{The Challenge | Day 05}
A week of sleep deprivation caught up to me yesterday and I was pretty much down and half asleep for more than half the day, but Monday is Monday: back to work. Today I cover the causal form of verbs in the present affirmative and negative, as well as how to say “I think..” using verbs, adjectives, and nouns---it’s all hidden under a read more line because this post got a little too long. Oops. I also worked on this for a while, so although it’s five til one AM here... it’s still Monday as far as I’m concerned.
1. Dictionary & ～ない form・casual form: affirmative & negative present tense
As often the case, many of us will first learn the most basic polite way of speech before we get to peak at casual. Positive short form, however, is the easiest to learn, and I think many beginners know it before they even realize it. This is what is known at the “dictionary,” or short, form of the verb. What this means is that when you look up a verb in a dictionary, that word is already in the present positive short form. If you head to Jisho and search “to make,” you will see “作る”. Just as “to see” is “見る,” “to read” is “読む,” and “to drink” is “飲む.” No changes need to be made to their endings! So let’s make a few sentences to illustrate them in use:
マルピパちゃん、ノートがあるよ！ (Malupipa, I have your notes!)
私の犬はポップコンを食べていると思おう。 (I think my dog is eating popcorn.)
明日勉強する。 (I will study tomorrow.)
But to use the causal present negative, or ない form, requires some conjugation work:
る-verbs: remove る and replace it with ない Examples: 食べる ➜ 食べる ➜ 食べ ➜ 食べない 見る ➜ 見る ➜ 見 ➜ 見ない 起きる ➜ 起きる ➜ 起き ➜ 起きない 寝る ➜ 寝る ➜ 寝 ➜ 寝ない う-verbs: remove the final -う and replace it with -あない Examples: 話す ➜ 話す ➜ 話 ➜ 話さない 書く ➜ 書く ➜ 書く ➜ 書かない 待つ ➜ 待つ ➜ 待 ➜ 待たない 買う ➜ 買う ➜ 買 ➜ 買わない Irregular: する ➜ しない 来る ➜ こない Exception: ある ➜ ない
(If る- and う-verbs, or ichidan and godan verbs, is an unfamiliar concept, you can read about verb groups over here.)
Personally, I am always forgetting that う-verbs ending in -う and -つ change to -わない and -たない respectively---it takes some memorizing and persistent practice! But let’s see them in a few example sentences:
今晩勉強しているから、寝ないと思う。 (I’m studying tonight, so I don’t think I will sleep.)
今週はコンサートに行かない。 (I won’t go to the concert this week.)
私の妹はここに*いない。(*いる ➜ いない) (My sister is not here.)
水曜日はテストがない。 (There’s no test on Wednesday.)
靴を買わない。 (I won’t buy shoes.)
Today I only covered the present positive and present negative conjugations, but tomorrow I will cover casual past tense! For now I will move on to something else:
2. ～と思います・I think that...
When you want to express your thoughts, use ～と+思う. In this instance, と functions as a quotation particle and will always go in front of the sentence-ending verb 思う (to think). How toconstruct a sentence using verbs vs adjectives vs nouns paired with ～と思う will vary:
Verbs: 見る ➜ 見ると思う／と思います い-adjective: おいしい ➜ おいしいと思う／と思います な-adjective: 元気(な) ➜ 元気だ ➜ 元気だと思う／と思います Noun+です: バイソンです ➜ バイソンだ ➜ バイソンだと思う／と思います
In words: Keep the verb in positive present short form, then add と思う or と思います, depending on whether you wish to be casual or polite. If the thought ends with an い-adjective, keep the adjective as it is and connect it to と思う (or its polite variant). For な-adjectives and nouns alike, you will sandwich a だ between the adjective or noun and と思う／と思います.
Before I dig into example sentences, I’ll cover some notes about ～と思う usage:
The subject (the speaker) is omitted since ～と思う／と思います already provides context that it is the speaker’s thoughts and not someone else’s
To refer to someone else’s thoughts, use ～と思っている (casual) or ～と思っています
The clause that precedes ～と思う／～と思います or ～と思っている／ ～と思っています will always end in short form
It might feel confusing and it might feel like a lot to take in if it’s your first time reading these grammar points, but I promise you that it becomes easier the more you practice---be it writing, speaking, thinking (!!), or reading. I think I’ve said enough, so let’s get into some sentences:
サカくんのブーメランを見えると思います！(polite) サカくんのブーメランを見えると思う！(casual) (I think I can see Sokka’s boomerang!)
スキさんはとても*丁寧だと思います。(polite) スキさんはとても*丁寧だと思う。(casual) *丁寧(な): な-adjective, meaning polite or courteous (I think Suki is very polite.)
アッパちゃんはスカイバイソンだと思います。(polite) アッパちゃんはスカイバイソンだと思う。(casual) (I think Appa is a sky bison.)
And let’s try one with ～と思っています:
モモちゃんはモモはおいしいと思っています。(polite) モモちゃんはモモはおいしいと思っている。(casual) (Momo thinks peaches are delicious.) (& BTW, I did look up ATLA on the JP wiki and found name spellings, but Momo’s is a guess...)
If you want say “I don’t think...” you can technically change 思う into a negative form (e.g., 思わない or 思いません), but it’s much more common to say ～ないと思います. This refers to the ない-form discussed up above!
ジャオ提督はあまり才能がないと思います。 (I don’t think Admiral Zhao is very talented.)
モモは*おいしくないと思います。 *おいしくない(です) is the negative present of おいしい (I don’t think Peaches are yummy.)
トフさんは*丁寧じゃないと思います。 (I don’t think Toph is courteous.)
These examples are written in polite form, but simply change 思います to 思う if you want to end the sentence in casual. I’m off to do other things, now, but as always: comments, corrections, and additional notes are welcome. I’m still a beginner at Japanese and presently tired, so mistakes will and do happen, and I strongly encourage corrections.