This chapter explains the basic verb conjugation system and shows you different way of expressing and asking about actions such as coming and going. You’ll also learn how to ask questions that inquire “anywhere?” and “where?” as well as how to reply to such questions.
Unlike English verbs, Japanese verbs do not change their forms based on person, gender, or number, but they change their forms based on the formality of speech (plain or polite), polarity (affirmative or negative), and tense (non-past or past). Non-past tense is used to express future actions and habitual actions, or actions that have not yet started. Past tense is used to express past actions or actions that have completed. There are only two major irregular verbs, 
suru (do) and 
kuru (come), and all the rest are regular verbs. There are two kinds of regular verbs: ru verbs and u verbs.
The dictionary form of a verb is the plain non-past affirmative form. It is the shortest verb form that can end a sentence. It is called “dictionary form” because it is used for listing verbs in dictionaries. The masu form of a verb is the polite non-past affirmative form. It is the polite version of the dictionary form. For example, the dictionary form of the verb to eat is 
taberu, whereas its masu form is 
tabemasu.
kaeru and 
kaeru are homophones. They sound the same in their dictionary forms, but their meanings are different, as shown by their differing kanji. 
kaeru means to change and 
kaeru means to return. Although their dictionary forms are the same, they conjugate differently. The masu form of 
kaeru is 
kaemasu, and the masu form of 
kaeru is 
kaerimasu. So, for some verbs, you drop the final ru in the dictionary form and add masu to get a masu form. However, for other verbs, you drop u (pronounce it as oo not as yoo) and add imasu. The verbs in which you have to drop ru are called ru verbs and those in which you have to drop u are called u verbs.
The following table lists representative ru verbs and u verbs as well as the two major irregular verbs in the dictionary form and masu form. To conjugate a verb, you find out its verb class (ru verb, u verb, or irregular verb) and check the ending of the dictionary form, and then you follow the pattern of one of the verbs in the following table:
If you can see that the verb class is ambiguous only if a verb ends in -iru or -eru, you are on the right track. If a verb does not end in -iru or -eru, you can trust that it’s an u verb. If it ends in -iru or -eru, you need to remember which class the verb belongs to each time. In this book, verbs are specified for verb class only if they end in -iru or -eru.
Change the following verbs from the dictionary form to the masu form. You should know whether they are ru verbs or u verbs by looking at their endings.
The following verbs are all ru verbs in the dictionary form. Convert them to the masu form.
The following verbs are all u verbs in the dictionary form. Convert them to the masu form.
Motion verbs like to go and to come are very frequently used in daily life. There are many native verbs, and there are also many suru verbs—verbs that are created by combining Sino-Japanese vocabulary written in kanji characters and the verb 
suru (do). In addition, many suru verbs are made from English. Suru verbs conjugate like the verb suru, one of the two major irregular verbs. The following list includes some frequently used Japanese verbs:
Write the appropriate Japanese verbs using two forms—the dictionary form and the masu form.
1. to make ____________________________________
2. to read ____________________________________
3. to write ____________________________________
4. to drink ____________________________________
5. to go ____________________________________
6. to study ____________________________________
7. to come ____________________________________
The following verbs end in either -iru or -eru. Do you remember whether they are ru verbs or u verbs? If not, check the earlier vocabulary list on page 65 or use a dictionary to find their verb class and change them into the masu form.
The following commonly used verbs are not included in the list on page 65. They do not end in -iru or -eru, so you can be sure that they are u verbs. Change them to their masu form.
The following verbs all end in -iru or -eru. Compare the two forms of each verb and determine whether it is a ru verb or an u verb.
Here you will learn how to express coming and going, how to make a verb negative, and some terms that refer to various places around town. With this knowledge, you will be able to ask someone whether he will go to the supermarket, or reply to such a question.
ni or 
eTo express coming and going, use the verbs 
iku, 
kuru, and 
kaeru and mark the destination with the particle 
ni or 
, which is read as e rather than he. 
ni has many more functions than the particle 
e, and you cannot use them interchangeably all the time. However, for marking where you are going, you can use either one. For example:
Watashi wa s
p
ni ikimasu.
Watashi wa sp e ikimasu.
I’ll go to the supermarket.
masen
masen is a negative counterpart of 
masu and makes the verb negative. For example, 
ikimasen means I will not go.
waThe part of a sentence that is negated is usually marked by 
wa. Using this marker is optional but preferred. It is a little confusing because 
wa also marks topics (Chapter 2), so you will see 
wa in both affirmative and negative sentences. For example, compare the two responses to the question 
Ashita wa sp ni ikimasu ka (Will you go to the supermarket tomorrow?):
Ashita wa ikimasen.
