benkyou suru: to study
kyou: today
densha: train
suru: to do
ato de: later
taberu: to eat
yakiniku: Japanese-style grilled meat and vegetables
inu: dog
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 27
Base 3 + ka dou ka
Ka dou ka is the Japanese equivalent of the English "whether or not." It's straightforward
enough and easy to use:

Kare wa dekiru ka dou ka kikimashou. (I'll ask him whether or not he can do it.)
Watashitachi wa iku ka dou ka mada wakarimasen. (I don't know if we are going yet.)
Hideki wa ashita yasumu ka dou ka wakarimasu ka. (Do you know if Hideki has
tomorrow off?)
As you can see in the examples above, ka dou ka does not end a sentence, but connects two
phrases which contain verbs. It's like using "whether or not" in English, only the component order
is opposite in Japanese.

Word Check
dekiru: can; to be able to
kiku: to ask
mada: not yet (used with negative forms)
wakaru: to know; to understand
ashita: tomorrow
yasumu: to rest; to take a break; to take time off from work
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 28
Base 3 + kamo shiremasen
This one is used frequently, so you'll want to master it right away. Kamo shiremasen means
"maybe, perhaps." Let's look at these examples:

Watashi wa raishuu Osaka ni iku kamo shiremasen. (Maybe I'll go to Osaka next week.)
Jack mo kuru kamo shiremasen. (Jack may also come.)
Ashita yuki ga furu kamo shiremasen. (It might snow tomorrow.)
As you have probably noticed, this conjugation ends with the polite negative ending masen,
meaning that, yes, you can change it to the plain form nai if you don't need to be polite:

Ashita ame ga furu kamo shirenai. (It might rain tomorrow.)

Konban watashitachi wa soto de taberu kamo shirenai. (We may eat out tonight.)
Because nai follows shiru (to know) after it has been changed to its Base 1 form for plain
negative shiranai, and because masen follows shiru after it has been changed to its Base 2
form for polite negative shirimasen, it is common for foreigners to slip when using kamo
shirenai or kamo shiremasen and say "kamo shiranai" or "kamo shirimasen." These are
incorrect, so please be careful when pronouncing. It will take some practice.
Actually (and since you'll need to know this sooner or later), the shire in this conjugation does
come from shiru. It is its "conditional" Base 4 form, where it is converted to shireru (can know).
As such, it is handled the same as an ichidan verb (please review Lesson 1 if necessary), and
is conjugated accordingly. Simply put, shirenai and shiremasen are the Base 1 and 2 forms of
shireru with the plain negative nai or the polite negative masen added on. Therefore, when you
say kamo shirenai or kamo shiremasen you are saying "cannot be known."
Since this verb ending is rather long, people sometimes shorten it to just kamo, as in:

Ashita Bob kara meeru ga kuru kamo. (Perhaps we'll get an e-mail from Bob
tomorrow.)1

Sanji goro watashi wa dekakeru kamo. (I might go out around three o'clock.)
I suggest, however, that you do not abbreviate it in this way until you are familiar enough with the
language to make it sound natural, and familiar enough with the culture to know when it is
appropriate.

Word Check
yuki: snow
ame: rain
konban: this evening; tonight
soto: outside
kara: from
sanji: three o'clock
goro: about, around (used with times and dates)
dekakeru: to go out

Notes
1. The technically accurate term for e-mail in Japanese is denshi meeru, but it's usually just
called meeru.

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Lesson 29
Base 3 + kara
Kara is often used as the equivalent to our "because" or "since." It comes at the end of the
phrase it modifies, the reason or cause of the action which follows:

Ame ga furu kara kasa o motte ikimashou. (Since it is going to rain, let's take
umbrellas.)

Beth wa itsumo okureru kara denwa suru. (Beth is always late, so I'll call her.)
In spoken Japanese, you'll often hear the action stated first, with its reason, signified by kara at
the end, given after. In this case, grammatically speaking, they each become separate
sentences. Let's do this to the above examples:

Kasa o motte ikimashou. Ame ga furu kara. (Let's take umbrellas since it's going to
rain.)

Watashi wa Beth ni denwa suru. Itsumo okureru kara. (I'll call Beth because she's
always late.
Kara is very handy and can be used with many other verb forms and endings. Let's look at a few
examples:

Gyuunyuu ga nai kara mise ni ikimasu. (We don't have any milk, so I'm going to the
store.)

