タグ: Japanese learning

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: “Kakarimasu” a verb to say How long it does take (1); Expressions about time

Suppose you are working in a company. You need to go the company every day through Monday to Friday. You leave your home early in the morning, and get on a train. If it takes only ten minutes on the train, and then you can soon get to your working place from the station, you are lucky. But if it takes one hour and a half on the train, you would be exhausted even at the time when you get to your working place. So, it is very important for you as to how long it takes on your commute. How would you say about this in Japanese?

1. Watashi no Ie kara Kaisha made Densha de Yon juppun Kakarimasu.

Let me tell you about grammatical things about this sentence tomorrow. For today, learn the expressions about time period as a preparation to learn the sentence 1.

– one minute => Ippun

– two minutes => Ni fun

– three minutes => Sampun

– four minutes => Yompun

– five minutes => Go fun

– six minutes => Roppun

– seven minutes => Nana fun

– eight minutes => Happun

– nine minutes => Kyuu fun

– ten minutes => Juppun (Jippun)

– twenty minutes => Ni Juppun

– thirty minutes => San Juppun

– forty-four minutes => Yon Juu Yompun

– fifty-five minutes => Go Juu Go fun

– one hour => Ichi Jikan

– two hours => Ni Jikan

– three and a half hours => San Jikan Han

– four hours and thirty minutes => Yo Jikan San Juppun

– twelve hours => Juu Ni Jikan

<to be continued>

This post was written with reference to the exercise A6 on Section 11 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Expression to say how long an action takes

Look at the following sentence which we learned recently.

1. Ichi nichi ni San kai Gohan o Tabemasu. (I eat meals three times a day.)

The word “Ichi nichi” with particle “-ni” works as a reference time when talking about frequency.

However, today’s expression doesn’t have the particle “-ni” for a word of time period. It is because;

– Time period in the sentence is not a reference time to talk about frequency.

– The purpose is to talk about the time period itself.

– Even without the particle “-ni”, the word of time period can work as an adverbial.

Look at the following conversation and try to remember it;

A : Daigaku de Donokurai Nihongo o Benkyoushimashitaka.

 (How long did you study Japanese in the university?)

B : Daigaku de Yo nen Nihongo o Benkyoushimashita.

 (I studied Japanese four years in the university.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 on Section 11 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Quantifier “kai” to count number of times

Yesterday we learned the following sentence;

1. Ichi nichi ni San kai Gohan o Tabemasu. (I eat meals three times a day.)

This sentence is introduced in order to show one of functions of particle “-ni”. The function was to mark something that is an object to allocate numbers. And for this function, if a word of time period is placed in front of “ni”, the sentence can express frequency.

In the sentence 1, the frequency is three times a day. And you find the word “San kai” for three times. The followings are examples of uses of quantifier “-kai”.

– once => Ikkai

– twice => Ni kai

– three times => San kai

– four times => Yon kai

– five times => Go kai

– six times => Rokkai

– seven times => Nana kai

– eight times => Hakkai

– nine times => Kyuu kai

– ten times => Jukkai (Jikkai)

Practice and remember the following conversation;

A : Satou-san wa Isshuukan ni Nan kai Sentaku o Shimasuka.

(Sato-san, how many times do you wash cloths a week?)

B : Watashi wa Isshuukan ni San kai Sentaku o Shimasu.

(I wash cloths three times a week.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section 11 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Particle “-ni” to make a word a base to allocate number when describing frequency

Functions of Particle “-ni” are shown below.

1. Time of Action

example; Watashi wa Maiasa Roku-ji ni Okimasu. (I get up at six every morning.)

2. Place of Existence

example; Panda wa Ueno Doubutsuen ni Imasu. (A Panda is in Ueno Zoo.)

3. Place where an action is going(getting) to

example; Watashi wa Mainichi Gakkou ni Ikimasu. (I go to school every day.)

4. Object to allocate number

example; Ichinen ni San kai Kuni ni Kaerimasu. (I go to my hometown three times a year.)

There are more functions of particle “-ni”, but this time, let us focus on the function 4, which is to mark something that is an object to allocate numbers.

Take a look at the example below;

example; Ichi nichi ni San kai Gohan o Tabemasu. (I eat meals three times a day.)

In the example, you see the particle “-ni” is attaching just behind the word “Ichi-nichi”. Japanese particles (also known as postpositions) attach to just behind a word, and give the word a function in the sentence. Since we are learning about the function of “-ni” that is 4 above, “Ichi-nichi ni” is a word to which numbers are allocated about how many times the person eats meals in that particular sentence. Although many kinds words can be followed by this type of “ni”, let us limit “time periods” as to the word before “ni”.

(in/per) one hour => Ichi jikan ni

(in/per) one day => Ichi nichi ni

(in/per) one week => Isshuukan ni

(in/per) one month => Ikkagetsu ni

(in/per) one year => Ichi nen ni

Using these [ time period + ni ] words, you can describe frequencies as below;

– Ichi jikan ni Ikkai Toire ni Ikimasu. (I go to a restroom every hour.)

– Ichi nichi ni San kai Gohan o Tabemasu. (I eat meals three times a day.)

– Isshuukan ni Yon kai Nihongo no Jugyou ga Arimasu. (I have Japanese class four times a week.)

– Ikkagetsu ni San kai Gurai Machi ni Ikimasu. (I go to the downtown about three times a month.)

– Ichi nen ni San kai Gurai Ryokou ni Ikimasu. (I travel about three times a year.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section 11 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Numbers for counting something in addition to the numbers for values; Hitotsu, Futatsu, Mittsu, —, To’o.

Numbers had already been introduced;

1 : one => Ichi

2 : two => Ni

3 : three => San

—

10 : ten => Juu

In addition to these numbers, there is another numbering system in Japanese that is used when you counting some objects;

1 : there is one object => Hitotsu

2 : there are two objects => Futatsu

3 : there are three objects => Mittsu

4 : there are four objects => Yottsu

5 : five => Itsutsu

6 : six => Muttsu

7 : seven => Nanatsu

8 : eight => Yattsu

9 : nine => Kokonotsu

10 : ten => To’o

Practice and remember the following conversation;

A : Ringo ga Ikutsu Arimasuka. (How many apples are there?)

B : Ringo ga Yottsu Arimasu. (There are four apples.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section 11 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Sentences describing “Existence” when the speaker and the listener are sharing who the subject is; [Person] wa [Place] ni Imasu.

Yesterday’s construction was like follows;

1. [Noun1] no [Subject] wa [Place] ni Arimasu.

example; Satou-san no Uchi wa Kyoto ni Arimasu. (Sato-san’s home is in Kyoto.)

Today’s construction is as follows;

2. [Person] wa [Place] ni Imasu.

example; Satou-san wa Toire no Mae ni Imasu. (Sato-san is in front of the restroom.)

1 uses “Arimasu”, but 2 uses “Imasu” for verb to describe existence. This difference came from the subjects;

– “Uchi” in 1 is a non-animal subject, therefore “Arimasu” is used.

– “Satou-san” in 2 is an animal/human subject, therefore “Imasu” is used.

I hope that you have already known well about how to choose “Arimasu”or “Imasu” when describing an existence of someone or something. Let us change our focus onto the issue of “which to use wa or ga?”

<subject + wa>

– Satou-san wa Toire no Mae ni Imasu. (Sato-san is in front of the restroom.)

<subject + ga>

– Toire no Mae ni Satou-san ga Imasu. (In front of the restroom, Sato-san is there.)

As to which to use “wa” or “ga” for the subject marker, this blog has already shown the followings;

– When the predicate is an important information, “wa” is used as subject marker.

– When the subject is an important information, “ga” is used as subject marker.

another explanation is;

– When the speaker and the listener share what the subject is, “wa” is used as subject marker.

Probably the above implies the following;

– When the subject is a new information to the listener, “ga” is used as subject marker.

Then, let me add other explanations. Maybe I need to call them not explanations but examples.

– If “ga” is used for subject in a question, use “ga” in your answer.

– If “wa” is used for subject in a question, use “wa” in your answer.

Example1 (for “ga”)

A : Toire no Mae ni Dare ga Imasuka.

B : Toire no Mae ni Satou-san ga Imasu.

Example2 (for “ga”)

A : Doko ni Satou-san ga Imasuka.

B : Toire no Mae ni Satou-san ga Imasu.

Example3 (for “wa”)

A : Satou-san wa Doko ni Imasuka.

B : Satou-san wa Toire no Mae ni Imasu.

For the issue of which to use “wa” or “ga” for the subject marker, there are still other explanations. Let me tell them later. But the basic thing is that “wa” is more broadly used as the subject marker than “ga”. So, when starting Japanese learning as a second language, “wa” should be taught first. Teaching “ga” needs to be done later than “wa”.

