**Undergoing Heavy Changes**

I’ve decided to make this shorter and sweeter and less text-book-y. That way it can be more helpful as a general guide. If you want to investigate this more in-depth, here’s a couple of references.

Feel free to contact me if you have a specific question. I have very little feedback on this page, but I figure it’s pretty dense and confusing if you don’t already know a great deal of Japanese, not very helpful to someone who wants to know what phrase [A] means.

Under Construction! Beta 0.6 Version (2012/04/28).
^This is still a process, and definitions and explanations will be more fine tuned with the more experience I have reading classical Japanese.

Recommended Reference Materials:

• “A Handbook to Classical Japanese” – John Timothy Wixted (← I disagree with a few points in this book, but it's very very handy, especially when you’re just starting out.)
• “Classical Japanese – A Grammar” – Haruo Shirane (← Probably the most comprehensive grammar description, paying very close attention to differences between time periods; it's not organized quite as well for reference, but if you're going to get one book it should be this one)
• Obunsha’s Kokugo Jiten (10th Edition’s what I’ve got) (This has bungo notes for every entry, and a copy/table of the official grammar definition put out by the government of Japan)

Now here’s my guide!

Table of Contents

• Introduction [#]
• Basic Conjugation [#]
• Auxiliary Verbs [#]
• Particles [#]
• Important Words * (Not Yet Written)
• Honorifics ** (Not Going To Be Written Anytime Soon)

Introduction

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Why Taking Your Time to Read This is a Good Idea

First of all, why does this guide exist? Why is it separate from other grammar lists and rules and notes? Like all languages Japanese has changed a lot over time. If you were to take something written in the year 700 even in your native language I can almost guarantee it would be illegible, and not just for awful handwriting. Words, spellings, and even grammar can change. But you might ask still, Why? Why is something like this important? I’m not that interested in history, and don’t care too much about what people wrote a long long time ago. Well, there are two other reasons to learn classical Japanese or “bungo” (written language). One is because up until very, very recently (fifty years or so) the written language of books and newspapers used older conventions that mirrored ancient conventions and grammar rules and spelling, even when spoken Japanese had completely changed. Plus, a lot of people still use it for mood and tone in modern poems, song lyrics, books, and comics. For literacy’s sake now Japanese is usually typed or written sound for sound exactly how it would be spoken, even a sort of “netspeak” isn’t uncommon outside of official documents – but like putting on an accent, it’s not uncommon to see bungo floating around, even for just mocking humour. The second reason is a little more practical for the ordinary Japanese language student: because modern, colloquial Japanese was born out of bungo, to understand bungo is to understand why modern rules are the way they are on a completely different level. Additionally, most of the unusual high level written-style grammar rules are leftovers from when bungo = written language was more common.

(Hopefully the last instance of TL;DR in this guide)

Obsolete Symbols

ゐ – wi (hiragana)
ヰ – wi (katakana)
ゑ – we (hiragana)
ヱ – we (katakana)

々 – repeat kanji
ゝ – repeat hiragana
ヽ – repeat katakana
／＼ – repeat last (two) kana/kanji

Kana/Spelling Differences

Many languages, like English or French, aren’t spelled the way they are pronounced – hardly even close in many cases. Japanese used to be the same way – while originally they may have been pronounced that way, sound changes occured but the spellings stayed the same. Up until government intervention, 今日 was written けふ, but of course pronounced きょう. For ease and sanity, when reading bungo, you almost always pronounce it in the modern way, so here’s a guide to help. If you can pull the modern pronounciation out of the old spelling, even if the whole text is in kana, you can gradually break it up and get the meaning.

I could write out a list of every possible combination, but that would be boring and not very helpful, so here are a few rules and then examples.

note: *-line kana means (*a,*i,*u,*e,*o)

• All わ-line kana except わ drop their ‘w’.
• All は-line kana when not at the beginning of a word become わ-line kana (with these exceptions: 溢れる and 阿呆)
• All *a+う sounds should be treated as *o+う
• All *i+う sounds should be treated as *(i)+ゆう [*i is only if * is not あ]
• All *e+う sounds should be treated as *(i)+よう [*i is only if * is not あ]
• All *u+あ sounds should be treated as *a
• All *u+お sounds should be treated as *o
• All *i+y* sounds should treat the y* as a small-cased y* unless there is a kanji boundary between the *i and y*
• In most cases, treat ぢ and づ as じ and ず (notable exceptions are 続ける、縮める (voiced right after non-voiced rule))

Examples:
今日：けふ→きょう
轟々：ぐわうぐわう→ごうごう
十月：じふぐわつ→じゅうがつ
繩（縄）：なは→なわ

Kanji Differences

That last example brings us to Kanji differences. A lot of kanji changed too. Not near as much as say traditional versus simplified chinese, but there are some real differences floating around.

来＝來 (easy to see)
霊＝靈 (easy to see)
当＝當 (ok, ok)
与＝與 (alright)
続＝續 (huh?)
会＝會 (wait…)
画＝畫 (what?)

Many of the differences are directly related to the radicals within the kanji, so after a while it gets a lot, lot easier to guess, but before you get the hang of it, I recommend a combination of MS-IME kanji pad and jwp-ce kanji info/radical/reading look up.
I recommend the anime Bakemonogatari, which uses classical kanji on all their title cards (if they can help it) if you want to get a little more familiar with them.

Basic Conjugation

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I believe in charts first, info later. But really, forget all those rules of conjugation you’ve learned (like -nai, -masu form, te-form etc.), and replace your knowledge with this.

・

That was overwhelming I’m sure.
So here’s an explanation of each word form and conjugation form.
Plus tips for helping to remember all that!

Word Forms

四段 – Yodan:

A verb that uses 4 of the 5 vowels in its conjugation (-a,-i,-u,-e).
The modern equivalent is a 五段 verb. In fact they’re exactly the same, except that since 四段’s 未然形 + う results in an -a+う with the modern sound changes it becomes -o+う, giving 未然形 an extra form, and completing the 5/5 vowels. Most 五段 tables also have a secondary 連用形 conjugation because of the sound changes for auxiliary verbs て and た.

