Japanese Present Tense Informal

Introduction

You have to be cautious when using informal speech in Japanese.

You can use it when you talk to your family or close friends.

It's a sign of intimacy when using informal speech while using the formal Keigo【敬語】form you want to create some distance between you and the listener.

Present tense affirmative formal

Forming the affirmative present tense formal, you select the dictionary form of ichidan, godan, or irregular verbs.

Present tense negative formal

Forming the present tense negative formal is a bit more complicated, and the rules for ichidan, godan, and irregular verbs are slightly different.

Ichidan verbs

Out of the three verb types the Japanese language has, ichidan verbs are the easiest to conjugate. You take the dictionary form of the verb, drop the last る-syllable, and add ない instead.

Godan verbs

Pay attention; conjugating godan verbs is a little bit more complicated ;)

You take the dictionary form of the verb, then select the last syllable of the verb.

Then you select the row in the hiragana chart where this syllable in the 3rd column is indicated.

The godan verb 飲む【のむ】ends with the syllable む.

Following the 3rd column, you will see the む-syllable located on the 5th row of the hiragana chart.

Now switch from the 3rd to the 1st column on the same row.

For 飲む【のむ】 this means む becomes ま.

Delete the last syllable む in the dictionary form, and add the ま instead. To finalize the conjugation, add ない at the end.

Irregular verbs

There are only two irregular verbs: する and 来る.

There are no rules for conjugating these verbs, you simply have to remember them: