Yesterday’s quizzes was as follows;
Think about how the particle “o” and “ni” fit in the following sentences.
Q1 : Watashi wa Gakusei<ni> Nihongo<o> Oshiemasu.
(I teach Japanese to my students.)
Q2 : Watashi wa Tomodachi<ni> Messeeji<o> Okurimasu.
(I send a message to my friends.)
Q3 : Watashi wa Denwa<o> Sensei<ni> Kakemasu.
(I make a phone call to my teacher.)
“[Person] ni [Thing] o [Verb] masu.”— this is applicable to Q1 and Q2. But for Q3, how do we use two particles “o” and “ni”?
“Denwa” in Q3 means a phone call that is not a person.
“Sensei” means a teacher who can be thought as a person.
So, in the case of Q3, functions of particles are prioritized rather than the order of words.
Particle “o” has the function to indicate an object on which action of a transitive verb exerts directly.
Particle “ni” has a function to indicate a direction to the reaching point where action a verb is heading to.
Although word order “[Person] ni [Thing] o [Verb] masu.” is often used, sometimes the order changes to be “[Thing] o [Person] ni [Verb] masu.”. So, look at the followings about Q3;
Wrong: Watashi wa Denwa<ni> Sensei<o> Kakemasu.
Right: Watashi wa Denwa<o> Sensei<ni> Kakemasu.
Now we are learning verbs that use two particles “o” and “ni”. “Giving/receiving verbs” are also verbs of this type. Look at the following two sentences 1 and 2, then think about relation between these two sentences.
1. Watashi wa Satou-san ni Choko o Moraimashita. (I received a chocolate from Ms. Sato.)
2. Satou-san wa Watashi ni Choko o Kuremashita. (Ms. Sato gave me a chocolate.)
(Be careful about difference between Agemasu and Kuremasu. Both can be “give” in English, but they need to be used properly according to the subject. I will explain this matter another time (not today).)
Although the subjects and verbs are different, sentences 1 and 2 have almost the same meaning in respect that a chocolate moved from Ms. Sato to “Watashi”. Likewise, some “giving/receiving verbs” have a verb that counteracts as below;
3. Watashi wa Kurasumeeto ni Nohto o Kashimasu.
(I lend my notebook to a friend.)
4. Kurasumeeto wa Watashi kara Nohto o Karimasu.
(A classmate borrows the notebook from me)
5. Watashi wa Gakusei ni Nihongo o Oshiemasu.
(I teach Japanese to my students.)
6. Gakusei wa Watashi kara Nihongo o Naraimasu.
(My students learn Japanese from me.)
7. Watashi wa Tomodachi ni Messeeji o Okurimasu.
(I send a message to my friends.)
8. Tomodachi wa Watashi kara Messeeji o Uketorimasu.
(My friend receives a message from me.)
There are large numbers of verbs. Some have a counterpart like the above, but some not. Build up your vocabulary about verbs.
Agony or Fun?! Second Language Learning 