上一段 – Kami Ichidan:

A verb that uses 1 of the 5 vowels in its conjugation (-i).
All verbs in modern Japanese that end in -iる and aren’t 五段 verbs, are now considered 上一段. The conjugation is the same. That makes it easy right? :)

There are only 18 original 上一段 verbs. They are all pronounced either: hiru, iru, kiru, miru, or niru, with six conjunctions hikiiru, kokoromiru, kaerimiru (2 forms), ushiromiru, and mochiiru.

上二段 – Kami Nidan:

A verb that uses 2 of the 5 vowels in its conjugation (-i,-u).
All of the rest of the -iる verbs were taken from this form and made into 上一段 verbs by putting them into passive form (連用形+る) in 終止形 form.

It’s easy to spot a modern verb that was once a 上二段. If the -iる is written in okurigana, it was most likely a 上二段. Ex: 起きる, was originally 起く. A trickier example: 老いる, was originally 老ゆ. (Note や-row e=え)

The thing with 二段 verbs is that you have to remember that 終止形、連体形、and 已然形 use -u and not -i on the stem. Another good thing to remember is that as a general rule 連体形 ends in a る for most conjugations (not 四段, except of course for the ら-row, where -u=る), but 終止形 only ends in -u (or -i for ラ変).

下一段 – Shimo Ichidan:

A verb that uses 1 of the 5 vowels in its conjugation (-e).
There exists only one of these: 蹴る (ける) and after it was modernized, it became a 五段 verb.
It’s rather easy to remember, because it’s the exact same as a 上一段 verb, except it uses -e instead of -i.

下二段 – Shimo Nidan:

A verb that uses 2 of the 5 vowels in its conjugation (-e,-u).
All of the rest of the -eる verbs were taken from this form and made into 上一段 verbs by putting them into passive form (連用形+る) in 終止形 form. There are a lot of these, so be careful.

It’s easy to spot a modern verb that was once a 上二段. If the -eる is written in okurigana, it was most likely a 下二段. Ex: 消える, was originally 消ゆ ← notice that える can come from ゆ,う, or ふ (in order of likelihood) As a general rule, you should assume ゆ; important う examples are 得(う) [=(mod.)得る], 植う and 飢う;　important ふ examples are 經(ふ) [=(mod.)経る] and 答ふ.

^The two examples 經(ふ) and 得(う) are the only stem-less 下二段 verbs (as far as I know).

The thing with 二段 verbs is that you have to remember that 終止形、連体形、and 已然形 use -u and not -e on the stem. Another good thing to remember is that as a general rule 連体形 ends in a る for most conjugations (not 四段, except of course for the ら-row, where -u=る), but 終止形 only ends in -u (or -i for ラ変).

ラ変 – Ra-hen:

Literally, verbs that have been birthed out of the extraordinary verb あり. It’s exactly the same as 四段 except that its 終止形 is -i. They have been changed to 四段 in modern Japanese.

Most common examples: ari, nari, ori, haberi, imasukari, sari, shikari.

サ変 – Sa-hen:

There’s only one of these, す(る), and it hasn’t changed in modern times, other than to make its 終止形 equal to its 連体形. (Which happened across the board to all word-forms except maybe べき/べし in modern Japanese.) Just remember 終止形=す(爲).

In modern Japanese 命令形 is more often しろ instead of せよ, though せよ is still used in written grammar structures.

ナ変 – Na-hen:

There’s only two of these: 死ぬ, and (往/去)ぬ which both mean the same thing.
It’s easy to remember, because it’s just a 四段 verb with a 二段 conjugation for the -u part (終止形, 連体形, 已然形).

カ変 – Ka-hen:

There’s only one of these, く(る), and it hasn’t changed in modern times, other than to make its 終止形 equal to it’s 連体形. (Which happened across the board to all word-forms except maybe べき/べし in modern Japanese.) Just remember 終止形=く(來).

く形容 – Ku-Keiyou:

-i Adjectives.
Together with しく形容, also known as pure adjectives.

It looks a little intimidating, but it’s not that different from modern Japanese. Just remember 連体形 is き and 終止形 is し (instead of the usual い). Now there’s an additional form -かれ which is a command form. It’s not incredibly common anyway, so it was removed from modern Japanese to be replaced with く+しろ！

The other row is (you guessed it) a contraction of -く+あり(/る) but it has limitations, only being used in 未然形, 連用形, and 連体形. This contraction form is necessary to negate -i adjectives (using 未然形), because the handy, wonderful little verbal adjective ない didn’t come into being until way into the modern era. No 赤くない. Sorry.

しく形容 – Shiku-Keiyou:

-shii Adjectives; changed to -i adjectives in mod. Japanese.
Together with く形容, also known as pure adjectives.

Exactly like く形容 except for 終止形. Just remember if the mod. equivalent usually ends in しい or just い.

なり形動 – Nari-Keidou:

-na Adjectives; everything except に is stripped away in mod. Japanese and なる becomes な
Together with たり形動, also known as “verbal adjectives”

All of the conjugated forms are contractions of にある, so it’s relatively simple to remember.

たり形動 – Tari-Keidou:

-to Adjectives; everything except と and たる are stripped away in mod. Japanese.
Together with なり形動, also known as “verbal adjectives”

All of the conjugated forms are contractions of とある, so it’s relatively simple to remember.

Conjugation Forms

未然形 – Mizenkei – “Imperfective Form”:

“The Not Yet Happened Form” in layman’s terms.
This form is useful for:

• Negation (ず)
• Volitional (む＊)
• Negative Volitional (じ)
• Hopeless Volitional (まし)
• Desirative (まほし)
• Passive (る,らる)
• Causative (す,さす,しむ)
• Hypothetical “If” (ば)
• Hopeless Hypothetical Desirative “If Only” (ばや,なむ)

＊む is part of the following contractions: けむ (連用形)、らむ (終止形)

連用形 – Renyoukei – “Continuative/Conjunctive Form”:

This form relates a certain event or action with other events or actions or simply the present.
This form is useful for:

• Conjunction (*)
• Past/”Recollective” Tense (き/し,けり)
• Past/”Recollective” Volitional (けむ)
• Perfective Tense (ぬ,て)
• Progressive/Perfective Tense (たり,り＊)
• Continuative (つつ,ながら)

＊り is severely contracted, so it appears to come after the 命令形 form. The Japanese government categorizes it as a split 已然形(for 四段)+未然形(for サ変) auxiliary verb.

