Verb Basics - Irregular
Verb Basics - Irregular
Conveys a habitual or future action
After u-verbs and ru-verbs, the irregulars are the last group you need to know about. Being irregular simply means that they conjugate in a specific way that follows neither the rules of u-verbs, nor those of ru-verbs. They simply require memorization.
But first, as a reminder, verbs in Japanese are a bit different from verbs in English. Japanese lacks a dedicated future tense, and all verbs in their dictionary form can express an action, a habitual action, or the future tense!
The kind of action being referred to is determined by context.
There are only four irregular verbs in Japanese, those being: する to do, 来る to come, ある to exist (inanimate objects), and 行く to go. You don't have to worry about the conjugations for now, as we will introduce them one by one. You will have them down in no time, as these are extremely common verbs.
私も運動をする。
I also do/will sport.
明日、友人がこっち来る。
My friend is coming here tomorrow.
あそこにこの町で一番美味しいお寿司屋さんがある。
Over there is the most delicious sushi restaurant in this town.
アメリカには行くけど、カナダには行かない。
I’m going to the U.S., but I’m not going to Canada.
There are certain verbs that have unique conjugation patterns for some forms, but follow the general rules for others. These will be mentioned as they come up in future lessons.
Special Note
行く go and ある to exist are not listed as irregular verbs in most textbooks, but as their most used forms behave irregularly, we count them as such.