～（え）り

The auxiliary verb ～（え）り is an auxiliary of aspect.  It occurs only with yodan and sa-hen verbs as well as frequently with subsidiary verbs of politeness. After the Kamakura period, it was also attached to the ren’youkei of shimo-nidan verbs. It conveys the perfect continuous aspect (“have” “has been” 「ている」「てある」).

There are some sources which say that ～り is an auxiliary bound by the meireikei, but this is entirely false. To find out why some say this is, we have to look to Old Japanese, the stage of the Japanese language before Middle Japanese (CJ).

There existed in OJ more than the 5 vowels we are used to. Though the exact number and nature of these vowels is contested, it is generally agreed that there were 8. Amongst those were two versions of /i/, designated as i1 and i2. We know this because there are certain man’yougana /i/ that are used only in some places, and others that are used in other places.  The same goes for /e/, for which there existed two variants, e1 and e2.

Knowing that, we must think logically: 1) why would an auxiliary of aspect be bound to the meireikei when all others are attached to the ren’youkei? 2) why do the man’yougana show ～り attached to what appears to be the meireikei?

Regarding #1, it makes no sense that of the numerous auxiliaries, only one would attach to the meireikei. Furthermore, why would ～り be attached to the ren’youkei of shimo-nidan verbs in later stages of the languages?

The answer is that ～り was actually あり.  When it followed the ren’youkei of these verbs in OJ (which we can deduce from both its later use and the fact that all other auxiliaries of aspect follow the ren’youkei), the /i/ of the stem and the /a/ of 「あり」 monophthongized into /e/. More specifically, i1 + a = e1 where i1 is the terminal vowel of the ren’youkei (we’ll see this again with the noun *あく and the auxiliary ～けり, which further proves this point).  It happens that e1 was the terminating vowel of the meireikei (e2 was the izenkei) and so, since these vowels always monophthongized, the resulting word was written the way it sounded, and it happened to appear to be the meireikei. When e1 and e2 merged into え at the end of the OJ period, this further made things ambiguous, resulting in yet other sources faulting to saying that ～り followed the izenkei.

For the sake of summarizing that in the context of CJ, the suffix ～り is actually ～あり and it is attached to the ren’youkei. However, the vowels monophthongize into え, and so the result is ～（え）り.

～（え）り is therefore of the ra-hen conjugation:

The mizenkei was only followed by ～む and became the auxiliary ～らむ. The ren’you, izen, and meireikei were seldom used, but most often with the verb 給ふ・たまふ.  Additionally, when it is added to 「持つ」, the result is sometimes 「持たり」, not the expected 「持てり」.

Examples:

雪いと白う降れり。（雪がとても白く降ってある。）(The snow, so white, has fallen.)

み吉野の山辺に咲ける櫻花、（吉野の山の裾に咲いている桜の花、）(The flowers at the base of Mt. Yoshino have bloomed,)

妻もこもれり、我もこもれり、（妻もこもっており、私もこもって、）(My wife has secluded herself, and I have too,)

花持ちて上り給へり。（花を持って上京なさっている。）(She, carrying the flower, has gone to the capital.)

 

 

～けむ

The auxiliary verb (助動詞) ～けむ is probably a combination of the mizenkei of the perfect aspect marker ～き and dubitative auxiliary verb ～む. As such, it is governed by the ren’youkei. Though it is often grouped with ～らむ, it lacks the evidentiality that ～らむ has. It conjugates as a defective yodan verb lacking the mizenkei, ren’youkei, and meireikei.

The conjunctive particle ～ば cannot attach to the izenkei. ～けむ is also not to be confused with the old mizekei of adjectives (～け) and dubitative ～む (which would subsequently mean “is probably <adj>”). ～けむ has two uses:

• 過去疑義 Past Dubitative Mood

This is very simply expressing doubt or stating very general hearsay (this frequently being the rentaikei) about a past event. The translation would be ～ただろう、～たとかいう、～たようだ.

いにしへにありけむ人も （遠い昔にいたという人も) The people who are said to have lived in the distant past also…

This use may appear paraphrastically to indirectly state a past that is actually known.

• 過去の事情の推量 Past Inferential Mood of Cirumstance

Often (but not always) appearing with an interrogative word or adverb, this use expresses a conjecture or reflection about a past event with reference to cause, reason, degree, time, place, method, or person(s) involved. The resulting sentence can be interrogative (i.e. How nice must it have been?) or declarative (i.e. How nice it must have been!) in nature. It is more common that the above usage.

