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There is a very important issue when learning Japanese. But a textbook writer hardly writes it in the book explicitly, nor a teacher teaches well in the classroom. You have to choose the speech style properly in accordance with your listeners and the situation. If the level of learners is intermediate or higher, I would present four speech style; Rough, Friendly, Polite, and Honorific. But for beginners, I would tell learners to choose one of two speech style properly. They are casual and polite speech styles.
– Casual speech style: Use this style when talking to your friends. Ends of sentence take the forms of “short ending style” and often a friendly ending particles like “-yo.”, “-ne.”, and “-yone.” are attached at the end of the sentence.
– Polite speech style: Use this style when talking in public space like a school, company, station of the public transportation, and so on. Ends of sentence take the forms of “Desu-Masu style”.
If someone speaks in casual speech style where actually people should use polite speech style, his/her Japanese would sound rude. In worst case scenario, an error on selecting speech style would bring a serious consequence for foreign people. Therefore, a Japanese teacher must teach this speech style issue well, in order to prevent the learner from such a dangerous situation.
Most of Japanese sentences in Minna no Nihongo are written in polite speech style. So, it is safe for people from foreign country to speak to native Japanese speakers with what is written in Minna no Nihongo. Some exceptions are the section 20 which is to learn the short endings for sentences and the casual speech style. And also, the exercise A2 in the section 31 is introducing expressions that is to be used in casual speech style. It’s simple. It’s just to use a volitional form when telling your suggestion to people intimate to you, like friends.
The followings are examples of casual suggestions using Volitional form of verbs;
<Group 2 Verbs>
– Ashita, Roku-ji ni Okiyou. (Let’s get up at 6 tomorrow.)
– Isshoni Hiru-Gohan o Tabeyou. (Let’s have a lunch together.)
<Group 3 Verbs>
– Rainen mo Kono Umi ni Koyou. (Let’s come to this seashore again next year.)
– Kono Kouen o Sampo-shiyou. (Let’s walk this park.)
<Group1 Verbs>
Gr1-W : Uta o Utaou. (Let’s sing a song.)
Gr-K : Eki made Arukou. (Let’s walk to the station.)
Gr1-G : Pu’uru de Oyogou. (Let’s swim in the pool.)
Gr1-S : Nihongo de Hanasou. (Let’s talk in Japanese.)
Gr1-T : Basu o Matou. (Let’s wait for a bus.)
Gr1-B : Kono Kouen de Asobou. (Let’s play in this park.)
Gr1-M : Kono Hon o Yomou. (Let’s read this book.)
Gr1-R : Basutei made Hasirou. (Let’s run to the bus stop.)
So, the above suggestions using volitional form are to be used to your friend, because they are expressions in casual speech style. If the last one (Gr1-R) is changed to be expressions of polite speech style, it would be like follows;
A: Basutei made Hashirimasenka.
B: Hai, Hashirimashou.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section31 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
The section 31 of Minna no Nihongo is to learn expressions of intention. One of such sentences to express your intention, “Volitional form” of a verb is used. The exercise A1 is listing Masu-form and Volitional-form. Also in this post, Volitional forms of verbs are shown for each conjugation patterns below;
VOLITIONAL FORM of VERBS
Dictionary Form / Masu Form — Volitional Form
<Group 2 Verbs>
Okiru / Okimasu (get up) — Okiyou
Oshieru / Oshiemasu (teach/tell) — Oshieyou
Taberu / Tabemasu (eat) — Tabeyou
<Group 3 Verbs>
Kuru / Kimasu (come) — Koyou
Suru / Shimasu (do) — Shiyou
<Group1 Verbs>
Gr1-W : Tsukau / Tsukaimasu (use) — Tsukaou
Gr-K : Aruku / Arukimasu (walk) — Arukou
Gr1-G : Oyogu / Oyogimasu (swim) — Oyogou
Gr1-S : Naosu / Naoshimasu (repair, correct) — Naosou
Gr1-T : Matsu / Machimasu (wait for) — Matou
Gr1-B : Asobu / Asobimasu (play for fun) — Asobou
Gr1-M : Yomu / Yomimasu (read) — Yomou
Gr1-R : Hashiru / Hashirimasu (run) — Hasirou
It will be shown in the exercises A2 and A3 about how these verbs in volitional forms are used in a sentence. Today I just show you the above list, but let me add an explanation about a difficult part. When it comes to verb conjugations, it would be difficult for learners to distinguish between Group2 verbs and Group1-R verbs.
