物語る (monogataru) conjugation
to tell, to indicate
物語る (ものがたる, monogataru) 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.
Conjugation table
| Form | Plain (casual) | Polite (~ます) | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary / plain | 物語る monogataru | 物語ります monogatarimasu | The form you look up. Also the casual present and future. |
| Plain negative | 物語らない monogataranai | 物語りません monogatarimasen | “doesn’t / won’t”. From here it conjugates like an i-adjective. |
| Plain past | 物語った monogatatta | 物語りました monogatarimashita | The casual past — same ending as the te-form, with た/だ. |
| Plain past negative | 物語らなかった monogataranakatta | 物語りませんでした monogatarimasendeshita | “didn’t”. The negative past, still i-adjective-shaped. |
| Te-form | 物語って monogatatte | — | The connector: requests, linking clauses, ~ている. |
| Progressive (~ている) | 物語っている monogatatteiru | 物語っています monogatatteimasu | “is ~ing”, or an ongoing resulting state. |
| Desire (~たい) | 物語りたい monogataritai | 物語りたいです monogataritaidesu | “want to ~”. Behaves as an i-adjective. |
| Volitional | 物語ろう monogatarou | 物語りましょう monogatarimashou | “let’s ~” / “I think I’ll ~”. |
| Potential | 物語れる monogatareru | 物語れます monogataremasu | “can ~”. What you could do; the object often takes が. |
| Passive | 物語られる monogatarareru | 物語られます monogatararemasu | “is ~ed”. Also the honorific and the suffering passive. |
| Causative | 物語らせる monogataraseru | 物語らせます monogatarasemasu | Make or let someone do it. |
| Causative-passive | 物語らされる monogatarasareru | 物語らされます monogatarasaremasu | Be made to do it — the long one. |
| Imperative | 物語れ monogatare | 物語ってください monogatattekudasai | Blunt order. Use ~てください in real life. |
| Prohibitive | 物語るな monogataruna | — | “don’t!” — dictionary form + な. |
| Conditional (~ば) | 物語れば monogatareba | — | “if ~”. General rules and hypotheticals. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 物語ったら monogatattara | — | “if / when ~”. The everyday conditional. |
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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.