I won’t go there tomorrow (although I might go there the day after tomorrow).
Sp ni wa ikimasen.
I won’t go to the supermarket (although I might go somewhere else tomorrow).
Use the following terms to talk about various places around town:
yaYou can refer to some types of stores by using a friendly term that ends in ya. For example, bookstores are called either 
hon’ya or 
shoten. The former is more frequently used in conversations than the latter, which is limited in formal situations such as for business. If you go to Japan, you may want to look for the shops and stores in the following list:
Match the words in the two columns.
Complete the following short dialogs.
1. A: 
Ky
wa toshokan ni ikimasu ka.
B: 
e, ___________________________.
2. A: 
Tanaka-san wa ky ___________________________ka.
B: 
e, kimasen.
3. A: 
Ashita wa depto ni ikimasu ka.
B: 
Hai, ___________________________ .
4. A: 
Itsu uchi ni ___________________________.
B: 
Ashita kaerimasu.
Here you’ll learn how to ask “where?” and “somewhere/anywhere?” and how to reply to such questions with words like somewhere or nowhere.
To ask where someone is going, use the question word 
doko. Just place it where you expect the answer to be and add the particle 
ka at the end of the sentence. For example:
Ky
Where are you going today?
The polite version of 
doko is 
dochira. (See Chapter 2.)
To say somewhere or anywhere, add the particle 
ka right after the question word 
doko. For example:
Ky
I will go to somewhere today.
Ky
Are you going to anywhere today?
You can use the same method with other question words, such as 
dare (who). The following table provides some examples. The particles 
ga and 
o are usually deleted after such existential pronouns.
If you are going nowhere, add 
mo after 
doko ni and make the verb negative. For example:
Ky
I will go nowhere today. / I will not go anywhere today.
You can use the same method with other question words, such as 
dare (who). The following table provides some examples. The particle 
ga and 
o must be deleted after such existential pronouns.
1. 
Ky wa __________________ ikimasu ka.
Where are you going today?
2. 
Ky wa __________________ ikimasu ka.
Will you go to somewhere today?
3. 
Ashita wa __________________.
I won’t go anywhere tomorrow.
Translate the following sentences into Japanese.
1. I will go to the bookstore today.
2. I will not go anywhere tomorrow.
3. Will you go to somewhere tomorrow?
4. Where will you go today?
Habitual actions are actions you do repeatedly, such as daily or weekly. Here you’ll learn how to ask someone whether he/she often goes to a certain place. You’ll also learn about adverbs related to frequency.
yoku (often)To ask someone whether he/she often goes to a certain place, use the non-past tense of the verb 
iku (to go) and add the frequency adverb 
yoku, which means often. For example:
Tanaka-san wa yoku restoran ni ikimasu ka.
Do you often go to a restaurant, Mr. Tanaka?
The following list shows commonly used frequency adverbs. The adverbs marked with 
need to be used with a negative verb, as in the following example:
Watashi wa resutoran ni wa amari ikimasen.
I don’t go to restaurants very often.
Translate the following sentences into English.
1. 
Yoku resutoran ni ikimasu.
2. 
Tokidoki depto ni ikimasu.
3. 
Tama ni ken ni ikimasu.
4. 
Toshokan ni wa amari ikimasen.
5. 
Karaoke ni wa zenzen ikimasen.
For each of the following, choose the correct answer from the options in parentheses.
1. 
Yoku hon’ya ni (ikimasu, ikimasen).
2. 
Eigakan ni wa amari (ikimasu, ikimasen).
3. 
Tokidoki izakaya ni (ikimasu, ikimasen).
Here you will learn about making suggestions and specifying absolute and approximate times. You will also learn how to express the purpose of going somewhere.
masen ka and … 
mashōTo suggest doing something, use the negative question ending 
masen ka instead of 
masu. If you want to say Let’s do something! use 
mash. For example:
Resutoran ni ikimasen ka.
Why don’t we go to a restaurant?
Resutoran ni ikimash
Let’s go to a restaurant.
If you use 
mash in a form of a question, it is understood as a suggestion or offering of help. For example:
Resutoran ni ikimash
Shall we go to a restaurant?
Watashi ga s
Shall I clean?
If it includes a question word, it will be used for inviting suggestions:
Dono resutoran ni ikimash ka.
To which restaurant shall we go?
niTo say when, use time expressions such as tomorrow, next week, and on Monday. After absolute time expressions such as Monday, use the particle 
ni. After relative time expressions such as tomorrow, you do not need to use 
ni. For example:
Suiy
How about going to a sushi restaurant on Wednesday?
