Thursday, February 22, 2007

Japanese - Causative Verbs

Verb conjugation is complex and integral to speaking Japanese.

Today I'll take a look at causative verbs.
as in
make.../ let..., allow...to...

~は ~に ~を [Vt Causative]

英語(えいご)
She made him eat.

Confusingly though, the same sentence in Japanese can also mean
"I allowed him to eat." OR "I let him eat."

日本語(にほんご)

彼女(かのじょ )(かれ)食事(しょくじ)()べさせた

丁寧(ていねい )()、「ます」 (ケイ)

彼女(かのじょ )(かれ)食事(しょくじ)()べさせました

Please let me... / Please allow me to...
[Causative て form] (くだ)さい

すみません。( かえ)らせて(くだ)さい。
すみません。( かえ)らせていただけませんか。


Group 1 Verbs
()みます
()ませます

Group 2 Verbs
()べます
()べさせます

Group 3 Verbs
()ます
()させます