Plain Form in Japanese

1. Plain Form

2. Verb Groups in Japanese
• As we have already learnt there are 3
verb groups in Japanese.
– Group 1 (Strong)
– Group 2 (Weak)
– Group 3 (Irregular)

3. Group 1 (Strong)
• These are the biggest group of verbs.
To identify these verbs look at the verb
stem (without the ます ) and if it ends
in an い sound it is a Group 1 verb.
E.g. あいます、あるきます、およぎま
す、はなします、たちます、あそびま
す、
のみます、しにます .

4. Group 2 (Weak)
• Group 2 (Weak) verbs differ from Group 1
verbs in the following ways.
– The last syllable of the verb stem ends in an え
sound. E.g. あけます、たべます
OR
– They are verbs with a one syllable stem.
E.g. ねます、でます
OR
– They are the potential form of the verb

5. Group 3 (Irregular)
• These are the verbs that you must
remember by heart, as there is no rules
to help you remember them.
E.g. します and きます (come)

6. Introduction to Plain Form
• All the verbs that you know end in ま
す . When you use these verbs you are
using polite form.
• Now we are going to learn how to form
the plain form

7. Uses of the Plain Form
• The plain form (often referred to as the
‘Dictionary Form’) is used in informal
language.
• The plain form is also required when
we are forming many grammatical
patterns.

8. Formation
• As we have just learnt there are
different ways of forming the て form
depending on what verb group they
are. The formation plain form also has
rules depending on what verb group
they belong to.

9. Formation of Group 1 (Strong) Verbs
• When you change Group 1 verbs into
the plain form you drop the ます and
change the final い sound to the
corresponding う sound.
• Look at the following chart to help
clarify it for you.

11. Examples
はなします
はなす
ききます
きく
あそびます
あそぶ
つくります
つくる

12. Exercises
Look at the following polite forms and put them in their
Plain form
のみます
のむ
あらいま
す
いきます
あらう
たちます
たつ
いく

13. Formation of Group 2 (Weak) Verbs
• It is much easier to change Group 2
verbs into the plain form. You simply
drop the ます and add る . As you
continue your study of Japanese you
will realise that Group 2 verbs are
much easier to conjugate.

14. Examples
あけます
あける
みます
みる
でかけます
でかける
ねます
ねる

15. Exercises
Look at the following polite forms and put them in their
Plain form
できます
います
できる
いる
たべます
たべる
みえます
みえる

16. Important Note
• It is important to remember that there
are a few exceptions to the rule. The
following verbs look like Group 1 verbs
however they are Group 2:
おきます and あびます . Therefore
their plain forms are おきる and あび
る respectively.

17. Formation of Group 3 (Irregular) Verbs
• The only way to remember these verbs
is by heart. The two irregular verbs are:
します
する
きます (come)
くる

18. Conclusion
• Group 1 - Change the final い sound
of the verb stem to its’ corresponding
う sound
• Group 2 - Add る to the verb stem
• Group 3 - Remember by heart