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Grammar JLPT Level N5 - Lesson 7

Structure of 来(く)る:

くる

Details about 来(く)る:

() is one of only two verbs in Japanese that do not follow the standard rules of conjugation for Godan and Ichidan verbs. The other primary verb being する. () means 'to come', or 'to be coming'.
  • (まえ)パーティー()
    Will you come to the party too?
  • サヤ(いえ)()ている
    I have come to Saya's house. (I'm at Saya's house now)
() will always have the particle or attached to the location that someone 'will come', or 'has come'.
The reason that () is called a か-column irregular conjugation verb in Japanese is because the る in () does not conjugate, but is dropped. This leaves the く being the part that conjugates. Because of this, 来る has qualities of both る-Verbs (the る being dropped), and う-Verbs (the remaining く changing depending on the conjugation). Here are some examples of how () changes.
(き)た, (く)る, (こ)ない
() will often be seen as ()ている when someone has come to a place and remains there. This is due to ている meaning 'to exist in the state of an action', rather than being exactly the same as '(A)~ing' in English. Because of this, ()ている can mean either 'to be somewhere that one has come', or 'to be coming'.
  • (いま)(えき)()ている
    I have come to the station. (I am at the station now)
  • カナ(えき)()ている
    Is Kana coming to the station? (Is Kana on her way to the station now?)
Sometimes the difference between these two will not be clear unless there is further context.
来(く)る

Usage Notes for 来(く)る:

()ている (for existing at a place) is only used for places that people 'temporarily' go, so will not be used when you are at your home/work.

Synonyms for 来(く)る:

へいく
To go to, To head toward
てくる
To come to, To become, To continue, To be starting to, Has been ~ing
いらっしゃる
To be (Honorific), To come (Honorific), To go (Honorific)

Example of 来(く)る

トムここ()

Tom will come here.

バス()

The bus will come.

(かれ)バス()ます

He will come by bus.

友達(ともだち)()ます

Will your friend come too?

明日(あした)()ます

I will come tomorrow.

Grammar same lesson

い-Adjective + (Noun)

Describing a noun
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い-Adjective (Past)

Was, Were (Past tense)
See detailsreport

この

This
See detailsreport

な-Adjective + (Noun)

Describing a noun
See detailsreport

へ行(い)く

To go to, To head toward
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