Vocabulary

それ

that

くれる ru-verb

to give

漢字(かん・じ)

Kanji

書く(か・く) u-verb

to write

ここ

here

来る(く・る) exception

to come

日本語(に・ほん・ご)

Japanese (language)

話す(はな・す) u-verb

to speak

消しゴム(け・し・ごむ)

eraser

貸す(か・す) u-verb

lend

遠い(とお・い) i-adj

far

所(ところ)

place

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

お父さん(お・とう・さん)

father (polite)

時計(と・けい)

watch; clock

壊れる(こわ・れる) ru-verb

to break

言う(い・う) u-verb

to say

ください is a special conjugation of くださる, which is the honorific form of くれる. We will learn more about honorific and humble forms in the beginning of the next major section. We are going over ください here because it has a slight difference in meaning from the normal くれる and the honorific くださる. ください is different from くれる in the following fashion:

1. それをください。
   Please give me that.

2. それをくれる？
   Can you give me that?

As you can see ください is a direct request for something while くれる is used as a question asking for someone to give something. However, it is similar to くれる in that you can make a request for an action by simply attaching it to the te-form of the verb.

1. 漢字で書いてください。
   Please write it in kanji.
2. ゆっくり話してください。
   Please speak slowly.

The rules for negative requests are same as the rules for くれる as well.

1. 落書きを書かないでください。
   Please don’t write graffiti.

2. ここにこないでください。
   Please don’t come here.

In casual speech, it is often common to simply drop the ください part.

1. 日本語で話して。
   Please speak in Japanese.

2. 消しゴムを貸して。
   Please lend me the eraser.

3. 遠い所に行かないで。
   Please don’t go to a far place.

For those who want to sound particularly commanding and manly, it is also possible to use くれる with the る removed.

1. 日本語で話してくれ。
   Speak in Japanese.

2. 消しゴムを貸してくれ。
   Lend me the eraser.

3. 遠い所に行かないでくれ。
   Don’t go to a far place.

Because ください like the masu-form must always come at the end sentence or a relative clause, you cannot use it to directly modify a noun. For example, the following is not possible with ください.

• お父さんがくれた時計が壊れた。
  The clock that father gave broke.

Of course, since direct quotes is merely repeating something someone said in verbatim, you can put practically anything in a direct quote.

• それをくださいとお父さんが言った。
  Father said, “Please give me that.”

Vocabulary

頂戴(ちょうだい)

receiving (humble)

致す(いたす) u-verb

to do (humble)

スプーン(su pu u n)

spoon

ここ

here

名前(な・まえ)

name

書く(か・く) u-verb

to write

A casual alternative of ください is ちょうだい. While it can be used by anyone, it has a slightly feminine and childish nuance and is always written in Hiragana. Written in Kanji, it is usually used in a very formal expression such as 頂戴致します. Grammatically, it’s used exactly the same way as ください.

Examples

1. スプーンをちょうだい。
   Please give me the spoon.

2. ここに名前を書いてちょうだい。
   Please write your name here.

Vocabulary

食べる(たべ・る) ru-verb

to eat

飲む(の・む) u-verb

to drink

する exception

to do

いい i-adj

good

聞く(き・く) u-verb

to ask; to listen

ここ

here

座る(すわ・る) ru-verb

to sit

まだ

yet

いっぱい

full

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

たくさん

a lot (amount)

それ

that

思う(おも・う) u-verb

to think

そう

(things are) that way

なさい is a special honorific conjugation of する. It is a soft yet firm way of issuing a command. It is used, for example, when a mother is scolding her child or when a teacher wants a delinquent student to pay attention. Unlike ください, なさい only applies to positive verbs and uses the stem of the verb instead of the te-form. It also cannot be used by itself but must be attached to another verb.

Examples

1. よく聞きなさい！
   Listen well!

2. ここに座りなさい。
   Sit here.

You can also drop さい portion of the なさい to make a casual version of this grammar.

1. まだいっぱいあるから、たくさん食べな。
   There’s still a lot, so eat a lot.

2. それでいいと思うなら、そうしなよ。
   If you think that’s fine, then go ahead and do it.

Vocabulary

くれる ru-verb

to give

死ぬ(し・ぬ) u-verb

to die

する exception

to do

来る(く・る) exception

to come

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

着る(き・る) ru-verb

to wear

信じる(しん・じる) ru-verb

to believe

寝る(ね・る) ru-verb

to sleep

起きる(お・きる) ru-verb

to wake; to occur

出る(で・る) ru-verb

to come out

掛ける(か・ける) ru-verb

to hang

捨てる(す・てる) ru-verb

to throw away

話す(はな・す) u-verb

to speak

聞く(き・く) u-verb

to ask; to listen

遊ぶ(あそ・ぶ) u-verb

to play

待つ(ま・つ) u-verb

to wait

飲む(の・む) u-verb

to drink

直る(なお・る) u-verb

to be fixed

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

好き(す・き) na-adj

likable

あっち

that way (over there) （abbr of あちら）

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

早い(はや・い) i-adj

fast; early

酒(さけ)

alcohol

持つ(も・つ) u-verb

to hold

We will go over the command form in the interest of covering all the possible verb conjugations. In reality, the command form is rarely used as Japanese people tend to be too polite to use imperatives. Also, this coarse type of speech is rarely, if indeed at all, used by females who tend to use なさい or an exasperated くれる when angry or irritated. This form is only really useful for reading or watching fictional works. You may often see or hear 死ね！ (“Die!”) in fiction which, of course, you’ll never hear in real life. (I hope!)

Be sure to note that, in addition to the familiar する, くる exception verbs, くれる is also an exception for the command form.

Examples

1. 好きにしろ。
   Do as you please.

2. あっち行け！
   Go away!

3. 早く酒を持ってきてくれ。
   Hurry up and bring me some alcohol.

Vocabulary

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

する exception

to do

それ

that

食べる(た・べる) u-verb

to eat

変(へん) na-adj

strange

こと

event, matter

言う(い・う) u-verb

to say

The negative command form is very simple: simply attach な to either ru-verbs or u-verbs. Don’t confuse this with the な sentence-ending particle we will be learning at the end of this section. The intonation is totally different.

Examples

1. それを食べるな！
   Don’t eat that!

2. 変なことを言うな！
   Don’t say such weird things!

This is not to be confused with the shortened version of ～なさい we just learned in the last section. The most obvious difference (besides the clear difference in tone) is that in ～なさい, the verb is first converted to the stem while the negative command has no conjugation. For example, for する, しな would be the short version of しなさい while するな would be a negative command.