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Japanese Learning (A2 S45) (2): Conjunctive Particle “-noni,” to Express an Unexpected Thing and/or Disappointment; [I-adj / Na-adj / Noun+na ]+noni, [Main Clause].

Last time, we have learned how to use the conjunctive particle “-noni,” when it is used with subordinate clause whose predicate is a verb in Ta-form or Dictionary form. “-noni,” is used for contrast connections between a subordinate clause and a main clause. And “-noni,” is not just a functional word as a conjunctive particle, by using it, the sentence will have a modality to express that unexpected thing, complaint, and/or disappointment.

In this post, we are going to learn also how to use the conjunctive particle “-noni,”. But this time, the predicates of a subordinate clause is an I-adjective, a Na-adjective, or a Noun. The followings show how to connect these predicates to “-noni,”

(1) — [Stem of I-adj]+ i + noni, [Main Clause].

(2) — [Stem of Na-adj] + na + noni, [Main Clause].

(3) — [Noun] + na + noni, [Main Clause].

Let’s take a look at example sentences of (1) to (3).

1. Kono Supo’otsu Kurabu wa Kaihi ga Takai noni, Eigyou-Jikan ga Mijikai desu.

(Even though this sport club charges high, opening hours are short.)

“Takai” is an I-adjective, therefore it connects to “-noni,” like “Takai noni,”. This sentence, of course, mentions a complaint about short opening hours despite of high fee.

2. Kono Eiga wa Omoshirokunai noni, San-jikan mo Tsudzuki masu.

(Even though this movie isn’t so interesting, it takes three hours.)

The word for nigation “-nai” takes the same conjugation pattern as I-adjectives*. As an I-adjective connects to “-noni,” with “i”, “-nai” also connects to “-noni,” with “i”.

3. Kono Hoteru no Sotogawa wa Kireina noni, Naka wa Kitanai desu.

(This hotel looks beautiful outside, but the inside is dirty.)

Note that “Kirei” is not an I-adjective, but a Na-adjective “Kireina”. Its spelling is Kire<i> but the pronunciation is Kire<e>.

4. Mayonaka na noni, Dareka ga Denwa o Kakete ki mashita.

(Even though it’s middle of the night, someone called me.)

This is an example of “[Noun]+na+noni,”and shows a similarity to Na-adjectives.

When it comes to the connections to “-noni”, the following holds true for verbs and I-adjectives;

– Verbs and I-adjectives : [Short Ending style] + noni.

But for Na-adjectives and Nouns, “Kirei+da+noni, -” and “Mayonaka+da+noni,-” are hardly used. “Kirei+na+noni, -” and “Mayonaka+na+noni,-” should be treated as the right way.

*Usually the same, but you can find a difference between “-nai” and “I-adjectives” in the following sentences;

<I-adj> Omoshiro+soudesu. (It seems interesting) — [Stem]+soudesu

<-nai> Omoshiroku nasa+soudesu. (It doesn’t seem interesting.) — [na]+ sa + soudesu

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 of Section45 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A2 S45) (1): Conjunctive Particle “-noni,” to Express an Unexpected Thing and/or Disappointment; [V-ta / V-dic]+noni, [Main Clause].

It is important to learn some complex sentence structures consisting of two clauses.

– [Subordinate Clause] + [FW], [Main Clause].

where, [FW] means functional words that are placed at the end of the subordinate clause and works to bring the main clause up.

Just before, we have learned the following sentences in the exercise A1 of the section 45.

– [Subordinate Clause] + ba’ai wa, [Main Clause].

This sentence in A1 has the following two features:

(1) It uses a noun “ba’ai” and the particle “-wa” as the functional word.

(2) The main clause mentions a thing that can be expected from the subordinate clause.

On the other, today’s sentences in the exercise A2 are;

– [Subordinate Clause] + noni, [Main Clause].

and have two features that are different from the sentences of A1.

(3) It uses a conjunctive particle “-noni,” as the functional word.

(4) The main clause mentions a thing that contrasts from the subordinate clause.

And “contrast” is important when dealing with conjunctive particles. Some conjunctive particles are used to array clauses parallelly. But most time, you need to be aware of a conjunctive particle that you are looking now is whether for direct or contrast connections between the subordinate clause and the main clause. When it comes to the conjunctive particles for contrast, we have already learned two;

<1>“-ga,” in the section 8

Example: Kono Resutoran no Tabemono wa Takai desuga, Oishikunai desu.

