This verb ending is not only a long one, it's a bit of a tongue twister. It is used quite a lot because it means "must do." Let's take iku (to go), change it to Base 1 ika, and add nakereba narimasen to make this simple example sentence: Watashi wa ikanakereba narimasen. (I have to go.)
Looking at it literally, the nakereba means "if one does not...," as you will remember from Lesson 20, and narimasen means "will not become"; so in the example above you are saying "If I don't go it won't do."
Here are some more examples:
- Jim wa ima kaeranakereba narimasen. (Jim has to return now.)
- Laura wa kasa o kawanakereba narimasen. (Laura has to buy an umbrella.)
- Kodomotachi wa tabenakereba narimasen. (The children must eat.)
You have probably noticed that the polite negative ending masen is stuck on the end here. Yes, this is a verb within a verb ending: naru (to become) is the root word here, which is in its Base 2 form with masen added on (narimasen). If we were to use the plain negative form of naru (naranai) instead, the ending becomes nakereba naranai, which changes the whole sentence to its plain form. This can be handy when adding other endings, like deshou from Lesson 18. Let's use this ending with the three examples above and see how the meanings are "softened":
- Jim wa ima kaeranakereba naranai deshou. (Jim probably has to return now.)
- Laura wa kasa o kawanakereba naranai deshou. (Laura probably needs to buy an umbrella.)
- Kodomotachi wa tabenakereba naranai deshou. (The children probably need to eat.)
As you grow accustomed to Japanese verb usage and ending patterns, you will see how the entire meaning or "feeling" of a sentence can be adjusted or "fine tuned" at will by combining the right ending components as you finish the sentence up.
Good luck with nakereba narimasen. I already mentioned that it's a tongue twister. More than memorizing its meaning, mastering a clean, clear pronunciation of it is usually the most difficult part.
Word Check
ima: now
kasa: umbrella
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