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I've noticed that I don't see 〜ましたり used very often, but it does seem to be an accepted form. I believe this form can be broken down like this: 動詞{どうし}の連用形{れんようけい}＋「ます」の連用形{れんようけい}＋「たり」

My understanding is that normally the sentence-final 動詞{どうし} is the one that is responsible for indicating the politeness of the sentence, while other verbs can be made polite depending on "how polite" you want the sentence to sound (as long as that 動詞{どうし} is not in a relative clause, and not in the objective clauses of certain verbs).

However, 〜たり makes a 動詞{どうし} nominal, so it is not clear to me when, if ever, you should use the polite form of the 動詞{どうし} when attaching 〜たり. (On a potentially related side note, I don't think I ever see the polite form of a 動詞{どうし} when using 中止形{ちゅうしけい} either.)

Darius Jahandarie
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  • `used very often`? Where do you hear it often? And probably like the masu-form before ので not being grammatically correct. Places where it is common to over-praise interlocutor (ex: 大丸), over keigo is usually used. – oldergod Jan 28 '13 at 00:57
  • @oldergod I said "I _don't_ see [it] used very often" in my question -- I see that it's a little hard to read though. While the polite form before the ので is actually grammatically incorrect (since 〜の requires 連体形, which doesn't permit polite forms), I think this is fine, grammatically speaking, it's more of just a usage question. – Darius Jahandarie Jan 28 '13 at 01:11
  • I've modified the question slightly so it's visually clearer what I'm saying. – Darius Jahandarie Jan 28 '13 at 01:15
  • Sorry I misread it. I have never heard it with a masu-form verb and I don't think there is cases where it *should* be used. – oldergod Jan 28 '13 at 01:49
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    In response to "〜の requires 連体形, which doesn't permit polite forms": [ます has a 連体形](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=118427700000), doesn't it? –  Jan 28 '13 at 02:20
  • @snailplane That link does suggest that ます has/had a 連体形. Relative clauses (which is the only place you would employ 連体形) definitely does not permit ます on verbs -- why this is the case I am not entirely sure, especially with ます having a historical 連体形. This sounds like an interesting question that should perhaps be forked off. – Darius Jahandarie Jan 28 '13 at 02:59
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    @DariusJahandarie Forked into a new question: http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/11063/does-the-%E5%8A%A9%E5%8B%95%E8%A9%9E%E3%80%8C%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E3%80%8D-have-a-%E9%80%A3%E4%BD%93%E5%BD%A2-adnominal-form –  Jan 28 '13 at 03:29

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After doing more research, I can't seem to find any modern sentences which use this form. This means it is most likely the fault of the grammar guides which include it, as it seems to be constructed rather than something which is actually used.

So, I think it is safe to say, never use 〜ましたり as a polite form for 〜たり.

Darius Jahandarie
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