Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [auxiliaries]

助動詞. Inflecting function words or endings such as 〜ます and 〜ない. Many inflect like verbs (such as 〜(ら)れる), but many others do not (such as 〜たい), so here we will call these simply "auxiliaries" and not "auxiliary verbs". These should be distinguished from 補助動詞（ほじょどうし）, which are tagged "subsidiary verbs" on this site to avoid confusion.

Called 助動詞【じょどうし】 in Japanese grammar, these are inflecting function words or endings such as 〜ます and 〜ない. Many inflect like verbs (such as 〜(ら)れる), but many others do not (such as 〜たい), so here we will call these simply "auxiliaries" and not "auxiliary verbs". These should be distinguished from 補助動詞（ほじょどうし）, which are tagged "subsidiary verbs" on this site to avoid confusion.

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How to parse ～なくたって?

I've been running into verbs such as 言わなくたって recently. I found these sentences using a sample sentence search and it seems to be a stronger form of ～なくても 見てなくたっていいよ。 You don't have to stand over me. そんなトゲトゲしい言い方しなくたっていいだろう。 You don't have to use…
oals
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What dialect is ！〜べ?

What dialect is それはねぇべ （それはないだろう）? It seems I hear it a lot from people from Chiba. Is it from a specific part of Chiba or even a wider area?
paullb
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Understand the difference between [dictionary/ない + ようとする] and [volitional + にする]

I have come across a couple of concepts that seem relatively similar, but I would like an understanding on their differences, if any. The first is the dictionary/ない form + ようとする. And the other is the conjugated volitional form (or よう form) + にする. I…
Naruto
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What is it about ～まして?

Is it just the て-form of ます? So, could I just use 食べまして instead of 食べて? Leading to my next question (everything from here on is assumed): Since 食べまして is the polite form of 食べて, why wouldn't you use 食べましてください instead of 食べてください, isn't that even more…
RnBandCrunk
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Auxiliary verbs in Japanese

What are auxiliary verbs in Japanese language? Which verbs are auxiliary and how to tell which are auxiliaries, and which are normal? It looks like the word です is an auxiliary verb. But why? What tells us that it has this function in sentence? Is…
Richard
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Where does the -a stem come from with auxiliary-constructed transitive/intransitive verb pairs if the base verb is a 二段活用 (or カ行変格活用)?

It seems to be generally understood that transitive/intransitive verb pairs, when they are not a 四段活用 and a 二段活用 that share the same 終止形, were created by taking a base verb, whether transitive or intransitive, and adding an Old Japanese auxiliary -…
LittleWhole
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Difference between さえ、でさえ

Could you explain to me the difference between さえ and でさえ? Example: そんなこと、子どもでさえ知っている。 Can I use さえ instead of でさえ in this sentence? そんなこと、子どもさえ知っている。
Melissa
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〜たい form vs. 〜てほしい

When first learning Japanese grammar, one is usually taught that to express a desire to do something one should use the 〜たい form of the verb: 東京へ行きたい On some occasions, however, I've also seen this sentiment expressed as 〜てほしい, like…
Kaji
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Is ない an "auxiliary verb"?

My dictionary says 助動詞{じょどうし} means "auxiliary verb". This sounds intuitively correct; 動詞 means verb, so 助動詞 sounds like a type of verb. But the 助動詞「ない」 looks like an auxiliary adjective, not an auxiliary verb. This is confusing. I suppose I don't…
user1478
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が vs を in sentences of desire (-たい)

According to Genki, expressions of desire ( -たい sentences such as in the examples below) which use the particle を can also use the particle が interchangeably, and besides stating that, they give no further explanation. From what I could tell from…
mattb
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how to use ~そう past tense

If I want to say, "you look tired", 疲れそう doesn't work, as that is "looks like I/you will get tired", but is 疲れたそう a thing? feels wrong... Is it possible to use ~そう past tense? past negative? Is there a better way to say this?
Joel
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Difference between 「彷徨う」 and 「彷徨える」、「狂う」 and 「狂える」 etc

In 大辞林, the definition of さまよえる as in さまよえるオランダ人 is あてもなくさまよっている。 while the (primary) definition of さまよう is 当てもなく、あるいは目指す所が見つからずにあちこち歩き回る。 What's the difference between the two words, and other similar pairs such as 狂える as in 狂えるオルランド and 狂う? Is…
null
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ほしがっている versus ほしそうだ

I don't really understand the differences between the following sentences. 彼は新しい車をほしがっている。 彼は新しい車をほしそうだ。 In both sentences, the speakers made conjectures based on the sign that the third person (彼) is showing. Question What is the difference…
Second Person Shooter
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Is there really any difference between だなんて and なんて?

1.「精霊の力を封印できるだなんて規格外の能力、持っているのはこの世にあなた一人だけよ。ーーそのあなたが嫌だと言うのだもの。もうどうしようもないじゃない」 2.「む……そうか。そうだな。シドーから鳶一折紙の匂いがするだなんて、私はどうしてしまったのだろか。シドーがあの女をおぶったりでもしない限り、匂いが付くだなんてありえないというのに」 Hi. I’m reading a novel and I’ve come across these two examples. I’m interested…
chino alpha
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Origin of ません (-masen)?

I understand that polite forms like yomimasu are actually (or originated as) infinitive yomi + auxiliary verb masu in its plain non-past form. Then past form yomimashita is just infinitive yomi + plain past mashita. So I wonder what is the origin of…
AnatolyVorobey
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