Japanese verb 終わる: an activity ending

The idea

終おわる is a godan verb. The final る becomes ります in the polite form and って in the て form. The polite non-past, negative and past forms are 終おわります、終おわりません、終おわりました. The て form is 終おわって. The thing undergoing the change can be marked by が; an intransitive verb does not imply that there is no cause. 終おわる can also take an object with を in some expressions; this lesson focuses on the intransitive pattern.

Examples

• 授業じゅぎょうが四時よじに終おわります。Class ends at four.
• 会議かいぎはもう終おわりました。The meeting has already ended.
• 映画えいがが終おわって、家いえに帰かえりました。After the film ended, I went home.
• 仕事しごとがなかなか終おわりません。The work just will not get finished.
• 宿題しゅくだいが終おわったら、遊あそびます。When the homework is finished, I will play.
• 夏休なつやすみは来週らいしゅう、終おわります。Summer vacation ends next week.

Watch out

終おわる describes the change; its transitive partner 終おえる describes an action on something.

Try it yourself

1. （終おわる→ます）＿

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   終わります

   終おわります is the polite non-past form; context can indicate a habit or a future event.

2. （終おわる→て）＿

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   終わって

   終おわって is the て form; it can connect clauses.

3. 授業じゅぎょう＿終おわります。（が／を）

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   が

   が marks the subject undergoing the change.

Use it today

Make an original sentence, change it to the polite past and identify its particle. Compare your sentence with the examples.