Jisho o kaitai kara honya ni ikimasu. (I'm going to the bookstore because I want to buy a
dictionary.)

Suzuki-san no ie ni ikitakunai! Kare wa itsumo iya na mono o tabesaseru kara. (I don't

want to go to Mr. Suzuki's place because he always makes me eat nasty stuff.)
Ongaku o kikimasu. Terebi o mitakunai kara. (I'm going to listen to music because I don't
want to watch TV.)
Kenji wa kanada no gakkou ni ikimashita kara eigo ga jouzu desu. (Kenji's English is
good because he went to a Canadian school.)
You may remember a different kara from Lesson 28 which means "from someone/somewhere."
Just like English, Japanese has many words that are written and pronounced the same as
others while having a different meaning, helping to make the study of languages the wonderfully
complicated pain that it is! But, it's no big problem. Again, just like English, context and
experience with sentence structure will eventually make it all very easy. Kara after names and
places will usually mean "from"; kara after verbs and adjectives, as in this lesson, means
"because."

Word Check
furu: to fall (rain, snow, etc.)
motte iku: to take (something with you)
itsumo: always
okureru: to be late
denwa suru: to call someone on the telephone
gyuunyuu: milk
mise: store
jisho: dictionary
honya: bookstore
ie: house, home
iya na: bad, nasty, disgusting
mono: thing; stuff
ongaku: music
kiku: to listen
kanada: Canada
gakkou: school
eigo: the English language
jouzu: be good at (something); skilled
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 30
Base 3 + keredomo
Keredomo is used for "although" or "but," so, as you can imagine, it is used a lot. Like "but" in
English, it comes between the contrasting phrases. Let's try some examples:

Kare wa nihongo o hanasu keredomo, heta desu. (He speaks Japanese, but he's not
good at it.)

Keiko wa piano o yoku renshuu suru keredomo, jouzu ni narimasen. (Keiko practices
the piano a lot, but she doesn't get any better.)
Jack wa kenkou ni ki o tsukeru keredomo, yoku byouki shimasu. (Although Jack is
careful about his health, he gets sick a lot.)
Keredomo is easy to master because you'll hear it used often, as well as its shorter forms,
keredo and kedo.

Word Check
nihongo: the Japanese language
hanasu: to speak
heta: be poor at (something); unskilled (direct opposite of jouzu introduced in the last lesson)
yoku: (adverb used before a verb) often, a lot, frequently; well
renshuu suru: to practice
...ni naru: to become (something)
kenkou: health
ki o tsukeru: to take care1
byouki suru: to get sick, be sick
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. Ki means "energy, spirit, attention," and tsukeru means "to attach." When combined, ki o
tsukeru is an often used phrase meaning "take care" when saying good-bye to someone or
warning them, or Attention! when calling a group to order.

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Lesson 31
Base 3 + koto ga dekimasu
Koto ga dekimasu is a long one, and is added to the plain (Base 3) form of a verb to simply
show ability to do that verb. But first, in order to make this lesson as uncomplicated as possible,
let's take a look at each part.
First is koto. No, this is not the well-known instrument of Japanese classical music. This is the
mundane koto that gets lots of daily wear and tear changing Japanese verbs into nouns. Well, it
really doesn't change the verb, but is added after the verb so that it can be used like a noun. In
English, we add ing to make a noun out of a verb, like reading in the sentence I like reading.
(Remember studying "gerunds" in school?) Anyway, in Japanese we do the same thing by
adding koto after a plain verb form. Like our ing, koto has no practical use by itself. If you have
to have a translation, "the thing of" is probably the closest you can get.
Better than all this talk would be an example. Watch carefully: yomu (to read) + koto (the thing
of) = yomu koto (the thing of reading; reading as a noun [gerund]), as in:

Watashi wa yomu koto ga suki. (I like reading.)

The literal translation of the above example would be "I like the thing of reading; I like reading as
a thing to do."
Next, the verb dekiru means "can" or "be able to (do something)." In this lesson it is shown in its
polite form dekimasu, but dekiru is also fine when you don't need to be polite. (If you need to
review ichidan verbs with masu go back to Lesson 3.)
Finally, the particle ga is what you use to join koto and dekimasu. Just think of koto ga
dekimasu as a set phrase. Here are some examples:

Watashi wa nihongo o yomu koto ga dekimasu. (I can read Japanese.)

