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Japanese Verbs: Polite ~ ます (masu) form
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My first post on Japanese verbs was about plain/dictionary ~u form that only kids or people speaking with family or friends would use.
Time to grow! The first ending you'll want to master is the polite form masu.

Group 1: ~ U ending verbs:

* To make ~ます form out of Type 1 verbs (godan), change ~u ending to ~i and add masu: verb~u ---> verb~i+masu (plain form ---> present polite form)
* when making a polite form for the verb ending in ~つ(tsu) change it to ち(chi) first:　matsu （待つ） ---> ma~chi ---> machimasu （待ちます）
* when making a polite form for the verb ending in ~す(su) change it to し(chi) first: kasu （貸す） ---> ka~shi ---> kashimasu （貸します）

hanasu （話す) ---> hanasimasu - to speak
kaku （書く) ---> kakimasu - to write
kiku （聞く）---> kikimasu - to listen
matsu （待つ）---> machimasu - to wait
kasu（貸す）---> kashimasu - to lend
nomu （飲む）---> nomimasu - to drink

Now we are ready to speak "adult" Japanese:

* Mama wa mise de banana o kaimasu. (Mom buys/will buy bananas at the store.)
* Jim wa manga o yomimasu. (Jim read/will read a comic book.)
* Ojii-san wa sugu kaerimasu. (Grandpa return/will return soon.)
*
彼は方言で話します。 かれ は ほうげん で はなします 。(He speaks a dialect.)

Group 2: ~ Iru and ~ Eru ending verbs:

* Ichidan (~Iru and ~Eru) verbs are a snap, because you change them by just dropping the ~ru at the end and adding ~masu.

~ Iru ending verbs

kiru （着る） kimasu - to wear
miru （見る） mimasu - to see
okiru （起きる） okimasu - to get up
oriru （降りる） orimasu - to get off
shinjiru （信じる） shinjimasu - to believe

~ Eru ending verbs

akeru （開ける） akemasu - to open
ageru （あげる） agemasu - to give
deru （出る） demasu - to go out
neru （寝る） nemasu - to sleep
taberu （食べる） tabemasu - to eat

Here are some examples:

* Watashi wa ashita kimemasu. (I'll decide tomorrow.)
* Jerry wa sugu heya kara demasu. (Jerry will come out of the room soon.)
* Ayako wa mainichi terebi o mimasu. (Ayako watches the TV every day.)
*
私は毎日たくさん野菜を食べます。わたし は まいにち たくさん やさい を たべます (I eat a lot of vegetables every day)

Group 3: Irregular Verbs くる (kuru) and ~する (~suru):

* To make ~ます form out of kuru, change kuru to kimasu
* To make ~ます form out of suru, change suru to shimasu
* To make ~ます form out of ~suru verbs, change ~suru ending to ~shimasu

benkyousuru （勉強する）benkyoshimasu - to study
ryokousuru （旅行する）ryokoushimasu - to travel
etc.

Now, you are probably thinking: How can I tell ichidan verbs from godan? True, there are also godan verbs that end in eru or iru, but with practice and experience they will gradually be mastered. A mistake made from not knowing whether a verb is godan or ichidan is a very minor one, and should not be worried about now.