カテゴリー: やさしい　にほんご

Japanese learning (A1 S26): Sentence Endings to add Nuance of Confiding (+Cause/Reason); -nodesu/-ndesu.

Today’s post assumes that a viewer has already got a basic knowledge about sentence endings. For sentences of “Non-past positive”, the endings are;

[Noun]+desu : Heya desu. ((It’s) a Room.)

[Stem of Na-adj]+desu : Kirei desu. ((It’s) clean.)

[Stem of i-adj]+i+desu : Utsukushii desu. ((It’s) beautiful)

[V]+masu : Soujishi + masu : ((I’m going to) clean.)

The important thing is that only the verb predicates end with “masu”. For those Nouns, Na-adjectives, and I-adjectives, predicates end with “desu”. Can you tell the difference between the two below?

A : Yasumi masu.

B : Yasumi desu.

A is a verb predicate which means “(I will) take a break”, and B is a noun predicate which means “(It’s the) day-off”. You should never say like “{WRONG} Gohan o Tabe desu.”. It should be “{RIGHT} Gohan o Tabe masu.”. It is important to distinguish between verbs and nouns.

  In the case of a Noun predicate, it is like;

[Noun]+desu.

Of course, “[Verb]+desu.” is fatally wrong. But how about the following one?

[Verb turns to be a “Noun-equivalent”] + desu.

In order to make a verb a Noun-equivalent, using “no” makes it possible.

    [Verb + no ] + desu.

This is what we are going to learn today. “Verb +nodesu.” is okay but in conversation, it is usually shortened to be “Verb+ndesu.” The difference between “V+masu” and “V+ndesu.” is;

– V+masu : Simply telling about action

– V+ndesu : Telling about action with nuances of confiding and/or the action is the cause/reason of something.

The followings are 16 patterns with present-positive, present-negative, past-positive, past-negative for 4 types predicates.

<1> Verb Predicates (Iku/Ikimasu)

– Present-positive — Ikundesu.

– Present-negative — Ikanaindesu.

– Past-positive — Ittandesu.

– Past-negative — Ikanakattandesu.

<2> I-adjective Predicates (Takai)

– Present-positive — Takaindesu.

– Present-negative — Takaku naindesu.

– Past-positive — Takakattandesu.

– Past-negative — Takaku nakattandesu.

<3> Na-adjective Predicates (Kireina)

– Present-positive — Kireinandesu.

– Present-negative — Kireijanaindesu.

– Past-positive — Kireidattandesu.

– Past-negative — Kireija nakattandesu.

<4> Noun Predicates (Daigakusei)

– Present-positive — Daigakusei nandesu.

– Present-negative — Daigakuseija naindesu.

– Past-positive — Daigakusei dattandesu.

– Past-negative — Daigakuseija nakattandesu.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section26 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A4 S25): Conjunctive Particle “-temo” that makes But-However Connection to the Main Clause; [PreCon]+temo, [Main Clause].

In the section 25, two conjunctive particles are introduced; One makes “So-Therefore” connection, and the other makes “But-However” connection to the main clause.

[Preconditional Clause]+tara, [Main Clause].

Example: Ame ga Futtara, Dekakemasen. (If it rains, I will not go outside.)

When it’s rainy, ordinary people wouldn’t like to get out of house. Therefore, the main clause “Dekakemasen” is an expectable conclusion from the preconditional clause “Ame ga Futtara,”. This is an example that the conjunctive particle “-tara,” makes a So-Therefore connection to the main clause.

[Preconditional Clause]+temo, [Main Clause].

Example: Ame ga Futtemo, Dekakemasu. (Even if it rains, I will go outside.)

Since ordinary people wouldn’t like to get out of house when it’s rainy, the main clause “Dekakemasu” is an unexpectable conclusion from the precondition “it’s rainy”. Therefore, this is an example that the conjunctive particle “-temo,” makes a But-However connection to the main clause.

As in the case of “tara” preconditional clause, the predicates in the clause can be a Verb, an I-adjective, a Na-adjective, and a Noun.

(1) Preconditional clause has a Positive Verb predicate

– Hashittemo, Densha ni Maniaimasen. (Even if we run, we can’t catch the train.)

Running is faster than walking. If you run, the expectable conclusion is that you can catch the train (Hashittara, Densha ni Maniaimasu.). But against prediction, the conclusion is saying an unexpectable thing “Maniaimasen”. When a positive verb is the predicate of preconditional clause, it is good to see it as “[V-te] + mo,”

(2) Preconditional clause has a Negative Verb predicate

– Kurumaga Nakutemo, Seikatsu Dekimasu. (Even if I don’t have a car, I can make living.)

Probably this is what people living in Tokyo say because there are a lot of railway networks. Although “Naku(-temo)” looks like an auxiliary adjective, think it as the negative form of verb “Aru/Arimasu”. I just want to emphasize the Nai-form of “Aru/Arimasu” is not “Aranai” but “Nai”.

(3) Preconditional clause has an I-adjective predicate

– Isogashikutemo, Nihongo o Benkyou shimasu. (Even if I am busy, I study Japanese.)

(4) Preconditional clause has an Na-adjective predicate

– Benridemo, Kurejitto Ca’ado wa Tsukaimasen. (Even if it’s convenient, I don’t use a credit card.)

 Note that it’s not “-temo,” but “-demo”. “-demo” is used for Na-adjectives, Nouns, and Verbs of Gr1-B, Gr1-M, and Gr1-N. Another thing to look at is “wa” in the main clause. This “wa” is not subject marker but topic marker. It was originally “o” for the object of transitive verb “Tsukau/Tsukaimasu”. In order to make “Credit card” the topic, “o” turned to be “wa” as below;

Kurejitto Ca’ado o Tsukaimasen. => Kurejitto Ca’ado wa Tsukaimasen.

(5) Preconditional clause has a Noun predicate

– Shigoto ga Yasumi no Hi demo, Asa Hayaku Okimasu. (Even if it’s day-off from my job, I get up early in the morning.)

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section25 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A3 S25): Preconditional Clause with “-tara,”; One thing has Happened, and then What to come next; [V-ta]+tara, [Main Clause].

Yesterday, we learned the following construction;

1. [Preconditional Clause] + tara, [Main Clause].

In this construction, the preconditional clause has the predicates of a verb, I-adjective, Na-adjective, and Noun. Today, we are learning the same construction, but its predicates in the preconditional clause are limited to be verbs. In such case, the description below would be better to understand;

2. [Verb Clause] + tara, [Main Clause].

=> [V-ta] + ra, [What to do/What to happen next].

If a verb is in Ta-form, it means the action of the verb has been completed. Although I often call Ta-form “past/perfect tense”, but let us focus on “perfect” this time. Because Ta-form is used not only for action in the past, but also for action in the future, which will be completed in the future.

Here are exapmles;

3. Satou-san ga Kitara, Isshoni Dekake mashou. (Once Sato-san come here, let us go outside together.)

4. Kaisha ni Tsuitara, Sugu Pasokon o Tsukemasu. (As soon as I arrive at the office, I turn on my computer.)

5. Go-ji Han ni Nattara, Ie ni Kaeritai desu. (Come Five-thirty, I want to go home.)

Yesterday’s “’tara’ precondition” was just an assumed condition. Such conditions are often stative especially for the precondition clause that has a predicate of I-adjective, Na-adjective, or Noun. On the other, today’s “’tara’ precondition” describes something gets completed. Therefore, verb is used for the predicate in the precondition clause. As you see in the sentence 3 to 5, “Kita”, “Tsuita”, and “Natta” are all Ta-forms. Ta-form has the function to express that action has been completed. What is said in the main clause is what will you do (or what will happen) after an action in the precondition clause was completed. So, for this nature, the probability of occurrence of the preconditional clause tends to be higher than yesterday’s “tara precondition”s. “Sato-san ga Kitara” in 3 is about to happen, “Kaisha ni Tsuitara” in 4 is an everyday thing, and “Go-ji Han ni Nattara” in 5 is bound to happen.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section25 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A2 S25): Preconditional Clause ending with “-tara,” and the Main Clause says what will do/happen under the condition; [preCon]+tara, [Main Clause].

