Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [subsidiary-verbs]

補助動詞. Verbs such as いる, おく, ある, いく, くる, and しまう, which can follow the 〜て form of a verb with special grammaticalized meanings. Not to be confused with 助動詞（じょどうし） "auxiliary verbs", which are inflecting function words or endings such as 〜ない and 〜ます. We use the translation "subsidiary verbs" on this site to avoid confusion.

See also

148 questions
77
votes
3 answers

Difference between -ていく and -てくる

Can someone explain the differences between v-ていく and v-てくる for me. I know that they both express some kind of ongoing action (like a place getting crowded). For example, what's the difference between 込んでいく and 込んでくる, or is it even possible to use…
nevan king
  • 7,068
  • 7
  • 30
  • 39
18
votes
1 answer

What is a subsidiary verb?

What is a subsidiary verb? Could someone please explain it and give some examples of its application?
eugene_laserhair
  • 433
  • 6
  • 7
14
votes
1 answer

What does てやる mean when it is not used for giving?

Okay, according to the (monolingual) dictionary that I use, てやる is used to indicate "doing something with strong will or determination" (my translation) e.g. 飛び降りてやる！ But this definition seems a little too vague for me; is there anything that it…
user4096
  • 614
  • 1
  • 6
  • 11
13
votes
1 answer

What's the difference between 歩んでいった and 歩んできた?

私はまっすぐな人生を歩んできた。 私はまっすぐな人生を歩んでいった。 Could someone explain to me the difference between the two? Thanks a lot! Edit: I still find ていった confusing even after reading the other post. So まっすぐな人生を歩んで行った would have the meaning walking a straight forward…
Newbie
  • 133
  • 7
13
votes
3 answers

～ておく or ～とく for preparation (conjugation and nuance)

A few quick questions regarding ～ておく and the casual form ～とく Firstly, when changing from ～ておく to the more casual ～とく　I'm assuming the verb is first conjugated to the ～て　form then the ～て is dropped and replaced with とく and it can then be conjugated…
mattb
  • 1,694
  • 2
  • 17
  • 31
12
votes
4 answers

the logic behind "te" in "chotto matte te"

When someone says: chotto matte te, why does the te mean "... and I'll be back shortly". What's the logic behind it? Why aren't there special expressions such as chotto matte X, where X could mean "I'll give food to my cat" or "I'll need sign an…
Kommi
  • 147
  • 2
  • 8
11
votes
2 answers

What does the "~ておく" mean in "任せておく"?

Good afternoon all, From what I understand, "~ておく" basically has 4 meanings: to do something for a purpose / reason used as a softener (source) to do.. for now or for the time being (source, source), in other words to leave a situation as it is for…
Pacerier
  • 11,722
  • 3
  • 48
  • 121
11
votes
1 answer

How do you say "I have been [...]"?

How would I say “I have been [...]” as in “I have been studying Japanese.” or “I have been working at an office”? If I remember correctly it is a particular verb conjugation and this would be considered past progressive tense. Correct? I would…
Unique Depiction
  • 143
  • 1
  • 1
  • 7
10
votes
1 answer

Existence verbs in the Kansai Dialect

In this part of this Wikipedia article, it states In other areas such as Hyogo and Mie, いる /iru/ is hardly used and おる /oru/ does not have the negative usage. What I want to know is, does this statement mean that おる is used in nearly all of the…
PearApple
  • 167
  • 14
10
votes
1 answer

What does ～たまえ mean exactly and how do you use it?

I've seen the verb 給え【たまえ】, usually written in hiragana and after the stem of another verb, ending a phrase. I'm not too sure about its meaning. I've read that it means "...please" but is that the only meaning? Also is it used in conversation and if…
Draken
  • 419
  • 1
  • 3
  • 10
9
votes
3 answers

How ~てある and ~ておいた differs?

晩ご飯が作ってある Dinner has been made. (intentional) 晩ご飯を作っておいた. (I) made dinner (so I can eat it). They seem quite the same. Btw what are some cases in which -てあった are used? I can't recreate one.
Dekiru
  • 2,682
  • 1
  • 15
  • 42
9
votes
2 answers

ておく → とく in other contexts; similar 2-kana to 1-kana shortcuts?

Recently I learned that おいておいて ("leave it there") can be shortened in casual speech (or speech to subordinates) to おいといて. (ておく → とく). I also learned that this can be used for any verb attached to ておく (つけておく → つけとく; "leave it on"). Can the てお → と…
rhyaeris
  • 2,666
  • 15
  • 44
9
votes
2 answers

What does verb + くなる imply or mean?

I was talking to a person and they used: 大切にしたくなるよ。 Does that mean I have come to cherish or something like that?
Baby Coder
  • 305
  • 1
  • 4
  • 10
9
votes
3 answers

Difference between 帰って来る and 帰る

Consider the following two sentences: うちへ帰って来ます。 うちへ帰ります。 What's the difference between these two sentences? How does the bolded part affect the meaning?
hiep_sn
  • 105
  • 1
  • 5
9
votes
2 answers

「しまう」 as an auxiliary verb

I feel like I always see 「しまう」 at the end of sentences (not the verb "to put away"). I saw some examples here on Weblio. どうしても写真は実物より劣ってしまう。 Pictures really don't do it justice. 私はどうしても彼を目で追ってしまう。 No matter what happens I keep following him with…
freedrull
  • 225
  • 1
  • 4
1
2 3
…
9 10