Lesson 48
Base 4 + ba
After a long hike through many Base 3 verb forms, I think it's about time to start on Base 4. Remember that Bases 1 through 5 basically follow the Japanese vowels in their alphabetical order :
- AH, a as in father
- EE, e as in see
- OO, u as in mule
- EH, e as in red
- OH, o as in mode
and that the verb changes to end with the vowel sound of the "base" it's in before anything is added to it. (There are some exceptions among the ichidan and irregular verbs, however.) Think of Base 3 as the "root," or "dictionary form," since that's the form you'll see when looking words up. Base 3 is the plain form of the verb; it's where you start. You change it into the other "bases" and add the endings or other add-ons as necessary.
Now, let's borrow the tables from Lesson 17 and add a Base 4 column. Notice how the verbs change from their plain (Base 3) form. Also notice that this time the "bases" are in numerical order, and that the last letter, or vowel sound, of each verb corresponds in order with the vowels outlined above, except those pesky troublemakers in Bases 1 and 2 of the ichidans and Base 1 of the irregulars.
Yodan verbs:
| Base 1 |
Base 2 |
Base 3 (plain form) |
Base 4 |
| kawa |
kai |
kau |
kae |
| aruka |
aruki |
aruku |
aruke |
| isoga |
isogi |
isogu |
isoge |
| kasa |
kashi |
kasu |
kase |
| mata |
machi |
matsu |
mate |
| shina |
shini |
shinu |
shine |
| asoba |
asobi |
asobu |
asobe |
| yoma |
yomi |
yomu |
yome |
| kaera |
kaeri |
kaeru |
kaere |
Ichidan verbs:
| Base 1 |
Base 2 |
Base 3 (plain form) |
Base 4 |
| tabe |
tabe |
taberu |
tabere |
| oboe |
oboe |
oboeru |
oboere |
| kime |
kime |
kimeru |
kimere |
| de |
de |
deru |
dere |
| kari |
kari |
kariru |
karire |
| mi |
mi |
miru |
mire |
Irregular verbs:
| Base 1 |
Base 2 |
Base 3 (plain form) |
Base 4 |
| ko |
ki |
kuru |
kure |
| shi |
shi |
suru |
sure |
Now that we know how to make Base 4, let's do a simple and useful conjugation. Do you remember Base 3 + nara, covered in Lesson 35? Well, Base 4 + ba gives you similar results while being shorter and simpler.
Here are example sentences from Lesson 35, converted to Base 4 + ba:
- Isogeba, tsugi no densha ni noru koto ga dekiru yo. (If we hurry we'll be able to make the next train.)
- Ame ga fureba, shiai o enki shinakereba naranai. (If it rains we'll have to put off the game.)
- Kodomotachi wa ima sunakku o tabereba, yuushoku o tabenai deshou. (If the kids eat a snack now, they probably won't eat dinner.)
Very handy.
Another use for this is to suggest doing something. Here, it's the equivalent of "Why don't you...?":
- Kyoto ni ikeba? (Why don't you go to Kyoto?)
- Shichiji han ni dereba? (Why don't you leave at 7:30?)
- A: Obaa-chan ni denwa shitai. (I want to call Grandma.)
B: Sureba? (Why don't you [go ahead and call her]?)
This form of suggestion does not include the speaker, however. If you wanted to say "Why don't we go to Kyoto?" you would use mashou or something similar: Kyoto ni ikimashou ka?
|