The section 25 is to learn two conjunctive particles; “-tara,” and “-temo,”. Remember that “-tara,” makes So-Therefore connection and “-temo,” makes But-However type connection to the main clause. The exercise A2 and A3 introduce sentence constructions that use “-tara,”, and A2 shows variations when the preconditional clause has the predicates of a verb, I-adjective, Na-adjective, and Noun.

(1) Preconditional clause has a Positive Verb predicate

– Ame ga Futtara, Soto ni Dekake masen. (If it rains, I will not go outside.)

(2) Negative Verb

– Jikan ga Nakattara*, Asagohan o Tabemasen. (I I don’t have time, I don’t eat breakfast.)

* Note that negative form of the verb”Aru” is not “Aranai” but “Nai”.

(3) I-adjective

– Nami* ga Takakattara, Umi de Oyogimasen. (If the wave is high, I will not swim in the sea.)

* Nami : noun ; wave

(4) Na-adjective

– Heya ga Kirei*dattara, Souji Shimasen. (If the room is clean. I will not clean it.)

* Note that “Kirei” is not an I-adjective, but a Na-adjective.

(5) Noun

– Ashita Yasumi dattara, Kaimono ni Ikimasu. (If it’s day-off tomorrow, I will go shopping.)

The above examples have the construction below;

[Preconditional Clause] + tara, [Main Clause].

The speaker makes an assumption at the preconditional clause, and then says what he/she is going to do if the precondition happens. It is usually unclear as to probability of occurrence of the precondition. These things make a little bit of difference from tomorrow’s the exercise A3.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section25 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A1 S25): Two Conjunctive Particles “-tara” and “-temo”; “-tara” is “So-Therefore” type, and “-temo” is “But-However” type;

As to conjunctive particle, we have already learned a few of them such as “-kara,” and “-to,”. Let us review a little about conjunctive particles. Suppose there are two sentences.

{Sentence1}. [Conjunctive], {Sentence2}.

Usually, you put a conjunctive at the beginning of the second sentence. Depending on the relation between the Sentence 1 and 2, there are two major types of conjunctives; One is So-Therefore type, and the other is But-However type. Of course, the Sentence1 comes first, and then you will hear or read the Sentence 2. If the sentence 2 is expected one from what the sentence 1 is saying, So-Therefore type conjunctives are used. But if the sentence 2 is unexpected one from the sentence 1, But-Therefore type conjunctives are used. This combination of two sentences with a conjunctive is also used in Japanese as shown below;

(1) Kyou wa Ame desu. Dakara, Soto ni Dekakemasen. (It’s rainy. So, I will not go outside.)

(2) Kyou wa Ame desu. Demo, Soto ni Dekakemasu. (It’s rainy. But, I will go outside.)

– Dekakeru/Dekakemasu: intransitive verb, Gr2; go outside

“Dakara” in the sentence (1) is a So-Therefore type conjunctive, and “Demo” in (2) is a But-However type. Being able to use (1) and (2) like two sentence combination is good, but it is also important to learn the following construction of one sentence consisting two clauses with “Conjunctive Particle”.

[Clause1] + [conjunctive particle], [Clause2].

Also for conjunctive particles, there are two major groups as well as conjunctives; one is So-Therefore type and But-However type.

(3) Ame ga futtara, Soto ni Dekakemasen. (If it rains, I will not go outside.)

(4) Ame ga futtemo, Soto ni Dekakemasu. (Even if it rains, I will go outside.)

The conjunctive particle “-tara,” is So-Therefore type, and “-demo,” is But-However type. Do you find “If” and “Even if” in English translations of (3) and (4)? The section 25 is for learning two conjunctive particles which make conditional clauses; “-tara,” and “-temo,”. For this purpose, the exercise 1 shows you many connections of “-tara,” and “-temo,” with verbs, I-adjectives, Na-adjectives, and Nouns.

<1> Verbs

<1>-1 Verbs + tara = [V-ta] + ra

If you are not familiar with Te-form of verb, please refer to the post:

Japanese Learning (A1 S14): How to Convert a Verb from “Masu-form” to “Te-Form”; I/Chi/Ri=>tte, Bi/Mi/Ni=>nde, Ki=>ite, Gi=>ide, Shi=>shite, and Itte is special for Group 1

It is easy to get Ta-form of a verb if you already know how to make Te-form of a verb. It’s just replacing “te” with “ta”, or “de” with “da”. Once you have got a Ta-form, then put “ra” behind of it.

<1>-2 Verbs + temo = [V-te] + mo

It is just to put “mo” behind a [Te-form].

 The following examples show you the connections of verbs and “tara” and “temo” in the order of [Masu-form], [Ta-form]+ra, and [Te-form]+mo.

Gr2 verbs

– Mimasu (see, look at, watch) — Mitara — Mitemo

– Tabemasu (eat) — Tabetara — Tabetemo

Gr3 verbs

– Kimasu (come to this side) — Kitara — Kitemo

– Ikimasu (go, come to you) — Ittara — Ittemo

Gr1-W verbs

– Tsukaimasu (use) — Tsukattara — Tsukattemo

Gr1-K

– Hatarakimasu (work) — Hataraitara — Hataraitemo

Gr1-G

– Isogimasu (hurry, hasten) — Isoidara — Isoidemo

Gr1-S

– Hanashimasu (speak, talk) — Hanashitara — Hanashitemo

Gr1-T

– Machimasu (wait) — Mattara — Mattemo

Gr1-B

– Tobimasu (fly) — Tondara — Tondemo

Gr1-M

– Nomimasu (drink) — Nondara — Nondemo

Gr1-R

– Tsukurimasu (make. cook) — Tsukuttara — Tsukuttemo

<2> I-adjectives

The following examples show you the connections of I-adjectives and “tara” and “temo” in the order of [I-adj]+desu, [I-adj]+tara, and [I-adj]+temo.

– Samui desu — Samukattara — Samukutemo

– Tanoshii desu — Tanoshikattara — Tanoshikutemo

– Ii desu — Yokattara — Yokutemo

<3> Na-adjectives

The following examples show you the connections of Na-adjectives and “tara” and “temo” in the order of [Na-adj]+desu, [Na-adj]+tara, and [Na-adj]+demo.

– Kirei desu — Kirei dattara — Kirei demo

– Suki desu — Suki dattara — Suki demo

– Kantan desu — Kantan dattara — Kantan demo

<4> Nouns

The following examples show you the connections of Nouns and “tara” and “temo” in the order of [Noun]+desu, [Noun]+dattara, and [Noun]+demo.

– Ame desu — Ame dattara — Ame demo

– Shigoto desu — Shigoto dattara — Shigoto demo

Remember that the conjunctive particle “-tara,” is used for “So-Therefore” connection to the main clause, and “-temo,” is used for “But-However” connection to the main clause.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section25 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A5 S24): Benefactive expressions, I did something for someone, and the subject is “I”; Watashi wa [Someone] ni [Verb Clause]+te Agemashita.