終止形 – Shuushikei – “Predicative Form”:

This form is used to predicate a sentence, the “final form” if you will. It also is used to outline ‘statements’.
This form is useful for:

• Sentence Break (*)
• Suggestive Assumption (べし)
• Negative Suggestive Assumption (まじ)
• Supposition (らし,めり)
• Hearsay (なり)
• Volitional Supposition (らむ)

連体形 – Rentaikei – “Attributive Form”:

This form modifies objects, nouns, and is generally descriptive.
This form is useful for:

• Attribute Noun (*)
• Pose Question (* w/ bound particle: や(わ),か(わ))
• Declarative/Emphasis (* w/ bound particle: ぞ,なむ)
• Reference Attribute (ごとし)
• Explanatory (なり)

已然形 – Izenkei – “Perfective Form”:

The “Already Happened/Completed” Form in layman’s terms. It’s a “secure” form, and has a strong emphasis/weight to it.
This form is useful for:

• Strong Emphasis (* w/ bound particle: こそ)
• Causation “When/Because” (ば)
• Concession “Although” (ども)

命令形 – Meireikei – “Imperative Form”:

• Strong Command (*)

語幹 – Gokan – “Word Stem”:

Not exactly a conjugation form, this is the part of the word that doesn’t change, and does not even form part of the ‘-’ from the table. Words like 蹴る(ける) do not have any. Useful terminology for adjectives and so forth.

Auxiliary Verbs/Adjectives

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Auxiliary Verbs – Table of Contents

• Negation [ず、(ざる)] [#]
• Temporals “Reflective/Past” [き・し、(けり)] [#]
• Temporals “Perfective/Continuation” [ぬ、つ、り、(たり)] [#]
• Passive/Causative/Honorifics [(ら)る、(さ)す、しむ] [#]
• Volitional [む、じ、まし、(むず、けむ、らむ)] [#]
• Suggestive Assumptions [べし、まじ] [#]
• Qualifications [らし、なり、めり、ごとし] [#]
• Desiratives [まほし、たし] [#]
• Explanatory Use of the Copula [(なり)] [#]

First a reference table. Auxiliary Verbs in parentheses are not listed here, but in each individual section. If there is a ＊ next to the attaching form, then there are special notes concerning it, where are again found in each individual section.

Negation [ず、(ざる)]

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Above you see the negative auxiliary verb ず and it’s あり form ざり (ず＋あり). ず (and thus ざり) attaches to the 未然形 of conjugatable words, so verbs, verbal adjectives, and pure adjectives.

In-depth:

Serving a relatively simple function, ず is used to negative verbs. For example, 食べる(eat) to 食べず(not eat). If you have studied Japanese for long enough to be reading this page, you should be familiar with ず as it is still often used in modern Japanese, especially for its 連用形 and 連体形 forms. 夕飯を食べずに寝た。[mod.] “I slept without eating.” 動かぬ物は動き出す。[mod.] “Things that do not move suddenly begin to.” The modern polite negation -ません is an abbreviation of -ませぬ. Kansai-ben also makes liberal use of ぬ, often abbreviated ん, but don’t confuse this with the classical auxiliary verb む also abbreviated ん. You may also be familiar with the form 「ざるをえない」 “can’t help but” which uses the 連体形 of ざり. In other words, due to its modern application, this is a great place to start.

The 未然形 and 連用形 forms of ず require a little special attention, so here are their respective explanations.

未然形: ず* / な*
I can almost guarantee you won’t come across this in actual text, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. The only reported usage of 「ず」as a 未然形 form is in the structure 「ずば」”if not”. However, modern scholars interpret this as only a sound change of 「ずは」ず’s 連用形 form + は, which would mean “in the case x is false” of “given x as false”. It has almost the same meaning, so I wouldn’t worry much about it. Usage of「な」 died out very very early, except when used with the nominalizer く. In other words, なく. なく was a noun, and you would see it most often as なくに, “without x”, however sometime along the way it was reinterpreted as a く adjective, and that is why you have ない or 無い as your modern negative conjugation.

連用形: ず / で / に
To the extent of my knowledge, 連用形 ず is never used in conjunction with past tense auxiliary verbs (use ざり), but instead as just ず, ずて, and ずは. で is actually just an abbreviation/sound change of ずて; be sure not to mix it up with other でs. に is exceedingly rare but for completion’s sake had an almost identical function to just ず, and didn’t combine with other auxiliary verbs.

ざり
Although ざり can be used in all its forms, it is most often used for its 未然形 with む, its 連用形 with き・し, and sometimes for its 連体形. If you want to get into specifics, ず and ざり have slightly nuanced meanings, similar to “not” and “the state of being not”. This is why ず is never used with past tense. You will see similar patterns with other auxiliary forms that have あり forms.

Temporals “Reflective/Past” [き・し、(けり)]

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Above you see the past tense or more accurately “recollective” auxiliary verb き・し and it’s あり form けり (き＋あり). き・し (and thus けり) attaches to the 連用形 of conjugatable words, so verbs, verbal adjectives, and pure adjectives. However in the case of き・し there is a special exception for カ変 and サ変 verbs. With 来(ku), the 連用形 can be used, but the 未然形 is used more often, and 終止形 き is never used with 来. With 為(su), the 未然形 is used with し and しか, and 連用形 with き. Though this may seem overly complicated, it’s all to prevent these two combinations: “きき” and “しし”.

As a side note, due to the fact that き・し describes the “past” its 未然形 is rare, only used with ば to present the case “if x had happened”.

The difference between き・し and けり
For the most part, き・し is used for personal experiences one may be recollecting, and けり is used more generally for reporting that something has happened or something that happened to another person. It’s similar to the difference between modern たい and たがる. けり is also inherently progressive (due to the fact that it contains あり) and can be used for “something was going on”, therefore a stricter “this has happened and it is now finished, not happening anymore” にけり (ぬ’s 連用形 + けり) is often used.

Temporals “Perfective/Continuation” [ぬ、つ、り、(たり)]

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＊り Appears like it comes after the 命令形, and only attaches to サ変 and 四段 verbs

Above you see the perfective tense (which also serve as progressives) auxiliary verbs ぬ and つ, along with あり contractions り and たり（つ’s 連用形 て+あり）. All of these attach to the 連用形. However, while ぬ can be attached to all conjugatable words, つ can only attach to verbs and pure adjectives, たり can only attach to verbs, and り can only attach to 四段 and サ変 verbs, which furthermore is contracted such that it appears to connect to their 命令形. While this can be confusing, at least ぬ and つ are regular 下二段 verbs, and り and たり are regular ラ変 verbs.

