タグ: Japanese learning

Japanese learning (A1 S39): “-te/de” connections for Cause/Reason; [V-te/I-adj+kute/Na-adj+de], {Main Clause}.

There are three major uses of “-te/de” connections.

(1) Sequential Actions (introduced in A1 S16)

Example: Machi ni Itte, Kaimonoshite, Shokujishite, Kaeri mashita.
(I went to the town, did shopping, had a meal, and then came back home.)

(2) Accompanying Action (introduced in A3 S34)

Example: Sumaho o Motte, Machi ni Dekake masu.

(Having my smartphone in hand, I go to the town.)

(3) Action that is Cause/Reason (introduced in A1 S39)

Example: Jishin ga Kite, Totemo Bikkuri shimashita.

(As an earthquake hit, I got surprised much.)

(3) is what we are learning today. In the comparison with (1) and (2), it is important to know what is the subject of each clause in these sentences with “-te/de” connections.

(1)’ (Watashi wa)Machi ni Itte, (Watashi wa) Kaimonoshite, (Watashi wa)Shokujishite, (Watashi wa)Kaeri mashita.

These subjects in clauses are all “Watashi wa”.

(2)’ (Watashi wa) Sumaho o Motte, (Watashi wa) Machi ni Dekake masu.

Also, in use for accompanying action, the subject in clauses are the same.

(3)’ (Jishin) ga Kite, (Watashi wa) Bikkuri shimashita.

But in this one, the subject of subordinate clause is “Jishin”, while that of main clause is “Watashi”.

Therefore, there is a rule about subject in each clause of a sentence with “-te/de” connection;

<1> “-te/de” connection is for “Sequential actions” or “Accompanying action”;

The subjects in clauses need to be the same.

<2> “-te/de” connection is for “Action that is Cause/Reason”;

Either is okay for the subjects in clauses to be the same and to be different.

[1] “-te/de” connections using Te-form of a Verb

1. Shiken ni Ochite, Totemo Gakkarishi mashita.

(Since I failed an examination, I was totally disappointed.)

Having failed an exam is a reason why “I” was disappointed. “Ochite” is the Te-form of “Ochiru/Ochimasu” which is a Group2 verb.

2. Tenkiyohou o Kiite, Kasa o Mochi mashita.

(Since I had heard a weather forecast, I took an umbrella. / I heard a weather forecast, and then I took an umbrella.)

Actually, this is not a good example. If the reason of taking an umbrella is hearing the weather forecast that was saying a rain was coming, “-te” connection in this sentence would be “Action that is Cause/Reason”. But perhaps it is simply saying that I heard a weather forecast and then I picked up an umbrella on my hand, “-te” connection in this sentence would be “Sequesntial Actions. Note that it is sometimes difficult to decide on one out of the three types of “-te/de connections” (1) to (3). In order to avoid such “grey zone”, the writers of Minna no Nihongo use expressions denoting the arousal of emotion for the main clauses in the examples of A1 S39. There must be a reason for an arousal of emotion, and that is the subordinate clause with “-te/de”.

[2] “-te” connections using “-nakute,” of Nai-form of a Verb

3. Yasumi ga Torenakute, Taihen desu.

(Since I cannot take day-off, it is terrible.)

“Torenakute” comes from “Torenai” which is the Nai-form of “Toreru”. And “Toreru” is the potential form of “Torou/Torimasu”.

4. Sensei ni Okorarenakute, Hotto-shi masita.

(I was not scolded by the teacher, so, I was relieved.)

“Okorarenakute” comes from “Okorarenai” which is the Nai-form of “Okorareru”. And “Okorareru” is the passive form of “Okoru/Okorimasu”.

As seen in 3 and 4, not only Nai-forms obtained directly from dictionary forms, Nai-forms coming from potential and passive forms are also able to be used in subordinate clauses to say reason/cause.

[3] “-te” connections of I-adjectives, and “-de” connections of Na-adjectives

Not only verbs but also I-adjectives and Na-adjectives can be used for today’s sentence construction;

– {Subordinate Clause of Reason/Cause}+te/de, {Main Clause}.

5. Tenki ga Warukute, Yama ni Nobore masen.

(Since the weather is too bad, we can’t climb the mountain.)

“Warui” is an I-adjective, which becomes “Warukute” for “-te” connection. Don’t say (WRONG) “Waruide”. “Nobore masen” comes from Nai-form of Potential form “Noboreru” whose origin is “Noboru/Noborimasu”.

6. Setumei ga Teineide, Yoku Wakari mashita.

(The explanation was thorough, and I understood it well.)

“Teinei(na)” is a Na-adjective, which becomes “Teineide” for “-de” connection.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section39 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A5 S38): Application of “V-ta+no”, “I-adj+no”, and “Na-adj+no” to a Topic/Subject of a sentence; [{V-ta/I-adj/Na-adj} + no ] wa [Predicate] desu.

We have been learning how to use “no” that functions to make a verb a noun-equivalent in the section 38. Since whether a word is verb or noun is strictly distinguished in Japanese, you cannot connect a verb and a particle directly.

(WRONG) Sampo-suru wa Tanoshii desu.

