One of the first forms you learn is the -masu (ます) form. This is probably because it’s used for polite conversations and you never insult people when you use this form (well, you can insult people by being too polite, but if you don’t look japanese, people will probably understand). Also, this form is quite consistent with few exceptions so it’s easy to learn.

Before I explain myself (well, this blog is mainly for me after all) how it works, first I’ll remind myself that there are three kinds of verbs.

Types of verbs:

• -u verbs (ending with a う、く、す、つ、ぬ、ふ、む、ゆ、る)
• -ru verbs (ending with a る)
• irregular verbs

As you can see, some verbs that end with る are not -ru verbs but -u verbs. This is very confusing, but luckily there are not many of these.

-ru verbs

The ます form for -ru verbs is simple. Just remove the る at the end and add ます for present tense (I see), ません present negative (I do not see), ました for past tense (I saw) and ませんでした for past negative (I did not see).

Some examples of the ます form for -ru verbs:

-u verbs

The rules for -u verbs are a bit more complex, but still fairly easy if you know your hiragana. Instead of removing the last character, change the vowel from u to i. So use み instead of む, き instead of く, etc.

Some examples of the ます form for -u verbs (in bold are sounds that change):

Irregular verbs

There are only two irregular verbs: する (to do) and くる (to come). The verb ‘to do’ can be combined with words to form activities: べんきょう　する (study + do = to study), サッカ を する (soccer + to do = play soccer). Actually the last uses a particle, but that’s not important for this topic, so I won’t explain that. Basically, する will use し + the masu ending, and くる will use き + the masu ending.

The ます form for irregular verbs: