Present Indicative

Present Indicative

Forming verbs in Japanese is possibly the easiest of any language. For example:

I eat --> 食べる

However, the Japanese also have one more possible conjugation:

I eat --> 食べます

The top one is informal, though the second is formal. Pretty simple, huh? For Ichidan verbs, remove the る and add ます for the formal, or just leave the verb in its plain form if it's directed informally.

Godan verbs are a little trickier, though only very slightly. You have to change to final う sound to a い sound. Such as:

I drink (informal) --> 飲む

I drink (formal) --> 飲みます

The same rules apply if the conversation is informal, just leave the verb in it's plain form.