q Negative Form - NAI
q Double Negatives
q Ja Nai
q Contractions
q Example Sentences
q Very Popular Words
Negative Form - NAI
The form of the verb listed in the "Useful words" section is referred to as the
"dictionary form" of the verb. This form is indeed used in sentences, but more
often than not you have to drop a couple letters at the end of the verb, and add
any one of a large number of useful endings to the verb "stem". This is called
conjugating a verb.
-nai is one of those endings.
When you want to say:
I don't kill people.
He doesn't eat.
She can't find the treasure.
You would use the negative verb ending, -nai. Before you can add the -nai, you
have to get the right verb "stem" to add it to.
In the last lesson, you learned that there are 2 main categories of verbs -- Ichidan
and Yodan.
Ichidan Verbs
Verbs in the Ichidan category (which end with -eru or -iru) are conjugated this
way:
Take the "dictionary" form of the verb:
taberu
Take off the -ru:
tabe
Now, add -nai to complete the conjugation:
