Quick links to the other verb types:
Click directly on the Go(5)-dan verb type you want to look up:

Ichi(1)-Dan Verbs
- the easy ones (!) -

Examples:
  • あびる - shower (abiru)
  • ​おきる - get up (okiru)
  • おくれる- be late (okureru)
  • かりる - to borrow (kariru)
  • きる - wear (kiru)
  • ​​しめる - shut (shimeru)
  • しらべる - research (shiraberu)
  • たべる - eat (taberu)
  • できる - be able (dekiru)
  • ​でる - leave (deru) 
  • ねる - sleep (neru)​
  • はいる - enter (hairu)
  • ​みる - look/see (miru)
  • わすれる - forget (wasureru)
Ichi(1)-dan verbs all have plain forms ending in -る​. (Either an -iru, or -eru sound.)
​
  • "Ichi-dan" means "one step"
  • These verbs are called "ichi-dan" verbs because, unlike the go-dan verbs, when the endings change, we just drop one ending and swap it for another, without needing to use all the five different syllables from each row of the hiragana chart.
  • While all ichi-dan verbs end in an "iru" or "eru" sound, there are some "iru"/"eru" verbs which are go-dan, NOT ichi-dan. e.g. "kaeru/kaerimasu" is go-dan.​
Let's look at some examples, using two ichi-dan verbs, たべる (eat) and みる (look/see/watch). To save space, in the examples below we'll translate みる as just "watch".
TE Form
Take off the る and replace with て
  • たべる → たべて
  • みる → みて
Verb Stem
Take off the る
  • たべる → たべ
  • みる → み
Alternatively, if you already know the -masu form, just drop the -masu and what you have left is the verb stem.
​たべます→たべ
​みます→み
Plain Form
Non-past, positive (aka dictionary form):
  • たべる - eats / will eat
  • みる - watches / will watch
Non-past, negative:
  • たべない - doesn't eat/ won't eat
  • みない - doesn't watch / won't watch
Past, positive:
  • たべた - ate
  • みた - watched
Past, negative:
  • たべなかった - didn't eat
  • みなかった - didn't watch
Present continuous, non-past, positive:
  • たべて いる - is/am/are eating
  • みて いる - is/am/are watching
Present continuous, non-past, negative:
  • たべて いない - is/am/are not eating
  • みて いない - is/am/are not watching
Potential (can):
  • たべられる - can eat
  • みられる - can watch
Year 13
Volitional (let's):
  • たべよう - let's eat
  • みよう - let's watch
Not needed for NCEA, but handy to know.
-ます (masu) Form (Polite Form)
Non-past, positive:
  • たべます - eats / will eat
  • みます - watches / will watch
Non-past, negative:
  • たべません - doesn't eat / won't eat
  • みません - doesn't watch / won't watch
Past, positive:
  • たべました - ate
  • みました - watched
Past, negative:
  • たべません でした - didn't eat
  • みません でした - didn't watch
Present continuous, non-past, positive:
  • たべて います - is/am/are eating
  • みて います - is/am/are watching
Present continuous, non-past, negative:
  • たべて いません - is/am/are not eating
  • みて いません - is/am/are not watching
Potential (can):
  • たべられます - can eat
  • みられます - can watch
Year 13
Volitional (let's):
  • たべましょう - let's eat
  • みましょう - let's watch​