N4 · Verbs
The dictionary form
the plain non-past
The form a verb has in the dictionary — and in casual speech, in front of nouns and inside most grammar patterns.
The dictionary form is the plain, non-past, positive form of a verb: 書く, 食べる, する, 来る. It is where every verb is listed in a dictionary, and it means exactly what the ます-form means — "I write", "I will write" — without the politeness.
It has three jobs. It ends sentences in casual speech, among friends and family: 明日行く？ "Are you going tomorrow?". It stands in front of a noun to describe it, in every register: 毎朝乗るバス "the bus I take every morning". And it is the base of a long list of patterns — ことができる, つもり, 前に, かもしれない — whose politeness is carried by the end of the sentence, not by the verb inside them.
Going back from the ます-form you know reverses the steps. A う-verb moves its kana from the i row back to the u row (飲みます → 飲む), a る-verb puts る back (見ます → 見る), and します and 来ます become する and 来る. This is where the group pays off: 借ります goes back to 借りる, but 帰ります to 帰る.
The mistake English speakers make is to think of です as the thing that makes any sentence polite, and to add it to the plain verb. With a noun or an adjective that works; with a verb it does not. The polite verb is its own ます-form, and です does not attach to a verb in the dictionary form.
The form
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending
| drink — polite | 飲みます |
| drink — plain | 飲む |
| wait — polite | 待ちます |
| wait — plain | 待つ |
| go home — polite | 帰ります |
| go home — plain | 帰る |
| borrow — polite | 借ります |
| borrow — plain | 借りる |
| eat — polite | 食べます |
| eat — plain | 食べる |
| do — polite | します |
| do — plain | する |
| come — polite | 来ます |
| come — plain | 来る |
The rules one by one
A う-verb ends in the u-row kana whose i-row partner stands before ます.
毎日駅まで歩く。I walk to the station every day.
A る-verb is its ます-stem plus る.
今日は早く寝る。I am going to bed early today.
Before a noun, the plain form is used even in polite speech.
毎朝乗るバスは7時に来ます。The bus I take every morning comes at seven.
Many patterns take the dictionary form, and the end of the sentence decides the politeness.
私はピアノを弾くことができます。I can play the piano.
A plain verb does not take です directly; the polite verb is the ます-form.
毎週プールに行きます。I go to the pool every week.
A closer look
One verb, two registers, one meaning
A Japanese speaker switches between 行く and 行きます many times a day, and the choice says nothing about the action and everything about the relationship. Friends, family, children and close colleagues hear the plain form; customers, strangers and people senior to you hear ます. Writing has its own rule: diaries, essays and newspapers use plain forms throughout, because nobody in particular is being addressed.
What surprises learners is that politeness does not reach inside a sentence. 私が住んでいる町 "the town where I live" stays plain in the most polite conversation; only the verb that ends the sentence changes. Politeness is decided once, at the end.
How to spot it
- 〜う
- 〜く
- 〜る
- ことができる
- 前に
- つもり
- 〜の？
Example sentences
明日、何する？What are you doing tomorrow?
週末は家でゆっくり休む。At the weekend I take it easy at home.
寝る前に歯を磨きます。I brush my teeth before I go to bed.
日本語を話す人が増えました。The number of people who speak Japanese has grown.
来年、留学するつもりです。I am planning to study abroad next year.
この電車は東京駅に止まる？Does this train stop at Tokyo Station?
8 more example sentences
夜は何時に寝る？What time do you go to bed?
雨が降る日はバスで行きます。On days when it rains I go by bus.
兄はよく料理をする。My older brother cooks a lot.
出かける前に電話してください。Please call before you leave.
母は毎朝5時に起きる。My mother gets up at five every morning.
一人で来るの？Are you coming on your own?
この漢字は何と読む？How do you read this kanji?
電車の中で読む本を探しています。I am looking for a book to read on the train.
Worth knowing (1)
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A casual question has no か
In casual speech a question is usually the plain form said with a rising voice, written with ？: 行く？. Adding か to a plain verb sounds blunt and is mostly heard from men among close friends or in talking to oneself. The softer casual question adds の: 行くの？.
今日、学校に行く？Are you going to school today?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
です makes a noun or an adjective polite, so it looks like a general-purpose politeness ending. It is not: a verb is made polite by its own form. In casual speech the plain verb stands alone — 毎朝走る — and in polite speech it becomes 走ります. There is no third option with です.
Plain form alone with friends, plain form before a noun with anybody — and never plain form plus です.
Your turn
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