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At first, the followings are quick review about use of intransitive verbs “Arimasu” or “Imasu” when you describing an existence of non-animal or animal/human subjects.
1. Non-animal : [Place] ni [Non-Animal Subject]ga Arimasu.
2. Animals and Human : [Place] ni [Animals/Human Subject]ga Imasu.
Today’s constructions that can describe existence are as below;
3. For Non-animal : [Noun] no [Position] ni [Non-Animal Subject]ga Arimasu.
example : Kombini no Tonari ni Ginkou ga Arimasu. (A convenience store is next to a Bank.)
4. For Animals and Human : [Noun] no [Position] ni [Animals/Human Subject]ga Imasu.
example : Satou-san no Mae ni Suzuki-san ga Imasu. (Sato-san is in front of Suzuki-san.)
You could see that what is [Place] in 1 and 2 turned to be {[Noun] no [Position]} in 3 and 4. In order to learn the expressions 3 and 4, it is necessary to know some nouns that are used for describing positions. Take a look at illustrations. They are not prepositions but nouns that describe positions.
That’s all for today.
This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section 10 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”
We learned yesterday sentences describing existence of “Non-Animal”. Today, we are going to learn sentences describing existence of “Animals/Human”. Sentences of these two types are both verb predicates sentences, but the verbs are different;
– For Non-animal : [Place] ni [Non-Animal Subject]ga Arimasu.
– For Aninals : [Place] ni [Animals/Human Subject]ga Imasu.
It is difficult for a Japanese learner to use properly Arimasu or Imasu in conjunction with the subject. An error that happens frequently is to use Arimasu for a person. If someone is somewhere, use “Imasu”.
Practice and remember the following conversation;
A : Asoko ni Dare ga Imasuka. (Who is over there?)
B : Asoko ni Satou-san ga Imasu. (Sato-san is over there.)
Quiz : Choose Arimasu or Imasu in the following sentence.
Asoko ni Takushii ga { Arimasu or Imasu }
where; takushii is taxi
The answer will be shown tomorrow.
This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section 10 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”
Today we are going to learn sentences that describe existence of a non-animal subject using the intransitive verb “Arimasu”. If a subject is a human kind or an animal, Not “Arimasu” but “Imasu” is used for the predicate verb. “Imasu” will be explained tomorrow.
And the following is a review about Ko-so-a words for places/locations;
– koko : here, this place
– soko : (1) When the speaker and the listener are close and sharing a limited place, “soko” is a place a little distant from the two. The distance for soko is longer than koko, but shorter than asoko. (2) When there is a distance between the speaker and the listener, and the speaker calls the place of the listener “soko”, the speaker would say “koko”.
– asoko : the place over there
We have already learned sentences using koko, soko, and asoko.
1. [Ko-so-a word for place] wa [Name of a Place] desu.
The sentence 1 is a noun predicate sentence whose subject is koko/soko/asoko and predicate is name of a place.
2. [Name of a Place] wa [Ko-so-a word for place] desu.
The sentence 2 is a noun predicate sentence whose subject is name of a place and predicate is koko/soko/asoko.
Today’s sentence for existence is not a noun predicate sentence, but a verb predicate sentence.
3. [Ko-so-a word for place] ni [Non-Animal Noun] ga Arimasu.
The sentence 3 is a verb predicate sentences because it ends with “- masu.” And there are two particles;
– ni : marker for place of existence
– ga : marker for subject
Practice and remember the following conversation;
A : Asoko ni Nani ga Arimasuka. (What is over there?)
B : Asoko ni Kombini ga Arimasu. (There is a convenience store over there.)
This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section 10 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”
Before starting learning the issue written on the title, let us first look at answers for yesterday’s quiz.
Choose “ga” or “o”. And answer the type of verb.
1. Watashi wa Okane { ga } arimasu. (I have money.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive }
2. Watashi wa Okane { o } moraimasu. (I get money.)
Type of verb? — { Transitive }
3. Watashi wa Ie { o } demasu. (I get out of my house.)
Type of verb? — { Mobile intransitive }
4. Watashi wa Imouto { ga } imasu. (I have a younger sister.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive }
5. Watashi wa Imouto ni Purezento { o } agemasu. (I give a present to my younger sister.)
Type of verb? — { Transitive }
6. Watashi wa Yuugohan { o } tabemasu. (I eat supper.)
Type of verb? — { Transitive }
Wa-ga construction can not always applicable. Know when you can use it or when you cannot use it.
Today, we are going to learn one of “Conjunctive Particles”. Note two things below;
– By learning Conjunctive Particles, you will be able to deal with sentences that has two combinations of subject and predicate.
– It is a very much characteristic sentence structure in Japanese to connect two pairs of subject and predicate by a conjunctive particle.
