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Why Japanese verb has so many forms?
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I'm learning Japanese, N5 level. I wonder why Japanese verbs have so many forms. For example, to say that we are doing something, we use "te" form (which I am learning right now). To say we are able to do something, we use another "potential" form. When we say somebody must do something, we use another "imperative" form.
So, I guess for each meaning/variation of the verb, we need a new form. If the pattern continues to grow, there must be hundreds of forms? But I read that there are only about 10 forms(!?). I really don't understand. Can anyone explain to me what a verb form is? What is its role in the sentence?
I will list some use cases. Please let me know which form I should use:
- should do something
- need to do something
- want to do something
- hate to do something
- like to do something
- being told to do something
- afraid of doing something
- regret of having done something
Thanks.
grammar
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
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asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
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up vote
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down vote
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I'm learning Japanese, N5 level. I wonder why Japanese verbs have so many forms. For example, to say that we are doing something, we use "te" form (which I am learning right now). To say we are able to do something, we use another "potential" form. When we say somebody must do something, we use another "imperative" form.
So, I guess for each meaning/variation of the verb, we need a new form. If the pattern continues to grow, there must be hundreds of forms? But I read that there are only about 10 forms(!?). I really don't understand. Can anyone explain to me what a verb form is? What is its role in the sentence?
I will list some use cases. Please let me know which form I should use:
- should do something
- need to do something
- want to do something
- hate to do something
- like to do something
- being told to do something
- afraid of doing something
- regret of having done something
Thanks.
grammar
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
11.6k51449
asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
111
New contributor
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
There are other languages with multitudes of verb forms. French comes to mind.
– ratchet freak
4 hours ago
1
Japanese puts its complexity into its verb forms. English puts its complexity into its word ordering and combinations. It's all the same level of complexity, though.
– Sjiveru
3 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
I'm learning Japanese, N5 level. I wonder why Japanese verbs have so many forms. For example, to say that we are doing something, we use "te" form (which I am learning right now). To say we are able to do something, we use another "potential" form. When we say somebody must do something, we use another "imperative" form.
So, I guess for each meaning/variation of the verb, we need a new form. If the pattern continues to grow, there must be hundreds of forms? But I read that there are only about 10 forms(!?). I really don't understand. Can anyone explain to me what a verb form is? What is its role in the sentence?
I will list some use cases. Please let me know which form I should use:
- should do something
- need to do something
- want to do something
- hate to do something
- like to do something
- being told to do something
- afraid of doing something
- regret of having done something
Thanks.
grammar
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
11.6k51449
asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
111
New contributor
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I'm learning Japanese, N5 level. I wonder why Japanese verbs have so many forms. For example, to say that we are doing something, we use "te" form (which I am learning right now). To say we are able to do something, we use another "potential" form. When we say somebody must do something, we use another "imperative" form.
So, I guess for each meaning/variation of the verb, we need a new form. If the pattern continues to grow, there must be hundreds of forms? But I read that there are only about 10 forms(!?). I really don't understand. Can anyone explain to me what a verb form is? What is its role in the sentence?
I will list some use cases. Please let me know which form I should use:
- should do something
- need to do something
- want to do something
- hate to do something
- like to do something
- being told to do something
- afraid of doing something
- regret of having done something
Thanks.
grammar
grammar
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
11.6k51449
asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
111
New contributor
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
11.6k51449
asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
111
New contributor
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
11.6k51449
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
11.6k51449
edited 4 hours ago
user3856370
11.6k51449
11.6k51449
asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
111
New contributor
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
111
asked 4 hours ago
hucancode
111
111
New contributor
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
hucancode is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
There are other languages with multitudes of verb forms. French comes to mind.
– ratchet freak
4 hours ago
1
Japanese puts its complexity into its verb forms. English puts its complexity into its word ordering and combinations. It's all the same level of complexity, though.
– Sjiveru
3 hours ago
add a comment |Â
2
There are other languages with multitudes of verb forms. French comes to mind.
– ratchet freak
4 hours ago
1
Japanese puts its complexity into its verb forms. English puts its complexity into its word ordering and combinations. It's all the same level of complexity, though.
– Sjiveru
3 hours ago
2
2
There are other languages with multitudes of verb forms. French comes to mind.
– ratchet freak
4 hours ago
There are other languages with multitudes of verb forms. French comes to mind.
– ratchet freak
4 hours ago
1
1
Japanese puts its complexity into its verb forms. English puts its complexity into its word ordering and combinations. It's all the same level of complexity, though.
– Sjiveru
3 hours ago
Japanese puts its complexity into its verb forms. English puts its complexity into its word ordering and combinations. It's all the same level of complexity, though.
– Sjiveru
3 hours ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
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oldest
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up vote
4
down vote
Since you are a beginner, probably it's best to get used to the most useful "forms" of Japanese, including the te-form, masu-form (aka polite form), imperative form, etc. It's the fastest way to learn to communicate in Japanese.