Keiko wa piano o hiku koto ga dekimasu. (Keiko can play the piano.)
Ashita Jack wa Tokushima ni iku koto ga dekimasu. (Jack can go to Tokushima
tomorrow.)
Now, for kicks no, actually for review let's try some other endings with dekiru, and see
what happens:

Watashi wa furansugo o yomu koto ga dekimasen. (I can't read French.)

Bob wa Junko ni denwa suru koto ga dekimashita. (Bob was able to call Junko.)
Richard wa ika o taberu koto ga dekimasen deshita. (Richard couldn't eat the squid.)
And let's throw in one with a plain ending:
(one boy to another) Boku wa jitensha ni noru koto ga dekiru! (I can ride a bicycle!)
Yes, it's a long ending for just "can," but there are a few shortcuts and alternatives. With "suru
verbs," like denwa suru used in one of the above examples, you can drop the suru and just add
dekiru. For example, "Bob wa Junko ni denwa suru koto ga dekimashita" can be shortened
to "Bob wa Junko ni denwa dekimashita." Denwa is a noun, and adding the suru makes it a
verb, so instead of adding koto to turn it back into a noun again, you can just omit suru. Here are
a couple more:

Furansugo o nihongo ni honyaku dekimasu. (I can translate French into Japanese.)

Kinou, John wa benkyou dekimasen deshita. (John wasn't able to study yesterday.)
Either way, long or short, both versions are used, but the shorter version is more common in
daily conversation.
Again, dekiru or one of its forms can directly follow a noun only if it is one that uses suru to
change it to a verb. In that case the suru is omitted. After other verbs you add koto ga before
dekiru. There is a short alternative for other verbs, but that will have to wait until we get into the
Base 4 endings.
One last thing: I described the meaning of koto as "the thing of," but please don't think that koto
can mean any "thing." It generally means intangible "things" like ideas, essences, meanings,
expressions, actions, etc. It means "thing" as used in the sentence saving money is a good
thing. It is generally not used for physical things or objects. It does not mean "thing" in money is
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a good thing to have. There is another word in Japanese which is used for physical things, and
that is mono, which was introduced in Lesson 29.

Word Check
koto: the "thing" or idea of something done
suki: to like something
dekiru: can; to be able to do something
nihongo: the Japanese language
hiku: to play (a stringed instrument)
ashita: tomorrow
furansugo: the French language
denwa: a telephone
denwa suru: to call someone on a telephone
ika: squid
taberu: to eat
boku: I (masculine familiar)
jitensha: bicycle
noru: to ride
honyaku suru: to translate
kinou: yesterday
benkyou suru: to study
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 32
Base 3 + koto ni shimasu
The ending koto ni shimasu has essentially the same meaning as the verb kimeru, which was
introduced way back in Lesson 1. It shows that you have made a decision, and it shows that the
decision was yours.
As I am sure you know by now, koto ni shimasu is the polite form; koto ni suru is the plain.
Here are some polite present and past tense examples:

Watashi wa tabun ashita kaimono ni iku koto ni shimasu. (I'll probably decide to go
shopping tomorrow.)

Jones sensei wa ashita no suugaku no jugyou no junbi o suru koto ni shimashita. (Mr.
Jones decided to prepare for tomorrow's math class.)
Watashi wa mainichi nihongo o benkyou suru koto ni shimashita. (I've decided to
study Japanese every day.)

Word Check
kimeru: to decide
kaimono ni iku: to go shopping
sensei: teacher (used as a title/name suffix to replace san, etc.)
suugaku: mathematics
jugyou: a class or lesson in a particular subject
junbi suru: to prepare
mainichi: every day
benkyou suru: to study
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 33
Base 3 + made
This one is very easy. Made means "until," and is added after the plain form of a verb:

Yukiko ga kuru made taberu koto wa dekimasen. (We can't eat until Yukiko comes.)
Bob ga denwa suru made matanakereba narimasen. (We have to wait until Bob calls.)
Shukudai ga owaru made terebi o misemasen. (I won't let you watch TV until your
homework is finished.)
As in English, made may be used with nouns which refer to times, periods, or seasons:
Yuushoku made machinasai. (Wait until dinner.)
Natsu yasumi made, ato ni shuu kan desu. (It's two weeks until summer vacation.)
Haru made matsu hou ga ii deshou. (It'll probably be best to wait until spring.)

