So far, with the -te, -nai, plain and -ta forms, we have learned that verbs come in two main inflection types: ru verbs, where the verb stem remains unchanged when different endings are attached, and -u verbs where the last letter of the verb stem can change depending on the ending that is attached.
Now let’s look at the volitional form, used in words such as 行こう (“let’s go”).
-ru verbs
With -ru verbs, simply add -よう to the stem.
食べる
たべ・る ⇒ たべ・よう
Here’s a list of some common -ru verbs.
ます form
English
てform
ないform
Plain form
たform
おうform
たべます
Eat
たべて
たべない
たべる
たべて
たべよう
あけます
Open
あけて
あけない
あける
あけて
あけよう
おります
Get down/off
おりて
おりない
おりる
おりて
おりよう
おちます
Fall
おちて
おちない
おちる
おちて
おちよう
あびます
Wash
あびて
あびない
あびる
あびて
あびよう
-u verbs
With -u verbs, you need to make a new stem, the -おう stem. This is done by changing the last syllable of the plain form from an “u” sound to and “o” sound, so for example, stems ending in くnow end in こ. Then add う.
書く
かく → かこ ＋ う ⇒ かこう
In romaji, it’s simpler. Just change the final “-u” to “-oo”
Here is a table of the different ways to make the -oo forms of -u verbs.
Syokyu 2 carries on from shokyu 1 in the same format: There are 25 units, (26 to 50), and all of the 5 main books have a lesson for each unit
本冊
Honsatsu introduces one or several new structures in each lesson. Each lesson has 5 parts:
文型 Sentence patterns
例文 Example sentences
会話 Conversation (with video and audio)
練習 Practice
Outlines basic grammatical structures
Patterns
Conversation
問題 Questions
聴解タスク Chokai tasuku
Each Chokai lesson provides listening comprehension exercises to reinforce understanding of the structures introduced in the honsatsu lesson for that unit
読めるトピック Yomeru topikku
Each Yomeru topikku lesson provides reading comprehension exercises to reinforce understanding of the structures introduced in the honsatsu lesson for that unit
Kanji
This book follows on from the shokyu 1 kanji book. To recap: Shokyu 1 introduces 220 kanji which are in terms of JLPT: 202 of the 250 kanji required for Level 3, and 18 of the 750 required for level 2.
Syntax: -te form compound verb. Uses intransitive verbs.
Usage: Shows a state that results from a deliberate action.
Explanation: While あるby itself shows that something exists, when it is used after the -te form of a transitive verb it shows what somebody did to it to get it into the state it is in now. This is in contrast to いる, which has a similar structure, but is used with intransitive verbs and shows what happened, rather than what was done.
Example:
まどが開けてあります。 The window has been opened
Note that even though the verb is transitive, が not を is used because the particle agrees with the final ある, not the -te form before it.
Explanation: We’ve seen how が, not を is used with the -てある form. When we are talking about what has been done to something that is the topic of the conversation, がchanges to は.
Now that we’ve learned some ways to describe the state that something in, we need to know how to talk about what we intend to do about it. This lesson introduces several ways to show what your intention is, how suggest to what you are going to, are thinking of, or are planning to do in the future.
Morphology
The volitional verb form
So far, with the -te, -nai, plain and -ta forms, we have learned that verbs come in two main inflection types: ru verbs, where the verb stem remains unchanged when different endings are attached, and -u verbs where the last letter of the verb stem can change depending on the ending that is attached. Now…
Structures
ちょっと休もう。
The volitional form is used in the same way as the -ましょう form, but in casual and familiar speech.
The previous topic そ～ is often used to represent something that has just been talked about. In writing, こ～ can be used instead, to describe something as if it really exists.