Gr2 : Okiru / Okimasu (get up) — <RIGHT>Okiyou <WRONG>Okirou
Gr1-R : Hashiru / Hashirimasu (run) — <RIGHT>Hasirou <WRONG>Hashiyou
As you see above, the right volitional forms use “-you” for Group2 verbs and “-rou” for Group1-R verbs. The followings are a little bit of exercises
Q: Which is the right Volitional Form?
1. Tsukuru/Tsukurimasu — Tsukuyou OR Tsukurou
2. Neru/Nemasu — Neyou OR Nerou
3. Nemuru/Nemurimasu — Nemuyou OR Nemurou
4. Shiraberu/Shirabemasu — Shirabeyou OR Shiraberou
5. Kaeru/Kaerimasu — Kaeyou OR Kaerou
6. Suwaru/Suwarimasu — Suwayou OR Suwarou
7. Kuraberu/Kurabemasu — Kurabeyou OR Kuraberou
8. Yameru/Yamemasu — Yameyou OR Yamerou
9. Sawaru/Sawarimasu — Sawayou OR Sawarou
10. Hajimeru/Hajimemasu — Hajimeyou OR Hajimerou
The answers will be shown tomorrow (Probably, maybe, perhaps…,). How to solve the above questions are as follows;
<1> Make Nai-form
<2> What is just in front of “-nai”?
<3> If it’s “i” or “e”, the verb is Group2 verb, if it’s “ra”, the verb is Group1-R.
<4> For Gr2, put “-you”. For Gr1-R, put “-rou” to the stem of verb.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section31 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
This is the third one for us to learn “V-te okimasu”. Both A3 and A4 are “V-te okimasu ” to express doing a preparation (A3) and handling a situation (A4). A common nature between A2 and A3 is positively making action for the matter with prediction about near future.
1. Ichigakki ga Hajimaru Mae ni, Kyoukasho o Katte okimasu. —<A3>
(Before the first semester starts, I will buy the textbooks.)
In the sentence 1, prediction about near future is the semester’s start, and action is buying textbooks.
2. Ban-Gohan ga Owatta ra, Chawan ya Osara o Aratte okimasu. —<A4>
(I will wash Rice bowls, dishes and so on when the supper is over.)
In the sentence 2, prediction about near future is that supper ends, and action is washing dishes.
But today’s A5 is not to express positively making action but to express intentionally leaving the matter as is. Since the speaker of A5 sentences still predicts near future, some times it is difficult to make a judgement if the “V-te okimasu” is making action or leaving it as is. For example;
3. Ashita, Uchiawase ga Arimasu kara, Isu o Narabete okimasu.
(Since we’ll a small meeting tomorrow, I am going to arrange the chairs.)
4. Ashita, Uchiawase ga Arimasu kara, Isu wa Soko ni Narabete okimasu.
(Since we’ll a small meeting tomorrow, I am leaving those chairs lining up there.)
where; Uchiawase ; noun(-suru); a small scale meeting
Do you find the difference between 3 and 4? “Isu o” in 3 turns to be “Isu wa Soko ni” in 4.
– “Isu o” means that “Isu” is the object of transitive verb action “Naraberu”. Probably in the sentence 3, the action “Isu o Naraberu” will be done by positive action.
– “Isu wa” means that the object “Isu o” has changed to be the topic, because the particle “wa” is the topic marker. And usually a word with “wa” is common to both speaker and listener. In addition, the word for place “Soko ni” implies that both speaker and listener are looking the chairs there. Therefore, chairs are not going to be lined up from now, but they are already there.
Now it is clear that the sentence 3 expresses positively making action, while the 4 expresses intentionally leaving as is. In order to make easier to distinguish when the sentence expresses intentionally leaving the matter as it is, it is good to use an adverb. It is;
Sonomama(ni); Adverb ; As-is
5. Ashita, Uchiawase ga Arimasu kara, Isu wa Sonomama ni Shite okimasu.
(Since we’ll a small meeting tomorrow, I am leaving the chairs as is now.)
For your exercise, read and practice the following conversations;
A: Kono Heya o Souji Shi mashouka. (Shall I clean this room?)
