Stem + たい (Expression of the speaker's wish)

The Stem of a verb is seldom used in isolation. When it is used alone, it is used as a noun. Most of the time, the Stem is followed by another element. In this exercise, we will create a form that expresses the speaker's wish by adding たい to the Stem of a verb. So, what you need to learn is how to form the Stem.

How to derive the Stem:
  • Group 1 verb: drop るof the dictionary form
  • Group 2 verb: change the final vowel u to i
  • Group 3 verb: くる→き、する→し
How to use the form:

For instance, the Stem of the verb 行く(いく), which means "to go", is 行き(いき), so when you add たい, it yields the form 行きたい(いきたい), meaning "I want to go." This newly-formed word is an adjective and has the following four aspects. Notice that the changes occur only on the ending, たい.

ほん
きたいです。
'I want to go to Japan.'

ほん
きたかったです。
'I wanted to go to Japan.'

ほん
きたくありません。
'I do not want to go to Japan.'

ほん
きたくありませんでした。
'I did not want to go to Japan.'

Although you cannot use the Stem with たい to express the third-person's wishes, it may be used to ask questions directly to the addressee.

ほん
きたいですか。
'Do you want to go to Japan?'
  • Select the verb form that you want to see the conjugation rules for.
  • To see an explanation of verb groups, click on the top link to "Verb Conjugation Groups"

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