a useful trick in learning Japanese verbs
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
Tokyo, 2010.08.30
Today my Japanese tutor showed me a surprisingly effective matrix trick for learning Japanese.
Japanese verbs have man forms. You can see a list of them here. The basics, however, are only really five or six. What I learned today was a way of ordering them that helps you keep them straight and to in fact remember them.
This system places the "group 1" verbs in a matrix with the alternate endings listed in alphabetical (syllabary?) order as such:
| verb root | pre-suffix | ending | usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| た | さ | ない | informal negative |
| し | ます／ません | polite positive/negative | |
| す | n/a | dictionary/informal | |
| せ | ませ／ません | passive | |
| そ | う | volitional |
By aligning these verbs through what I call the "pre-suffix" above, you can easily remember the forms..