B: Asita Minna de Souji Shimasu kara, Sonomama ni Shite oite kudasai.
(Since I and my colleagues will clean here tomorrow, please leave it there.)
A: Mado o Shimete, Eakon o Tsuke mashouka. (Shall I close the window and turn on the AC?)
B: Eakon wa* Kowarete imasu kara, Mado wa Sonomama Akete oite kudasai.
(Since the Air-Conditioner broke, Leave the window open. )
* : Usually “ga” is used as subject maker inside a conditional clause in order to clarify what the subject of the condition. However in this conversation, the person A has already mention “Eakon”. Since the “Eakon(Air-Conditionet)” is shared between the two people, “wa” is used even though it is a conditional clause.
A: Ano Soujiki o Shimai mashouka. (Shall I put that vacuum cleaner back?)
B: Watashi ga Kore kara Tsukai masu kara, Sonomama Oite* oite** kudasai.
(Since I am going to use it from now, please leave it there.)
* Oite : This is Te-form of a verb “Oku/Okimasu”, usually written with Kanji “置いて”
** oite : This is Te-form of a helping verb “oku/okimasu”, usually written in Hiragana “おいて”.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 on Section30 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Yesterday’s “[V1-dic] mae ni, [V2t-te] oki masu.” is to express you do something as preparation before V1 happens. Today we are learning another “V-te okimasu” expression wich is “[V1-ta] ra, [V2t-te] oki masu.” This is to say you do something once V1 action occurred. Note the difference of verb conjugation;
– [V1-u] Mae ni, V2-te okimasu.
– [V1-ta] ra, V2-te okimasu.
Ta-form is to describe the completion of action. Therefore Ta-form is often used in the sentence of past tense. But to be precise, it is perfect tense. Ta-form is also used as “future perfect” as you see in today’s sentences. See the example sentences;
1. Ban-Gohan ga Owatta ra, Chawan ya Osara o Aratte okimasu.
(I will wash Rice bowls, dishes and so on when the dinner is over.)
When you say “Chawan to Osara”, only these two kinds of utensils are there. “Chawan ya Osara” can mean there are not only rice bowls and dishes, but also some other like cups, chopsticks, spoons and so on.
2. Dejikame o Tsukatta ra, Juuden shite okimasu.
(I will charge the (battery of) digital camera once I finished using it.)
Though I used the form of “[V-ta] ra”, it can be called as conjunctive particle “-tara,”. “-tara,” is introduced in the section 25, and is very useful for presenting conditions.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section30 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
In the exercises A3, A4, and A5, we are learning a helping verb “oku/okimasu” which is not “okiru/okimasu”, though the Masu-forms are the same “okimasu”. The verb “Oku/Okimasu” describes action to put something onto somewhere, shown as below.
– Te’eburu ni Koppu o Okimashita. ((I) put a glass cup on the table.)
But once this verb has become a helping verb in the form of “[Vt-te] oki masu.”, the original meaning is weakened, instead, it adds some meaning to the verb in Te-form.
Either the original or helping verb, the conjugation patterns of “oku/okimasu”are as follows.
– Dictionary form = oku, Masu-form = oki masu
– Nai-form = okanai
– Te-form = oite, Ta-form = oita
– Potential form = okeru
Since the Nai-form is “o<ka>nai”, this verb’s conjugation pattern is “Group 1 – K”.
We have learned other helping verbs “-iru” and “-aru” recently. So, look at three sentences below. Each of them uses “[V-te] iru”, “[V-te] aru”, and “[V-te] oku” in this order.
1. Kaban ni Denshi-Jisho ga Haitte i masu. (There has been an electric dictionary in the bag.)
2. Kaban ni Denshi-Jisho ga Irete ari masu. (An electric dictionary has been put in a bag.)
3. Kaban ni Denshi-Jisho o Irete oki masu. (I am going to put an electric dictionary in a bag.)
The sentence 1 and 2 express the current situation, but the sentence 3 expresses a will to do in near future. This difference comes from the original meanings, or nature of the verbs.
– “Iru/Imasu” and “Aru/Arimasu” are verbs to describe an existence. They are stative verbs
– “Oku/Okimasu” is a verb to describe action that can be done in short period of time. This is a kind of momentary verb whose present tense is actually future tense and/or a strong will to do it in near future.
