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<p>
	Until this point in the Japanese course, most lessons have been written in the <strong>neutral form</strong>.
	This generally entails using verbs in the <strong>long form</strong>, ending in <strong>-ます</strong>.
	This neutral form of Japanese is good to adopt as one's default mode of speaking or writing,
	especially for using with strangers or in a professional or formal situation.
</p>

<p>
	However, when spending time with friends or family members,
	the more colloquial <strong>plain form</strong> or <strong>casual form</strong> is by far the most common mode of expression.
	In the next few lessons we will be going over how to create sentences in the plain form. 
</p>

<p>
	We'll begin with conjugating verbs to the plain form in the present tense.
	For verbs used in the affirmative this is actually simply the dictionary form,
	which we have used when introducing new verb vocabulary words.
</p>

<p>
	Below are some sentences contrasting the polite and plain form.
</p>

<table class="ui celled table">
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>English</th>
            <th>Japanese</th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        <tr data-item="33779"></tr>
		<tr data-item="33780"></tr>
    </tbody>
</table>

<p>
	The copula <strong>desu</strong> also has a plain form, which is <strong>だ</strong>.
</p>

<table class="ui celled table">
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>English</th>
            <th>Japanese</th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        <tr data-item="33783"></tr>
    </tbody>
</table>

The Plain Form I: Present Tense Affirmative

hiragana character

kanji

adnominal

adverb

auxiliary

conjunction

compound

i-adjective

interjection

noun

na-adjective

numeral

particle

case particle

conjunctive particle

discourse particle

prefix

pronoun

suffix

verb

sentence

hiragana writing

kanji writing

kanji component

reading vocabulary

katakana writing

katakana character

godan - group 1

itidan - group 2

group 3

transitive

intransitive

proper noun

discourse

phrase

expression

adjectival noun

adverbial phrase

adjectival phrase

The verb to be

Hiragana 1

Kanji 1

Writing hiragana 1

Writing kanji 1

Hiragana 2

Kanji 2

The question particle か

Writing hiragana 2

This one and that one

Writing kanji 2

Reading exercise 1

Reading exercise 2

Hiragana 3

Negating nouns

Writing hiragana 3

The topic particle は

Kanji 3

The possession particle の

い-adjectives and な-adjectives

The subject particle が

Here and there

There is, there are

Writing kanji 3

Kanji 4

Group 1 verbs, direct and indirect objects

Group 2 verbs

Hiragana 4

Verbs in the past tense

Negating verbs

Invitations and the particle と

Negating past verbs

Writing hiragana 4

Reading exercise 3

Writing kanji 4

Reading exercise 4

Kanji 5

Nouns and the past tense

This and that

The group 3 verbs する and 来る

The discourse particles ね and よ

The location particles に and で

Hiragana 5

Writing hiragana 5

Writing kanji 5

The destination particles に and へ

Kanji 6

The origin particle から

Hiragana 6

Relative positions

Conjugating い-adjectives

Writing hiragana 6

Writing kanji 6

Hiragana 7

Writing hiragana 7

Kanji 7

Conjugating な-adjectives

How are you?

The particle も

The word ちょっと

Reading exercise 7

Question	Answer
I drink wine at dinner.	晩ばんご飯はん　で　ワイン　を　飲のむ。bangohan de wain o nomu.
chemistry	化か学がくkagaku
The Netherlands	オランダoranda
She studies chemistry in the Netherlands.	彼かの女じょ　は　オランダ　で　化か学がく　を　勉べん強きょうする。kanojo wa oranda de kagaku o benkyousuru.
first; best	一いち番ばんichiban
flower	花はなhana
type, kind	種しゅ類るいshurui
orchid	ランran
to be	だda
My favorite type of flower is the orchid.	私わたし　の　一いち番ばん　好すきな　花はな　の　種しゅ類るい　は　ラン　だ。watashi no ichiban sukina hana no shurui wa ran da.
newspaper	新しん聞ぶんshinbun
(Your) mother is reading the newspaper.	お母かあさん　は　新しん聞ぶん　を　読よんで　いる。okaasan wa shinbun o yonde iru.
electric train	電でん車しゃdensha
to come to a halt, to stop^intransitive	止とまるtomaru
Nagoya	名な古ご屋やnagoya
This (electric) train stops in Nagoya.	この　電でん車しゃ　は　名な古ご屋や　で　止とまる。kono densha wa nagoya de tomaru.
to hate, to detest	嫌きらうkirau
oneself	自じ分ぶんjibun
I hate myself.	私わたし　は　自じ分ぶん　を　嫌きらう。watashi wa jibun o kirau.
always; never	何い時つもitsumo
insult; slander, speaking ill	悪わる口ぐちwaruguchi
(He) always speaks ill of people.	いつも　人ひと　の　悪わる口ぐち　を　言いう。itsumo hito no waruguchi o iu.

Japanese 186 - The Plain Form I: Present Tense Affirmative

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