タグ: I-adjective

Japanese Learning: Comparison between two in an Adjective Predicate Sentence; [A] wa [B] yori [Adjective] desu.

1. Oosaka wa Koube yori Ookiidesu. (Osaka is bigger than Kobe.)

Tokyo is not the only urban city in Japan. There are many big cities in Japan. If you look at the western part of Japan, you will find some cities are there. Both the cities of Osaka and Kobe have wide surrounding areas, but let us look at their populations under each municipal government. There are 2.8 million citizens in Osaka City, while 1.5 million in Kobe City. Therefore, we can say “Osaka is bigger than Kobe”.

In the construction of “[A] wa [B] yori [Adjective] desu.”, you can substitute [N1 no N2] into [A] and [B], as shown below;

2. Watashi no Ie wa Satou-san no Ie yori Ookiidesu. (My house is bigger than Sato-san’s.)

The above example 1 and 2 use the I-adjective “Ookii(big)”. Not only I-adjective but you can also use Na-adjective in this construction as below.

3. Kono Kouen wa Ano Kouen yori Kirei desu. (This park is more beautiful than that park.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section 12 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Sentence Endings of “Past-Negative” for Noun, Na- adjective, and I-adjective Predicates; I-adjectives are different from Nouns and Na-adjectives for the endings.

We learned yesterday the endings of past-positive for Noun, Na-adjective, and I-adjective predicate sentences. It is important to know that the ending of I-adjective is different from the endings of Noun and Na-adjective predicate sentences.

<Past-Positive>

1. Noun Predicate => [Noun]+deshita.

2. Na-adjective => [Na-adj]+deshita.

3. I-adjective => [I-adj]+kattadesu.

Not only for “Past-Positive”, also for “Past-Negative” there is the same kind of difference in terms of “Noun and Na-adjective versus I-adjective”

<Past-Negative>

4. Noun Predicate => [Noun]+dewa Arimasen deshita.

 example : San’nen mae, Watashi wa Daigakusei dewa Arimasen deshita.

(Three years ago, I was not a university student.)

Note that “dewa” is often shortened to be “ja” which sounds a little casual.

5. Na-adjective => [Na-adj]+dewa Arimasen deshita.

 example : San’nen mae, Kono kouen wa Kirei dewa Arimasen deshita.

(Three years ago, this park was neither clean nor beautiful.)

Note that “Kirei” is not an I-adjective but Na-adjective. And spelling is “Kirei”, but pronunciation is “Kire’e”.

3. I-adjective => [I-adj]+ku nakatta desu.

example : Kinou wa Atatakaku nakatta desu.

(Yesterday, it was not warm.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section 12 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Sentence Endings of “Past-Positive” for Noun, Na- adjective, and I-adjective Predicates; Use Properly “Deshita” or “Kattadesu”

Sentence endings are the most important part of Japanese sentences. We have already learned sentence endings in past tense for verb predicate sentences;

– Past-positive : V+ mashita

example: Tabemashita (ate)

– Past-negative : V+ masendeshita

example: Tabemasendeshita (didn’t eat)

There are four types of predicate sentences in Japanese. Let’s learn the endings of past-positive for Noun, Na-adjective, and I-adjective predicate sentences.

1. Noun Predicate => [Noun]+deshita.

 example : San’nen mae, Watashi wa Koukousei deshita.

(Three years ago, I was a high school student.)

Note that “Koukousei” is a noun

2. Na-adjective => [Na-adj]+deshita.

 example : San’nen mae. Kono kouen wa Kirei deshita.

(Three years ago, this park was clean and beautiful.)

Note that “Kirei” is not an I-adjective but Na-adjective. And spelling is “Kirei”, but pronunciation is “Kire’e”.

3. I-adjective => [I-adj]+kattadesu.

example : Kinou wa Atatakatta desu.

(Yesterday, it was warm.)

Note that you need to use “kattadesu” for “Past-Positive” of an I-adjective predicate sentence. DO NOT SAY “×Atatakai deshita”, which is wrong.

