ある (aru) conjugation
to be, to have
ある (ある, aru) is a godan verb. Godan verbs change their final kana up and down its column of the kana chart — the a-row for negatives, the i-row before ます, the e-row for potential and ば. Every form below is tappable — hear it, then say it back.
Written 有る in kanji, but usually written in kana alone.
Conjugation table
| Form | Plain (casual) | Polite (~ます) | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary / plain | ある aru | あります arimasu | The form you look up. Also the casual present and future. |
| Plain negative | ない nai | ありません arimasen | “doesn’t / won’t”. From here it conjugates like an i-adjective. |
| Plain past | あった atta | ありました arimashita | The casual past — same ending as the te-form, with た/だ. |
| Plain past negative | なかった nakatta | ありませんでした arimasendeshita | “didn’t”. The negative past, still i-adjective-shaped. |
| Te-form | あって atte | — | The connector: requests, linking clauses, ~ている. |
| Volitional | あろう arou | ありましょう arimashou | “let’s ~” / “I think I’ll ~”. |
| Prohibitive | あるな aruna | — | “don’t!” — dictionary form + な. |
| Conditional (~ば) | あれば areba | — | “if ~”. General rules and hypotheticals. |
| Conditional (~たら) | あったら attara | — | “if / when ~”. The everyday conditional. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese word to hear it spoken.
Why it conjugates this way
Godan verbs change their final kana up and down its column of the kana chart — the a-row for negatives, the i-row before ます, the e-row for potential and ば.
See the full rules on the verb conjugation guide.