Yesterday, we learned verb predicate sentences that use transitive verbs and the particle “o”. A transitive verb expresses an action that exerts its effect onto an object directly. And the particle “o”, as the object marker, is attached to just behind the object. So, the sentence construction is as below;
1. [Subject] wa [Object] o [Transitive verb] masu.
example; Watashi wa Ocha o Nomi masu.
Where;
– Ocha: noun; tea
– Nomimasu: transitive verb; drink
Note that the order of words is different from transitive verb sentence of English.
English: [Subject] [Transitive Verb] [Object] — SVO
Japanese: [Subject wa] [Object o] [Transitive Verb] — SOV
How can we make a transitive verb sentence an interrogative sentence?
(1) Yes-No question
Put “ka” at the end of the sentence;
A : Satou-san wa Ocha o Nomi masuka. (Ms. Sato, do you drink tea?)
B : Hai, watashi wa Ocha o Nomi masu. (Yes, I drink tea.)
(2) Asking what the object is;
A : Satou-san wa Nani o Nomi masuka. (Ms. Sato, what do you drink?)
B : Watashi wa Mizu o Nomi masu. (I drink water.)
(3) Asking what the action is;
A : Satou-san wa Nani o Shimasuka. (Ms. Sato, what are you going to do?)
B : Watashi wa Koh’hii o Nomi masu. (I am going to drink a cup of coffee.)
In (3), the question uses verb “Shimasu”. Shimasu is a verb similar to the verb “do” in English. And most of the time “Shimasu” functions as a transitive verb, although occasionally it can be an intransitive verb (such a case will be explained later). It is interesting that even if the answer could use an intransitive verb, the question is “Nani o Shimasuka” which is obviously phrase of object and transitive verb. An example is as below
A : Satou-san wa Nani o Shimasuka. (Ms. Sato, what are you going to do?)
B : Watashi wa Gakko e Ikimasu. (I am going to the school.)
The verb “Ikimasu” is an intransitive verb.
<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6課A1とA2”の内容を参照しています。>
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