Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 2: 4/12

る-Verb (Dictionary)

る + ます (Ichidan Verbs)

Short form is also often called 'casual form' (because it is used in casual language), or 'plain form'

Structure

Examples:
食(た)べる
見(み)る
寝(ね)る

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Verb

  • Word Type

    Independent Word

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    動詞

  • 単語の種類

    自立語

  • 使用域

    一般

About る-Verb (Dictionary)

る-Verbs are verbs that have only one possible conjugation pattern. This pattern simply involves the replacement of る with another construction, depending on the tense of the verb (past, negative, etc). This conjugation pattern that only includes る is where the Japanese name Ichidan (一段(いちだん)) 'one-level' comes from.

In these examples, we can see that る is removed from the verb to create the polite ます form. The る form of the verb is often called 'plain form', 'casual form', or 'short form', depending on the source/book.
All る-Verbs end in the kana る, there are no exceptions to this rule.

Caution

While all る-Verbs end in る, not all verbs that end in る are る-Verbs. These verbs can be identified by the る changing, rather than being removed when conjugated.

  • それも取(と)る。
    I will take that too.
  • それも取(と)ります。
    I will take that too.

As the る in 取(と)る becomes り in 取(と)ります, we can determine immediately that it is not a る-Verb, but actually a う-Verb.

Examples

  • 見(み)る → 見(み)ます

    To look

    • 寝(ね)る → 寝(ね)ます

      To go to sleep

      • 覚(おぼ)える → 覚(おぼ)えます

        To memorize/remember

        • 食(た)べる → 食(た)べます

          To eat

          • 浴(あ)びる → 浴(あ)びます

            To wash/shower

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            る-Verb (Dictionary) – Grammar Discussion

            Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

            • MatzBlanc

              MatzBlanc

              My review was:

              (Casual) → 借かります

              How am I supposed to know if it is the Godan or Ichidan Version casual version?

              They both are the same when polite, no ?

            • steffuld

              steffuld

              I’ve never thought about it before, but is it true that ichidan verbs always end in -iru or -eru?
              This vastly simplifies telling apart ichidan and godan verbs, imo. Should be a ‘fun fact’ or something.

            • Fuga

              Fuga

              It is true that ichidan verbs end in -iru or -eru, however there are exceptions and not all verbs that end in -iru and -eru are ichidan verbs.

              For example 切る ‘kiru’ ends in -iru and 減る ‘heru’ ends in -eru, but these are both godan verbs.

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