If the verb ends in -る and the sound that precedes it is either い or え, then those are the ones that you have to memorize as they could either be a ichidan or godan verb.
EDIT: Forgot that I could just add it to the usage note. Been so long hahah
are する and くる godan verbs? the vowel sound preceding る is う. Or did I misinterpret something? Call me dumb but I'm just confused since it was written under ichidan.
する and くる are best thought of as CRAZY verbs. Or, put another way, する is its own verb type, and くる is its own verb type. They follow their own rules, and should not be grouped with anything else when it comes to usage rules.
Maybe it's just my imagination... but I realized, that verbs where the kanji is followed by two (or more) kana are ichidan.
ex.: 伸びる(の.びる) 変える(か.える) 見せる(み.せる) 止める(と.める) 食べる(た.べる) 答える(こた.える) 忘れる(わす.れる) 生まれる(う.まれる)
The potential forms of verbs, which has an e-stem, also has an ichidan conjugation: 読む(よ.む godan)--->読める(よ.める potential, ichidan)
If the kanji of a 3(or more?)-syllable verb is followed by only る it is usually godan.
ex.: 帰る(かえ.る) 参る(まい.る) 辷る(すべ.る)
With this only 2-syllable verbs are still troublesome.
Unfortunately that doesn't always work. for example, with the transitive verbs that you listed, there is always an intransitive pair that goes with it that also has 2 送り仮名 and those verbs are not 1段: so in the order you gave, 伸ばす、変わる、止まる all are 5段 verbs
Ah... I understand what you mean, but the verbs you listed are [i]obviously[/i] 5段.
I didn't think, I had to point it out since it was clearly explained in the grammar section. Only verbs that end on ~る with a preceding i-sound or e-sound syllable could technically be 1段. I was referring to only this group of verbs where it is actually difficult to tell 1段 verbs apart from 5段 verbs.
I hope I have expressed myself more clearly now.(^_^; Do you still see a problem there?
Maybe it's just my imagination... but I realized, that verbs where the kanji is followed by two (or more) kana are ichidan.
ex.: 伸びる(の.びる) 変える(か.える) 見せる(み.せる) 止める(と.める) 食べる(た.べる) 答える(こた.える) 忘れる(わす.れる) 生まれる(う.まれる)
The potential forms of verbs, which has an e-stem, also has an ichidan conjugation: 読む(よ.む godan)--->読める(よ.める potential, ichidan)
If the kanji of a 3(or more?)-syllable verb is followed by only る it is usually godan.
ex.: 帰る(かえ.る) 参る(まい.る) 辷る(すべ.る)
With this only 2-syllable verbs are still troublesome.
A few posts up mysticfive pointed out the same thing, and I already clarified my thoughts on that. So here I go again...
We all know by now that (kuru and suru aside) all ru-verbs with a-, o- and u-stems are godan verbs. I wished to apply my observation only to the verbs with i- or e-stems, where it is sometimes unclear whether or not they are godan or ichdan.