Word Check
matsu: to wait
shukudai: homework
owaru: to end, be finished
miseru: to show; to let (someone) see, watch (something)
yuushoku: dinner
natsu yasumi: summer vacation
ato: after, in (as in "It'll be spring in 2 months.")
ni: two
shuu kan: a week; a week-long period
haru: spring
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 13
Base 2 + ni iku / ni kuru
Now that we are familiar with the verbs iku (go) and kuru (come), let's learn two useful Base 2
endings that use them. Simply convert your reason for coming or going into Base 2, then add
the relevant one:

Watashi wa kasa o kai ni iku. (I'm going to go buy an umbrella.)

Miki wa watashi no atarashii PC o mi ni kuru. (Miki is coming over to see my new PC.)
Because these are left in their plain form, as explained in Lesson 1, we'll add endings to clean
them up or change the tense:

Watashi wa kasa o kai ni ikimasu. (I'm going to go buy an umbrella.)

Miki wa watashi no atarashii PC o mi ni kimashita. (Miki came over to see my new PC.)
And here are some more good ones:

Chuuka ryouri o tabe ni ikimashou. (Let's go out and eat Chinese food.)
Watashi wa kouen ni asobi ni ikitai. (I want to go play in the park.)
Rob wa jitensha o kari ni kimasen deshita. (Rob didn't come to borrow the bicycle.)
Asobi ni kite ne. (Come over for a visit, okay?)1

Word Check
kasa: umbrella
atarashii: new
miru: to see, look, watch
chuuka ryouri: Chinese food
kouen: park
asobu: to play
jitensha: bicycle
kariru: to borrow
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. Asobi ni kuru is a set phrase used to invite someone "to come for a pleasure visit." You may
hear it often, but don't take it literally. Most of the time it is just a polite nothing, made obvious by
having no date or time attached to it.

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Lesson 14
Base 2 + nikui / yasui
These two are very handy. Use them to show that something is hard or easy to do.
Use nikui for "hard to do":

Kono budou wa tabenikui. (These grapes are hard to eat.)

Kono kanji wa yominikui. (These kanji are hard to read.)
Sono tatemono wa minikui. (That building is hard to see.)1
And use yasui for "easy to do":2

Kono PC wa tsukaiyasui. (This PC is easy to use.)

Kanojo no namae wa oboeyasui. (Her name is easy to remember.)
Kono kanji wa kakiyasui. (This kanji is easy to write.)

Word Check
kono: this, these
budou: grapes
taberu: to eat
kanji: Chinese characters3
yomu: to read
sono: that, those
tatemono: a building
miru: to see, look, watch
tsukau: to use
kanojo: she, her4
namae: name
oboeru: to remember
kaku: to write
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. Besides the converted verb minikui, which means "hard to see," there is also an adjective
minikui meaning "ugly." Accordingly, the sentence sono tatemono wa minikui could also mean
"that building is ugly." Be especially careful to make the intended meaning clear when using it to
refer to people or their property.
2. Yasui also exists as an adjective meaning "inexpensive."
3. For more about kanji, see the Kanji section of A Bit of the Language.
4. Kanojo no is the possessive pronoun "her."

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Lesson 15
Base 2 + sugiru
Sugiru is a verb which means "to pass by; to go too far." It teams up nicely with other verbs in
the Base 2 form to mean to "overdo" something. As with any other verb, changing it to its Base
2 form with masu, sugimasu, makes it polite. Here are some examples:

Kare wa itsumo nomisugiru. (He always drinks too much.)

Kimiko wa tabesugimashita. (Kimiko ate too much.)
Kodomotachi wa terebi o misugiru. (The kids watch too much TV.)
Sugiru is sometimes shortened in familiar conversation to sugi. For example, you could say
kodomotachi wa terebi o misugi.

Word Check
itsumo: always
nomu: to drink

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Lesson 16
Base 2 + nagara
When you need to say that someone is doing something while doing something else, nagara
comes in handy. Add it to verbs in Base 2 to mean "while (doing something)...." Note how the
action connected with nagara comes before it:

Bob wa hatarakinagara ongaku o kiku. (Bob listens to music while he works.)

Kimiko wa benkyou shinagara terebi o mimasen. (Kimiko doesn't watch TV while
studying.)
Hanashinagara sanpo shimashou. (Let's take a walk while we talk.)
This should do it for the Base 2 combinations. We will move on to Base 1 in the next lesson.