Although I don’t want to confuse you readers, other comparisons would be like below;
1. Jisho<ga>, Hairu=intransitive verb, iru=intransitive verb
2. Jisho<ga> Ireru=transitive verb, aru=intransitive verb
3. Jisho<o> Ireru=transitive verb, oku=transitive verb
Do you remember that I wrote recently;
4. Shinkansen no Kippu ga Yoyaku-shite arimasu.
5. Shinkansen no Kippu o Yoyaku-shite arimasu.
The sentence 4 is okay, but 5 should not be written in a textbook. By avoiding 5, the comparison between “[V-te] aru” and “[V-te] oku” could be easier for the learners.
2′. Noun<ga> [Vt-te] + aru=intransitive verb
3′. Noun<o> [Vt-te]+ oku=transitive verb
For the sentence 2′, if you think the noun is related to “aru” which is an intransitive verb, the particle for the noun would be “ga”. As for 3′, thinking the noun is related to “oku” which is a transitive verb, the particle for the noun would be “o”.
Now, look at the sentence for today;
6. Ichigakki ga Hajimaru Mae ni, Kyoukasho o Katte okimasu.
(Before the first semester starts, I will buy the textbooks.)
In A3, we are learning “[V-te] okimasu” which appears in the last phrase of the sentence 6. As for the first phrase “[Subject] ga [V-dic] Mae ni” is also important. We actually have learned this construction at exercise A4 in the section 18. Look at carefully this phrase;
In a sentence of [Dependent Phrase], [Main Phrase].,
[Dependent Phrase],
= [Subject] ga [V-dic] Mae ni,
– “Subject” is not the subject of the entire sentence, but the subject inside the dependent phrase. Usually, the subject of the sentence is the subject of Main Phrase.
– “ga” is the subject marker. Don’t think that the sentence always starts with a word with “wa”. This dependent phrase is a conditional phrase that functions as an adverbial. In order to make such a phrase state the condition clearly about What/Who does What, the phrase need to specify the subject inside the phrase. “ga” is the subject marker when the subject needs to be specified.
– [V-dic] means a verb in dictionary form which ends with “-u”. When a verb modifies a noun, the verb would be one of Dictionary form, Nai-form, Ta-form, or V+nakatta. Since the sentence 6 is talking about a will what the speaker is going to do near future, Dictionary form is the only applicable to the sentence 6.
– “Mae” is a noun unlike “Before” in English is preposition and/or conjunction. Therefore, it usually needs particle (postposition) behind. In the case of the sentence 6, the particle is “ni”.
– “ni” is a particle whose basic function is to indicate the target that action of a verb is heading to. Any words or phrases that are attached “ni” at the end work as adverbial to the verb behind. Therefore, when you hear a word with “ni”, you can anticipate a verb is coming soon. In the case of the sentence 6, the {dependent phrase} works as adverbial phrase to [the main phrase].
6. { Ichigakki ga Hajimaru Mae ni }, [Kyoukasho o Katte okimasu].
Since “Made ni” is used in the exercise B4 which is corresponding to A3, practice and remember the following two sentences;
7. Natsuyasumi, Jikkan ni Kaeru Mae ni, Omiyage o Katte okimasu.
(Before I return to my parents’ house in summer break, I will buy souvenir.)
8. Raishuu no Jugyou Made ni, Kyoukasho no Go-juu Roku Pe’eji kara Roku-juu San Pe’eji o Yonde oite kudasai.
(By the class in next week, read your textbook from page 56 to 63.)
Sentence construction is; [Noun] Made ni, [V-te] + oite*+ kudasai.
* “oite” is the Te-form of “oku/okimasu”
At last of this post, here is an important thing. Both “[V1] Mae ni, [V2-te] okimasu.” and “[Noun] Made ni [V-te] okimasu” are expression to say a preparation will be taken beforehand.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section30 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Did you read the ending of yesterday’s post? For those who think the sentence 9 is okay, today’s title should use “[Topic] wa [Noun] ni [Vt-te] ari masu.”. But let me just use the construction that I put in the title;
[Subject] wa [Noun] ni [Vt-te] ari masu.
because I think this interpretation is easier to understand. And one of yesterday’s sentences was;
4. Kaban ni Denshi-Jisho ga Irete ari masu. (In the bag, an electric dictionary has been put.)
Converting 4 to today’s sentence construction, we will get;
1. Denshi-Jisho wa Kaban ni Irete ari masu. (An electric dictionary has been put in a bag.)
One of major differences between 4 and 1 is the subject markers. 4 uses “ga” and 1 uses “wa” for the subject marker. When it comes to select of “wa” or “ga”, the explanation always would be lengthy. Short explanation for 4 and 1 would be;
At the time of the speaker’s utterance,
[4 uses “ga”] The listener is unaware of an electric dictionary.