(RIGHT) Sampo-suru no wa Tanoshii desu.

The wrong sentence above connects the verb “Sampo-suru” and the particle “wa” directly. This isn’t accepted. The right one puts “no” between “Sampo-suru” and “wa”. Note that this “no” is a little different kind from “no” that modifies a noun with another noun like “Nihon no Kuruma”. By connecting a verb and “no”, the verb can be a noun-equivalent. Therefore, you can connect  “V+no” to a particle.”

– { [V]+no } + [Particle] => {[Sampo-suru] + no } + wa

In this section 38, the exercises A1 through A4 apply “V+no” as below;

A1 : { [V]+no } + wa [Predicate].

A2 : [Topic] wa  { [V]+no } + ga [Predicate].

A3 : { [V]+no } + o Wasure mashita.

A4 : { [V]+no } + o Shitte imasuka.

In A1 through A3, the verbs are all in dictionary form. But in A4, not only dictionary form, but also Nai-form and Ta-form are used for the “V+no”. The followings are just repetition of yesterday’s sentences, but;

(1) [V-dic + no] o Shitte imasuka.

Example: Ashita Satou-san ga Taiin-suru no o Shitte imasuka. (Do you know Sato-san will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow?)

(2) [V-nai + no] o Shitte imasuka.

Example: Raishuu no Kayoubi, Gomi no Shuushuu ga Nai no o Sitte imasuka. (Do you know that garbage collecting will be done in Tuesday next week?)

(3) [V-ta + no] o Shitte imasuka.

Example: Kinou Satou-san ga Taiin-shita no o Shitte imasuka. (Do you know Sato-san was discharged

And today, more expansion of use of “no” is introduced. “no” has the function to make a verb a noun-equivalent, but not only for a verb, “no” has that function also for I-adjectives and Na-adjective. So, to be exact, “no” has the function to make a conjugating word a noun-equivalent.

1. Chichi to Haha ga Hajimete Deatta no wa Daigaku no Toshokan deshita.

(The place my dad and mom met first time was the library in the university.)

“Deatta” is the Ta-form of a verb “Deau/Daimasu” which means “encounter”, and its conjugation pattern is Group1-W.

2. Watashi ga Tabetai no wa Suigyouza desu.

(What I want to eat is boiled dumplings.)

A5 in Minna no Nihongo uses an I-adjective “Hoshii” for the sample sentence. As mentioned above, “[I-adj]+no” is also used as well as “[V]+no”. However, “-tai” of “Tabetai” in this sentence is not an I-adjective, but an auxiliary verb whose conjugation pattern is the same as I-adjective (-tai, -takunai, -takatta, -takereba). Since auxiliary verbs are also conjugating words, they take the form of “[auxiliary verb]+ no+ [particle]”.

3. Ichiban Anzen’na no wa Soto ni Denai koto desu.

(The safest is not to go outside.)

“Anzenna” is a Na-adjective. It is said that Na-adjectives came from the combination of nouns and the auxiliary verb(da/desu). Therefore, sometimes a stem of Na-adjective connects to a particle like “Anzen ga Daiichi desu. (Safety is the top priority.)”. But “[stem]+[particle]” usually sounds uncomfortable. Please don’t say “(No Good) Kirei ga Ippai, Suteki ga Takusan (There are many beautiful and nice things)”, even if Japanese are saying like this. They are just playing with words.

We have learned “[conjugating words]+no +[particle]” today. The conjugating words in front of “no” take the following forms;

– Verbs : [V-dic] + no, [V-nai] + no, and [V-ta] + no

– I-adjectives : [Stem of I-adj] + i + no

– Na-adjective : [Stem of Na-adj] + na + no

Is there anything that you can find from these forms of conjugating words? These words take forms that can be connected to a noun. Therefore, “no” that we learn in the section 38 has a certain nature as a noun. Probably it is obvious because “no” is the word that can make a conjugating word a noun-equivalent, and because a word in front of a particle is usually a noun.

Again, “no” has the function that makes a conjugating word a noun-equivalent. But haven’t we already learned a word that has the same function? It is a formal noun “koto” that was introduced in the section 18. The following argument would be issues for intermediate and advanced level Japanese learners, but it is a little difficult to learn how “koto” and “no” are interchangeable each other. In fact, “koto” can take places of “no” for most of the sentences in A1 through A4. For example;

(A1) Tomodachi to Isshoni Gohan o Taberu no wa Tanoshii desu. (It is fun to eat a meal with my friends.)

=> Tomodachi to Isshoni Gohan o Taberu koto wa Tanoshii desu.

(A2) Watashi wa Ongaku o Kiku no ga Suki desu. (I like listening to music.)

=> Watashi wa Ongaku o Kiku koto ga Suki desu.

(A3) Shukudai o Motte kuru no o Wasure mashita. (I forgot to bring the homework (that I have done).)

=> Shukudai o Motte kuru koto o Wasure mashita. In this case, “Motte kuru no o” is more common.

(A4) Kinou Satou-san ga Taiin-shita no o Shitte imasuka. (Do you know Sato-san was discharged from the hospital yesterday?)

=> Kinou Satou-san ga Taiin-shita koto o Shitte imasuka.

So, for these, “no” and “koto” are almost interchangeable. But it is not always so. Let us look at today’s sentences again.

1. Chichi to Haha ga Hajimete Deatta no wa Daigaku no Toshokan deshita.

(The place my dad and mom met first time was the library in the university.)

=>(WRONG) Chichi to Haha ga Hajimete Deatta koto wa Daigaku no Toshokan deshita.

“koto” cannot take place of “no” for this particular sentence1. “no” is a functional word usually without meaning. But in the case of the sentence 1, “no” has a meaning of “place” as the English translation indicates. On the other, “koto” is also functional word usually, but “koto” has an original meaning that is “an event”. “Daigaku no Toshokan (Library in university)” is a place, not an event. Therefore, “koto” cannot be used as alternative of “no” in this particular sentence.

2. Watashi ga Tabetai no wa Suigyouza desu.

(What I want to eat is boiled dumplings.)

=>(WRONG) Watashi ga Tabetai koto wa Suigyouza desu.

Likewise, “What I want to eat” and “boiled dumplings” are not events. They are concrete objects, in other words, foods. Also in this case, “koto” cannot substitute “no”.

3. Ichiban Anzen’na no wa Soto ni Denai koto desu.

(The safest is not to go outside.)

=>(sounds a little funny) Ichiban Anzen’na koto wa Soto ni Denai koto desu.

It is a little difficult to explain why this isn’t good. Because the sentence is consistent in respect that the subject is “koto” and the predicates is “koto”. In this case, the sentence says “The safest countermeasure is not to go outside.” Therefore, the countermeasure is not an event, but a movement for you to take.

So please note that “no” and “koto” are often interchangeable, but sometimes not, and it is difficult to explain the reason of cases being interchangeable or not.

The following is yet another intermediate/advanced level issue. What we learned in the section 38 is how to apply “no” in sentences. “no” is not for the restrictive modification of a noun by another noun, but for making a conjugating word a noun-equivalent. Let us review where such “no” is used in the sentences in the exercise A1 through A5. Let [Verb] represent [Conjugation words] in the followings;

A1 : { [V]+no } + wa [Predicate]. — “no” is applied to the subject.

A2 : [Topic] wa  { [V]+no } + ga [Predicate]. — “no” is applied to “ga-word” in wa-ga construction.

A3 : { [V]+no } + o Wasure mashita. — “no” is applied to the object.

A4 : { [V]+no } + o Shitte imasuka. — “no” is applied to the object.

A5 : { [V]+no } + wa [Predicate]. — “no” is applied to the subject.

As indicated above, in the section 38, there is no sentence that uses “no” in the predicates. What will happen if “no” is used in a predicate of a sentence? In fact, we have already learned the sentences that use “no” in the predicates. And there, not only predicates of conjugating words, but also noun predicates can use “no”(a noun doesn’t conjugate). The following sentences are what were introduces in A4 S26.

– Watashi wa Kaimono ni Ikimasen. Shigoto ga Aru ndesu. (I won’t go shopping. Because I have to work.)

Actually, “Shigoto ga Aru ndesu.” is shortened from “Shigoto ga Aru no desu.”. This is an example that “no” is used in a predicate. Most of time, especially in conversation, “no” in predicate is shortened to be “n”. Then, what will happen when “no” in words other that predicates are contracted to be “n”?

(A1) Onsen ni Hairu no wa Kimochi ga Ii desu.
=> Onsen ni Hairun wa Kimochi Ee.

(A2) Watashi wa Ongaku o Kiku no ga Suki desu.

=> Ore wa Ongaku o Kikun ga Suki ya.

(A5) Ichiban Anzen’na no wa Soto ni Denai koto desu.

=> Ichiban Anzen’nan wa Soto ni Denai koto ya.

If you contract “no” to be “n” in subject, object, or any other than predicate, it sounds like Kansai-dialect. Although Kansai-dialect is an important part of Japanese language, my posts about Japanese learning does not deal with it. If you live in Kansai region, knowing and understanding Kansai-dialect is important. But those who are beginners of Japanese language living in other areas of Japan, there is no need to speak like people in Kansai. Therefore, as to “no” that has the function to make conjugating words noun-equivalents, it would be better to say as below;

– In a predicate, it is usually “n”. Saying “no” is also okay.

Iku<n>desu, Samui<n>desu, Kireina<n>desu, Byoukina<n>desu.

Iku<no>desu, Samui<no>desu, Kireina<no>desu, Byoukina<no>desu.

– In a subject, object, other than predicate, it is better to say “no”.

Iku<no>wa — Don’t use “Iku<n>wa”

Kiku<no>ga — Don’t use “Kiku<n>ga”

Suru<no>o — Don’t use “Suru<n’>o”

Of course, if you really want to speak like Kansai people in casual conversation, saying “Ikunwa”, “Kikunga”, and “Surun’o” is okay.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 on Section38 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A4 S38): Application of “V+no” to an Object in Transitive verb predicate sentence; V can be V-dic, V-nai, and V-ta; [{V-dic/V-nai/V-ta} + no ] o [V-t] mashita.