Word Check
hataraku: to work
ongaku: music
kiku: to listen, hear1
benkyou suru: to study
hanasu: to talk, speak
sanpo suru: to take a walk2
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. There is also a kiku which means "to ask" that is used often.
2. Use aruku for "to walk," as a means of getting somewhere. When walking is the object, use
sanpo suru (to go for a walk).

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Lesson 17
Base 1 + nai The Plain Negative Form
We will now look at Base 1, which is mainly used for creating plain negative verb endings.

Ichidan are easy to convert into Base 1 because you just knock off the ru. In other words, Bases
1 and 2 are the same. Verbs in the yodan group are changed so that they end in a: iku changes
to ika, matsu to mata, yomu to yoma, etc. If the verb ends in u with another vowel before it, like
kau, just change the u to wa; so kau becomes kawa. The irregular kuru changes to ko, and suru
to shi, just like its Base 2 form.
The following tables should help clarify the way the three types of verbs are converted into Base
1 from their plain Base 3 forms, with Base 2 thrown in for review and comparison. Please note
the changes carefully.
Yodan verbs:

Base 3 (root form)

kau (to buy)
aruku (to walk)
isogu (to hurry)
kasu (to lend)
matsu (to wait)
shinu (to die)
asobu (to play)
yomu (to read)
kaeru (to return)

Base 2
kai
aruki
isogi
kashi
machi
shini
asobi
yomi
kaeri

Base 1
kawa
aruka
isoga
kasa
mata
shina
asoba
yoma
kaera

Ichidan verbs:

Base 3 (root form)

taberu (to eat)
oboeru (to remember)
kimeru (to decide)
deru (to leave)
kariru (to borrow)
miru (to look)

Base 2

Base 1

tabe
oboe
kime
de
kari
mi

tabe
oboe
kime
de
kari
mi

Irregular verbs:
Base 3 (root form)
kuru (to come)
suru (to do)

Base 2
ki
shi

Base 1
ko
shi

Now what we want to do is use Base 1 + nai to change some verbs into their plain negative
form: kau (to buy) becomes kawanai (will not buy); kariru (to borrow) becomes karinai (will not
borrow); kuru (to come), konai (will not come); and suru (to do), shinai (will not do).
Look at these example sentences:

John wa kasa o kawanai. (John isn't going to buy an umbrella.)

Jim wa manga o yomanai. (Jim doesn't read comic books.)
Ojii-san wa sugu kaeranai. (Grandpa isn't going to return soon.)
Watashi wa terebi o minai. (I'm not going to watch TV.)
Sachiko wa konai. (Sachiko won't be coming.)
Notice how this ending can be used to mean "not going to do (something) for the time being" as

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well as "don't do at all" as a matter of personal policy. For example, Jim wa manga o yomanai
could mean that Jim never reads comic books, or that he just isn't going to read a comic book
now or in the near future. As in English, Japanese used in actual conversation would be
modified as needed in order to make meanings clear.
Please remember that the ending nai by itself is plain, and should only be used in informal
settings. Depending on the situation, you may want to upgrade it to a polite form, like Base 2 +
masen, which we already covered in Lesson 4, or by simply adding desu on the end after nai :

John wa kasa o kaimasen. / John wa kasa o kawanai desu.

Jim wa manga o yomimasen. / Jim wa manga o yomanai desu.
Can you get a good feel for the changeover between Base 2 + masen and Base 1 + nai here?

Word Check
kasa: umbrella
kau: to buy
manga: a comic book, comics; cartoons
yomu: to read
ojii-san: grandfather
sugu: soon
kaeru: to return
kuru: to come
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

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Lesson 18
Base 1 + nai deshou
Here's an easy one. Adding deshou after nai means that somebody is probably not going to
do something, or that something is not likely to happen:

John wa kasa o kawanai deshou. (John probably isn't going to buy an umbrella.)
Jim wa manga o yomanai deshou. (Jim probably doesn't read comic books.)
Yuki wa furanai deshou. (It probably won't snow.)
Actually, deshou is a handy add-on that also works with plain positive (Base 3) verbs, as in:

Ojii-san wa sugu kaeru deshou. (Grandpa will probably return soon.)

Sachiko wa kuru deshou. (Sachiko will probably come.)
Bill wa ika o taberu deshou. (Bill will probably eat the squid.)

Word Check
kau: to buy
yuki: snow
furu: to fall from the sky1
ika: squid
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. Furu means "to fall down from the sky," like rain, snow, or hail. For falling objects, use ochiru.

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Lesson 19
Base 1 + nakatta
The past tense of nai is a bit odd, but I think that this is a good place to introduce it: nakatta.
This is nai with its i dropped and katta added. Remembering that na is the negative element
and katta is for past tense will be a big help later on. This is what you use to make negative
plain past tense.
Let's make a few examples:

Watashi wa terebi o minakatta. (I didn't watch TV.)

Sachiko wa konakatta. (Sachiko didn't come.)
Yuki wa furanakatta. (It didn't snow.)
Kenji wa te o arawanakatta. (Kenji didn't wash his hands.)
Ojii-san wa shinbun o yomitakunakatta. (Grandpa didn't want to read the newspaper.)1

Word Check
te: hand(s)
arau: to wash
shinbun: newspaper
yomu: to read
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. I hope you noticed that this last example is not like the others; that it's not Base 1. This shows
another popular use for nakatta. Tai (to want to do, introduced in Lesson 8) connects to verbs
using their Base 2 form. To add plain negative nai or any of its variations (nakatta, nakereba,
etc.), change tai to its form for additional conjugating: taku, which we did in Lesson 8 when we
added takunai to verbs in their Base 2 form. In this example we have:

yomi: the Base 2 form of yomu, to read

taku: a form of tai set up for further conjugation
nakatta: showing plain negative past, as already described in this lesson
And together it means "did not want to read." I trust that this will be a sufficient explanation. For
more tai variations please see my supplement Wanting to Do Things with tai.

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Lesson 20
Base 1 + nakereba
Base 1 + nakereba is used to make negative conditional sentences what will happen if
something doesn't happen. Look at these examples:

Ojii-san ga sugu kaeranakereba watashi wa makudonarudo ni ikimasu. (If Grandpa

doesn't return soon I'm going to McDonald's.)
Miki ga heya o tsukawanakereba Junko wa tsukaitai desu. (If Miki isn't going to use the
room Junko wants to use it.)
Naoko wa kasa o karinakereba (kanojo wa) koukai suru deshou.1 (If Naoko doesn't
borrow an umbrella she'll probably regret it.)
Just like the na part of nakatta mentioned in the last lesson, the na in nakereba comes from
nai and is the negative element. The kereba is the conditional ("if") element which was
introduced back in Lesson 8 with tai (takereba).

Word Check
heya: room
tsukau: to use
kariru: to borrow
koukai suru: to regret
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)

Notes
1. A very convenient thing about Japanese is the fact that you can omit subjects that are
understood or obvious you don't have to retain them for the sake of good grammar, as in
English. In this example there is no question that kanojo wa (she) is Naoko, so it is omitted.

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Lesson 11
Irregular Verbs kuru and suru
Did something seem amiss with the last example in Lesson 10? I hope so, because it means
you noticed that while kuru looks like a yodan verb, it conjugated like an ichidan. It is now time
to introduce the irregular verbs kuru and suru.
We have already practiced using yodan and ichidan verbs. Besides these are the irregulars,
but the good news is that there are only two: kuru, which means "to come"; and suru, which
means "to do." These two have their own set of rules when it comes to conjugating, but since
both are used frequently they can be mastered quickly and naturally.
The Base 2 form of kuru is just ki. Let's use it to review some of the endings already learned:

Bob wa kimasu. (Bob will come.)

Sue wa kimasen. (Sue won't come/won't be coming.)
John wa kimashita. (John came.)
Ken wa kimasen deshita. (Ken didn't come.)
Yumi wa kitai desu. (Yumi wants to come.)
Suru is not only a handy "stand alone" verb, but is also used to make countless nouns into
verbs: benkyou suru (study), shimpai suru (worry), chuumon suru (place an order), yakusoku
suru (promise). The Base 2 form of suru is shi. Look at these examples:

Watashi wa shimasu. (I'll do it.)

Kare wa shimasen. (He won't do it.)
Bill wa ashita benkyou shitai desu. (Bill wants to study tomorrow.)
Anata wa yakusoku shimashita. (You promised.)
Hiromi wa shimpai shimasen deshita. (Hiromi didn't worry.)
This should be enough about kuru and suru for the time being. Now that they have been
introduced you will see them pop up from time to time in future lessons. Just remember that they
are irregular and do not follow the same rules as the other verbs.

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