[1 uses “wa”] The speaker and the listener are commonly conscious about an electric dictionary.
Other examples of today’s sentence construction are as follows;
2. Tegami wa Tsukue no Hikidashi ni Shimatte arimasu. (The letter was put into the desk drawer and remains there.)
You can see “Shimatte” in the sentence, which is Te-form of “Shimau/Shimaimasu”. We have recently learned a helping verb “-shimau”. But here, “Shimau” is used as the original verb that means putting something in order into somewhere.
3. Shoukaki wa Iriguchi no Chikaku ni Oite arimasu. (The fire distinguisher was put near the entrance, and remains there.)
“Shoukaki(消火器)” is a fire distinguisher. Although we are learning a construction “[Noun] ni [Vt-te] ari masu.”, “Chikaku ni” comes from I-adjective “Chikai (near, close to)”. This “Chikai” is a little different from ordinary I-adjectives. Please check it out by your dictionary.
Considering the difference of yesterday’s and today’s constructions, practice and remember the following conversations.
A1: Reizouko no Naka ni Nani ga Hiyashite arimasuka?
(What is being kept cold in the refrigerator?)
B1: Bi’iru ga Hiyashite arimasu.
(It is beer that is kept cold.)
A2: Ja, Koppu wa Doko ni arimasuka?
(Well, then, where are the cups?)
B2: Koppu wa Te’eburu no Ue ni Narabete arimasu.
(The cups have been lined up on the table.)
At the time of speaking A1 and B2, A is unaware of Beer. Therefore “ga” is used as “Nani ga” and “Bi’iru ga”. I don’t know how you feel, but I like to drink beer from a glass cup rather than directly from the can. When A and B are talking about beer, they also think of cups, probably. At the time of speaking, both persons A and B are commonly conscious about “Koppu”, therefore “wa” is used as “Koppu wa ”.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section30 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
The most of the students had already left the campus for their hometown because the summer break had started at that time.
We have already learned two helping verbs;
1. [V-te]+iru
2. [V-te]+shimau
These “iru” and “shimau” are verbs. When they are combined with other verbs like 1 and 2, they slightly lose their original meanings, instead, they add some meanings to the verbs in Te-form. These “-iru” and “-shimau” are works like “auxiliary verbs”, but Japanese has the other word group that should be called “auxiliary verbs” in terms of grammar. Therefore, my posts call this kind of verbs “helping verbs”.
We are going to learn two helping verbs in the section 30. They are “-aru/arimasu” and “oku/okimasu”. The exercises A1 and A2 are for learning “-aru/arimasu”, and A3 to A5 are for “oku/okimasu”. The original meanings of these two are shown below;
“Aru/Arimasu”: Intransitive verb; A thing, an object without life, and a plant exist.
“Oku/Okimasu”: Transitive verb; put something onto somewhere
When these verbs become the helping verbs, these original meanings get weakened while they add some nuance to the verb in front of them.
We are learning one of usages of helping verb “aru/arimasu” in A1. At first, let’s check the conjugation patterns of it.
– Dictionary form = aru, Masu-form = ari masu
– Nai-form = nai*
– Te-form = atte, Ta-form = atta
Though the verb “aru” is a Group1-R verb, Nai-form “aranai” is hardly used in modern Japanese. Saying “Aranai desu.” will be considered incorrect. It is interesting that the negative form of verb “aru” is an I-adjective “nai”. A bit of digression, but “Arimasen” sounds better than “Naidesu.” when saying something doesn’t exist.
Let us look at today’s sentences;
3. Kokuban ni Ji ga Kaite ari masu. (Some characters have been written on the blackboard.)
Looking at this sentence 3, think about the followings
– “ga” is the subject marker.
– “Kaite” is the Te-form of the transitive verb “Kaku/Kakimasu”.
– “arimasu” is a helping verb here, which is an intransitive verb.
