Japanese Verb Conjugations: Group Two

These verbs are easier to conjugate than their group one counterparts

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Updated on January 31, 2019

Students learning to speak and read Japanese have to learn an new alphabet and new ways of pronunciation which can be challenging at first. But they catch a break when it comes to some of the finer points of the language.

Unlike the more complicated verb conjugations of Romance languages, in Japanese, verbs don't have a different form to indicate first- second- and third-person. There are no differences in singular and plural forms, and like English, there is no different gender for verbs.

Japanese verbs are roughly divided into three groups according to their dictionary form (basic form). There are only two irregular verbs (which are classified as "group three") in Japanese: kuru (to come) and suru (to do). Group one verbs end in "~ u" and are also known as consonant -stem or godan verbs.

Then there's group two. These verbs are much easier to conjugate, as they all have the same basic conjugation patterns. Group two verbs in Japanese end in either "~iru" or "~ eru". This group is also called vowel-stem-verbs or Ichidan-doushi (Ichidan verbs).

Here are some examples of vowel-stem verbs and their conjugations.

neru (to sleep)

Informal Present (Dictionary Form)	neru 寝る
Formal Present (~ masu Form)	nemasu 寝ます
Informal Past (~ ta Form)	neta 寝た
Formal Past	nemashita 寝ました
Informal Negative (~ nai Form)	nenai 寝ない
Formal Negative	nemasen 寝ません
Informal Past Negative	nenakatta 寝なかった
Formal Past Negative	nemasen deshita 寝ませんでした
~ te Form	nete 寝て
Conditional	nereba 寝れば
Volitional	neyou 寝よう
Passive	nerareru 寝られる
Causative	nesaseru 寝させる
Potential	nerareru 寝られる
Imperative (Command)	nero 寝ろ

Examples:

Neko wa neru no ga suki da. 猫は寝るのが好きだ。	Cats like sleeping.
Watashi wa Futon de nemasu. 私は布団で寝ます。	I sleep on a futon.
Sakuya Yoku nerarenakatta. 昨夜よく寝れなかった。	I didn't sleep well last night.

oshieru (to teach, to tell)

Informal Present (Dictionary Form)	oshieru
Formal Present (~ masu Form)	oshiemasu
Informal Past (~ ta Form)	oshieta
Formal Past	oshiemashita
Informal Negative (~ nai Form)	oshienai
Formal Negative	oshiemasen
Informal Past Negative	oshienakatta
Formal Past Negative	oshiemasen deshita
~ te Form	oshiete
Conditional	oshietara
Volitional	oshieyou
Passive	oshierareru
Causative	oshiesaseru
Potential	oshierareru
Imperative (Command)	oshiero

Examples:

Nihon de eigo o oshiete imasu.	I teach English in Japan.
Oyogikata o oshiete.	Teach me how to swim.
Eki e iku michi o oshiete kudasai.	Can you tell me the way to the station.

miru (to see, to look)

Informal Present (Dictionary Form)	miru 見る
Formal Present (~ masu Form)	mimasu 見ます
Informal Past (~ ta Form)	mita 見た
Formal Past	mimashita 見ました
Informal Negative (~ nai Form)	minai 見ない
Formal Negative	mimasen 見ません
Informal Past Negative	minakatta 見なかった
Formal Past Negative	mimasen deshita 見ませんでした
~ te Form	mite 見て
Conditional	mireba 見れば
Volitional	miyou 見よう
Passive	mirareru 見られる
Causative	misaseru 見させる
Potential	mirareru 見られる
Imperative (Command)	miro 見ろ

Examples:

Kono eiga o mimashita ka. この映画を見ましたか。	Did you see this movie?
Terebi o mite mo ii desu ka. テレビを見てもいいですか。	May I watch TV?
Chizu o mireba wakarimasu yo. 地図を見れば分かりますよ。	If you look at the map, you will understand.

taberu (to eat)

Informal Present (Dictionary Form)	taberu 食べる
Formal Present (~ masu Form)	tabemasu 食べます
Informal Past (~ ta Form)	tabeta 食べた
Formal Past	tabemashita 食べました
Informal Negative (~ nai Form)	tabenai 食べない
Formal Negative	tabemasen 食べません
Informal Past Negative	tabenakatta 食べなかった
Formal Past Negative	tabemasen deshita 食べませんでした
~ te Form	tabete 食べて
Conditional	tabereba 食べれば
Volitional	tabeyou 食べよう
Passive	taberareru 食べられる
Causative	tabesaseru 食べさせる
Potential	taberareru 食べられる
Imperative (Command)	tabero 食べろ

Examples:

Kyou asagohan o tabenakatta. 今日朝ご飯を食べなかった。	I didn't have breakfast today.
Kangofu wa byounin ni ringo o tabesaseta. 看護婦は病人にりんごを食べさせた。	The nurse fed an apple to the patient.
Sore, taberareru no? それ、食べられるの？	Can you eat this?

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Abe, Namiko. "Japanese Verb Conjugations: Group Two." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/japanese-verb-conjugations-group-two-4070917. Abe, Namiko. (2023, April 5). Japanese Verb Conjugations: Group Two. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/japanese-verb-conjugations-group-two-4070917 Abe, Namiko. "Japanese Verb Conjugations: Group Two." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/japanese-verb-conjugations-group-two-4070917 (accessed June 9, 2023).