Ky
How about going to a sushi restaurant today?
For relative and absolute time expressions, see Chapter 3.
To say approximately for quantity, amount, and time expressions, use 
kurai or 
gurai after the number phrase. For time expressions, you can also use 
goro. For example:
San-ji gurai ni kimasu.
(He) will come here around 3 o’clock.
Kukk
o go-mai gurai tabemasu.
(He) eats about five cookies.
Go-ji goro ni kimasu.
(He) will come here around 5 o’clock.
ni ikuInstead of mentioning a destination, you might want to mention the purpose of going. If so, use a verb in the stem form and add the particle 
ni. The stem form of a verb is usually the form you see before 
masu in the masu form. Therefore, the stem form is often called pre-masu form. For example:
Eiga o mi ni ikimasen ka.
Why don’t we go to see a movie?
Some nouns can be followed by 
ni to show the purpose of going. For example, 
kyanpu ni iku means to go camping. The following are some examples of purpose of going, expressed either with a verb stem or a noun:
Translate the following sentences into English.
1. 
Konban eiga o mi ni ikimasen ka.
2. 
Kyanpu ni ikimasen ka.
3. 
Doybi ni kaimono ni ikimasen ka.
4. 
Ashita Nihongo no jisho o kai ni ikimasen ka.
5. 
Rainen Okinawa ni asobi ni ikimasen ka.
6. 
Raish Maiku-san no uchi ni asobi ni ikimasen ka.
7. 
Nan-ji goro ni ikimash ka.
Translate the following into Japanese.
1. Will you go to the supermarket today?
2. Will you go anywhere tomorrow?
3. Why don’t we go to Japan next year?
4. Do you often go to restaurants?
5. I don’t go to a library very often.
6. Let’s go to the park!
Here you’ll learn how to specify the form of transportation and the length of time needed to go somewhere. You’ll also learn some useful sentence-final particles you can use for getting an agreement for your statement or for emphasizing your statement.
deTo specify how you go somewhere, say the form of the transportation and add the particle 
de. The particle 
de is used with many different verbs, but it usually specifies the item or condition used for the action. When the action is going, 
de specifies the form of transportation. For example, 
saka ni kuruma de ikimasu means (I) will go to Osaka by car. If you walk somewhere rather than use another form of transportation, use 
aruite, which is the te form of the 
aruku (to walk). For example, 
Aruite toshokan ni ikimasu means I go to the library on foot or I walk to the library. See Chapter 5 for more about the te form of verbs.
Use the following words to refer to different modes of transportation:
To specify the length of time needed for an activity, use the counters 
jikan (hours) and 
fun (minutes) and the verb 
kakaru (to take, to cost). For example, 
Ichi-jikan j-go-fun kakarimasu means It takes one hour and 15 minutes. Here we are talking about the length of time needed for an activity rather than the time of day.
ne and 
yoEnd a sentence with 
ne if you want to get an agreement to your statement. End a sentence with 
yo if you want to emphasize your statement. For example:
Ii tenki desu ne.
It’s a nice weather, isn’t it?
Nihongo wa kantan desu yo.
Japanese is easy, I tell you!
Complete each sentence with the appropriate word or phrase.
1. 
Watashi wa kaisha ni ____________________ ikimasu.
I drive to my company.
2. 
Watashi wa daigaku ni ___________________ ikimasu.
I go to my university by a bus and a train.
3. 
Haha wa sp ni ____________________________ ikimasu.
My mother walks to the supermarket.
4. 
___________________________ kaerimasen ka.
Why don’t we go home by taxi?
5. 
Tanaka-san wa _____________________ koko ni kimashita.
Mr. Tanaka came here by bicycle.
The following passage was written by Takeshi. Read it carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Chichi wa gink de hataraite imasu. Gink ni wa basu to densha de ikimasu. Basu de j-go-fun to densha de sanjup-pun desu. Ane wa kangoshi desu. Byin ni wa basu de ikimasu. Basu de ni-j-go-fun desu. Watashi wa daigaku no eigo no gakusei desu. Daigaku ni wa basu to chikatetsu de ikimasu. Ichi-jikan kakarimasu.
1. How long does it take for Takeshi’s father to commute? ____________
2. How about for his sister? ____________
3. What modes of transportation does Takeshi use to commute to his school? ____________
Read the following dialog between Takeshi and George and answer the questions that follow.
1. When are they going to karaoke?
2. Who are going?
3. What does 
Ii desu ne in the dialog mean?
4. What does 
Ii desu yo in the dialog mean?