This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section 12 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: When adjectives modify a noun, there is no “no” between an adjective and a noun; [I-Adjective]+i+[Noun] / [Na-adjective]+na+[Noun]

We have already learned two functions of I- and Na-adjectives

1. Adjective as a predicate.

– Satou-san wa Shinsetsu desu. — Na-adjective (Ms. Sato is kind.)

– Satou-san wa Yasashii desu. — I-adjective (Ms. Sato is kind.)

2. Adjective to modify a noun

– Satou-san wa Shinsetsuna Hito desu. — Na-adjective (Ms. Sato is a kind person.)

– Satou-san wa Yasashii Hito desu. — I-adjective (Ms. Sato is a kind person.)

As shown in 2 above, when Na-adjective modifies a noun, “na” is used to connect a noun;

3. Shinsen + na + Sakana : Fresh fish

4. Oishi + i + Sakana : Delicious fish

Do you remember that when a noun modifies another noun, how the two nouns are connected?

5. Umi + no + Sakana : Sea fish

If you say “Shinsen no Sakana”, it’s not completely wrong because Na-adjectives came from the combination of noun and auxiliary verb. But you should use “na” between a Na-adjective and a noun.

If you say “Oishii no Sakana”, it is completely wrong. You need to know the difference between the two;

– [Noun1] + no + [Noun2]

– [I-Adjective] + i + [Noun]

Practice and remember the following conversation.

A : Oosaka wa Donna Machi desuka. (What kind of city is Osaka?)

B : Oosaka wa Ookii Machidesu. (Osaka is a big city.)

A : Ja, Kyouto wa Donna Machi desuka. (Well, then, what kind of city is Kyoto?)

B : Kyouto wa Furui Machi desu. (Kyoto is an old city.)

<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8課A3”の内容を参照しています。>

Japanese Learning: Another use of I- and Na-adjectives that modifies a noun; [I-Adjective]+i+[Noun] / [Na-adjective]+na+[Noun]

To begin with, the followings are answers of quiz on February 21.

Quiz: Make “present-negative” endings;

example: Iidesu. (is good) => Yokunaidesu. (is not good)

Q1: Atarashiidesu. (is new) => Atarashikunaidesu. (is not new)

Q2: Oishiidesu. (is tasty) => Oishikunaidesu. (is not tasty)

Q3: Omoshiroidesu. (is interesting) => Omoshirokunaidesu. (is not interesting)

Q4: Takaidesu. (is expensive/tall/high) => Takakunaidesu. (is not so expensive)

Q5: Kireidesu (is beautiful/clean) => Kirei dewa arimasen / Kirei ja arimasen (is not beautiful)

Q1 to Q4 are I-adjectives, and Q5 “Kirei” is a Na-adjective.

So far, we have learned how to use I- adjectives and Na-adjectives as the predicate of a sentence. In addition, there is another major use of an adjective. Look at the followings;

– The sky is blue. — Predicative use of adjective

– I saw a blue sky. — Restrictive use of adjective

Similar things happen for Japanese adjectives.

1. Sora wa Aoi desu. — Adjective as a predicate

2. Watashi wa Aoi Sora o Mimasihta. — Adjective to modify a noun

Where;

– Sora: noun; sky

– Aoi: I-adjective; blue

The sentence 2 is a sentence of transitive verb predicate. Its structure is as follows;

[Subject] + [Object] + [Transitive verb]

= [Watashi]wa + [Aoi Sora]o + [Mi] mashita.

You see, in the object “Aoi Sora”, that adjective “Aoi” modifies noun “Sora”. Note that a modifying word (adjective) is placed in front of a modified word (noun) like “blue sky”.

Now, it’s about time to tell you definitions of Na-adjective and I-adjective. Look at the examples of these adjectives that modify nouns.

3. Shizuka + na + Kouen : Quiet park

4. Atarashi + i + Kouen : New park

Na-adjective uses “na” to modify a noun as in 3.

I- adjective uses “i” to modify a noun as in 4.

Let us continue to learn use of adjectives as modifiers for nouns tomorrow.

