Every Verb You Own
๐ฏ Today's mission briefing
We are learning to consolidate the whole Japanese verb system โ three groups, one shared family of forms โ and to join ideas into complex sentences, while meeting the passive and causative honestly at recognition level.
You'll know you've got it when:
- I can sort any verb into Group 1, 2 or 3 (including the trap verbs that look like Group 2 but are not) and build its te-form, plain past, negative, potential and volitional correctly
- I can join short ideas into one complex sentence using noun-modifying clauses, conditionals, reasons and quoted thought โ and I know why the clauses inside stay in plain form
- I can recognise passive and causative forms in a text, explain what work they are doing, and state honestly which forms I can produce and which I can currently only read
You can already read this
Connects to what your guest already knows and makes them curious. Activating prior knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of new learning.
Read this sentence. Do not panic, and do not reach for a dictionary yet. ๅปๅนดใฎๅคใใใผใ ในใใคใฎใๆฏใใใซๆฏๆฅใใซใใใไฝใฃใฆใใใฃใใใงใใใๅธฐใๅใซใ่ชๅใงไฝใใใใใซใชใใใใใจ่จใฃใใใๆใใฆใใใพใใใ Kyonen no natsu, hลmusutei no okฤsan ni mainichi onigiri o tsukutte moratta n desu ga, kaeru mae ni ใjibun de tsukureru yล ni naritaiใ to ittara, oshiete kuremashita. Respelled: kyoh-neh-n noh nah-ts[u] โฆ oh-nee-gee-r*ee oh ts[u]-k[u]-(โข)-teh moh-r*ah-(โข)-tah โฆ It means: last summer my homestay mum made onigiri for me every day, but when I said before going home that I wanted to be able to make them myself, she taught me. Now count what is inside it: a te-form plus ใใใ (receiving a favour), an ใใงใใ softener, ๅใซ (before doing), a potential form ไฝใใ, ใใใซใชใ (coming to be able to), ใใใ (wanting), a ใใ conditional, and a te-form plus ใใใ (someone doing something for me). That is eight separate grammar points in one sentence โ and you read it. Here is the Year 10 problem, and it is not a vocabulary problem: most learners at this point are storing about forty separate rules in forty separate boxes. Today we throw the boxes out. There are three verb groups. They all run the same machine.