ぬ is in short, the “natural perfective”, and つ the “volitional perfective”. Both are used to signify completion, and imply a sense of certainty. This certainty principle when used in conjunction with む is similar to the difference in “it will be done” rather than “I will do it”. As a general rule ぬ is used with intransitive verbs, and つ with transitive verbs, though there is some overlap for verbs such as あり and なり. ぬ is always used for passive auxiliary verbs, and つ always for causative auxiliary verbs and す. Both ぬ and つ can be used like modern たり, ～ぬ～ぬ and ～つ～つ which describes a state of something doing multiple actions at the same time, sometimes indecisively. This usage first appears in the medieval period.

たり and り are resultative/continuative/perfectives. In short, they describe verbs in a state. The resultative function is identical to modern ～てある which is where たり came from in the first place. However both also cover a continuative function identical to modern ～ている. The difference is nuanced in modern Japanese, but not here, it just depends on context. たり and り also can be used as perfectives, たり in this sense most often used with ば for “when this happened” and, “if this happened”. Due to the fact that たり is more usable than り which has restrictions, たり quickly became used more often than り. Like ～ぬ～ぬ and ～つ～つ, ～たり～たり was also used, and that pattern survives modern Japanese.

Modern auxiliary verbs/constructs た (past tense)、たら (perfective “if”, simply the 已然形 of modern た)、たり (simultaneous action)、ている (progressive state)、てある (resultative state) all come from たり (itself て+あり), and て comes from つ. However, don’t confuse the usages of these modern forms with the classical ones. For example たら requires the particle ば in classical Japanese, etc.

Passive/Causative/Honorifics [(ら)る、(さ)す、しむ]

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Above you see the passive auxiliary (ら)る, the causative auxiliary (さ)す, and honorific causative しむ all of which are regular 下二段 verbs and attach to the 未然形.

For the most part, these verbs are exact replicas of their modern counterparts: (ら)れる, (さ)せる, and しめる (rare, if you haven’t heard of it I’m not surprised), like られる, らる can be used as an honorific, but さす can be honorific as well if paired with another honorific verb. しむ is more stiff and formal than さす.

Volitional [む、じ、まし、(むず、けむ、らむ)]

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＊らむ like らし attaches to the 終止形 for all verbs except ラ変, where it attaches to the 連体形, it also attaches to the 連体形 of adjectives/verbal-adjectives.

Above you see the volitional む and its derivatives (むず, けむ, らむ), the negative volitional じ and the hopeless volitional まし. All of the volitionals attach to the 未然形, but けむ and らむ attach to the 連用形 and 終止形 respectively, being contractions of けり＋む and らし＋む. All of these forms are irregular but have a relatively simple usage. All of them have an identical 終止形 and 連体形, with the 連体形 and 已然形 used only for bound particles (か, こそ, etc) and the 未然形 only for ば (in the case of まし). む is often shortened to ん.

む is a volitional, almost identical to う in modern Japanese (ex. やりましょう). This covers the usage ～うとする (ex. 出ようとする) mirrored in classical Japanese as むとす. むず is in fact a contraction of むとす. On an interesting note, むとせば (using 未然形) is often used, but むぜば is never used because むず is not considered to have a 未然形.

けむ is a contraction of き/けり+む and is a past volitional. It is identical to ～たろう in modern Japanese (ex. そうだったろう) (modern た’s 未然形 is たろ) though admittedly it isn’t used very often, where ～ただろう or ～たでしょう is more prominent.

らむ is a contraction of らし+む and is a present volitional, a weak volitional based on not very reliable information. “It seems that perhaps xx may…” etc. One might postulate it is identical to らしかろう, but no one uses that, so instead think of it as ～ているだろう.

じ is a negative volitional and, like む can be used with とす. Its usage is eventually replaced by まじ (まい in modern Japanese). “will probably not”, “do not intend to”, “to try to not do”. Though じ is replaced by まじ, じ as a volitional is much weaker than まじ, a “negative suggestive assumption”.

まし is a hopeless volitional and is very often used with ば to form an “if only”. It is a volitional towards something one assumes is false, or can never be, often what one desires. It often appears in this form: 未然形+ましかば／せば／ば……まし. It is used in the phrase いかにせまし “what ever shall/should I do?”

Suggestive Assumptions [べし、まじ]

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＊Both attach to the 終止形 of verbs, except for ラ変 verbs, where they attach to the 連体形.

Above you see the suggestive assumption べし, and the negative suggestive assumption まじ. Both are adjectives, べし is a く and まじ is a しく (じく), with an extra form: まい (ie. its modern form). Both attach to the 終止形 except for ラ変, where it follows the 連体形. This includes adjectives: 赤かるべし. “It should be red.” In other words, both are always preceded by a う sound, (except in some contractions which are rare exceptions).

べし is a suggestive assumption, similar to modern べき (な-adj). べし assumes something to be true or appropriate etc. so translates into “I will do”, “one should be/do” etc. In the first and third person, this works to display certainty that something will happen, in the second person it is suggestive, hinting at what one should do. Though all of these forms still exist in modern Japanese, more emphasis is put on “appropriateness”.

まじ is a negative suggestive assumption, similar to modern まい. It is the opposite of べし, so assumes something to be wrong, incorrect, or inappropriate, something that will not be done, which translates into “I will not do”, “one should not do”, “I cannot be expected to do”. etc.

The difference in power between volitionals and suggestive assumptions can be seen in what form they attach to. Volitionals attach to the 未然形 which signifies uncertainty. Suggestive assumptions attach to the 終止形 and deal with complete and final statements.

Qualifications [らし、なり、めり、ごとし]

[↑]

＊There are two forms of らし, one connects to the 終止形 (except for ラ変 which is 連体形), and is simply and auxiliary verb, however, it sort of transformed into an adjective (like the modern version); this version attaches to the 連体形 of verbs and directly to nouns.

＊めり attaches to the 終止形 except with ラ変 which is 連体形.

＊ことし attaches to the 連体形 of verbs, with an optional が between them, but can also attach to nouns with a の between them.

