Happy Sunday Japanophiles, Herewith the 40th issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!

Today, we’re simply going through some grammar:

Verb Plain Present (る Form) 

The Basics of Japanese Verb Form

The plain form of a Japanese verb (also called the dictionary form or the る form) is versatile, used to express both present and future actions.

Table of Contents

1. Basics of Plain Present

2. Talking about Future Actions

3. Describing Habits, Facts, or Generalizations

4. Differences: Verb-る vs. Verb-ている

5. Politeness in Plain Form

The Basics of Plain Present

The plain present form (る form) is the base form of verbs that you’ll often find in the dictionary.

These verbs end with an "u" sound, like in 食べる (taberu) (to eat), 使う (tsukau) (to use), or する (suru) (to do).

Even though it's commonly called "present form," it can mean either present or future actions, depending on context.

For example, to describe a daily habit:

- 兄は毎日パスタを食べる (Ani wa mainichi pasuta o taberu) 

"My brother eats pasta every day."

Or to describe a future action:

- 兄は明日パスタを食べる (Ani wa ashita pasuta o taberu) 

"My brother will eat pasta tomorrow."

In Japanese, context words like 毎日 (mainichi) (every day) or 明日 (ashita) (tomorrow) help us know if an action is present or future.

Talking about Future Actions

Japanese doesn't use different forms like “will” or “going to” as English does.

Instead, you can simply use the plain present form. For example:

- パーティーをする (Paatii o suru) 

"I will throw a party" (without context, usually implies a future plan).

To show it's a recurring event:

- 毎年パーティーをする (Maitoshi paatii o suru) 

"I throw a party every year."

And to ask a simple question like "Want some?":

- 飲む？ (Nomu?) 

"Want some?" (Literally: Will you drink it?)

Answering casually with the same verb:

- 飲む！(Nomu!) 

"I will (drink it)!"

Describing Habits, Facts, or Generalizations

The plain form also describes regular habits and general facts.

If you always eat sandwiches for breakfast:

- 朝は、いつもサンドイッチを食べる (Asa wa, itsumo sandoicchi o taberu) 

"I always eat sandwiches in the morning."

To state a general fact, like scientific truths:

- 水は100度で沸騰する (Mizu wa hyaku-do de futtou suru) 

"Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius."

And to make a generalization about Labradors:

- ラブラドールはよく食べる (Raburadōru wa yoku taberu) 

"Labradors eat well."

Verb-る vs. Verb-ている

The ている form is often used when describing ongoing actions or states. For example:

- 月は地球の周りを回っている (Tsuki wa chikyuu no mawari o mawatte iru) 

"The moon revolves around the earth."

To describe a state, like owning something, the ている form is used instead of plain present:

- 兄はパソコンを三台も持っている (Ani wa pasokon o san-dai mo motte iru) 

"My brother has three computers."

Politeness in Plain Form

The plain form sounds casual. If you’re offering a cookie to a friend:

- クッキー食べる？ (Kukkii taberu?) 

"Want a cookie?"

But to be polite, you would say:

- クッキー食べます(か)? (Kukkii tabemasu ka?) 

"Would you like a cookie?"

When talking to yourself in a formal setting, though, it’s natural to use the plain form even if others are around:

- 食べる (Taberu) 

"Eat?" (to oneself)

This plain present form is also known as the "non-past form" since it can refer to actions in both present and future. As you practice, you’ll learn when to use each form naturally!

That’s all folks!

Let me know if you enjoyed this simple grammar run-through :)

Have a great Sunday!