But if you keep studying Japanese systematically, you will encounter something unusual like 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ, which roughly means "did not want to be forced to eat". Do we really have to name this "form" as something like "the past-negative-desire-causative-passive form" and learn it by rote? Certainly not.
Actually, there are only five (or six) basic verb conjugation patterns in modern standard Japanese. Some of the "forms" you have learned are actually combinations of one of the five patterns and "an auxiliary" (助動詞 in Japanese). Auxiliaries works very similarly to English auxiliary verbs ("can", "should", "may", etc.; also known as helping verbs) except that you don't need spaces and that they come after verbs. You can attach more than one auxiliary to say something complicated like "past + potential", "passive + causative", or even "passive + causative + volitional + negative + past". The most common auxiliaries you have probably learned already include ã¾ã™ (the polite marker), ãŸ/ã (the past-tense marker), れる/られる (the potential marker), ã¦/㧠(the "continuation" marker of the te-form), etc. The part before 㟠and 㦠are exactly the same for all types of verbs, and people call it 連用形 ("continuative form"), which is one of the five basic patterns. So once you have mastered the te-form (I know it's a bit hard at first), that means you have also mastered the conjugation patterns of the ta-form (past tense), too.
So you don't have to worry too much; seemingly some textbooks for Japanese learners like to introduce many "forms", including "tari-form" and "nagara-form", but you can learn them quite easily once you have learned the basic five patterns. (Another good news is that there are very few irregular verbs in Japanese.)
For more details, please see the following (But don't worry if you cannot understand them now):
- Does "te-form" of a verb always include ã¦/ã§? Why?
- Random Japanese - 活用
Japanese with Anime - Verbs in Japanese - How do they work? (There is a great breakdown of how 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ works)
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
Since you are a beginner, probably it's best to get used to the most useful "forms" of Japanese, including the te-form, masu-form (aka polite form), imperative form, etc. It's the fastest way to learn to communicate in Japanese.
But if you keep studying Japanese systematically, you will encounter something unusual like 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ, which roughly means "did not want to be forced to eat". Do we really have to name this "form" as something like "the past-negative-desire-causative-passive form" and learn it by rote? Certainly not.
Actually, there are only five (or six) basic verb conjugation patterns in modern standard Japanese. Some of the "forms" you have learned are actually combinations of one of the five patterns and "an auxiliary" (助動詞 in Japanese). Auxiliaries works very similarly to English auxiliary verbs ("can", "should", "may", etc.; also known as helping verbs) except that you don't need spaces and that they come after verbs. You can attach more than one auxiliary to say something complicated like "past + potential", "passive + causative", or even "passive + causative + volitional + negative + past". The most common auxiliaries you have probably learned already include ã¾ã™ (the polite marker), ãŸ/ã (the past-tense marker), れる/られる (the potential marker), ã¦/㧠(the "continuation" marker of the te-form), etc. The part before 㟠and 㦠are exactly the same for all types of verbs, and people call it 連用形 ("continuative form"), which is one of the five basic patterns. So once you have mastered the te-form (I know it's a bit hard at first), that means you have also mastered the conjugation patterns of the ta-form (past tense), too.
So you don't have to worry too much; seemingly some textbooks for Japanese learners like to introduce many "forms", including "tari-form" and "nagara-form", but you can learn them quite easily once you have learned the basic five patterns. (Another good news is that there are very few irregular verbs in Japanese.)
For more details, please see the following (But don't worry if you cannot understand them now):
- Does "te-form" of a verb always include ã¦/ã§? Why?
- Random Japanese - 活用
Japanese with Anime - Verbs in Japanese - How do they work? (There is a great breakdown of how 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ works)
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
Since you are a beginner, probably it's best to get used to the most useful "forms" of Japanese, including the te-form, masu-form (aka polite form), imperative form, etc. It's the fastest way to learn to communicate in Japanese.
But if you keep studying Japanese systematically, you will encounter something unusual like 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ, which roughly means "did not want to be forced to eat". Do we really have to name this "form" as something like "the past-negative-desire-causative-passive form" and learn it by rote? Certainly not.
Actually, there are only five (or six) basic verb conjugation patterns in modern standard Japanese. Some of the "forms" you have learned are actually combinations of one of the five patterns and "an auxiliary" (助動詞 in Japanese). Auxiliaries works very similarly to English auxiliary verbs ("can", "should", "may", etc.; also known as helping verbs) except that you don't need spaces and that they come after verbs. You can attach more than one auxiliary to say something complicated like "past + potential", "passive + causative", or even "passive + causative + volitional + negative + past". The most common auxiliaries you have probably learned already include ã¾ã™ (the polite marker), ãŸ/ã (the past-tense marker), れる/られる (the potential marker), ã¦/㧠(the "continuation" marker of the te-form), etc. The part before 㟠and 㦠are exactly the same for all types of verbs, and people call it 連用形 ("continuative form"), which is one of the five basic patterns. So once you have mastered the te-form (I know it's a bit hard at first), that means you have also mastered the conjugation patterns of the ta-form (past tense), too.
