～き

The auxiliary verb （助動詞）～き is added to the ren’youkei verbs, true adjectives, pseudo-adjectives, and some auxiliary verbs. Like ～けり, it conveys the past tense. Unlike ～けり however, ～き denotes a past tense that was experienced first hand by the subject. Therefore, we’ll translate ～き as ～た.

The conjugation of ～き is completely irregular and unpredictable. Furthermore, it’s use with the verbs 来 and す is very sporadic. Instead of attempting to explain the usage in words, I think it is easier to put everything in one conjugation table.

* せ is used only in conjunction with the verbal particle ば. This creates a what’s called the counterfactual provisional mood （反実仮想）. That is, it’s the same as the regular provisional mood （～えば）except the condition is the opposite of what the known reality is. For this reason, it’s often used in complaints or indirect desiderative statements that use words like ものを, まし, and とも.

Ex) 風が止みせば、暖かくあらまし。（風が止んだならば、暖かくなるはずなのに。。）(If they wind would stop, it would be warm but… [ the reality is that it isn’t stopping].)

酒ありせば、飲まましものを。（酒があったならば、飲むのに。。）(If there were sake, I would drink it but… [the reality is that there is none].)

～き does not occur in the ren’youkei nor the meireikei.  From the chart, you can see that it takes different stems for す and 来 depending on its own form. The forms in parentheses are possible but less common alternatives. Lastly, ～き does not occur in the shuushikei with 来.

Ex)  昨日買ひし書読まむ。（昨日買った本を読むつもりだ。）(I intend to read the book I bought yesterday.)