これをいみじと思へばこそ、記しとどめて世にも伝えけめ (これを素晴らしいと思ったからこそ、本に書き記して後世にも伝えたのだろう。) I wonder if they wrote it down and conveyed it to their posterity for the very reason that they thought it was wonderful.) [reason – explicit]

妻別れ悲しくありけむ (妻と別れてなんて悲しかっただろう。) How sad it must have been to be separated from his wife! [degree-unexpressed]

君や来し我や行きけむ (あなたが来たか、私が行ったか。) Did you come to me, or did I go to you I wonder? [people involved – explicit]

～もが

The phrase-final, conjunctive particle 「～もが」attaches to the ren’youkei of nouns, substantives, adjectives, the copula and auxiliary verbs. It has several related and semantically similar derivatives that have added emphatic particles: ～もがな, ～もがも, ～もがもな, ～もがもや, and ～もがもよ. 「～もが」and these variants express the optative mood (願望法), that is expressing desire for something to be. The modern Japanese equivalent would be ～あったら/あれば いいなあ for ～もが and the first two variants,  and だといいなあ for the last three,  or alternatively in some contexts ～ますように is possible.  It also seems to alternate with a intervening 「に」when it’s coupled with a noun. It’s unclear when exactly its use is existential and when it’s copular, but knowing the general meaning, pick an appropriate translation based on what makes more sense.

Ex) 足（あ）の音せず行かむ駒（こま）もが。（足音を立てないで行くような馬があったらいいなあ。）It would be good if I had a horse that made no footsteps as it goes.

世の中は常にもがもな。 （世界は永遠だといいなあ）It would be good if this world were eternal. [May this world be eternal.] *note the に

The “it would be good if” are translations of the modern Japanese. Translating the original with “may” or the like will sound more poetic as well as distinguish the original.

 

 

～とて

The particle sequence ～とて is composed of the quotative particle と and the conjunctive particle て. It results from the omission of a quotative verb in the form <連用形>て after a quote ending in と. This of course is impossible in modern Japanese, but occurred in classical Japanese, especially with the verbs 思ふ, 言ふ, and  聞く・問ふ.

Ex）京へ上らむと思ひて上着取り出でたり。

–> 京へ上らむとて上着取り出でたり。（都へ上ろうと思って、上着を取って出た。）(Having thought I shall go to the capital, I grabbed my coat and left.)

給ふ

The verb 給ふ・たまふ attaches to the ren’youkei of verbs and auxiliary verbs. It exists in two versions, that of a yodan verb and that of a shimo-nidan verb. We’ll go over its three uses here, but first, here are its alternate conjugations.

• 尊敬 honorific

The yodan version of 給ふ after a verb makes a verb honorific. It’s this use that is sometimes coupled with the honorific use of ～（さ）すto make the hyper-honorific.

Ex) 若君はいとあはれなる歌を詠み給ひたり。（若い王子様は大変に素晴らしい歌をお詠みになった。）(The young price has composed a splendid poem.

若君はいとあはれなる歌を詠ませ給ひたり。（   ”   ）(hyper-honorific)

• 下さる

As a standalone verb, the yodan version of 給ふ is equivalent to 下さる. That is, it is the honorific version of the verb “to give.”

Ex) 天皇（すめらぎ）が侍ふ者どもに衣を給ふ。（天皇がお仕えする人々に衣を下さる。）(The emperor will give (hon) clothes to all those who serve (hum) him.)

• 謙譲 humble

In a less commonly seen usage, the shimo-nidan version of 給ふ is attached to the ren’youkei of verbs to designate the humble register.

Ex) 我が子ぞ 往に給ふる。（お去りするのは私の子だ。）(The one who will leave (hum) is my child.)

*Notice that if this were honorific, the 係助詞 「ぞ」would call for the yodan version 「給ふ」 instead.

～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.)

な and な…そ

The sentence-final particle （終助詞）（しゅうじょし）な and the combination particle な…そ are related particles, but they behave slightly differently and have sightly different meanings.

• Negative Imperative Voice

<終止形>な OR in later texts <連体形>な

<カ行連体形>な

This can be confusing, so I’ll write it out as well. な generally followed the shuushikei of verbs, but in later texts, it was also used with the rentaikei. For -ka column irregular verbs, it follows rentaikei.  It seems that what stem it follows varies depending on time period and verb and my references don’t come to a consensus. It should be easy to recognize from context if it’s a negative command that’s being stated.

In this use, it conveys the negative imperative voice, that is, the negative command. This pattern is relatively harsh and is therefore, generally used towards inferiors or objects. Due to this, we’ll translate this pattern as <辞書形>な.

Ex)  家に帰り来るな。（家に帰って来るな。）(Don’t come home!)

旅すな。（旅をするな。) (Don’t travel!)

• Desiderative Mood

<未然形>な

This use always used the mizenkei, regardless of the verb. Here, we have a construction that generally relates the speakers personal desire to act. The modern equivalent is ～たい, although 「さあ、<推量形>よ」is also possible.

Ex) 家聞かな。（家が聞きたい。）(I want to know what house you belong to.)

今漕き出でな。（さあ、今漕ぎ出ようよ。OR 今漕ぎ出たい。）(Come, let’s row out now! / I want to row out now.)

• Soft Negative Imperative Voice

な<連用形>そ

な<サ・カ行未然形>そ

That is, this pattern takes the ren’youkei for all verbs except -sa and -ka column verbs, which use the mizenkei. This is a rare occurrence of a circumfix in Japanese. This version of the negative is generally softer than the above な. Therefore, we’ll translate it as ～ないで. Later texts began to drop the initial な, leaving そ with the same meaning.

Ex) な泣きそ。（泣かないで。）(Please don’t cry.)