As for the second point, there are “Conjunctives” also in Japanese. Look at the difference between conjunctive and conjunctive particle.
[Sentence1]. [Conjunctive], [Sentence2].
[Clause1]+conjunctive particle, [Clause2].
Today’s conjunctive particle is “-kara” which is used for telling a cause and/or reason.
[Clause1]+kara, [Clause2].
= [Subject1 + Predicate1]+kara, [Subject2 + Predicate2].
= [Cause/Reason]+kara, [Conclusion/Result].
example; Ame ga furimashitakara, Watashi wa Dekakemasendeshita. (Because it rained, I didn’t go outside.)
Sometimes a subject is untold if it is clear between the speaker and the listener. This happens clause1 or clause2 or both. The following example doesn’t tell subjects for either clause1 and clause2 (Temperature and I).
example; Samuidesukara, Ie ni imasu. (Because it is cold, I am going to stay at home.)
Practice and remember the following conversation;
A : Satou-san wa Doushite Eiga o Mimasenka. (Sato-san, why you don’t watch a movie?)
B : Watashi wa Isogashii desukara, Eiga o Mimasen. (Because I am busy, I don’t watch a movie.)
B’s clause1 has “I-adjective predicate”, which is “Isogashii desu”. The clause1 can also have “Verb predicate” like below;
B : Watashi wa Shigoto ga Arimasukara, Eiga o Mimasen. (Because I have a work to do, I don’t watch a movie.)
This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 on Section 9 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”
This series have explained “Wa-ga construction” for several days, because the Japanese textbook “Minna no Nihongo” is dealing with “Wa-ga construction” in Chapter 9. And it is not only an introduction of “Wa-ga construction”, also an introduction of particle “ga”. If you were introduced particle “ga” through “Wa-ga construction”, you might think that the particles “wa” and “ga” could coexist in a sentence. Yes, they can be in a sentence together if the sentence is Wa-ga construction, but most of the time you have to choose one of the two (wa or ga) for subject in a sentence.
1. Watashi wa Nihonjin desu. (I am Japanese.)
2. Watashi ga Nihonjin desu. (I am the person who is Japanese.)
In the both sentence 1 and 2, the subject is “Watashi”. But the subject marker in 1 is “wa”, while the subject marker in 2 is “ga”. How do you properly choose “wa” or “ga” for a subject? The exact explanation would be lengthy. For the simplicity, let me say as below.
– When the predicate is the important information, use “wa” for subject marker.
– When the subject itself is the important information, use “ga” for subject marker.
Anyway, sticking to “Wa-ga construction” would cause a huge damage on your sense about Japanese. The followings are quiz about Wa-ga construction sentences that use verbs for predicate and Verb predicate sentences. Choose “ga” or “o”. And answer the type of verb.
1. Watashi wa Okane { ga or o } arimasu. (I have money.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive or Mobile intransitive or Transitive }
2. Watashi wa Okane { ga or o } moraimasu. (I get money.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive or Mobile intransitive or Transitive }
3. Watashi wa Ie { ga or o } demasu. (I get out of my house.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive or Mobile intransitive or Transitive }
4. Watashi wa Imouto { ga or o } imasu. (I have a younger sister.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive or Mobile intransitive or Transitive }
5. Watashi wa Imouto ni Purezento { ga or o } agemasu. (I give a present to my younger sister.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive or Mobile intransitive or Transitive }
6. Watashi wa Yuugohan { ga or o } tabemasu. (I eat supper.)
Type of verb? — { Intransitive or Mobile intransitive or Transitive }
Answers will be shown tomorrow.
Because I have spent my time to change strings of my mandolin. This was my first time to change eight strings of the small musical instrument. It it took two hours.
We are learning today yet another “Wa-ga construction” sentences that use an intransitive verb for the predicates.
1. Watashi wa Okane ga Arimasu. (I have money.)
Although the verb “have” in English is a transitive verb, the verb “Arimasu” in Japanese is an intransitive verb. If a verb is transitive verb, particle “o” is used to mark an object on which the action of the transitive verb exerts. But in this particular case, you want to identify what is existing (Arimasu). And the verb “Arimasu” is completely an intransitive verb. It is fact that, in some of “Wa-ga construction” sentences, “ga” seems to be an object marker as was explained yesterday.
2. [Subject] wa [Object] ga [Verb predicate]
example; Watashi wa Nihongo ga Wakarimasu.
However, some of “Wa-ga construction” sentences seem to be as follows;
3. [Broader topic] wa [Subject] ga [Predicate].
≒ As for [Broader topic], its [Subject] is [Predicate]
example: Nihon wa Sakana ga Oishii desu. (In Japan, fishes are tasty.)