(Although foods in this restaurant are expensive, they are not tasty.)

If prices of foods in a restaurant are high, you would expect that the foods are delicious. But an unexpected thing happens. The subordinate clause starting with “Kono -” and the main clause with “Oishikunai – ” shows a contrast. “-ga,” is a conjunctive particle for contrast.

<2> “-temo,” in the section 25

Example: Ame ga Futtemo, Dekake masu.

(Even if it rains, I will go out.)

If it’s a job or duty, you have to go out of house even under the rainfall. But in general, people want to stay at home when it rains. “-temo,” is a conjunctive particle for contrast.

As well as “-ga,” and “-temo,”, the conjunctive particle “-noni,” is also a kind of contrasting. But not just making a contrasting connection, “-noni,” expresses a little bit of modality. In this regard, calling “-noni,” a functional word may be insufficient. Using “-noni,” for contrasting connection, you can express a feeling when something against expectation had happened, or a feeling that you are disappointed.

1. Gita’a o Isshou-Kemmei Renshuu-Shita noni, Minna no Mae de Umaku Hikemasen desshita. (Even though I had practiced a guitar hard, I couldn’t play it well in front of people.)

This sentence expresses his/her lamenting with use of “-noni”. Note that the connection between the verb “Suru/Shimasu” and “-noni,” is done with the Ta-form of “Suru/Shimasu”, which is “Shita”.

2. Mou Ichi-jikan mo Matte iru noni, Basu ga Kimasen. (Even though I have been waiting for one hour, no bus has come.)

You want to say a complaint if having been waiting for a bus for one hour. Note that the connection to “-noni,” seems to be done with a dictionary form “iru”, but it may be better to think it as “[V-te]+iru+noni,”.

Since using “-noni,” brings up a little modality of against-expectation, complaint, and disappointment, the main clause may have a tendency to be a negative comment as seen in the sentence 1 and 2.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 of Section45 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A1 S45)(2): Asking to Do Something with Mentioning a Condition Described by I-adjective, Na-adjective, and a Noun ; [I-adj+i ]/[Na-adj+na ]/[Noun+no] +Ba’ai wa, [V-te] kudasai.

1. Oyu ga Nurui Ba’ai wa, Furonto ni Itte kudasai. (If the hot water is not worm, tell it to the reception.)

2. Kopi’i-youshi ga Hitsuyouna Ba’ai wa, Jimushitsu ni Tori ni Itte kudasai. (If you need paper for photocopy, go getting it to the office.)

3. Shisetsu ga Teikyu’ubi no Ba’ai wa, Renraku-Shite kudasai. (If the facility is day-off, please contact to me.)

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 of Section45 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A1 S45)(1): Asking to Do Something with Mentioning a Condition Described by a Verb ; [Verb Clause] Ba’ai wa, [V-te] kudasai.

At the last half of beginner’s level, it is important to learn the complex sentence structure that consists of two clauses as below;

[Subordinate Clause], [Main Clause].

In this sentence structure, a functional word is used at the end of the subordinate clause in order to continue the sentence to the main clause. The typical functional words for this are conjunctive particles like “-to,”, “-ba,”, “-tara,”, “-nara,”, and so on. But not only these conjunctive particles, some nouns are also used for the end of a subordinate clause.

– A5 in the section 18; “-mae+ni,”

– A1 to A3 in the section 23; “-toki,”

– A1 in the section 34; “-to’ori+ni,”

– A2 in the section 34; “-ato+de,”

– A1 in the section 45; “-ba’ai+wa,”

These “mae”, “toki”, “to’ori”, “ato”, and “ba’ai” are all nouns, and function to connect a subordinate clause to the main clause with particles in most cases. Since they are nouns, the words placed in front of them take certain forms as shown below;

– [Verb] + [Noun]

Verbs need to be one of Dictionary form, Nai-form, Ta-form, and V-nakatta.

