Suru

Suru is a Japanese verb meaning “to do” or “to perform.” It is highly productive in Japanese, because it can turn many nouns and na-adjectives into verbs by attaching the verb する. For example, 勉強する means “to study” (from 勉強), 運動する means “to exercise” (from 運動), and 予約する means “to reserve” (from 予約). It also appears in phrases like 清潔にする, meaning “to make clean.”

Suru belongs to the class of sahen or suru-verbs (サ変動詞) and conjugates irregularly. The dictionary form is する; polite form is します; past tense is した; past polite is しました; te-form is して; negative is しない. The verb uses the stem し- for many conjugations, and the te-form して is commonly used to connect clauses.

In usage, suru is used not only to describe completing actions, but also to form expressions like 〜にする (to decide on something or to make it so), and 〜すること (to do something, nominalizing the action). When attached to a na-adjective, the construction is typically na-adjective + にする to change the state (though many common phrases use straightforward suru forms).

Etymology and status: する is a bound verb that originated as a classical Japanese form and is derived from a Sino-Japanese concept of “to do.” It is one of the most common and versatile verbs in Japanese, essential for forming a wide range of verb phrases from nouns and adjectives.