In this Bonus Topic, we're going to discuss 'auxiliary verbs'. We've already come across many of these! They are special words which attach to other words to alter or impart meaning in some way. Let’s explore exactly what they are, how they work, and why they're special.

Auxiliary What Now?

First, let's define what auxiliary verbs are. In Japanese, auxiliary verbs are called 助動詞(じょどうし), which literally translates to 'helper verbs'. Instead of representing the main action, they act like suffixes that attach to the end of other words to help them out.

For example, we can add the auxiliary verb たい to the end of verbs to add the meaning of 'wanting'.

Importantly, these 'helpers' can conjugate (change form). This ability to change forms is why they are termed as 'verbs' (動詞(どうし)), even though they don't always look like normal verbs! For example, the auxiliary verb たい conjugates exactly like an い-Adjective, yet it is still technically classed as an auxiliary verb.

A Co-dependent Relationship

To really understand how auxiliary verbs work, it is useful to compare them to regular verbs which happen to be joined together.

True auxiliary verbs are entirely co-dependent. They act like grammatical glue. They cannot stand alone and must be attached to a word to make sense.

On the other hand, Japanese also often uses regular, independent verbs in combination. Because these are regular verbs, they can stand alone in other contexts. These are not auxiliary verbs, just regular ones being used in special ways!

So, to recap, when we talk about 'auxiliary verbs', we are talking about the pure grammatical glue (like た or たい) that cannot be used on its own, not just combining two regular verbs together.

The Line-Up

So far, we have already learned several of these core auxiliary verbs. Let's look at the line-up.

Besides these six which we already know, there are about twelve more which we will learn about at higher levels. These will unlock powerful concepts like the passive voice ('being eaten by...'), the causative ('make someone eat something'), and the volitional ('let's eat!').