Now, we will learn the third benefactive expression, “[V-te] Agemashita.” This time in the section 24, all the sentences are of past/perfect tense. Let us review three types of benefactive expression as shown below;

<V-te Morau> : Watashi wa [Someone] ni [V-te] Moraimashita. — A3

<V-te Kureru> : [Someone] wa [#1]* [V-te] Kuremashita. —A4

<V-te Ageru> : Watashi wa [#2]** [V-te] Agemashita. — A5

* “Watashi” and a proper particle may be put into [#1]. As was shown in yesterday’s post;

– Satou-san wa Watashi ni Shukudai no Kotae o Misete Kuremashita.

– Suzuki-san wa Watashi o Kyouto e Tsurete Itte Kuremashita.

– Takahashi-san wa Watashi no Hikkoshi o Tetsudatte Kuremashita.

the particle for “Watashi” is “ni”, “o”, or “no” depending on the verb used in the sentence.

** [Someone] and a proper particle may be put into [#2]. This is what we are learning today.

– Watashi wa Satou-san ni DVD o Kashite Agemashita. (I lent a DVD to Sato-san.)

– Watashi wa Satou-san o Byouin ni Tsurete Itte Agemashita. (I took Sato-san to a hospital.)

– Watashi wa Satou-san no Chuugokugo o Naoshite Agemashita. (I corrected Sato-san’s Chinese.)

At the end of the section 24, here are some quizzes.

(1) Watashi wa Satou-san ni Kanji o Oshiete Moraimashita.

(2) Suzuki-san wa Watashi o Eki e Tsurete Itte Kuremashita.

(3) Watashi wa Takahashi-san no Hikkoshi o Tetsudatte Agemashita.

Q1: I helped someone, and the subject of the sentence is “I”. Which of (1)-(3) is this?

Q2: Someone helped me, and the subject is someone. Which of (1)-(3) is this?

Q3: Someone helped me, but the subject is “I”. Which of (1)-(3) is this?

This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section24 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A4 S24): Benefactive expressions, someone did something for me, and the subject is that person; [Someone] wa [Verb Clause]+te Kuremashita.

We have already learned another type of benefactive expression that uses “Morau/Moraimasu” for the predicate verb;

1. Watashi wa [Someone] ni [Verb Clause]+te Moraimashita.

Although the sentence construction of today is as follows;

2. [Someone] wa [Verb Clause]+te Kuremashita.

In order to compare 1 and 2, let us put the word “Watashi” into the sentence 2. Usually “Watashi” is followed by the particle “ni”

3. [Someone] wa Watashi ni [Verb Clause]+te Kuremashita.

In the followings, the example sentences are shown in the order of [V-te]Moraimashita (1.) first, and then [V-te]Kuremashita(3.).

4-1 Watashi wa Satou-san ni Shukudai no Kotae o Misete Moraimashita.

(I was shown the answers of homework by Sato-san.)

4-2 Satou-san wa Watashi ni Shukudai no Kotae o Misete Kuremashita.

(Sato-san showed me the answers of homework.)

4-1 is a sentence of “[V-te]Moraimashita”, and 4-2 is of “[V-te]Kuremashita”. When changing from 4-1 to 4-2, the subject “Watashi” turns to be “Satou-san”. When it comes to particles, “[person]ni [object]o” doesn’t change (although who the [person] is changes).

5-1 Watashi wa Suzuki-san ni Kyouto e Tsurete Itte Moraimashita.

(I was taken to Kyoto by Suzuki-san.)

5-2 Suzuki-san wa Watashi o Kyouto e Tsurete Itte Kuremashita.

(Suzuki-san took me to Kyoto.)

Different from 4-1, “[person]ni [object]o” is not used from the first (5-1), it’s “[person]ni [destination]e”. Interestingly enough, “[person]ni” doesn’t appear in 5-2, instead, “[person]o (=Watashi o)” is in 5-2. This is because the compound verb “Tsurete-iku/Tsurete-ikimasu” is a transitive verb which strongly needs the object with the particle “o”.

6-1 Watashi wa Takahashi-san ni Hikkoshi o Tetsudatte Moraimashita.

(I was helped for my moving by Takahashi-san.)

6-2 Takahashi-san wa Watashi no Hikkoshi o Tetsudatte Kuremashita.

(Takahashi-san helped me move.)

The combination of particles “[person]ni [object]o” in 6-1 cannot be retained in 6-2. “Watashi ni Hikkoshi o Tetsudau” is wrong, “Watashi no Hikkoshi o Tetsudau” is right.

Most of the case, the combination of particles “[person]ni [object]o” is applicable, but in some cases, applying “[person]ni [object]o” could end up incorrect expression.

This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section24 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A3 S24): Benefactive expressions, someone did something for me, the subject is not that person but “I”; Watashi wa [Someone] ni [Verb Clause]+te Moraimashita.

We have already learned three giving/receiving verbs; Ageru, Morau, and Kureru. So far the sentence constructions using these verbs are about giving and receiving an object.

1. [ I ]wa [ Someone ]ni [ Object ]o Agemasu.  — I will be a giver

2. [ I ]wa [ Someone ]ni [ Object ]o Moraimashita. — I was a receiver

3. [ Someone ]wa [ I ]ni [ Object ]o Kuremashita. — I was a receiver, but the subject is the giver

It’s apart from the point, but did you notice that the sentence 1 is in future tense, 2 and 3 are in past tense? In the sentence 1, action “giving” will be done by me. Therefore, “I” can say what I will do in the future as an expression of will. But in the sentence 2 and 3, “giving” will be done by someone other than “I”. You can’t be perfectly sure what other people will do in the future, even if you are expecting that someone will give you something. In order to make the examples good to be practical, those 2 and 3 are using past tense. If someone gave you something in the past, it’s a sure thing so that you can express other people’s action that is “gave me”.

Anyway, the sentences 1 to 3 are expressing doing a favor by giving an object. Then, how can we express doing a favor by doing an action? The exercises A3, A4, and A5 introduce the sentence constructions that express doing a favor by doing an action. Today, we are learning one of the three, “[V-te]+Morau” as shown below;

– Watashi wa Satou-san ni Shukudai no Kotae o Misete Moraimashita.

(I was shown the answers of homework by Sato-san.)

– Watashi wa Suzuki-san ni Kyouto e Tsurete Itte Moraimashita.

(I was taken to Kyoto by Suzuki-san.)

– Watashi wa Takahashi-san ni Hikkoshi o Tetsudatte Moraimashita.

(I was helped for my moving by Takahashi-san.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section24 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A2 S24): Which to use as the Subject Marker, “-wa” or “-ga”, learning through one of Giving/Receiving Verbs “Kureru/Kuremasu”.

The sentence construction that we learned in A1 S24 was as follows;

1. Satou-san wa Watashi ni Chokore’eto o Kuremashita. (Sato-san gave me a chocolate.)

This expression is uttered in the following situations;

<1> Both speaker and listener know who Sato-san is.

<2> The intention of this utterance is that the speaker wants the listener to know what Sato-san gave to the speaker.

Because of <1>, the particle “wa” is used as subject marker, as you see “Satou-san wa”.

Because of <2>, it is obvious that the receiver is the speaker, therefore “Watashi ni” can be omitted in this situation. Then the sentence 1 could be;

1’. Satou-san wa Chokore’eto o Kuremashita. (Sato-san gave a chocolate.)

Before introducing today’s sentences, here is a new word;

Nori（海苔）: Noun; Dried Seaweed, its shape is rectangular like sheet of paper. Usually used to wrap Sushi and Riceball.

Now, the following is the today’s sentences;

2. Kore wa Kankoku no Nori desu. Kim-san ga Kuremashita.

(This is Nori of Korea. Kim-san gave (this to me).)

If we make the two sentences of 2 a sentence like 1’, then we will get;

2’ Kim-san ga Nori o Kuremashita. (Kim-san gave Nori (to me).)

Comparing 1’ and 2’, you will find that the subject markers are different between two sentences. This is important issue. In order to think about this issue, let us stick to the sentences 2, because it is a kind of identical to what A2 S24 shows. The sentences 2 consists of two sentences, the first one is;

2-1 Kore wa Kankoku no Nori desu.

=> [Subject] [Predicate] = [Kore] wa [Kankoku no Nori] desu.

In this sentence, the particle “wa” is used as the subject marker.

– “Kore” is what the speaker and the listener are looking at.

– The purpose to utter this sentence is to tell the predicate.

For these two reasons, not “ga” but “wa” is used to indicate the subject as “Kore wa”.

The second sentence is;

2-2 Kim-san ga Kuremashita.

– “Kim-san” is what the speaker knows, but the listener doesn’t know.

– The purpose to utter this sentence is to tell who is the subject.

For these two reasons, not “wa” but “ga” is used to indicate the subject as “Kim-san ga”.

It is important to know that “ga” is used for the subject when the purpose of the sentence is to identify what/who the subject is. In order to know the difference between “wa” and “ga” as the subject markers, practice and remember the following conversation;

A : Sore wa Nandesuka. (What is it?)

B : Kore wa Nihon no Ocha desu. (This is Japanese Tea.)

A : Dare ga Kuremashitaka. (Who gave it to you?)

B : Satou-san ga Kuremashita. (Sato-san gave this to me.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section24 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A1 S24): One of Giving/Receiving Verbs when the Subject is other than “I”; [Someone1] wa [Someone2] ni [Object] o Kuremashita.

As to giving/receiving verbs, we have already learned “Ageru/Agemasu” and “Morau/Moraimasu” in the section 7. Now we are learning another giving/receiving verb, which is “Kureru/Kuremasu”. In fact, there is one thing that “Kureru” is different from “Ageru” and “Morau”.

1. Watashi wa Satou-san ni Chokore’eto o Agemasu. (I will give Sato-san a chocolate.)

2. Watashi wa Satou-san ni Chokore’eto o Moraimashita. (I received a chocolate from Sato-san.)

3. Satou-san wa Watashi ni Chokore’eto o Kuremashita. (Sato-san gave me a chocolate.)

Look at the subjects of 1, 2, and 3. For the verbs “Ageru” and “Morau”, the subjects are “Watashi” which means “I” in English. On the other, for “Kureru”, the subject is “Satou-san” which is not “Watashi”. At the beginning of second language learning, it is better to use sentences whose subject is “Watashi (I)” because “Subject Watashi” increases authenticity for the learner. Since the verb “Kureru” takes a subject that is not Watashi but other people, it should be learned in a little later stage than “Ageru” and “Morau”. Note that there may be a person who say “Watashi wa Kuremasu” in some region. But this is not standard Japanese. When you give something to someone, you need to say “Watashi wa Daredare ni Naninani o Agemasu” (Daredare= someone, Naninani= something).

The followings are examples of sentences using “Kureru/Kuremasu”

4. Satou-san wa Watashi ni Hon o Kuremashita. (Sato-san gave me a book.)

5. Suzuki-san wa Watashi ni Ringo o Kuremashita. (Suzuki-san gave me an apple.)

In 1 through 5, “<person> ni <object> o” is used in common. Put in your mind this so that you can use giving/receiving verbs. But do not think the words order is always “<person> ni <object> o”. Sometimes Japanese say “<object> o <person> ni”.

4′. Satou-san wa Hon o Watashi ni Kuremashita. (Sato-san gave a book to me.)

5′. Suzuki-san wa Ringo o Watashi ni Kuremashita. (Suzuki-san gave an apple to me.)

Change of words order is likely, because not words order but function of particles is decisive for the meaning of a sentence in Japanese.

This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section24 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”