-[I-adjective] + [Noun]

I-adjectives need to be the following form; [Stem of I-adj] + i + [Noun]

-[Na-adjective] + [Noun]

Na-adjectives need to be the following form; [Stem of Na-adj] + na + [Noun]

-[Noun] + [Noun]

Nouns need to be placed in front of other nouns using “no” in between; [Noun] + no + [Noun]

Now we are going to learn one of such noun-connections between subordinate- and main clauses. It’s “ba’ai wa”. This post introduces sentences using “verbs” and ba’ai wa” only. Those sentences using I-adjectives, Na-adjectives and Nouns are introduced separately in another post. When it comes to the main clause, A1 S45 shows “Renraku-Shite kudasai” only. However, this “Renraku-Shite kudasai” can be replaced with many expressions as shown in the exercise B1. Therefore, this post adopts the notation of “[V-te] kudasai.” for the main clause.

1. Yakusoku no Jikan ni Okureru ba’ai wa Renraku-Shite kudasai.

(If you are going to be late for the appointed time, please let me know.)

“Okureru” is a verb in dictionary form. Note that a verb in dictionary form is most of the time in future tense. Therefore, an incident to be late has not happened yet. To-be-late is expected to happen near future. This is the reason to use dictionary form “Okureru” in this sentence.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 of Section45 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A5 S44): Mentioning One thing that you Chose and Decided; [What you Chose and Decided] ni shimasu.

The exercise A5 is also for introducing one of uses of the transitive verb “Suru/Shimasu” as well as A4. Because of being a transitive verb, “Suru/Shimasu” is usually used with the particle “-o” as shown in the exercise A4. But “-o” doesn’t seem to appear in the sentence construction of the A5. Instead, the sentences in A5 use the particle “-ni”. Does this mean that the verb “Suru/Shimasu” stopped being transitive and became intransitive? Actually, “Suru/Shimasu” can be an intransitive verb. Such sentences are introduced at the example sentence 5 and the exercise B4 in the section 47. But today’s “-ni Suru” still works as a transitive verb. Let us look through the example sentences.

1. Ban-Gohan wa Tonkatsu ni Shimasu. (I decided having Tonkatsu for my dinner.)

where, “Tonkatsu” is a Japanese food which is fried pork cutlet.

The important thing that you need to learn from this sentence construction is to know “[N] ni Suru/Shimasu” expresses you decided doing or adopting one thing. In addition to this, I would like to point out that “Ban-Gohan wa” is not an agent of the verb “Shimasu” but an object that is chosen. The origin of the sentence 1 is as below;

2. Watashi wa Ban-Gohan o Tonkatsu ni Shimasu. (I choose Tonkatsu for my dinner.)

In the sentence 2, the agent of action “Shimasu” is “Watashi”. And “Ban-Gohan” is an object of the transitive verb “Shimasu” because the particle “-o” follows it. When the subject and the topic is identical, the particle “-wa” is used. But when you want to make an object to be the topic of a sentence, you replace* “-o” to “-wa” and put the word “[Topic] wa” at the head of the sentence. This is what happened to “Ban-Gohan” in the sentence 1.

Again, the main purpose of this exercise A5 is to learn how to say your choice. Let’s take a look at some example sentences.

3. A: Uchiawase wa Itsu ni Shimasuka. (When are we going to have a meeting?)

B: Uchiawase wa Kinyoubi ni Shimasu. (We decided having a meeting on Friday.)

4. A: Heya wa Doko ni Shimasuka. (Which room will we use (for the meeting)?)

B: Heya wa Dai-San-Kaigishitsu ni Shimasu. (We will use the meeting room No.3.)

5. A: Sankasha wa Dare ni Shimasuka. (Who are supposed to be there?)

B: Sankasha wa Kachou to, Watashi, Suzuki-san no San-nin ni Shimasu. (I want three people to participate, Section Manager, me, and Suzuki-san.)

where, Uchiawase in a noun meaning a small meeting with several people, Sankasha is a noun meaning participant(s).

* Replacing to “wa” happens to “-ga” and “-o”. For other than “-ga” and “-o”, “-wa” is added to a particle like “-ni+wa”, “-de+wa”, “-kara+wa”, and so on.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 of Section44 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A4 S44): Intentionally Changing a Condition that is described by I-adjective, Na-adjective, and Noun; [Object to be changed] o [I-adj] ku shimasu / [Na-adj/N] ni shimasu.