This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 on Section 10 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Sentences describing “Existence” when the speaker and the listener are sharing what the subject is; [Noun1] no [Subject] wa [Place] ni Arimasu.

Today’s sentence construction for describing existence uses particle “wa” for subject marker. What was the subject marker for yesterday’s sentence construction?

1. [Noun1] no [Noun2] ni [Subject] ga Arimasu/Imasu.

example; Kombini no Tonari ni Ginkou ga Arimasu. (Next to the convenience store, there is a Bank.)

As you can see, “ga” was the subject marker. Both “wa” and “ga” can be subject marker. And most of the time you need to choose “wa” or “ga” for subject marker properly. This issue is very important, but it is difficult to explain how to choose “wa” or “ga” simply. So for today, let me tell you the difference between “wa” and “ga” as subject marker as below;

– When the predicate is the important information, use “wa”.

– When the subject is the important information, use “ga”.

Probably this explanation for “wa” is not enough to say “the speaker and the listener share what the subject is” in today’s title. In a sentence in which “wa” is used as subject marker, the predicate is more important than the subject because the subject is already known and the predicate is new information about the subject. This issue will be discussed soon again.

Practice and remember the following conversation. Suppose neither A or B is Sato-san.

A : Satou-san no Uchi wa Doko ni Arimasuka. (Where is Sato-san’s home?)

B : Satou-san no Uchi wa Kyoto ni Arimasu. (Sato-san’s home is in Kyoto.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section 10 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Sentences describing “Existence” using the nouns for positions; [Noun1] no [Noun2] ni [Subject] ga Arimasu/Imasu.

It seems to be a little repetitive, but you need to use properly one of two intransitive verbs for describing an existence of someone or something.

1. Non-animal : [Place] ni [Non-Animal Subject]ga Arimasu.

2. Animals and Human : [Place] ni [Animals/Human Subject]ga Imasu.

For today’s learning, let us make [Place ] above [Noun1] no [Noun2]

3. Non-animal : [Noun1] no [Noun2] ni [Non-Animal Subject]ga Arimasu.

4. Animals and Human : [Noun1] no [Noun2] ni [Animals/Human Subject]ga Imasu.

In 3 nad 4, [Noun2]s are words that describes positions that we had learned two days ago. Check them out in the post two days ago. They are;

Ue, Shita, Migi, Hidari, Mae, Ushiro, Naka, Soto, Tonari

Practice and remember the following sentences. And check for what subject the intransitive verb “Imasu” is used, and for what subject the intransitive verb “Arimasu” is used.

5. Kombini no Tonari ni Ginkou ga Arimasu. (Next to the convenience store, there is a Bank.)

6. Kombini no Naka ni ATM ga Atimasu. (Inside the convenience store, there is an Automatic Teller Machine.)

7. Satou-san no Mae ni Suzuki-san ga Imasu. (In front of Sato-san, there is Suzuki-san.)

8. Satou-san no Hidari ni Takahashi-san ga Imasu. (On left side of Sato-san, there is Takahashi-san.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section 10 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning: Sentences describing “Existence” using the nouns for positions; [Nouns for positions] ni [Subject] ga Arimasu/Imasu.

At first, the followings are quick review about use of intransitive verbs “Arimasu” or “Imasu” when you describing an existence of non-animal or animal/human subjects.

1. Non-animal : [Place] ni [Non-Animal Subject]ga Arimasu.

2. Animals and Human : [Place] ni [Animals/Human Subject]ga Imasu.

Today’s constructions that can describe existence are as below;

3. For Non-animal : [Noun] no [Position] ni [Non-Animal Subject]ga Arimasu.

example : Kombini no Tonari ni Ginkou ga Arimasu. (A convenience store is next to a Bank.)

4. For Animals and Human : [Noun] no [Position] ni [Animals/Human Subject]ga Imasu.

example : Satou-san no Mae ni Suzuki-san ga Imasu. (Sato-san is in front of Suzuki-san.)

You could see that what is [Place] in 1 and 2 turned to be {[Noun] no [Position]} in 3 and 4. In order to learn the expressions 3 and 4, it is necessary to know some nouns that are used for describing positions. Take a look at illustrations. They are not prepositions but nouns that describe positions.

That’s all for today.

This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section 10 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”