Structure
Verb[ます]+ Phrase
[い]Adjective[て]+ Phrase
Details
Register
Formal
使用域
硬い
About 連用形
In Japanese, the conjunctive form is often called 'the ます form', or 'the conjunctive form'. 'The conjunctive form' is much more accurate, as it is used with more than just verbs. Basically, the conjunctive form is the form of any word that will be used in standard conjugation with other structures. For い-Adjectives, this is the form that uses く, for verbs, the ます stem.
The reason that conjunctive form is sometimes referred to as 'the formal conjunctive' is due to its use before a comma. Usually, the conjunction particle て would be used to separate clauses in sentences, however, the formal conjunctive allows this to be done without て. Let's look at some examples.
The reason that conjunctive form is sometimes referred to as 'the formal conjunctive' is due to its use before a comma. Usually, the conjunction particle て would be used to separate clauses in sentences, however, the formal conjunctive allows this to be done without て. Let's look at some examples.
- 飛行機のエンジンが爆発をし、海に墜落した。The engine of the airplane exploded, (and) it crashed into the ocean.
- 朝食を食べ、出かける準備をしてください。Eat your breakfast, (and) please get ready to go out.
- 北海道は寒く、景色が綺麗。Hokkaido is cold, (and) the scenery is pretty.
- 学校は楽しく、色々学べるので学校が好きです。School is fun, (and) I can learn various things so I like it.
Caution
This type of conjugation is seen primarily in formal writing, and the standard て form will be heard much more frequently in daily speech.Synonyms
Examples
風が吹き、悪魔が現れた。
The wind blew, a demon appeared.
本を暗記し、試験に臨んだ。
Memorizing the book, I then set my sights on the test.
スピーチを失敗し、ため息が出てしまった。
I messed up my speech (and), without thinking, let out a sigh.
ナレーター:「ロナルドは赤信号で止まり、信号が青になるまで静かに待ちながら手動で時計を設定した。その時彼はその簡単に見えることが来週、死の原因になろうとは全く知らなかった。」
ロナルド:「なに?なんて言ったの?」Narrator: 'Ronald stopped at the red light and waited calmly for the signal change while manually setting his wristwatch. Little did he know that this seemingly simple act would lead to his death only a week later.'
Ronald: 'What? What did you say?'会社に遅刻し、上司に大声で、叱られた。
I showed up late, (and) was scolded by my boss.
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
Revisit the basics
Tae Kim
Verb [stem] as a sentence connector
Reddit Learn Japanese
Offline
Tobira
Page 18
みんなの日本語 II
Page 90 [CH 39]
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 302
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 133
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
連用形 – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (9 in total)
mrthuvi
It’s in the text I came across in a JLPT reading book.
ljoekelsoey
It might not be required as " 母乳を求め母を呼ぶ" is not a separate clause in this case. I had a wee thought as well where you wouldn’t use a comma with the informal conjunctive
買い物をしに行って、野菜を買ってきた。
You’d stick a comma after 行って as it is separating the clauses, but you wouldn’t stick a comma after 買って as they’re the same clause. I wonder if your 母乳 sentence would fall into this category.
Asked my wife (she’s a native speaker and wives are usually right anyway). She’s not sure that it is absolutely required, however its unusual to not have a comma, and in this sentence it doesn’t have any 違和感. Adding in the commas is apparently very common in business Japanese as its seen as making the sentence easier to read and therefore is considerate and polite which is pretty much essential in Japanese.
A penny for your thoughts @mrnoone or @pushindawood
Daru
Commas are usually added in for pause to make things easier to understand, and to avoid misunderstandings. You can read more about this here:
Got questions about 連用形? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion