The Beginning of the End

In this Topic, we are going to look at three new structures. First, we will look at また, an adverb meaning ‘again’. After that, we will be introduced to two more common compound verbs, はじめる ‘to start’, and おわる ‘to finish’.

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また

Also, As well, Moreover, Again, Additionally

また, or 又(また) in its kanji form, is an expression which means 'again', 'additionally', 'also', or 'moreover'. This may seem confusing at first, but it may be easier to think of また as meaning 'repetition of (A)', where (A) is any particular course of action. This repetition is a bit different to English, in that it can express the same action, or an alternative option. また can be used as an adverb, or as a conjunction. In this lesson, we will focus on its use as a conjunction.

As with many other conjunctions in Japanese, a phrase/sentence can begin with また, so long as that sentence expresses a complete thought.

Due to また being quite different to any single word that we have in English, let's try to make the meaning a bit clearer. Imagine that '(A) action always has (B) result'. However, the action which leads to the (B) result could be many different things. Because of this, また can have the following meanings.

The same (A) action is taken - Has the nuance of 'again', or 'moreover'.

A different (A) action is taken - Has the nuance of 'also', and 'additionally'.

はじめる

To start, To begin to

To express that actions are beginning or ending in Japanese, the verbs 始(はじ)める (to commence), or 終(お)わる (to end) will need to be used. In this lesson, we will focus on actions that are 'beginning'.

To say that (A) is starting/beginning, we will need to attach はじめる to the ます stem of almost any verb. Whether you use the hiragana form, or the kanji form does not matter, as there will be no change in nuance.

Due to はじめる being a verb itself, the tense can be changed, to show that something will start, is starting, or has started.

Caution

It can be easy to accidentally use 始(はじ)まる, the intransitive form of this verb. However, with this expression, the transitive form will always be used, due to the verb that はじめる is attached to being the thing that 'is started', by 'something' else.

おわる

To finish, To end

To express that actions are beginning, or ending in Japanese, the verbs 始(はじ)める (to commence), or 終(お)わる (to end) will need to be used. In this lesson, we will focus on actions that are 'ending'.

To say that (A) is ending/finishing, we will need to attach おわる to the ます stem of almost any verb. Whether you use the hiragana form, or the kanji form does not matter, as there will be no change in nuance.

Due to おわる being a verb itself, the tense can be changed to show that something will end, is ending, or has ended.

Caution

Unlike はじめる, which uses the transitive form, 終(お)わる uses the intransitive form of its transitive/intransitive pair. This is due to most actions in Japanese being considered to be things that 'come to an end' naturally (intransitive), rather than forcefully (transitive). However, there are exceptions to this, and 終(お)える (the transitive version) may also be seen used as an auxiliary to other verbs.

詳細

In order to remember また simply, let’s compare it to まだ. まだ highlights something as continuing, while また highlights it as to be repeated. One illustrates now, while the other illustrates the future. This is just a memorization tool, rather than a relationship between the words.

Lost in Transit

As we saw in our first Topic on compound verbs, there is a group of common verbs that frequently attach to other verbs. In most cases, these verbs provide additional information about the main action, such as whether it is starting, finishing, continuing, or the degree to which it is happening.

However, as mentioned in the おわる grammar point, the transitive verb おえる is also sometimes used. There are other transitivity pairs that can be used in compound verbs, which we can see below. It is worth noting that normally only one of the two in a transitivity pair is used in compounds. This is true for はじめる / はじまる, where はじまる is unnatural in compounds.

As we might expect from how transitive and intransitive verbs function, the difference in nuance between these things is primarily based on will or intent. In fact, one of the reasons that the おえる form remains widely used to this day is because of its ability to show strong intent.

Outside of that, it is relatively rare to see both the transitive and intransitive forms of verbs being used this way, and a single usage will slowly become the norm over time, as is true with most conventions.