Yesterday we learned sentences in which “V-dic + no” is applied to the object of a transitive verb predicate sentence, particularly;

(Watashi wa) [{V-dic} + no ] o Wasure mashita.

Example : Shukudai o Suru no o Wasure mashita. (I forgot to do the homework.)

Today’s sentences are also similar kinds that have “V+no” in the object part of a transitive verb predicate sentence.

(Anata wa ) [ V + no ] o Shitte imasuka.

“Anata wa” is the subject, but Japanese hardly use “Anata” in conversation. “Anata” is used only when a wife calls her husband. Therefore, it’s better for you to avoid saying “Anata” in conversation with ordinary people. The transitive verb for predicate was “Wasure mashita” for yesterday, which was a simple past tense. But today’s predicate verb is different, “Shitte imasuka”. It is a question because the last letter “ka (か)” is an ending particle for question. More importantly, “Shitte imasu” is a “V-te iru”. Note that “Shiru” is an instantaneous action as a verb, and “Shitte iru” is stative. Therefore, English verb “know” is translated into not “Shiru/Shirimasu” but “Shitte iru/Shitte imasu”.

Another important thing is that verbs for “V+no” are not only dictionary form but also Nai-form and Ta-form. When you ask a question “Do you know?”, the question can be about a thing about to happen, about a thing that “isn’t”, or about a thing in the past or completed.

(1) [V-dic + no] o Shitte imasuka.

(2) [V-nai + no] o Shitte imasuka.

(3) [V-ta + no] o Shitte imasuka.

The examples are shown below in the comparison with verb in other forms;

1. Ashita Satou-san ga Taiin-suru no o Shitte imasuka. (Do you know Sato-san will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow?)

2. Kinou Satou-san ga Taiin-shita no o Shitte imasuka. (Do you know Sato-san was discharged from the hospital yesterday?)

“Taiin-suru” is dictionary form, while “Taiin-shita” is Ta-form.

3. Raishuu no Kayoubi, Gomi no Shuushuu ga Aru no o Sitte imasuka. (Do you know that garbage collecting will be done in Tuesday next week?)

4. Raishuu no Kayoubi, Gomi no Shuushuu ga Nai no o Sitte imasuka. (Do you know that garbage collecting will be done in Tuesday next week?)

The sentence 3 uses the dictionary form of “Aru” for positive context. Since the sentence 4 is of negative context, you need to use a Nai-form. But be careful, the Nai-form of “Aru” is not “Aranai” but “Nai”.

5. Machi no Higashi ni Atarashii Shoppingu Mo’oru ga Dekita no o Shitte imasuka.

(Do you know the new shopping mall was built in the eastern part of the town?)

“Dekiru” is used for the potential form of “Suru”. But “Dekiru” is also used as a verb that means something is built, comes up, and is completed. If you say “Shoppingu Mo’oru ga Dekiru no o Sitteimasuka.”, your question means “Do you know a shopping mall will be completed?”. The sentence 5 is a question about a shopping mall that has already completed. Therefore, the verb “Dekiru” needs to be Ta-form “Dekita”. Remember that Ta-form is for past/perfect tense.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section38 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A3 S38): Application of “V+no” to a O-word in Transitive verb predicate sentence; ( [Subject] wa ) [{V-dic} + no ] o [V-t] mashita.

Yesterday we learned the application of “V-dic+no” to a Ga-word in Wa-ga construction. Today we are learning application of “V-dic+no” to another important component of a sentence. The sentence is a different kind from wa-ga construction. It is a transitive verb predicate sentence.

(1) [Subject] wa/ga [Object] o [V-t] masu/mashita.

This is a basic sentence construction of Japanese, which is often depicted as SOV. The following is an example of (1);

1. Watashi wa Shukudai o Wasure mashita. (I forgot the homework.)

Actually, this sentence 1 isn’t enough to convey the situation about having forgot the homework, because we can imagine the following situations;

(1) The speaker forgot what homework the teacher assigned.

(2) The speaker forgot to do the homework.

(3) The speaker forgot to bring the homework done to the school.

In today’s sentences, “V-dic+no” is inserted into the Object of the above sentence. And the “[Subject] wa” is omitted. Plus, the predicate uses “Wasure mashita (forgot)” only.

2. Shukudai o Suru no o Wasure mashita. (I forgot to do the homework.)

3. Shukudai o Motte kuru no o Wasure mashita. (I forgot to bring the homework (that I have done).)

Don’t say 3 in the case of 2. Anyway, using “V-dic + no” for the object instead of a simple noun, the sentences 2 and 3 can convey the situation of forgetting more accurately than the sentence 1.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section38 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A2 S38): Application of “V+no” to a Ga-word in Wa-ga construction; [Topic] wa [{V-dic} + no ] ga [Adj] desu.

Yesterday we learned to make a verb a noun-equivalent using “no”. What we are learning today is to apply that noun-equivalent to a Wa-ga construction. Actually, there was already a wa-ga construction in which “Verb + no” is applied.

1. Onsen ni Hairu no wa Kimochi ga Ii desu.

(Bathing Onsen makes me feel good.)

As you see in the sentence1, “Verb + no” is applied to “Wa-word”. Let’s review about Wa-ga construction a little. There are several type of Wa-ga constructions, but today, wa-ga constructions whose predicates is I- and Na-adjectives only like below;

2. Watashi wa Ongaku ga Suki desu. (I like music.)

3. Watashi wa Ryouri ga Heta desu. (I am not good at cooking.)

4. Watashi wa Ashi ga Osoi desu. (My legs don’t run fast.)

The above sentences have adjective predicates; Suki(na) and Heta(na) are both Na-adjectives and Osoi is an I-adjective. As these sentences, some or many adjectives tend to be used in wa-ga construction. It is common to explain wa-ga constructions as below;

– [Topic] wa [Subject] ga [Predicate].

But when we look at the sentence 2 to 4 and their English translations of sentences 2 and 3, the sentence looks like;

– [Subject of sentence] wa [Subject of predicate] ga [Predicate].

And “-ga” is to identify and/or specify in conjunction with the predicate. For example, “Ongaku ga” expresses what I like (Suki) in the sentence 1, “Ryouri” expresses what I am not good at (Heta) in the sentence 2, and “Ashi ga” expresses what is slow in the sentence 3.

The review of wa-ga construction ends here, and from here, today’s construction is going to be introduced. “Ga-word”s in the sentence 2 to 4 are all nouns; Ongaku, Ryouri, and Ashi. “-ga” is a particle, which is usually attached to a noun from behind as I explained in the A1. In today’s construction, a noun-equivalent “Verb + no” is inserted to the noun in front of “-ga”.

– [Topic] wa [Subject] ga [Predicate].

=> [Topic] wa [{V-dic} + no ] ga [Predicate].

5. Watashi wa Ongaku o Kiku no ga Suki desu. (I like listening to music.)

6. Watashi wa Ryouri o Tsukuru no ga Heta desu. (I am not good at cooking a meal.)

7. Watashi wa Hashiru no ga Osoi desu. (My running is slow.)

These sentences use only dictionary forms of a verb. If we deal with Nai-form, Ta-form, I-adjective, and/or Na-adjective for what to put in front of “no ga”, things are going to be unnecessarily complicated. Thinking about frequency of use and simplifying the leaning, it would be better to introduce only dictionary form of verbs.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section38 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A1 S38): Expressing How you Feel about an Action; [V-dic] no + wa [Adj] + desu.

A Japanese sentence consists of several phrases (“Bunsetsu”), or let me use, “Chunk”.

– [Chunk]+[Chunk]+ – – – + [Chunk].

Each chunk has the following structure.

– [Chunk] = [ {Word for Meaning} + {Word for Function} ]

Words for meaning can be long, while words for functions are usually short with one-letter or two-letters. For the sake of simplicity, let us think about two word-groups; they are nouns and verbs. Let us forget about adjectives and adverbs. Nouns and Verbs are, of course, words for meaning. The difference we need to care is words for functions to be connected to Nouns or Verbs. Note that I am talking in very simplified way but Chunks for Nouns and Verbs are;

 – [Chunk] = [ {Noun} + {Particle} ]

– [Chunk] = [ {Verb} + {Auxiliary Verb} ]

What we can see in these two are;

– Being a noun or a verb brings is strictly distinguished in Japanese.

– A particle cannot be connected to a verb directly.

Let’s review the above argument with samples. There is a sentence below with five chunks.

1. Watashi wa Tomodachi to Resutoran de Hiru-Gohan o Tabe masu.

(I eat a lunch in a restaurant with my friends.)

If you divide the sentence 1 into chunks, you will get;

2. [Watashi wa] [Tomodachi to] [Resutoran de] [Hiru-Gohan o] [Tabe masu.]

“Watashi”, “Tomodachi”, “Resutoran”, “Hiru-Gohan”, and “Tabe(ru)” are words for meaning, on the other, “wa”, “to”, “de”, “o”, and “masu” are words for function. Words for meaning use several letters, but words for functions are short. “masu” is not four-letter, but two-letter word in Hiragana. As to distinguish nouns and verbs, “Watashi”, “Tomodachi”, “Resutoran”, and “Hiru-Gohan” are nouns. “Tabe(ru)” is a verb. Being a noun or a verb brings is strictly distinguished in Japanese. So, the five chunks are divided into two as below;

– [Chunk] = [ {Noun} + {Particle} ] ; [Watashi wa] [Tomodachi to] [Resutoran de] [Hiru-Gohan o]

– [Chunk] = [ {Verb} + {Auxiliary Verb} ] ; [Tabe masu.]

And a particle cannot be connected to a verb directly. Therefore the sentence below is WRONG.

3. (WRONG) Tomodachi to Hiru-Gohan o Taberu wa Tanoshii desu.

The error happens to “Taberu wa”, because “Taberu” is a verb, “wa” is a particle, and they cannot be connected to each other directly. But when you want to say “It is a fun to have lunch with my friends”, how do you correct the wrong sentence 3?

