ます

Etymology 1
' → ' → ' → '

The -ます ending is generally believed to have come from the Old Japanese auxiliary verb, with idiomatic use arising from the causative conjugation of.

The intermediate forms and  were valid as both  conjugations and  conjugations, even though they originally came from a purely  conjugation, leading to constructions off the  in the modern paradigm for -ます using the -まし stem.

Pronunciation

 * In Tokyo speech, the accent falls somewhere in the suffix, regardless of the accent type of the suffixed verb:
 * If the suffix is in the form or, the accent of the verb construction falls on the first mora of the suffix.
 * If the suffix is in the form or, the accent of the verb construction falls on the second mora of the suffix.
 * There are a few exceptions like : →.

Suffix

 * 1)  to do;
 * 1)  to do;

Usage notes

 * Attaches to the of a verb and inflects partially like godan verbs.
 * The imperative forms are only used with honorific verbs, e.g., ,.
 * The perfective has an irregular negative form ; the hypothetical conditional is rare. The old dictionary form is still sometimes used.
 * Attaches last: e.g. polite passive is, not.
 * This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as in traditional Japanese grammar.

Conjugation
Classical forms:

Alternative form (to do):

Etymology 2
The kana spelling of several native words.