Since the verb “Kaku” is a transitive verb, usually it should be “Ji o Kaku”, but as you see, it’s “Ji ga”. So, it would be better to think that the subject is “Ji (ga)” whose predicate is “arimasu”. This could result in the sentence 3’ which is shorter than 3.
3’ Kokuban ni Ji ga Arimasu.”
Then, what is the difference between 3′ and 3? 3’ is simply telling current situation. On the other, 3 is telling is that someone wrote characters on the black board at some time in the past, and the characters still remain on the board even now.
4. Kaban ni Denshi-Jisho ga Irete ari masu. (An electric dictionary has been put in a bag.)
This sentence says that someone put the electric dictionary into bag at some time in the past, and the result of putting the dictionary into bag remains until now. Probably the person who put it in the bag is “Watashi (I)”. Then don’t you think that we have learned a similar sentence recently? That was at A1 and A2 in the section 29 with the construction of “[Vi-te] iru/imasu”. Look at the sentence 5 that uses “[Vi-te] iru” below;
5. Kaban ni Denshi-Jisho ga Haitte i masu. (There has been an electric dictionary in the bag.)
This sentence says that an electric dictionary itself got into a bag at some time in the past, and the result of getting into bag remains until now. Therefore, the sentence 4 and 5 have almost the same meaning. But you need to be careful about the difference between the two.
– 4 : [Vt-te] arimasu: Irete+arimasu
– 5 : [Vi-te] imasu: Haitte+imasu
Note that “Hairu” and “Ireru” are “a pair of intransitive and transitive verb”.
6. Genkan ni Surippa’a ga Narabete arimasu. (Slippers have been lined up at the entrance.)
This sentence says that someone put slippers neatly on the floor of entrance at some time in the past, and the result of putting slippers remains until now. “Narabete” is the Te-form of the transitive verb “Naraberu/Narabemasu”. The intransitive verb that can be the pair of this is “Narabu/Narabimasu”. Since Nai-form of Narabu is Nara<ba>nai, its conjugation pattern is Group1-B. Do you remember “Bi/Mi/Ni=>nde”? The Te-form of Narabu is “Narande”. Let us make a sentence using “[Vi-te]+imasu”.
7. Genkan ni Surippa’a ga Narande imasu. (There have been slippers lining up at the entrance.)
Since it is not clear where today’s sentences are in the above, for sake of review, they are as below;
3. Kokuban ni Ji ga Kaite ari masu. (Some characters have been written on the blackboard.)
4. Kaban ni Denshi-Jisho ga Irete ari masu. (An electric dictionary has been put in a bag.)
6. Genkan ni Surippa’a ga Narabete arimasu. (Slippers have been lined up at the entrance.)
The sentence construction of these is;
[Noun] ni [Subject] ga [Vt-te]+arimasu.
I think that today’s post can end here, but let me continue, although the following explanation may be a confusing one.
Using today’s sentence construction, making the sentence below is okay;
8. Shinkansen no Kippu ga Yoyaku-shite arimasu. (A ticket of high-speed train has been reserved.)
The verb “Yoyaku-suru” is a transitive verb, and today’s construction is “— [Subject] ga [Vt-te]+arimasu.” But look at the next one. Is the sentence okay?
9. Shinkansen no Kippu o Yoyaku-shite arimasu. (I have already got a high-speed train ticket reserved.)
Probably, it’s okay to say like 9 in the real situation. Sometimes a native Japanese speaker does say so. This is simply because “Yoyaku-suru” is a transitive verb. In the sentence 9, Kippu is not the subject of intransitive verb “arimasu”, but the object of transitive verb “Yoyaku-suru”. I would like to say I don’ think this sentence is okay to be written in the textbook, even if a native speaker says like the sentence 9. I may be wrong, because there is a school of thought who thinks the best way to learn a foreign language is to inundate a learner into the huge magnitude of flood of foreign language with a lot of words, expressions, and their variations. I think I am at opposite end as to teaching a foreign language. I try to facilitate learners understanding by restricting vocabulary and patterns of sentence constructions.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section30 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Yesterday we learned a helping verb “-shimau”. With a Te-form of a verb, “V-te shimau” can express the following two;
(1) A thing to do has already been done. (in the case of past-tense “shimaimashita”)
Example: Happyou no Suraido wa Mou Tsukutte shimai mashita.
