Japanese "Negative Base", so-called because most of the
endings used with
Base 1 have a
negative aspect.
Godan verbs in Base 1 all end in -a. Ichidan verbs have no Base 1, you just use the stem directly.
To form Base 1 for Godan verbs, follow the pattern with these example verbs, which should cover all the possible phonologies:
The
irregular verbs
kuru and
suru use
ko- and
shi-, respectively.
Some example endings for Base 1:
-nai Informal present negative. This can be made more polite by adding desu, with no change in meaning.
Furansu-go ga hanasanai.
I don't speak French.
Ototo wa kan-shoku ga tabenai desu.
My little brother doesn't eat Korean food.
-nakute Does not do and ...; without doing; not doing. Mild cause-effect concept.
O-tomodachi ga konakute, doo shimasu ka.
What will you do if your friend doesn't come?
(Literally: Your friend does not come, and what do you do?)
Exceptionally (but predictably), aru becomes simply nakute.
O-kane ga nakute, kaimasen deshita.
Having no money, I didn't buy it.
-nakatta Informal negative past. Very commonly heard in anime, and in speech in general. Again, adding desu raises the politeness level slightly.
Wakaranakatta.
I didn't know.
Watashi no tomodachi wa kinoo konakatta.
My friend didn't come yesterday.