<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8課A3”の内容を参照しています。>

Japanese Learning: Sentence Endings of Adjective Predicate Sentences; Four patterns for I-adjective and Na-adjective, and positive and negative (continued).

Anwers for yesterday’s quiz;

Q1: Ii (good) —– I- adjective

Q2: Genki (healthy and energetic) —– Na- adjective

Q3: Shizuka(quiet) —– Na- adjective

Q4: Atarashii (new) —– I- adjective

Q5: Oishii (tasty) —– I- adjective

Q6: Yuumei (famous) —– Na- adjective

Q7: Omoshiroi (interesting) —– I- adjective

Q8: Shinsetsu (kind) —– Na- adjective

Q9: Takai (expensive/tall/high) —– I- adjective

Q10: Kirei (beautiful/clean) —– Na- adjective

I hope that you answered correctly for Q10.

Let us review four patterns of adjective predicate sentences;

<1> Na-adjective predicate for present positive; (“desu”)

– Kono Kouen wa Kirei desu. (This park is beautiful.)

<2> Na-adjective predicate for present negative; (“dewa arimasen”)

– Kono Kouen wa Kirei dewa arimasen. (This park is not beautiful.)

“dewa” is quite often shortened to be “ja”, especially for conversation. “Ja” sounds a little casual, while “dewa” sounds polite.

<3> I-adjective predicate for present positive; (“desu”)

– Kono Kouen wa Atarashii desu. (This park is new.)

<4> I-adjective predicate for present negative; (“-kunai desu”)

– Kono Kouen wa Atarashikunai desu. (This park is not new.)

 For this <4>, an I-adjective and negative word “nai” is connected.

example: Atarashii + nai => Atarashikunai

The example shows that the last character “i” turns to be “ku”. When a word conjugates, the end part of the word changes according to the following word. But usually, it is so difficult for Japanese learners to accept this change. They don’t want to change the end part of an I-adjective that is “i”, and end up saying “Atarashii dewa naidesu”, which is wrong.

So what is most important for today is to make an I-adjective predicate “-kunaidesu” correctly for present negative.

By the way, as for I-adjective “Ii”, a special change happens to make it “-kunaidesu”.

Ii (good) —– positive predicate : Iidesu. => negative : Yokunaidesu.

Simply put “Ii” came from “Yoi”. Both mean good. When “Ii” conjugates, the first letter “I-” returns to be “Yo-”.

Quiz: Make “present-negative” endings;

example: Iidesu. (is good) => Yokunaidesu. (is not good)

Q1: Atarashiidesu. (is new) => ??? (is not new)

Q2: Oishiidesu. (is tasty) => ??? (is not tasty)

Q3: Omoshiroidesu. (is interesting) => ??? (is not interesting)

Q4: Takaidesu. (is expensive/tall/high) => ??? (is not so expensive)

Q5: Kireidesu (is beautiful/clean) => ??? (is not beautiful)

Answers will probably be shown on Wednesday. <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8課A2”の内容を参照しています（昨日と同じです）。>

Japanese Learning: Sentence Endings of Adjective Predicate Sentences; Four patterns for I-adjective and Na-adjective, and positive and negative.

Yesterday we learned that there are two types of adjectives in Japanese. They are I-adjectives and Na-adjectives. When these adjectives are used for predicate of a sentence, sentences are like below;

1. (Na-adjective) Kono Kouen wa Kirei desu. (This park is beautiful.)

2. (I-adjective) Kono Kouen wa Atarashii desu. (This park is new.)

Sentences 1 and 2 are both positive. You need to learn negative endings.

3. (Na-adjective) Kono Kouen wa Kirei dewa arimasen. (This park is not beautiful.)

4. (I-adjective) Kono Kouen wa Atarashikunai desu. (This park is not new.)

Sentences 1 through 4 are all in present tense. In addition to 1 through 4, you also need to learn other four patterns of endings for past tense. But learning many patters at one time is not effective, let us concentrate on positive/negative ending in present tense this time.

