This is a mobile optimized page that loads fast, if you want to load the real page, click this text.

Conjugation for adjectives and nouns

R

richards

後輩
Joined
18 Aug 2012
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Conjugation for adjectives and nouns.
Does conjugation for nouns and adjectives follow a similar pattern as for verbs in terms of adding the suffixes to the stem of the adjective or noun and changing the last letter or dropping it away?

For example :

わるい
Is bad - わるいです

This brings me to another question: In the book i am using (idiot's guide to conversational Japanese 2nd Edition) conjugation is explained like the example below (referring to an adjective conjugation):

STEM + kuna-idesu

What is the STEM value? Is it 'warui' or some other form because if i use google translate (it's probably inaccurate yes but it's all i have to work with) and enter わるいいです it doesn't translate to 'is bad' but when i enter わるいです it seems correct (translates to 'is bad').

Thanks in advance
 
Nouns don't conjugate. That book sounds like it sucks.

わるい
わるくない
わるかった
わるくなかった

Notice the common bit is "waru"? That's the stem. "Desu" doesn't mean "is". The notion of being bad is all contained in わるい even without the です on the end.

Throw that book away and invest in a proper textbook. The price can't have been that different.
 
Thanks for the reply; it's easy to spot the stem if you have a few examples listed but if i don't? How do i find the stem then?

I'm starting to have a bit of buyers remorse about the book but it was written by a native Japanese speaker. How could he have messed up so badly if he also speaks japanese?
 
Because he never had to learn Japanese as a foreigner.

The stem is the bit before -i

Some of our diligent learners here will be glad to recommend good materials to you.
 
I find it hard to believe that the book tells you to use the 'stem' without explaining what that is.

Ignore anything labeled as for 'dummies/idiots' - I'm presuming you're not one. Ditto anything titled along the lines of 'Learn Japanese in {a short period of time}'. Look for a textbook which is used to teach university classes.

Genki is good and very popular - not the cheapest, so see if you can find it online second hand. There are some other options - Nakama, Japanese for Busy People, etc.

Genki – Page and Audio Samples - some samples for genki
Japanese for Busy People Seriesﾂ｜AJALT - some samples for JBP

(I couldn't find a sample for Nakama, maybe someone who has used it will chime in).
 
Richards, "Idiots guide to conversational japanese" was one of the first books that I bought too, and it does indeed suck. Hang on to it though, because it will come in handy 6-12 months from now as an ok source for stock phrases and vocabulary once you have a solid foundation.

Genki I and II is probably your best bet as a primer.
 
I would definitely recommend Genki; it is what I started with at my University.

I've heard good things about Nakama (I have the older editions but I haven't actually looked through them yet), but my University recently switched to it and it was over $200 in the bookstore (I think it was for the pair of either Nakama I and II or Nakama I(or II) + workbook...I didn't really look once I saw the $200+ price tag haha).

Here's a quick guide for stems (because apparently I like writing up stuff like this):
i-adjectives - drop the final い (e.g. わるい > わる / おもしろい > おもしろ)
na-adjectives - drop the final な (e.g. しずかな > しずか / きれいな > きれい)
う (godan) verbs - replace the final u sound with i sound (e.g. いく > いき / かえる > かえり)
る (ichidan) verbs - drop final る (e.g. たべる > たべ / あげる > あげ)
Irregular verbs - する > し / くる > き
 
I looked at the Genki series but they are considerably (based on exchange rates) more expensive than the 'complete idiots' book; It's a bit of a let down (the complete idiots book) considering that the second edition was published last year;

dwcarless - thanks for the note on the book; at the moment though i'll have to stick with it; i'm just baffled by it's inadequecy at the moment

Angel Valis - Thank you for the quick guide re. stems; i'm comfortable with the verbs at the moment but the adjective conjugations are definitely welcome
 
Last edited:
richards said:
I looked at the Genki series but they are considerably (based on exchange rates) more expensive than the 'complete idiots' book; It's a bit of a let down (the complete idiots book) considering that the second edition was published last year
Click to expand...

Ah yeah, the new editions of Genki just recently came out too, that's probably why they're so expensive. At the moment, amazon.com has Genki I (first edition) available used from $17 USD (147.97 R according to google) if that's an option for you. If you're not taking classes, then having the newest edition shouldn't be a big concern. I think mainly they updated some outdated terminology (which is relatively easy to spot...like disco and tape -_- lol).
 
Last edited:
The stuff I learned from talked about レコードを聞きます
 
Thanks for the idea to look at Amazon;. I am not actively taking lessons (from a tutor) so a second hand book might be worthwhile and not as expensive.
 
The problem with the "idiot's guide" is that it is designed as a travel guide. If you were going to Japan in 3 months then it gives you a crash course of some verbal survival skills. It has no writing lessons and it short-cuts most of the grammer and conjugation constructs (as you've already seen). If you try to use it as a text book then you'll have problems down the road when you try to build on what you know, because the short-cuts that they use don't match any of the standard teaching patterns. That's why I recommend using it for vocabulary only, after you get some of your basic grammer down from a reliable source.

There are lots of used book options which I take full advantage of. Local used book stores, Amazon, paperbackswap.com, ebay, etc. For basic grammer construction, there is nothing wrong with the age of a book (unless it is like pre-WW2 ).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Trying to Make Sense Out Of Adjective/Verb Conjugations
2
Replies
43
Views
19K
Toritoribe
N
noun+teki na
Replies
8
Views
19K
Neil2
N
Adjective conjugation
Replies
13
Views
9K
Damicci
"Gotoku" meaning "like/as" as a noun?
Replies
10
Views
17K
Glenn
S
Adding -na after Noun adjectives
Replies
9
Views
8K
Glenn
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…