Now that we’ve gone over the present affirmative tense of both RU and U verbs, lets try conjugating these verbs in the negative present tense.

Dictionary form: okiru (おきる)(起きる) to get up

Present Affirmative: okimasu (おきます)

Present Negative: okimasen (おきません)

Dictionary form: akeru (あける) (開ける) to open

Present Affirmative: akemasu (あけます)

Present Negative: akemasen (あけません)

Dictionary form: harau (はらう) (払う) to pay

Present Affirmative: haraimasu (はらいます)

Present Negative: haraimasen (はらいません)

Dictionary form: matsu (まつ) (待つ) to wait

Present Affirmative: machimasu (まちます)

Present Negative: machimasen (まちません)

With the four examples I’ve given above, you’ll notice that the present negative is formed by adding masen (ません) to the stem of the verb. For example for the verb ‘to wait’, machi (まち) is the stem of the verb. How do I know this is the stem? The present affirmative has the masu (ます) ending. If you take away the masu (ます) ending, you’re left with machi (まち), which is the stem of the verb machimasu (まちます). The stem of the verb is the same for both the present negative and the present affirmative. If ever in doubt about the stem of the verb, just think about how the present affirmative is formed.