梅の花早くな散りそ。（梅の花よ、早く散らないで。) (Oh plum blossoms, please don’t scatter quickly!)

For compound verbs in す, the cicumfix surrounds only す. That is:

旅なせそ。NOT な旅せそ。

It is unclear at the moment how verbs derived in ず act in this pattern.

～けり

The auxiliary verb （助動詞） ～けり is added to the ren’youkei of verbs and the 「かり」ren’youkei of adjectives.  ～けり is derived from 来あり （きあり）and this is where a great deal of its meaning comes from. Much like the modern ～て来る form, it refers to something in the past that continues – “comes”- to the present.

It has three uses.

• 継続 Continuative Aspect

This is the most basic usage. It denotes that the verb has continued from the past into the present.  Possible modern translations include ～ている, ～てある, and ～てくる・～てきた.  Recall that ～ている form only denotes a present perfective aspect when the base verb is a continuous verb (ie. 知っている [I exist having known] vs. 食べている [I am eating]). ～けり, however, is able to give all verbs this present perfective nuance. Translate into modern Japanese accordingly.

紅葉神代より秋は散りけり。（紅葉は神代から秋に散って来た。）(Maple leaves have come to fall in the autumn since the age of the gods.)

• 伝聞 Renarrative Mood

This use is commonly an over simplified use of ～けり. However, its treatment as a simple past tense obscures its true meaning.  Here, it does denote that something occured in the past, but the nuance is that the speaker did not directly experience or observe the event, or that the event is displaced from the present and the speaker is reminiscing. For this reason, it is often used to speak about events in the remote past.  Modern include ～たそうだ, ～たという,  ～たとされている, and たなぁ.

Ex) 京へ帰りけり。  （京へ帰ったという・京へ帰ったそうだ）(It is said that he returned to the capital.)

• 詠嘆 Poetic Emphatic Mood

When used in classical poetry, as well as prose for effect, ～けり is very often used for poetic emphasis. It has a nuance of noticing  something special about something that has obviously existed for some time. Modern translations are wordy, but are something like [Xに初めて気がついて]、Yのだなぁ / Yということが素敵に思う / Yなぁ.

Ex) 犬なども心あるものなりけり。（犬にも心があるものなのだな。）(Wow, even a dog has a soul.)

As a 助動詞, ～けり has a conjugation. It conjugates as a defective ラ行変格活用動詞; the mizenkei is rarely used, and the ren’youkei and meireikei are lacking.

～つつ

The conjunctive particle （接続詞）つつ is added to the ren’youkei of verbs. It has 3 main uses.

• simultaneous actions

This use is equivalent to modern <ren’youkei> ながら (while X-ing).

抱きつつ  （抱きながら）（while embracing）

• repeated action

This use greatly resembles how in modern Japanese, non-stative verbs change into ～ている form when accompanied by adverbs like いつも and 毎日.

彼町に行き、衣買いつつ。（彼は町に行って、服を買う。）（He goes to town and buys clothes. [sense of repetion]）

• progressive aspect (as つつあり or with other verbs of existence)

This use indicates the progressive aspect. あり and other verbs of existence may occur in anyform. Unlike たり, which indicates the perfect aspect, つつあり   indicates that there is a continuous action or state.  Unlike the modern <ren’youkei> つつある pattern, this pattern doesn’t have to be used with verbs indicating change.

彼待ちつつあり。（彼は待っている。）（He is waiting.）

I’ve compiled  a comprehensive chart of all the classical Japanese verb conjugations in order to demonstrate the similarities and differences between them. Inflectional endings denoted with a “－” mark changes in vowel sound but not initial consonant sound (like か and く where verbs have various final consonant sounds).  Inflections denoted with a “Ø” mark stems that instead of shifting sounds, drop the final kana from the shuushikei (like 見る becoming 見）. Inflectional endings with no denotation mark that all verbs of that conjugation share a final consonant that varies in vowel sound (like ら and り  where all verbs end in -r*). I’ve also added the modern conjugations for comparisons sake.

Here is the chart:

To review the main characteristics of the conjugations, here is a summary list:

Yodan/Tetragrade conjugation -modern Godan/Pentagrade verbs, inflections share 4 common vowel shifts

Kami-ichidan/Upper Monograde conjugation -contains only 10 base verbs which are all modern Ichidan (-iru) verbs, forms share only an i-final mora which does not vary

Kami-Nidan/Upper Bigrade conjugation -contain the rest of almost all modern-day Ichidan (-iru) verbs, forms share two vowel-final sounds, -u and -i (center and one above center)

Shimo-Ichidan/Lower Monograde conjugation -contains only 蹴る・ける, forms only share an e-final mora which does not vary

Shimo-Nidan/ Lower Bigrade conjugation -contain almost all modern-day Ichidan (-eru) verbs, forms share two vowel-final sounds, -u and -e (center and one below center)

Ra-Column Irregular Conjugation -contains most of the verbs of being including derivative verb なり, only conjugation in which the shuushikei is not a -u mora

Na-Column Irregular Conjugation -contains only 死ぬ and 往ぬ

Sa-Column Irregular Conjugation -contains only す and its derivatives

Ka-Column Irregular Conjugation -contains only 来