Lesson 34: 食べる・行く・する

N5 · Lesson 34 · 18 min — Group 1, 2, 3 + how verbs look in a dictionary

So far, every verb you have learned ends in 〜ます. But dictionaries don't list 〜ます! In this lesson, you will sort verbs into three groups. Then you will learn the rule for changing each group back to the "dictionary form" (the basic form listed in dictionaries). Every verb change you learn later depends on today's groups. Let's start with the comic!

After this lesson, you can:

• Look at the sound before ます and tell if a verb is Group 1, 2 or 3
• Change the ます form back to the dictionary form: 飲のみます → 飲のむ, 食たべます → 食たべる
• Look up verbs in a dictionary, and understand a friend who says「あした 行いく。」

Which group is “eat”?

Grandpa says Rin must read the letter himself. Plan: learn the dictionary first! Tap a bubble to hear it. (辞書じしょ=dictionary; 手紙てがみ=letter; ことば=word; グループ=group; じしょけい=dictionary form)

Dictionary form = dictionary entry. Before ます: い-row mostly Group 1 (のむ), え-row Group 2 (たべる), する・くる Group 3. Tonight Rin reads the letter!

Verbs in this lesson (ます form review) + dictionary

• 辞書じしょ (jisho): dictionary
• 飲のみます (nomimasu): to drink
• 買かいます (kaimasu): to buy
• 行いきます (ikimasu): to go
• 待まちます (machimasu): to wait
• 帰かえります (kaerimasu): to go home, to return
• 食たべます (tabemasu): to eat
• 寝ねます (nemasu): to sleep
• 見みます (mimasu): to see, to watch
• 起おきます (okimasu): to get up
• します (shimasu): to do
• 来きます (kimasu): to come

Grammar 1 / 2: 3 Groups

Verbs have three groups: look at the sound before ます

• Why sort verbs into groups?: Japanese verbs change their shape. You will learn the dictionary form today and many more forms later, and each group changes in its own way. Sort the verb first, and you can use the right rule every time.
• "Rows" in the kana chart: Kana with the same vowel make a "row" (段). The い-row is い・き・し・ち・に・ひ・み・り (all end in the vowel い). The え-row is え・け・せ・て・ね・へ・め・れ (all end in the vowel え). Voiced kana work the same way: び is the い-row, べ is the え-row.
• Group 1 (godan verbs): い-row + ます: If the sound before ます is in the い-row, the verb is mostly Group 1: 飲のみます (み), 買かいます (い), 行いきます (き), 待まちます (ち), 話はなします (to speak; し), 帰かえります (り). This is the biggest group.
• Group 2 (ichidan verbs): え-row + ます, plus a few special ones: If the sound before ます is in the え-row, the verb is Group 2: 食たべます (べ), 寝ねます (ね), 出でます (to go out, to leave; で), 乗のりかえます (to change trains; え). A few verbs have an い-row sound but are still Group 2. Learn these by heart: 見みます, 起おきます, 着きます (to wear), 降おります (to get off), います (to be, to exist).
• Group 3 (irregular verbs): only します and きます: Group 3 has only two verbs: します (to do) and 来きます (to come). "Noun + します" belongs here too: 勉強べんきょうします (to study). Careful: the し in 話はなします (to speak) is part of the verb itself (an い-row sound), so it is Group 1.

• コーヒーを 飲のみます。 — I drink coffee. (飲のみ: み = い-row → Group 1)
• バスを 待まちます。 — I wait for the bus. (待まち: ち = い-row → Group 1)
• パンを 食たべます。 — I eat bread. (食たべ: べ = え-row → Group 2)
• 映画えいがを 見みます。 — I watch a movie. (見みます: a special Group 2 verb)
• 日本語にほんごを 勉強べんきょうします。 — I study Japanese. (noun + します → Group 3)

Grammar 2 / 2: Dict. form

Dictionary form: the basic form in dictionaries, changed back from the ます form

• What is the dictionary form?: The dictionary form is the verb's "basic form". Dictionaries and word lists use this form. The meaning is the same as the ます form (habits and future plans), just without the polite ます.
• Group 1: い-row → う-row: Remove ます. Change the い-row sound before it to the う-row sound with the same consonant: い→う, き→く, ぎ→ぐ, し→す, ち→つ, に→ぬ, び→ぶ, み→む, り→る. Examples: 買かいます→買かう (い→う, not かいる), 行いきます→行いく, 待まちます→待まつ, 読よみます (to read)→読よむ.
• Group 2: ます → る. Group 3: memorize: For Group 2, change ます to る: 食たべる, 寝ねる, 見みる, 起おきる. Group 3 has only two verbs, so just memorize them: します→する, 来きます→来くる (き becomes く!). 勉強べんきょうします also becomes 勉強べんきょうする.
• The かえる trap: 帰かえる looks like Group 2, but it is really Group 1. Its ます form is 帰かえります (り = い-row). When you are not sure, think of its ます form.
• You can also say the dictionary form directly: With friends and family, you can end a sentence with the dictionary form: あした 行いく。(I'm going tomorrow.) Do not add です after it (×行いくです). With teachers and shop staff, keep using 〜ます. Casual forms like "don't go" and "went" come later.

• 飲のみます → 飲のむ — to drink (Group 1: み → む)
• 買かいます → 買かう — to buy (Group 1: い → う)
• 帰かえります → 帰かえる — to go home (Group 1: り → る)
• 起おきます → 起おきる — to get up (special Group 2: ます → る)
• 来きます → 来くる — to come (Group 3: memorize it)
• あした 映画えいがを 見みる。 — I'll watch a movie tomorrow. (to a friend)