らし is essentially the same as the modern version, but it changed over time and thus has two forms. The adjective version is more common closer to modern times, and the original version is more common in earlier times.

なり is essentially the same as the hearsay construction ～だそうだ/終止形+そうだ. For example, 天気予報により明日雨が降るそうだ。 Don’t confuse it with the なり that comes after the 連体形 (explanatory copula なり). This is the only auxiliary verb that comes after the 終止形 of ラ変 verbs, so you can see things such as “ありなり”。It’s always confusing after 四段 verbs because they have the same 連体形 and 終止形.

めり is essentially the same as ～ように見える, probably itself a conjunction of 見+あり.

ごとし is used in modern Japanese as well, but not very often; it is essentially the same as ～ようだ. “~ is like ~” etc.

Desiratives [まほし、たし]

[↑]

まほし is essentially the same as modern （～て）ほしい, it just attaches differently.

たし is essentially the same as modern たい, and it even attaches in the same way.

Explanatory Use of the Copula [(なり)]

[↑]

The copula なり is used in classical Japanese in the exact same way as the “explanatory の” (+だ) is used in modern Japanese. In fact, you can think of the の in modern Japanese to denote that the preceding verb is in the 連体形, not 終止形. This is why you can ask questions with の and questions in classical Japanese end in the 連体形.

Particles [Under Construction] (last edit 2012/04/28)

[↑]

Forget everything you ever learned about particles right now, because we’re going for a ride and starting from scratch.

Particles were added gradually to the Japanese language and their forms changed over time. You’ll find some sentences don’t have any particles (ex: ほととぎす鳴く, 峰高し), that work just off subject and predicate, but particles were in use even before hiragana was around, so we’ve got a large time-scale to work with.

If you are interested in particles before hiragana (漢文 texts and say, the 万葉集 directly), you’ll have to familiarize yourself with the phonetically used Chinese symbols (ex: 尓乎者従母毛 and more), but I won’t really cover that here. Many particles have kanji, associated with them (like 乍ら=ながら, 丈=だけ, 迄=まで) but those are easy enough to look up, so I also won’t cover them here.

There are six different types of particles: 格助詞 “Case Particles”, 接続助詞 “Conjunctive Particles”, 係助詞 “Bound Particles”, 副助詞 “Adverbial Particles”, 終助詞 “Final Particles”, 間投助詞 “Interjectory Particles”, and they all have different functions, but enough talk, let’s begin.

Particles – Table of Contents

• 格助詞 “Case Particles”
  　　　　[が、の、を、に、へ、と、より／ゆ、から、にて、して*、ながら*]
• 接続助詞 “Conjunctive Particles”
  　　　　[ば、と／とも、ど／ども、が、に、を、て、して、で、つつ、ながら、もの**]
• 係助詞 “Bound Particles”
  　　　　[は、も、ぞ、なむ、や、か、こそ]
• 副助詞 “Adverbial Particles”
  　　　　[だに、すら、さへ、のみ、ばかり、など、まで、し]
• 終助詞 “Final Particles”
  　　　　[しが(+な／も)、もが(な／も)、な、かな／か／かも、かし、なむ、ばや、な、ね／に、こそ、な]
• 間投助詞 “Interjectory Particles” [よ、や、を]

格助詞 “Case Particles” [が、の、を、に、へ、と、より／ゆ、から、にて]

Case particles establish how one uninflected word/nominal relates to other words in the same sentence/phrase. The functions of these particles haven’t changed much over time and are easy to learn. All of these attach only to nominals (体言・準体言) with the exception of と (which can attach to phrases for its quotation use), and から (which can attach to て).

Case particles mostly come in one of two flavors: 連体修飾語 “Nominal/Uninflected Modifier” and 連用修飾語 “Adverbial/Inflected Modifier”. The former means that the particle binds to the word/structure before it and makes it into a phrase that modifies the nominal/uninflected word that succeeds it. The latter means that that particle binds to the word/structure before it and makes it into a phrase that modifies the succeeding verb/inflected word.

Case Particle [が]

・”Subject Particle”
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

The primary function of the case particle が is to denote the subject of a phrase. The subject is linked to the receiving predicate, which may either be a verb, adjective, or another noun with the copula (なり).

・”Ownership/Limitation” [Nominal/Uninflected]
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

A secondary function of the case particle が is to denote ownership or pose a limit on a receiving nominal. This is the primary function of the case particle の. You can think of “limitation” (of scope) as any noun-like descriptor that doesn’t denote ownership. This includes certain things like 鬼ヶ島 (onigashima) – “of”. This includes “implied nominals” Ex: その歌は我がなり。

Case Particle [の]

・”Ownership/Limitation” [Nominal/Uninflected]
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

The primary function of the case particle の is to denote ownership or pose a limit on a receiving nominal. This is what you’re used to. “no-adjectives” are covered by this “limitation” definition. Ex: 普通の空 “An ordinary sky”. This includes “implied nominals”. Ex: それは俺のなり。

・”Subject Particle”
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

A secondary function of the case particle の is to denote the subject of a phrase. Maybe you haven’t realized it, but this also exists in modern Japanese. Ex: 性格の悪いやつ “Someone with a bad personality”. While modern use is limited usually to adjective like phrases linking into a nominal, classical use is more general. Ex: 山の端に日のかかるほど待つ “I wait so much as for the sun to drift over to the tips of the mountains.”

Case Particle [を]

・”Direct Case” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　　(Direct Object/Accusative Case, Point of Passage, Point of Departure, Direction, Passage of Time)
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

The function of the case particle を is very broad, but it basically denotes either a direct object, a point of passage, a point of departure, a direction, or an amount of time and links it to a (the next) receiving verb. This particle hasn’t really changed all that much over time, and (at least this function of を) is identical in modern Japanese. Ex: 敵を撃つ “Strike down the enemy!”

Case Particle [に]

・”Weak Indirect Case” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　　(Location, Time, Destination, Result, Objective, Source of Passive, Receiver of Causative, Source, Reason, Target of Comparison, Subject of Honorific Phrase, Unit in Series, Unit in Addition”)
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

Depending on the verb it links to, に can be used for almost anything. It is often used as a sort of target or goal and acts as a sort of indirect vector for the verb. Its uses for the three verbs なり, す, and あり are very important.

This particle is the “natural/slightly more passive” counterpart of と and is the mother of the word なり (に+あり).

Case Particle [へ]

・”Direction” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

The function of case particle へ is to denote direction. This has not changed in modern Japanese. Ex: 街へ行く.

Case Particle [と]

Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)// for all uses except “Quotation”.
Attaches to //文 (Sentences/Full Phrases)// for “Quotation”.

・”Strong Indirect Case” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　　(“With What?”, Result of an Action, Metaphorical Connection, Target of Comparison, Objective Case of an Action, Strengthening of a Statement)
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

This function of case particle と is basically to set something aside and link it side by side with a verb. This usage hasn’t changed much. “With” is rather obvious and overlaps in meaning with the word “and”. Ex: 猫と遊ぶ, 妾と君が愛し合ふ The result of an action と is an explanation of とs usage in となる. Metaphorical Connection と is basically an explanation for the constructs と見ゆ, と聞こゆ, and とある – it’s similar in meaning to ～のように. Target of Comparison と is basically an explanation of と比ぶ and other such verb linkage. “Objective Case of an Action” denotes the とする construction, but can be used without する, often in the construction とて. The “Strengthening of a Statement” is an explanation for stuff like なんと！.

・”Quotation” [Adverbial]
　　Attaches to //文 (Sentences/Complete Phrases)//

This function of case particle と is to mark off a phrase to link it to a verb like 言ふ. It can be either a direct quotation or indirect quotation (ie. the words quoted can be exact or just convey the same meaning).

This particle is the “volitional/slightly stronger” counterpart of に and is the mother of the word たり (と+あり)

Case Particle [より (ゆ)]

*ゆ is an older form of より.

・”Origin/Source Case” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　　(Point of Origin, Point of Passage, Standard of Comparision, Means, Reason, Limitation (can also act as a [Nominal/Uninflected]), Instantaneous Point of Time)
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

The function of case particle より is basically to set a starting point to something (this pretty much covers all of the above). An example of “Instantaneous Point of Time” is 今より始まる. Limitation is found mostly in the structure ～よりほかに, which means “other than ～” and usually ends in a negative. The “Nominal” usage is for in cases like 花より団子 “rather than flowers, dango”.

Case Particle [から]

・”Origin/Reason Case” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　　(Point of Origin, Point of Passage, Means, Reason)
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

The function of case particle から is basically the same as より, but more limited. Other than a few things, it’s almost identical to its usage in modern Japanese, meaning “from”. Ex: 山から流るる川 “A river that runs from the mountains.”

Case Particle [にて]

・”Environmental/Circumstancial Case” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　　(Place, Means, Reason, Time”
　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)//

The function of case particle にて is basically the same as modern particle で (which is derived from にて). It is basically a particle to establish the environment of a verb. While に is often used to denote place in verbs that deal with places (such as motion verbs) にて is used for “place” in a sense that isn’t directly related to the action of the verb. One way to think of it is that while に is already a secondary or “weak” link to a verb, the て further distances it from the verb (a tertiary link if you will). Ex: 陽の下で眠る猫 “A cat sleeping under the sun.”

Case Particle [して] *Minor*

・”As (a group)” [Adverbial/Inflected]
　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)// of certain words.

This case particle is an abbreviation of をして and its etymology is similar to にて. In modern Japanese its usage is swallowed up by で. The best way to describe this particle’s use is by example. 皆して、二人して、一人して in classical Japanese is equivalent to 皆で、二人で、一人で.

Case Particle [ながら] *Minor*

・”As before”
　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)// of certain temporal words.

This case particle is limited to constructions such as “昔ながら” and is almost identical to “～のそのままで”

・”As (a group)”
　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns/Nominals)// of certain words.

This particle is nearly the same as case particle して. Ex: “三人ながら”

接続助詞 “Conjunctive Particles” [ば、と／とも、ど／ども、が、に、を、て、して、で、つつ、ながら]

Where case particles link words (or nominal phrases) to other nominal phrases or a verb within a verb phrase, conjunctive particles link verb/inflected phrases to other verb/inflected phrases. The name gives it away, but basically, conjunctions.

Conjunctive particles can come in a few of several flavors that mix and match.

Resultative means “because of A, B happened”
Contradictory means “despite A, B happened”
Neutral means “A happened and B happened, without necessarily any connection between A or B”
Contextual means “When A happened, B happened”
Transitional means “A happened, and then B happened (sequentially)”
Parallel means “While A happens, B happens”
Hypothetical means “A might or might not happen”
Definite means “A has happened or will happen”

Conjunctive Particle [ば]

・”If” [Resultative, Hypothetical]
　　Attaches to //未然形// (IMPORTANT)

This function of conjunctive particle ば is synonymous with “if”. Modern Japanese uses ば to mean “if” however, it is important to note that unlike in modern Japanese, this ば attaches only to the 未然形. ならば is なり with the “if” ば attached to it. A good way to remember this is that 未然形 means “hasn’t happened yet”.

・”When” [Resultative/Neutral, Contextual, Definite]
　　Attaches to //已然形// (IMPORTANT)

This function of conjunctive particle ば is synonymous with “when”. Modern Japanese uses ば to mean “when” attached to what it calls 仮定形 which is really the 已然形. You just have to remember that this does not mean “if”. This particle is used primarily to imply causation (Resultative) but also may be used for simple context (Neutral). The general rule is that it implies causation unless it wouldn’t ordinarily make sense to. The “neutral” usage is most often found when attachecked to sensory/perception verbs like 見る and 聞く.

Conjunctive Particle [と・とも]

・”Even If” [Contradictory, Hypothetical]
　　Attaches to //Verbs:終止形, Adjectives:連用形, 「ず」:連用形//

The function of conjunctive particle とも (which may appear without the も as simply と), is to present a hypothetical case, and say that the predicate happens despite this hypothetical case. It comes after the 終止形 because it supposes a full and complete “final” case. It is not 未然形 or 已然形 because while often indefinite, the “hypothetical” case may be true, and then とも is used for emphasis. Ex: わが身は女なりとも敵の手にはかかるまじ “Though it may be the case that I am a woman, I will not fall into the hands of the enemy.”

When と／とも attaches to ず’s 連用形 it does -not- attach to ざり or に forms.

This function is taken over by ても in modern Japanese.

Conjunctive Particle [ど・ども]

・”Even Though” [Contradictory, Definite]
　　Attaches to //已然形//

The function of conjunctive particle ども (which may appear without the も as simply ど), is to present a definite case, and say that the predicate happens despite this definite case. Because we’re asserting that this case is true/has happened, this particle comes after the 已然形. Ex: 男、血の涙を流せども、とどむるよしなし。 “Though the man shed tears of blood, there was no means to keep (her) in this world.” Modern Japanese’s けど and けれど and けれども come out of the connection of ども with an adjective. Ex: 暗けれど色は確かに見ゆ。

This function is taken over by けれども, けれど, and けど in modern Japanese.

Conjunctive Particle [が]

・”But” [Contradictory, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

The function of conjunctive particle が is the same as its usage in modern Japanese, except for the fact that in modern Japanese conjunctive particle が attaches to the 終止形 (ie. そうだが). This conjunctive usage is extended from が’s case particle usage: 連体形 forms a 準体言, what the case particle attaches to, so there’s some overlap. If you want to think of this particle in terms of the case particle, 連体形 in front of が makes the phrase a “subject” to be compared to the predicate. But still be sure to distinguish between both depending on context. Also remember conjunctive particle が does not take nouns. They would have to be wrapped with なり/あり – it’s common to see “ありしが” because since this is a definite conjunction, and the “past” is definite.

・”And” [Neutral, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

As with modern Japanese, conjunctive particle が doesn’t necessary mean “but”, or imply anything between the two phrases. Sometimes it’s just a simple connection. Depends on context.

Conjunctive Particle [に]

・”Despite” [Contradictory, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

This function of conjunctive particle に is identical to modern Japanese のに (それなのに). If you break apart “のに” the の is simply modern Japanese’s version of 連体形 for verbs, so it really is the same.

・”When/And/As” [Neutral, Contextual, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

This function of conjunctive particle に is used in modern Japanese (without the preceding の), just rarely (“見るに”). It is very similar to the conjunctive particle ば that attaches to the 已然形, but unlike ば it’s contextual usage cannot be used to imply causation. Because of this, this usage is generally limited to words like 見る and 聞く.

・”Because” (Reason) [Resultative, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

This function of conjunctive particle に is similar to the construction of “ために” (そのために) in modern Japanese. This function is again similar to ば, but the nuance is that the preceding phrase must provide a reason for the succeeding phrase, rather than simply context.

・”Furthermore/On Top of That” [Neutral]

This function of conjunctive particle に is similar to the conjunctive construction “それに” in modern Japanese. It’s used to list a variety of things that strengthen a certain theme. Ex: 霧も深く露けきに、簾をさへ上げる給へれば御袖も、いたく濡れにけり。 “The mist was thick and the ground was damp with dew, and furthermore when he raised the blinds, his sleeve was very wet.” (From the Tale of Genji)

Like が, に conjunctive functions are derived from its functions as a case particle. “(Failed) objective/target” applies to the first, “time” and “place” apply to the second, “reason” applies to the third, and “addition” applies to the fourth. This is why conjunctive particle に is nearly as varied as its cousin.

Conjunctive Particle [を]

・”Despite” [Contradictory, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

This function of conjunctive particle を is similar to のに (それなのに) in modern Japanese, and is very similar to conjunctive particle に, but it’s emphasis on causation is weaker than its emphasis on the preceding phrase itself.

・”Because” [Resultative, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

This function of conjunctive particle を is similar to ので (そうなので) in modern Japanese, and is also similar to conjunctive particle に’s “Because” usage, but without any constraints on it being a “reason”, and its emphasis on causation is weaker than its emphasis on the preceding phrase itself.

The conjunctive particle を didn’t last very long, because – obviously – it’s confusing. It can mean either despite or because and it is not used for neutral cases. The reason for this confusion is that the main purpose of conjunctive particle を is to add a whole lot of emphasis to the previous phrase and say that it has a connection to the predicate. This is mostly due to the fact that conjuntive particle を is derived from を’s usage as an “exclamatory” final particle, and also due to を as a case particle denoting one of the most important parameters to a verb – that emphasis carries over.

Conjunctive Particle [て] (して,ずて=で)

・Linker [*]
　　Attaches to //連用形+//

The conjunctive particle て can be used for very many things, but at heart, it’s just a simple conjunction linking two phrases together. It can be Resultative, Contradictive, or Neutral. It is most often Transitional, but it may also denote Parallel action, or be used to establish context. Although it is usually Definite, when combined with は in “ては” it can be used to form a conditional (Hypothetical) phrase. “ては” also used to denote repetition “whenever A happens, B happens” usually denoting a back and forth time action like the moon waxing and waning. “ずて” abbreviated as “で” and equivalent to “ないで” in modern Japanese. て is also used to compound verbs together, especially with ラ変 verbs that act similar to auxilliary verbs. “して” comes from the verb す and て and is used as a particle, similar to て, but only attaches to the 連用形 of verbs, adjectives and the auxiliary verb ず. “て” also attaches directly to a number of adverbs (かく、など、さ), and attaches to the case particle に to form case particle にて. “して” doubles as a case particle meaning “with” that overlaps with the functions of modern で. It is technically an abbreviation of をして. (Ex: 皆して手伝ふ, 二人して). Other conjuctive て particle combinations include てから and からして.

て itself is derived from the 連用形 of the auxiliary verb つ, and became a particle as its usage expanded (and it attached to many more things). An extremely large number of grammatical functions in both classical and modern Japanese are derived from つ and て, but I’ll go ahead and stop here.

Conjunctive Particle [つつ]

・Repetitive or Continuous Action [Contextual, Parallel, Definite]
　　Attaches to //Verbs:連用形//

The conjunctive particle つつ denotes an action happening repeatedly over and over again, back and forth, in the background of the succeeding phrase. It is often used to portray parallel action, but the preceding phrase may denote something that has been going on for a long period of time, and the succeeding phrase may denote a shorter action, making it more a matter of context than parallel action, but fundamentally the usage is one and the same.

つつ was most likely derived from the construction ～つ～つ.

