GUIDED PATH · PHASE 5
Guided Japanese Course
A mastery path for complete beginners and technology professionals.
HOW THIS COURSE WORKS
Follow the path. Advance by mastery.
The primary path tells you what to do next. You can still open any available lesson, but completion is based on checkpoints rather than calendar days.
FULL TARGET CURRICULUM
Tracks 0–10
TRACK 2 · 2-2
Dictionary Form → Polite ます Form
Recognize the main verb groups at a beginner level and convert common dictionary forms into polite ます forms.
- Core action vocabulary from 2-1.
Dictionary form is how verbs appear in references; ます form is a safe professional baseline. Understanding the transformation lets you learn one verb lexeme instead of unrelated forms.
1. A verb has a stable meaning plus a form
Think like a refactor: the lexical core carries the action; the ending expresses grammar.
2. Group 2: remove る, add ます
Many Group 2 verbs end in -eru or -iru. Remove る and attach ます; not every -iru/-eru verb is Group 2.
Natural: eat → eat/polite
Structure: eat-dictionary → eat-polite
Clean Group 2 example.
Natural: see → see/polite
Structure: see-dictionary → see-polite
Short Group 2 verb.
3. Group 1: final kana moves to the i-row + ます
The final u-row sound shifts to its i-row partner before ます.
4. Two essential irregulars
する becomes します and 来る（くる） becomes 来ます（きます）. Compound する verbs follow the same pattern.
Natural: check / confirm
Structure: confirmation-do → confirmation-do/polite
High-value work verb.
Natural: come
Structure: come-dictionary → come-polite
Reading changes visibly.
5. Verb refactoring lab
Convert fifteen dictionary forms to polite form. Mark the group and the exact transformation.
INTERACTIVE WORKSHEET
5. Verb refactoring lab
Create columns: Dictionary | Group | Change | Polite ます. Do 15 verbs including 書く, 読む, 話す, 帰る, 食べる, 見る, する, 来る, 勉強する, 確認する.
Tip: on a foldable or tablet, use your pen directly on the page. Your strokes are saved in this browser as you work.
5. Verb refactoring lab
Create columns: Dictionary | Group | Change | Polite ます. Do 15 verbs including 書く, 読む, 話す, 帰る, 食べる, 見る, する, 来る, 勉強する, 確認する.
6. Refactor in Language IDE
Conjugation should feel like a controlled syntax transformation, not a translation trick.
Language IDE
Why here: It exposes base and conjugated forms as related structures.
How to use it for this lesson: Enter several dictionary verbs and predict the ます form before using assistance.
Open the verb lab →Mastery checkpoint
Answer from memory. Treat every miss as a debugging signal: inspect the explanation, repair the rule, and retry.