Wa-ga construction of this type “3.” will be explained in the section 16 (Now section 9). It is difficult to say the Wa-ga construction using “Arimasu” is a type “2.” or “3.”. Probably it has both traits.
Wa-ga construction using “Arimasu” can express the possession of concrete objects like “1.”, and also it can express the existence of an event or other such thing as below;
4. Watashi wa Shigoto ga Arimasu. (I have a work.)
Practice and remember the following conversation;
A : Nichiyoubi, Satou-san wa Nani ga Arimasuka. (Sato-san, what do you have on Sunday?)
B : Nichiyoubi, Watashi wa Tesuto ga Arimasu. (I have a test on Sunday.)
<この投稿は“スリーエーネットワーク、みんなの日本語 初級I 第2版, 第9課A4”の内容を参照しています。>
We have already learned two “Wa-ga construction” sentences. Their predicates are Na-adjectives “Sukina” and “Jouzuna”. Today we are going to learn a “Wa-ga construction” in which a verb is used for predicate.
1. Watashi wa Nihongo ga Wakarimasu. (I understand Japanese.)
The sentence 1 is of Wa-ga construction. Usually “Wa-ga construction” is explained as follows;
[Topic] wa [Subject] ga [Predicate].
However, the sentence 1 seems to be;
[Subject] wa [Object] ga [Verb predicate]
Compare the following sentence with the sentence 1 above;
2. Watashi wa Nihongo o Benkyoushimasu. (I study Japanese.)
The verbs “understand” and “study” in English are in most cases transitive verbs. So, can you say two verbs “Wakarimasu” and “Benkyoushimasu” are both transitive verbs, and “ga” is also object marker as “o”?
The verb “Wakarimasu” is not a transitive verb but an intransitive verb. “Wakarimasu” doesn’t use particle “o” but uses “ga” for the object. Probably it is not enough to say “Wakarimasu is an intransitive verb” for the reason why Wakarimasu uses “ga” for its object. The explanation would not be easy. I just recommend you to remember the example sentence like 1, and to be able to use the expression “[Something] ga Wakarimasu”. But if I say something about “ga Wakarimasu”, it would be that the verb “Wakarimasu” contains the meaning of “possible”. As to the meaning of Wakarimasu, it is usually said to be like “understand” in English, but think it can also be like “can tell”. If you want to say you can do something, you will put emphasis on what you can do. In Japanese, if you want to identify an object, in the cases below, “ga” is used for that object.
– you want (～ga hoshiidesu.)
– you like (～ga sukidesu.)
– you are good at(～ga jouzudesu.)
– you understand(～ga wakarimasu.) — Today’s expression
– you have(～ga arimasu.)
– you can(～ga dekimasu.)
Wakarimasu, arimasu, and dekimasu are verbs. But they are in some extent stative. If the verb is actionable, and the verb is a transitive verb or is a mobile intransitive verb, do not forget the following basics;
[Subject] ga [object] o [Verb] masu.
And know that “Wa-ga construction” is not versatile any time.
Practice and remember “Wa-ga construction” sentences through the following conversations.
A : Satou-san wa Eigo ga Wakarimasuka. (Do you understand English?)
B : Hai, Watashi wa Eigo ga Wakarimasu. (Yes, I understand English.)
<この投稿は“スリーエーネットワーク、みんなの日本語 初級I 第2版, 第9課A3”の内容を参照しています。>
This time is also about “Wa-ga construction”. We learned one of “Wa-ga construction” sentences that uses Na-adjective “Sukina” as the following.
1. Watashi wa Ryokou ga Sukidesu. (I like traveling.)
Today’s “Wa-ga construction” sentence uses also Na-adjective which is “Jouzuna”. Jouzuna means “be good at”. Note that adjectives are word that express state and/or nature.
Some of Japanese learners like “Wa-ga construction” very much because its structure shapes the meaning. Structural thing is also important in Japanese, but the functions of particles are also important. Thanks to the functions of particle, Japanese sentences have freedom for the order of words in some extent. If you stick to “Wa-ga construction” too much, you would not be able to learn the functions that each particle has. The very basic of Japanese is that particle “ga” is for subject, “o” for object. “Wa-ga construction” is out of this basic. Since damage caused by sticking to “Wa-ga construction” is severe, I will continue to explain this problem.
Today we are learning a Na-adjective “Jouzuna” which means “be good at”. Practice and remember the following conversations. Note that neither A or B are Sato-san.
A : Satou-san wa Nani ga Jouzudesuka. (What is Sato-san good at doing?)
B : Satou-san wa Ryouli ga Jouzudesu. (She is good at cooking.)
<この投稿は“スリーエーネットワーク、みんなの日本語 初級I 第2版, 第9課A2”の内容を参照しています。>
Agony or Fun?! Second Language Learning 