Conjunctive Particle [ながら]

・Parallel Action [Parallel, Definite]
　　Attaches to //Verbs:連用形, Adjectives:語幹(root)・連体形//

This function of the conjunctive particle ながら is identical to its use in modern Japanese, and is similar to つつ. As usage of つつ faded out, ながら replaced it. As a general rule, the preceding phrase is of less importance to the rest of the sentence than the succeeding phrase.

・”While Although” [Contradictive, Parallel, Definite]
　　Attaches to //Verbs:連用形, Adjectives:語幹(root)・連体形//

This function of the conjunctive particle ながら is identical to its use in modern Japanese. It is similar to the “but” function of が.

Conjuctive Particle Auxiliary [もの]

This one requires an introduction. もの is a noun. However, its use as a noun is utilized (abused) so as to make conjunctive particles out of case particles and final particles, and the sort of pseudo-particle/word (adverb/noun) ゆえ.

ものを、ものから、ものの、ものゆえ

・”Although” [Contradictory, Definite]
　　Attaches to //連体形//

ものを is taken directly from final particle を (which requires a nominal, so もの is used to nominalize it). This later evolved into the conjunctive particle を, but in earlier times ものを was used only for “Contradictory” not “Resultative” conjunctions. However, after a certain point ものを too was used for both. As a side note, using を with もの as a final particle is where we get ですもの and ですもん in modern Japanese.

ものから is taken directly from case particle から, taken to mean “though starting from this point, the result is unexpected” – which translates into “although”. As time passed, however, it was mistaken for a simple transition (I don’t blame them) taken to mean, “from this point, this happened”, without the “Contradictory” nuance.

ものの is still used in modern Japanese, and I assume it is derived from case particle の’s subject use, taken to mean “though this is the case, something unexpected happened” – which translates into “although”.

ものゆえ is used to link ゆえ (which means circumstances, reason) to a verb, which is taken to mean “though these were the circumstances that were in place before, this something that was unexpected happened” – which translates into “although”. This can be confusing because 故に means “because” – or more literally “due to these circumstances”.

係助詞 ”Bound Particles” [は、も、ぞ／そ、なむ／なん、や、か、こそ]

Bound particles are similar to case particles, which connect a nominal to a verb, but instead modifies a nominals “position” in regards to the rest of the sentence, possibly spanning multiple verb phrases. Bound particles are called “bound particles” because they “bind” to the final verb in their scope and change its fundamental case (meaning one of 未然形、連用形、終止形、連体形、已然形、命令形). Bound particles can appear within a sentence or at the end of a sentence, the latter often denoting an “implied predicate”. The behavior of bound particles are often different depending on whether they are within a sentence or after a sentence, and it is important to note the difference. In some particles, like は, the “binding” doesn’t make a difference (because its binding is 終止形), and in others “binding” gradually fell out of use closer to the modern era.

Bound Particle [は]

・Case Distinction/Emphasis (Topic)
　　In-Sentence:
　　　Attaches to //体言・準体言 (Nouns, Nominals), 格助詞 (に、と、を、にて、して), 接続助詞 (て、して)//
　　　Binds: 終止形 (not-strict)

*は officially binds to the 終止形 but this is not “strict” (ie. if there is any other bound particle in the sentence that would change the ending to something else, that is used instead). This also applies if the verb is put into 連体形 in order to make the sentence “declarative”.

は versus が (Attaching to Nominals):

When は is attached directly to a noun or nominal its function is very similar to が, and because は cannot attach to が, it can be said to be “replacing” が, and there are many cases where は and が are interchangable. It basically lifts the preceding phrase X to mean “in cases involving X”, “as for X”, “in regards to X” (in otherwords making a distinction between X and other related phrases one might assume) – but X doesn’t necessarily have to be the subject of the succeeding verb. A verb phrase can have only one が used to denote subject case, but can have multiple はs (in order to contrast separate cases). が and は can be used in the same verb phrase and when this happens, the phrase before が is contrasted against the phrase before は. は is generally appended to “old or known information” and が is appended to “new or unknown information”. Unlike が, は can be attached to time words like 今.

When は attaches to case particles it basically acts to emphasize the preceding phrase. In classical Japanese, unlike modern Japanese, は does not replace を but attaches to it and often under goes a sound change, becoming をば.

When は attaches to conjunctive particles it often has a dual function of meaning “whenever/in all cases of” it does not -always- carry this role (only when て is used in a time-sensitive conjunctive manner), but it’s something to keep a look out for. Ex: 転んでは起き上がる.

は can attach to the 連用形 as long as the 連用形 is used to nominalize the verb. This is commonly used in the construction V(連用形)+は+す. Ex. 行きはせず this emphasizes the verb as a nominalized action.

・General Emphasis
　　Final:
　　　Attaches/Binds to //体言・準体言 (Nouns, Nominals), Verbs:連体形//

This function is nearly identical to the modern Japanese final particle わ (notice it’s pronounced the same). It does NOT carry a feminine connotation (note that many dialects in modern Japanese also do not carry the feminine connotation).

・Hypothetical
　　In-Sentence:
　　　Attaches to //Adjectives:連用形,「ず」:連用形//
　　　Binds: 終止形 (not-strict)

This function is similar to the conjunctive particle ば when attached to the 未然形 (you may argue that it is also similar to conjunctive particle と). It is attached the same way と・とも is attached to adjectives and ず, but it is -not- similar to とも because it does not imply “Even if” but just “if”.

Before the ざり form of ず came around (for ざらば), the only way to make a ば-like negative hypothetical was ずは or なくは. ずは was eventually sound-changed to ずば (ie. almost identical to mizenkei ば) but remember, ず has no mizenkei.

[hypothesis]This is probably actually a reverse-derived function. The most common construction is なくは, however (as you may know) in early Japanese, なく was not an adjective conjugated to 連用形 but a noun. As なく became ない and なくは continued to be valid, the construction extended to other adjectives as well. [/hypothesis]

In the Nara period, ずは was not hypothetical but more to the effect of AずはB = “do B instead of A”.

When は attaches to ず’s 連用形 it does -not- attach to ざり or に forms.

[hypothesis]All of this leads me to believe that conjunctive particle ば is really just a very early on sound changed ば, and as the “negative” functions didn’t have a lasting 未然形 (or perhaps just because なは／なば didn’t sound right), this negative function first relied on なくは (which is valid because なく was a noun) and then on ずは (perhaps as a 連用形 “nominal”[/hyothesis]