ABSTRACT

T HE full conjugation of a Japanese verb can be conveniently divided into two parts, which may be styled

The chief function of the Simple Conjugation is to provide variations in form by means of which the verb can be brought into relation with other words. These variations in form do not now (though some of them originally did) express by themselves variations in meaning as is the case with those changes in the form of the verb in English, like 'break', 'broke', 'breaking', 'broken', &c., which serve to convey ideas of mood, tense, or voice; nor do any of the forms of a Japanese verb, whether simple or compound, contain elements representing number or person. Each form of the simple conjugation can serve as a base for the addition of suffixes to produce compound conjugational forms which express variations in meaning corresponding to (though not exactly coinciding with) the tenses, moods, &c., of an English verb; but standing alone it is simply one of a series of forms, differentiated by flexion, by means of which the word in question can function as verb, noun, adjective, or adverb, according to requirement. Thus, for the verb 'to go' we have in Japanese the following forms of the Simple Conjugation:

1. yuku 2. yuku 3. yuki 4. yuka 5. yuke

I27 but in many verbs they differ, e. g. homu and homuru, respectively the predicative and attributive forms of the verb meaning 'to praise'.