So you don't have to worry too much; seemingly some textbooks for Japanese learners like to introduce many "forms", including "tari-form" and "nagara-form", but you can learn them quite easily once you have learned the basic five patterns. (Another good news is that there are very few irregular verbs in Japanese.)
For more details, please see the following (But don't worry if you cannot understand them now):
- Does "te-form" of a verb always include ã¦/ã§? Why?
- Random Japanese - 活用
Japanese with Anime - Verbs in Japanese - How do they work? (There is a great breakdown of how 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ works)
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
Since you are a beginner, probably it's best to get used to the most useful "forms" of Japanese, including the te-form, masu-form (aka polite form), imperative form, etc. It's the fastest way to learn to communicate in Japanese.
But if you keep studying Japanese systematically, you will encounter something unusual like 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ, which roughly means "did not want to be forced to eat". Do we really have to name this "form" as something like "the past-negative-desire-causative-passive form" and learn it by rote? Certainly not.
Actually, there are only five (or six) basic verb conjugation patterns in modern standard Japanese. Some of the "forms" you have learned are actually combinations of one of the five patterns and "an auxiliary" (助動詞 in Japanese). Auxiliaries works very similarly to English auxiliary verbs ("can", "should", "may", etc.; also known as helping verbs) except that you don't need spaces and that they come after verbs. You can attach more than one auxiliary to say something complicated like "past + potential", "passive + causative", or even "passive + causative + volitional + negative + past". The most common auxiliaries you have probably learned already include ã¾ã™ (the polite marker), ãŸ/ã (the past-tense marker), れる/られる (the potential marker), ã¦/㧠(the "continuation" marker of the te-form), etc. The part before 㟠and 㦠are exactly the same for all types of verbs, and people call it 連用形 ("continuative form"), which is one of the five basic patterns. So once you have mastered the te-form (I know it's a bit hard at first), that means you have also mastered the conjugation patterns of the ta-form (past tense), too.
So you don't have to worry too much; seemingly some textbooks for Japanese learners like to introduce many "forms", including "tari-form" and "nagara-form", but you can learn them quite easily once you have learned the basic five patterns. (Another good news is that there are very few irregular verbs in Japanese.)
For more details, please see the following (But don't worry if you cannot understand them now):
- Does "te-form" of a verb always include ã¦/ã§? Why?
- Random Japanese - 活用
Japanese with Anime - Verbs in Japanese - How do they work? (There is a great breakdown of how 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ works)
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
Since you are a beginner, probably it's best to get used to the most useful "forms" of Japanese, including the te-form, masu-form (aka polite form), imperative form, etc. It's the fastest way to learn to communicate in Japanese.
But if you keep studying Japanese systematically, you will encounter something unusual like 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ, which roughly means "did not want to be forced to eat". Do we really have to name this "form" as something like "the past-negative-desire-causative-passive form" and learn it by rote? Certainly not.
Actually, there are only five (or six) basic verb conjugation patterns in modern standard Japanese. Some of the "forms" you have learned are actually combinations of one of the five patterns and "an auxiliary" (助動詞 in Japanese). Auxiliaries works very similarly to English auxiliary verbs ("can", "should", "may", etc.; also known as helping verbs) except that you don't need spaces and that they come after verbs. You can attach more than one auxiliary to say something complicated like "past + potential", "passive + causative", or even "passive + causative + volitional + negative + past". The most common auxiliaries you have probably learned already include ã¾ã™ (the polite marker), ãŸ/ã (the past-tense marker), れる/られる (the potential marker), ã¦/㧠(the "continuation" marker of the te-form), etc. The part before 㟠and 㦠are exactly the same for all types of verbs, and people call it 連用形 ("continuative form"), which is one of the five basic patterns. So once you have mastered the te-form (I know it's a bit hard at first), that means you have also mastered the conjugation patterns of the ta-form (past tense), too.
So you don't have to worry too much; seemingly some textbooks for Japanese learners like to introduce many "forms", including "tari-form" and "nagara-form", but you can learn them quite easily once you have learned the basic five patterns. (Another good news is that there are very few irregular verbs in Japanese.)
For more details, please see the following (But don't worry if you cannot understand them now):
- Does "te-form" of a verb always include ã¦/ã§? Why?
- Random Japanese - 活用
Japanese with Anime - Verbs in Japanese - How do they work? (There is a great breakdown of how 食ã¹ã•ã›られãŸãÂÂãªã‹ã£ãŸ works)
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
edited 2 hours ago
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
answered 3 hours ago
naruto
140k8126248
140k8126248
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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2
There are other languages with multitudes of verb forms. French comes to mind.
– ratchet freak
4 hours ago
1
Japanese puts its complexity into its verb forms. English puts its complexity into its word ordering and combinations. It's all the same level of complexity, though.
– Sjiveru
3 hours ago