– Na-adjective predicate for present positive; (sentence 1; “desu”)

– Na-adjective predicate for present negative; (sentence 3; “dewa arimasen”)

– I-adjective predicate for present positive; (sentence 2; “desu”)

– I-adjective predicate for present negative; (sentence 4; “-kunai desu”)

Yesterday I wrote that “anytime you use an adjective, you need to know whether it is Na-adjective or I-adjective. The two adjectives conjugate differently”. Differences between Na-adjective and I-adjective can be seen between sentences 1 and 2, and between 3 and 4. And let me say the same thing as yesterday, that the adjective “Kirei(na)” is not an I-adjective but Na-adjective. So many Japanese learners are confused by the Na-adjective “Kireina”. There are three types of understanding about adjectives.

<1> WRONG : If a learner erroneously understands that “Kirei” is an I-adjective, he/she would say the sentence 3 like “Kono Kouen wa Kirekunaidesu”, which is wrong. But the error happens only on “Kireina”.

<2> WRONG : If a learner erroneously understands that all the I-adjective conjugate in the same way as “Kirei”, he/she would say the sentence 4 like “Kono Kouen wa Atarashii dewa arimasen, which is wrong. This error <2> is more serious than error <1> because conjugations of all the I-adjectives get damages.

<3> Right : A learner knows there are two types of adjectives, know an adjective is Na- or I-adjective, and can conjugate it properly for the type.

Let me continue to write about this issue tomorrow. The issue is right endings of Na-adjective predicate sentences and I-adjective predicate sentences.

Think about whether the following words are Na- or I-adjectives, and remember them.

Q1: Ii (good) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q2: Genki (healthy and energetic) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q3: Shizuka(quiet) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q4: Atarashii (new) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q5: Oishii (tasty) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q6: Yuumei (famous) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q7: Omoshiroi (interesting) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q8: Shinsetsu (kind) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q9: Takai (expensive/tall/high) —– Na- or I- adjective

Q10: Kirei (beautiful/clean) —– Na- or I- adjective

Answers will be shown tomorrow

<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8課A2”の内容を参照しています。>

Japanese Learning: Adjective Predicate Sentences; [Subject] wa [I-adjective / Na-adjective] desu.

We have already learned two types of predicate sentences; one is noun predicate sentences and the other is verb predicate sentences.

1. Watashi wa Daigakusei desu. (I am a university student.)

2. Watashi wa Nihongo o Benkyoushimasu. (I study Japanese.)

1 is a noun predicate sentence, while 2 is a verb predicate sentence. Noun is a word group for words that are names of something. Verb is a word group for words that express motions in most of the time, but also including existence (Aru, Iru), and change (Naru).

Today we are going to learn another predicate sentence, which is “Adjective predicate sentences”. Adjective is a word group for words that describe nature, condition, and so on. Take a look at adjective predicate sentences below;

3. Kono Kouen wa Kirei desu. (This park is beautiful.)

4. Kono Kouen wa Atarashii desu. (This park is new.)

Do you know the reason why two adjective predicate sentences are shown as examples? In fact, 3 and 4 are different type of adjective predicate sentences. Adjectives in Japanese is not one group of words. There are TWO types of adjectives; Na-adjectives and I-adjectives. The definition and why we call them “Na-” or “I-” will be explained later. But what I want you to know is that anytime you use an adjective, you need to know whether it is Na-adjective or I-adjective. The two adjectives conjugate differently.

There is an adjective “Kirei” in 3 above. This word always appears in your Japanese textbook when it comes to adjectives. Why? because the adjective “Kirei” seems to be I-adjective, but it is actually a Na-adjective. Be always conscious that “Kirei” is Na- adjective.

Remember the following adjectives for today’s conversation;

– Kirei(na): Na-adjective; beautiful, clean

– Ii: I-adjective; good

And practice the followings;

A : Kono Kouen wa Dou desuka. (How is this park?)

B : Kono Kouen wa Kirei desu. (This park is beautiful.)

A : Sono Hon wa Dou desuka. (How is that book?)

B : Kono Hon wa Ii desu. (This book is good.)

<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8課A1”の内容を参照しています。>