– WRONG: [ {Verb} + {Particle} ]

– RIGHT: [ {Noun} + {Particle} ] 

The solution is to use a formal noun between a verb and a particle;

– RIGHT: [ {Noun} + {Particle} ] = [ {Verb + (formal noun)} + {Particle} ]

That is, {Verb + (formal noun)} is equivalent to {Noun}. Actually, we have already learned one of formal nouns to make a verb a noun equivalent, which is “koto”. This time we are learning “no” as this kind of word. However, there is a difficulty about “no”, because there is a particle “no” that works purely as a particle. For example, the following “no”s are works as particle in the structure of [ {Noun} + {Particle} ]. But “no” to make “noun-equivalent” is used right behind a verb, an I-adjective, and Na-adjective, and “no” itself works as a noun. Examples are;

– { Verb + no } + {Particle} ; Taberu no wa

– { I-adj + no } + {Particle} ; Oishii no wa

– { Na-adj + no } + {Particle} ; Taisetsuna no wa

Since “no” itself works as a noun, those conjugating words; verbs, I-adjectives, and Na-adjectives are in the conjugation form that can be put in front of a noun.

– Verb in forms of ; Dictionary form, Ta-form, Nai-form, and V-nakatta

– I-adejctive in form of ; [Stem]+ i

– Na-adjective in form of ; [Stem]+ na

The exercise A1 in the section 38 uses only the dictionary form to put in front of “no”. The sentence construction of A1 is as follows;

[Verb clause with verb in dictionary form]+ no + wa [Predicate using an Adjective].

Sample sentences are as below;

4. Tomodachi to Isshoni Gohan o Taberu no wa Tanoshii desu.

(It is fun to eat a meal with my friends.)

5. Ashita madeni Repo’oto o Kaku no wa Muri desu.

(It is impssible to write a report by tomorrow.)

6. Onsen ni Hairu no wa Kimochi ga Ii desu.

(Bathing Onsen makes me feel good.)

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section38 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A6 S37): Passive Sentences; the Passive Action onto the Subject is Ongoing/Continuous/Repetitive; [Subject] wa [V-pas] + te imasu.

We have learned some passive sentences in which “who makes the action” is not important in the exercise A4 and A5. Today’s sentences in the exercise A6 are also this kind of passive sentences in terms of not-mentioning the actor. The difference from A4 and A5 is that a verb in passive form has become “-te iru”. We have already learned that when the action is currently ongoing, continuously keeping done, and is repeated frequently, the verb predicate is not simply “V-masu.” but becomes “V-te imasu”. Therefore, the sentences in A6 can be regarded as an application of “V-te iru” to the passive sentences.

1. Nihon no Roketto wa Tanegashima de Uchiagerarete imasu.

(Rockets of Japan have been launched in Tanegashima Island.)

“Tanegashima” is a place name; it is located south of Kagoshima. The island is famous as the launching place of the rockets. If we don’t use “V-te iru”, the sentence would be as follows;

2. Nihon no Roketto wa Tanegashima de Uchiageraremasu.

The sentence 2 is not wrong, but it makes us wonder whether the launching is one-time event or repetitive events. Or, some may think that the launching happens in near future, without knowing Japan has already launched many numbers of rockets from that Island.

Using “V-te imasu”, the sentence can express that not one but many rockets have been launched from the island.

To change a verb in passive form to be an additional Te-form is not a big issue. The Nai-form of the passive form “Uchiagerareru/Uchiageraremasu” is “Uchiagerar<e>nai”. Therefore, it can be a kind of Group 2 verbs. Simply put “te” to the stem as making a Group2 verb Te-form. No difficult procedure is needed like Group1 verbs.

3. Kono Ude-dokei wa Ano Koujou de Tsukurarete imasu.

(This wristwatch is being made in that factory.)

Something is being made in a factory. It is usually continuous and/or repetitive action, probably not one-time event in the future. The passive form of the verb “Tsukuru/Tsukurimasu” is “Tsukurareru/Tsukuraremasu”. And then it can be Te-form that is “Tsukurarete”. If we convert the sentence 3 to an active sentence, we would get a sentence as shown below;

4. Ano Koujou wa Kono Ude-dokei o Tsukutte imasu.

(That factory is making this wristwatch.)

Those who thinks “wa-ga construction” is versatile may say “(WRONG)Kono Koujou wa Kono Ude-dokei ga Tsukutte imasu.” This is terribly wrong. An object of a transitive verb must use the particle “-o” as the object marker. In this case, it is “Udedokei o Tsukuru”. In some situation of Japanese learning, both teachers and learners try to avoid using the particle “-o”. Such people tend to use “wa-ga construction” quite often because “wa-ga construction” doesn’t use the particle “-o”. And sometimes they find another way to avoid “-o”, which is to make a passive sentence like 3. You see that there is no particle “-o” in the sentence 3 even though the sentence uses transitive verb “Tsukuru/Tsukurimasu”. Of course, the sentence 3 and 4 are not the same. The subject of 3 is ”Kono Ude-dokei wa”, and that of 4 is “Ano Koujou wa”. So, the emphases are different between 3 and 4. Although today’s sentence construction doesn’t use the particle “-o”, but it is necessary to accept that it is fundamental that an object of a transitive verb needs to be followed by the particle “-o”.

The main theme of today’s post is the combination of the passive voice and “V-te iru”.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A6 on Section37 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A5 S37): Passive Sentences in which Who makes the action is not important; [Subject] wa [V-pas] masu/mashita.

We are learning some types of passive sentences in the section 37. Today’s sentence constructions too, do not mention who makes the action like yesterday’s sentences. The difference from the yesterday’s is that “-wa” is used for the subject marker.

1. Kono Tatemono wa Raishu’u Kowasare masu. (This building will be demolished in the next week.)

The subject is “Tatemono(building)” in the sentence 1. Since the subject marker is not “-ga” but “-wa”, both the speaker and the listener have already shared what is the Tatemono, or which Tatemono they are talking about. Look at two conversations below;

(1) The subject markers are “-ga”

A : Dono Tatemono ga Raishu’u Kowasare masuka. (Which building will be demolished next week?)

B : Kono Tatemono ga Kowasare masu. (This building will be demolished.)

The person A doesn’t know which building will be demolished at the timing of asking. Therefore, only the person B knows “Kono Tatemono” will be demolished. “Kono Tatemono” will be a new information for the person A. This is the reason why “-ga” is used for the subject marker.

(2) The subject markers are “-wa”

A : Kono Tatemono wa Raishu’u Kowasare masuka. (Will this building be demolished next week?)

B : Hai, kono Tatemono wa Kowasare masu. (Yes, this building will be demolished.)

The person A and B is talking about the same building “Kono Tatemono”. Therefore, they have already shared which building they are talking about. This is the reason why “-wa” is used for the subject marker.

The following example sentences are also shown in the form of conversation, in order to make clear that the subject is shared between the asking person and the answering person.

2.

A : Kono Otera wa Itsu Taterare mashitaka. (When was this temple built?)

B : Kono Otera wa Ni-Hyaku nen mae ni Taterare mashita. (This temple was built 200 years ago.)

3.

A : Pa’ati’i wa Doko de Hirakare masuka. (Where will the party be held?)

B : Pa’ati’i wa Koube Hoteru de Hirakare masu. (The party will be held in Kobe Hotel.)

The above conversations use “-wa” for the subject markers. Can you tell whether “wa” or “ga” is used for subject marker in the following conversation?

A : Koube Hoteru de Nani<?> Hirakare masuka. (What will be held in Kobe Hotel?)

B : Pa’ati’i <?> Hirakare masu. (A party will be held there.)

The answer will be shown tomorrow.

Yesterday and today, we have been learning some passive sentences that do not mention the actor of the passive action. This kind of sentences are uttered when the actor is not the important information. If who’s the actor is important, of course it is possible to say the actor in a passive sentence.

A : Kabin wa Dareni Kowasare mashitaka. (By whom was the flower vase broken?)

B : Kabin wa Satou-san ni Kowasare mashita. (The flower vase was broken by Sato-san.)

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A5 on Section37 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A4 S37): Passive Sentences in which Who makes the action is not important; [Subject] ga [V-pas] masu.

One thing is common between the passive sentences in the exercise A4 and A5. In the sentences of A4 and A5, the actor of the action is not important. Of course, the subject and the passive action are important in the sentences of both A4 and A5. Then, the difference between A4 and A5 is the subject markers; “-ga” is used in A4, and “-wa” in A5.

Sample of the A4 type passive sentences are as follows;

1. Toukyou de Orimpikku ga Okonaware masu. (In Tokyo, the Olympic games will be carried out.)

In fact, the Olympic games were held in 2021, but the sentence 1 is of future tense. “Okonawareru/Okonawaremasu” is the passive form of the verb “Okonau/Okonaimasu” which means “carry out”. If the passive sentence 1 was converted to be an active sentence, it would be;

– Toukyou de “???” ga Orimpikku o Okonai masu. (In Tokyo, ??? will carry out the Olympic games.)

As you see in the above sentence, we don’t know who will carry out the Olympic games. And the actor of the action “carry out” doesn’t appear in the sentence 1. It is just because who makes the action is not important;

2. Sumida-gawa de Hanabi ga Uchiagerare masu. (On the Sumida River, the fireworks will be launched.)

“Uchiagerareru/Uchiageraremasu” is the passive form of the verb “Uchiageru/Uchiagemasu”. And as well as the sentence 1. this sentence 2 also doesn’t mention who is the actor, because who makes the action is not important information in this sentence.

Both in the sentence 1 and 2, the subject markers are “-ga”. The subject marker “-ga” functions to identify what the subject is. But the “-ga” in the sentence 1 and 2 are usually explained as “’-ga’ for the new information”. When “-ga” is used for the subject marker, the concept of the subject has not yet shared between the speaker and the listener. The speaker knows it, but the listener doesn’t. The listener receives the subject as a new information. This is the difference from the case that “-wa” is used for the subject marker.

When the speaker says “[Subject] wa”, the concept of the subject has already been shared between the speaker and the listener.We will see some passive sentences in which the actor doesn’t appear tomorrow, too. But they will use “-wa” for the subject marker.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section37 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese learning (A2 S37): Passive Sentences; [Subject] wa [People] ni [Object] o [V-pas] mashita.