(I have already made slides for presentation.)
(2) Though I didn’t expect, I made an error. (with past-tense “shimaimashita”)
Example: Densha ni Kasa o Wasurete Shimai mashita.
(I left my umbrella in a train.)
Today we are learning the usage (2). Please refer to yesterday’s post about the usage (1) and other basic things about “V-te shimau”.
The usage of (2) is used when you have made an error. It is like you didn’t have any intention to do such mishap, which is usually difficult to recover. Look at some examples below;
1. Heya no Kagi o Nakushite shimai mashita. (I lost my room key.)
The verb “Nakusu/Naku[shi]masu” is a Gr1-S verb. In order to get Te-form, using {shi=>shite} for Gr1-S verbs, you get “Nakushite”. Note that “Nakusu/Nakushimasu” is a transitive verb. Therefore, the object of action “lose” is described with the particle “-o”(Kagi o Nakusu).
2. Jugyou ni Okurete shimai mashita. (I couldn’t get to the class in time.)
The verb “Okureru/Okuremasu” is a Gr2 verb. It’s easy to get Te-form “Okurete” by taking place of “masu” with “te”. Note that “Okureru/Okuremasu” is an intransitive verb. Therefore, you cannot say “(WRONG) Jugyou o Okureru”. The particle “ni” is used to describe what is target of an action’s effect.
3. Sumaho ga Kowarete shimai mashita.
Since the particle “ga” is the subject marker, “Sumaho” is the subject. “Kowarete” is the Te-form of “Kowareru/Kowaremasu”. Do you know “Kowareru” is an intransitive verb or a transitive verb? Look at the comparison between intransitive and transitive verbs below;
– Sumaho ga Kowarete shimai mashita. (My smartphone has broken.)
– Sumaho o Kowashite shimai mashita. (I have broken my smartphone.)
“Kowareru” is an intransitive verb, and “Kowasu” is a transitive verb. Be careful about the difference of the particles between “ga” and “o”.
“V-te shimau” of today’s usage is to express that an unintentional error has been made. But with a caution about particles, let us look at the following conversations;
Teacher : Doushite Jugyou ni Okuremashitaka. (Why are you late for the class?)
Student1 : Densha ga Okurete shimatta ndesu. (Because ?????)
Student2 : Densha ni Okurete shimatta ndesu. (Because ?????)
Can you tell which student will be scolded by teacher?
Before wrap up toady’s post, let’s review two usages of “V-te shimau” again.
(1) A thing to do has already been done.
Example: Happyou no Suraido wa Mou Tsukutte shimai mashita.
(I have already made slides for presentation.)
(2) Though I didn’t expect, I made an error.
Example: Densha ni Kasa o Wasurete Shimai mashita.
(I left my umbrella in a train.)
Don’t you feel funny because usually (1) expresses a positive thing, but (2) a negative thing? The identical “V-te shimau” sentence construction means two opposite things. Sometimes an independent one sentence is not enough to know the meaning. You need to know the context in which the “V-te shimau” sentence is being used.
4. Furui Hon o Sutete shimai mashita. (I have thrown old books.)
Is this sentence 4 means (1) or (2)? — It’s not clear.
4-1. Furui Hon o Sutete shimai mashita. Heya ga Hiroku Nari mashita.
(I have thrown old books. I have got more space in my room.)
4-2. Kichouna Hon deshitaga, Machiatte Furui Hon o Sutete shimai mashita.
(I mistakenly have thrown old books that were valuable.)
Now you know 4-1 is (1), 4-2 is (2).
Likewise, sometimes an identical sentence construction has two usages. You can’t tell the exact meaning without context. Now we know the potential expressions. (We learned the long one in the section 18 and short one in 27. Let me use the long one.)
5. Oyogu koto ga Dekimasu. (I can swim.)
5-1 Watashi wa Sen-me’etoru Oyogu koto ga Dekimasu. (I can swim 1000 meters.)
5-2 Kono Pu’uru wa Yoru Juu-ji made Oyogu koto ga Dekimasu. (We can swim until 10 p.m. in this pool.)
5-1 describes a person’s ability, and 5-2 describes that a situation allows you to do. This kind of “the same construction has two meanings” will appear again in the section 48 about Causative expressions. It is important for Japanese learners to understand meaning of a sentence not only based on the construction, but also deriving from the context.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section29 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
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