The verb “Suru/Shimasu” is most of the time a transitive verb. Actually, sometimes “Suru/Shimasu” is used as an intransitive verb as introduced by the example sentence number 5 in the section 47. But let us just put aside “Suru/Shimasu” as an intransitive verb now. We are focusing on “Suru/Shimasu” as a transitive verb. Then, today’s sentences are to be compared with the exercise A4 in the section 19, in which the intransitive verb “Naru/Narimasu” is used.

(1) Sentence Constructions in A4 S19 with “Naru/Narimasu”

– [Subject] wa* [I-adj]+ku Narimashita.

– [Subject] wa* [Na-adj]+ni Narimashita.

– [Subject] wa* [Noun]+ni Narimashita.

(* “ga” is also used.)

(2) Today’s constructions of A4 S44

– [Object] o [I-adj]+ku Shimasu.

– [Object] o [Na-adj]+ni Shimasu.

– [Object] o [Noun]+ni Shimasu.

There is a difference between the sentences of (1) and (2), at the sentence ending. The sentences of (1) end with “-mashita.” which means perfect tense, in other words, actions of changing have already happened. On the other, the sentences of (2) end with “-masu” which means actions of changing will happen near future, or strong will of the subject. But rather than this difference of tense, there is an important difference between (1) and (2).

The sentences of (1) express that the subject itself changes. Therefore, the subject needs to be mentioned and the verb of changing must be the intransitive verb “Naru/Narimasu”.

The sentences of (2) express that the object is changed under someone’s intention. Therefore, the object needs to be mentioned and the verb must be a transitive verb, in this case, “Suru/Shimasu”.

Then, let us compare (1) and (2) with example sentences.

(1) [Subject] was {I-adj+ku / N-adj+ni / Noun+ni} Naru

1. Tenki wa Yoku Nari mashita. (The weather has become better.) — Yo+ku Naru

2. Machi wa Nigiyakani Nari mashita. (The town has become busy.) — Nigiyaka+ni Naru

3. Satou-san wa Daigakusei ni Nari mashita.

(Sato-san has become a university student.) — Daigakusei+ni Naru

The sentences 1 to 3 mean that the subject has got changing of its own to the current situation. The intransitive verb for change “Naru/Narimasu” is to express this kind of change.

(2) [Object] o {I-adj+ku/N-adj+ni/Noun+ni} Suru

4. Zubon no Suso o Mijikaku Shi masu. (I am going to shorten the hems of my trousers.)

5. Daidokoro o Kireini Shi masu. (I am going to clean the kitchen.)

6. Ofuro no Oyu o Yon-juu Ni doni Shi masu. (I will set the temperature of hot water 42 Celsius degree.)

where; Ofuro is a noun meaning a bath, Oyu is a noun meaning hot water.

Sentences 4 to 6 express that the subject, in this case “Watashi (I)”, intentionally bring a change onto an OBJECT that is marked by the particle “-o”. This is of course due to the function of the transitive verb “Suru/Shimasu”

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 of Section44 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A3 S44): A thing has a tendency to do sth/A thing rarely does sth; [Subject] wa [Masu-form without ‘masu’]+ Yasui / Nikui desu.

<恐れ入ります。時間がありませんので、後日この投稿を完成させます。>

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 of Section44 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A2 S44): This one is easy to do sth/difficult to do sth; [Subject] wa [Masu-form without ‘masu’]+ Yasui / Nikui desu.

Last time we learned the combination of two conjugating words that were a verb in Masu-form but without ‘masu’ and the verb “Sugiru/Sugimasu”. This time also, we are learning a combination of two conjugating words. The first part is, again, a verb in Masu-form without ‘masu’, but the second parts are not a verb, but I-adjectives “Yasui” and “Nikui”

(1) [Verb in Masu-form without ‘masu’] + Yasui* + desu.

1. Kono Kyoukasho wa Yomi yasui desu. (This text book is easy to read.)

“Yomi” comes from the Masu-form “Yomimasu”.

2. Kono Gita’a wa Hiki yasui desu. (This guitar is easy to play.)

“Hiki” comes from the Masu-form “Hikimasu”.

＊: When Yasui is written with Kanji, Yasui meaning cheap is “安い”, and Yasui meaning “easy” is “易い”.

(2) [Verb in Masu-form without ‘masu’] + Nikui + desu.