When making a passive sentence, the verb must be in the passive form. Please refer to yesterday’s post about how to conjugate a verb to its passive form.

Here is an active sentence;

1. Sensei wa Watashi o Home mashita. (The teacher praised me.)

It is the basic of Japanese that the particle “-o” indicates the object of a transitive verb. Actually, some intransitive verbs for movement also use “-o” for the places. But anyway, “Homeru/Homemasu” is a transitive verb. In this particular sentence 1, “Watashi” followed by the particle “-o” is the object of the action of praising. This sentence 1 is grammatically okay. But when a teacher praised you, probably you want to describe the occasion by making “Watashi” the subject of the sentence. This necessitates a passive sentence.

2. Watashi wa Sensei ni Homerare mashita. (I was praised by the teacher.)

The sentence 2 is a passive sentence. Let us examine how words are changed in the conversion from the active sentence 1 to the passive sentence2.

– “Watashi o” in the sentence 1 is the object of the action “praised”.

– “Watashi wa” in the sentence 2 is the subject of the action “was praised”.

– “Sensei wa” in the sentence 1 is the subject of the action “praised”.

– “Sensei ni” in the sentence 2 is the word that the passive action came from. The particle “-ni” has a function to indicate where (who) the action came from in the sentences of giving-receiving, passive and causative.

– “Home mashita” in the sentence 1 is the predicate verb in active voice.

– “Homerare mashita” in the sentence 2 is the predicate verb in passive voice. If you make Nai-form of “Homeru” in order to know which group the Homeru is, you will get “Hom<e>nai”. Then you can tell it is a Group2 verb. The passive form of Group2 verbs can be obtained with [Stem]+rareru/raremasu. Don’t omit “ra”, though youngsters often do.

So far for the sentences 1 and 2, we have been dealing with “Homeru/Homemasu (praise)” which is a transitive verb with the particle “-o”. But what will happen in the conversion from an active to a passive sentence which use a transitive verb with both the particles “-ni” and “-o”?

3. Haha wa Watashi ni Kaimono o Tanomi mashita. (My mother asked me to go shopping.)

This is an active sentence, and a transitive verb predicate sentence using not only “-o” but also “-ni”. In the conversion from the sentence 1 to 2, the object “Watashi o” in the 1 turned to be “Watashi wa” in the 2. But for this sentence3, can you make the word “Kaimono o(shopping)” the subject in a passive sentence? No.

– Kaimono wa Haha ga Watashi ni Tanomi mashita. (When it comes to shopping, my mom aeked me to do it.)

Uh, this is a wa-ga construction which I don’t like. Most importantly. this is not a passive sentence because the predicate verb “Tanomi mashita” is still in active voice. In order to make the sentence 3 a passive sentence, we turn the word with “-ni” to be the subject, that is, “Watashi ni” in the active sentence needs to the subject “Watashi wa” in the passive sentence.

4. Watashi wa Haha ni Kaimono o Tanomare mashita. (I was asked by my mother to go shopping.)

Please compare moves of the words and changes of the particles in the conversion from sentence 3 to 4. It is interesting that the particle “-ni” has different functions in the sentence 3 and 4. In the sentence3, “-ni” of “Watashi ni” is to indicate the destination that the action is heading towards (to whom to ask). On the other, “-ni” of “Haha ni” in the sentence4 is to indicate who (where) the action came from in a passive sentence as well as in the sentence2. The particle “-o” hasn’t changed in the conversion from the sentence 3 to 4. Although “-o” changed in the case of sentence 1 and 2, after all, we need to take note that the object and the particle “-o” is strongly tightened each other in the sentence which uses a transitive verb.

And “Tanomareru/Tanomaremasu” is the passive form of the “Tanomu/Tanomimasu”. Since the Nai-form of Tanomu is “Tanom<a>nai”, it is a Group1(-M) verb. The passive form of Group1 verbs can be obtained with [Stem]+areru/aremasu (Tanom+areru).

The verb used in the sentence 1 and 2 is “Homeru/Homemasu” which is a transitive verb with the particle “-o”. And the verb used in the sentence 3 and 4 is “Tanomu/Tanomimasu” which is a transitive verb with the particle “-ni” and “-o”. Thus, it makes sense to deal with transitive verbs when talking about passive sentence. However, there are some passive sentences using intransitive verbs in Japanese. Typical examples are as follows;

5. Watashi wa Densha no Naka de Kodomo ni Nakare mashita. (I have got a trouble because my kid was crying in a train.)

6. Ie ni Kaeru toki, Watashi wa Ame ni Furare mashita. (On the way home, I got a rainfall.)

“Nakare mashita” in the sentence 5 is the passive voice of the intransitive verb “Naku/Nakimasu”. And “Furare mashita” in the sentence 6 is the passive voice of the intransitive verb “Furu/Furimasu”. Some textbooks may introduce these passive sentences of intransitive verbs. But I think it is better to use transitive verbs only at the first stage of introduction of passive sentences. Teachers know many things. But teaching everything is not always good to help students learn the new items in the second language learning.

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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 on Section37 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”