3. Toukyou wa Kurashi nikui desu. (Tokyo is difficult to live in.)

“Kurashi” comes from the Masu-form “Kurashimasu”.

4. Kono Nabe wa Tsukai nikui desu. (This pot is not easy to use.)

“Tsukai” comes from the Masu-form “Tsukaimasu”.

Actually, this exercise A2 is about Yasui and Nikui, and the next exercise A3 is also about Yasui and Nikui.（違いを検討して明日追記します。）

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 of Section44 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A1 S44) (2): A certain Quality is too much; [Stem of adjective] + sugi masu.

We learned yesterday an expression using combination of “Masu-form without ‘masu’” and “sugi mashita”. Using “Masu-form”, the expression was about verb, which describes that you did something too much. On the other, today’s expression uses I-adjectives or Na-adjectives. Both adjectives are placed in front of “sugi masu” in the form of the stem. The stem is part of a conjugation word that doesn’t change by conjugation.

[Conjugation Word] = [Stem] + [Inflection Ending] = [No Change] + [Changing part]

In the case of I-adjectives, the stem is a word head which “i” is eliminated from noun-modifying form and short ending form. In the case of Na-adjective, the stem is a word head which “na” is eliminated from noun-modifying form or “da” is eliminated from short ending form.

1. Kono Co’ohi’i wa Ko sugi masu. (This coffee is too strong.)

“Koi” is an adjective that means a liquid is thick. Taking “i” away from “Koi”, you get “Ko”, and it can be combined with “sugi masu” to be “Ko sugi masu”.

2. Kono Tesuto no Mondai wa Kantan sugi masu. (Questions in this examination are too easy.)

“Kantanna/Kantanda” is a Na-adjective that means easy. Its stem is “Kantan”.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 of Section44 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A1 S44) (1): Did Something too much; [Masu form without ‘masu’] + sugi mashita.

If you drank alcohol too much, and hang over in the following day, what would you say in Japanese?

1. Kinou, Osake o Takusan Nomi mashita. (Yesterday I drank Sake a lot.)

But this sentence 1 says just it was a lot. Some people don’t get affected much by alcohol, but ordinary people get hang-over if the alcohol exceeds a proper amount. In order to express that you drank too much yesterday, and the amount of alcohol exceeded your proper level, you would say;

2. Kinou, Osake o Nomi sugi mashita. (Yesterday I drank too much.)

Comparing the sentences 1 and 2, you will find in the sentence 2, “sugi” came in between “Nomi” and “mashita”.

“sugi” is a verb (Sugiru/Sugimasu), which can be used on its own as below;

3. Yakusoku no Jikan wa Mou Sugi mashita. (The appointment time has already pasted.)

But in the sentence 2, “sugiru/sigimasu” is attached to “Masu-form without ‘masu’” of the verb “Nomu/Nomimasu” as if it was a kind of supplemental verb.

– [Verb in Masu-form without ‘masu’] + sugi mashita.

When it comes to “supplemental verbs”, we have already learned some of them that are combinations of Te-form of a verb and a supplemental verb like;

– [V-te] + iru, [V-te] + aru, [V-te] + oku, [V-te] + shimau, and so on

This time, we are learning combination words that consist of “Masu-form without ‘masu’” and a verb. There are some expressions of this kind of combination words as below;

– Tabe-masu + sugi mashita => Tabe sugi mashita. (ate too much)

– Tabe-masu + hajime mashita => Tabe hajime mashita. (started eating)

– Tabe-masu + owari mashita => Tabe owari mashita. (finished eating)

– Tabe-masu + tsuzuke mashita => Tabe tsuzuke mashita. (kept eating)

– Kagi i Kake-masu + wasure mashita => Kagi o Kake wasure mashita. (forgot to lock)

– Denwa o Kake-masu + naoshi mashita => Denwa o Kake naoshi mashita. (called again)

Learning six types at one time is too much. Let us concentrate on the first one “V+sugimashita” today. Here are some example sentences;

4. Kinou Renshuu de Hashiri sugi mashita. (I ran too much for practicing yesterday.)

5. Netto-ge’emo o Yari sugi mashita. (I played on-line games too much.)

6. Ko’ohi’i ni Satou o Ire sugi mashita. (I poured too much sugar into coffee.)

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 of Section44 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”