<Let me try to write the post tomorrow>
This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section20 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
タグ: Na-adjective
Japanese Learning (A4 S19): Changes of a Condition/Nature that is described by Nouns; [Noun]+ni Narimashita.
At the exercise A4 on Section 19, the following three constructions are introduced;
1-1. [Subject] wa [I-adj]+ku Narimashita.
1-2. [Subject] wa [Na-adj]+ni Narimashita.
1-3. [Subject] wa [Noun]+ni Narimashita.
All three use the intransitive verb “Naru/Narimasu” in perfect tense. Note that I-adjective and Na-adjective are words that conjugate, but Noun never conjugates. Despite of the difference about conjugation, the major difference exists between I-adjective and other two. I-adjective uses “ku”, but Na-adjective and Noun use “ni”.
Are the “ni” for Na-adjective and the “ni” for Noun the same? Of course, the character is the same “に”. But what about grammatically? Some teachers may say they are the same, but I think it’s better to think as below;
– [Stem of Na-adj]+ni Narimashita. => “ni” is changing part of Na-adjective that is conjugating words
– [Noun]+ni Narimashita. => “ni” is a particle.
The particle “ni” has many functions. 1 through 4 have already been listed at A4 S11. This time, I add the number 5.
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.)
5. Condition/Status after the change
example; Satou-san wa Daigakusei ni Narimashita. (Sato-san has become a university student.)
Here are some examples for the function 5 of the particle “ni”.
– Suzuki-san wa Nijuu-Ni sai ni Narimashita. (Suzuki-san has becom twenty-two years old.)
– Shingou wa Ao ni Narimasita. (Traffic light turned to be Blue) — blue means you can go
– Ashita wa Yasumi ni Narimashita. (I’ve got a day-off tomorrow.)
– Haru ni Narimashita. (Spring has come.)
Note that words with “ni” behind describe Condition/Status after the changes.
This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section 19 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Japanese Learning (A4 S19): Changes of a Condition/Nature that is described by Na-adjectives; [Na-adj]+ni Narimashita.
When describing a change of something, the following sentence construction is used.
1. [Subject] wa [Condition/Nature after the change] Narimashita.
And for the word to describe “condition/nature”, three groups of words are applicable; I-adjectives, Na-adjectives, and Nouns. The sentence construction 1 would be the following for each of three.
1-1. [Subject] wa [I-adj]+ku Narimashita.
1-2. [Subject] wa [Na-adj]+ni Narimashita.
1-3. [Subject] wa [Noun]+ni Narimashita.
We have already learned 1-1, which is the sentence of changes described with I-adjectives. Today, we are learning 1-2, which uses Na-adjectives.
The most confusing Na-adjective for beginners of Japanese is “Kireina”. Many learner erroneously believe “Kirei” is an I-adjective because it looks like ending with “i”. Let us look at conjugation of Na-adjectives, using “Kireina”.
<1> Concise ending; [Kirei]<da>
<2> Modifying a noun behind; [Kirei]<na> Youfuku (a beautiful cloths)
<3> Being connected to another conjugating word behind*; [Kirei]<ni> narimashita. (It’s become beautiful/clean.)
<4> To make the adjective hypothetical; [Kirei]<nara> (If it’s beautiful/clean)
(* “Kireide” is omitted in <3> for simplicity)
Now we are learning <3>. A little longer example is as below;
2. Mizu de Yoku Araimashita kara, Te ga Kirei-ni Narimashita.
(Washing well with water, (my) hands has got cleaned.)
– Misu: noun; water
– de: particle; to mark what to use for action
– Yoku: adverb; well
– Arau/Araimasu: transitive verb; wash
– kara: conjunctive particle; to make the former clause a reason/cause of the latter clause.
– Te: noun; hands
– Kireina: Na-adjective; beautiful/clean
– Naru/Narimasu: intransitive verb; become
It is so important for a Japanese learner to learn that “Kireina” is not I-adjective but Na-adjective. But those who erroneously believe “Kireina” is an I-adjective (WRONG!!) tend to overgeneralize the sentence like 2 to all the I-adjectives. Then the following errors happen quite often.
WRONG: Samui-ni Narimasu => RIGHT: Samu-ku Narimasu. (becomes cold)
WRONG: Sabishii-ni Narimasu => RIGHT: Sabishi-ku Narimasu. (becomes sad)
In order to prevent such errors, it is indispensable for learners to know there are two types of adjectives; I-adjectives and Na-adjectives, and they conjugate differently.
Again, “Kireina” is a Na-adjective. Actually, Na-adjective came from combination of a noun and the auxiliary verb “da”. “da” conjugates, so [Noun+Auxiliary verb] conjugates. Therefore, you can see many similarities between Na-adjectives and Nouns when it comes to sentence constructions.
1-2. [Subject] wa [Na-adj]+ni Narimashita. Example: Kirei-ni Narimashita.
1-3. [Subject] wa [Noun]+ni Narimashita. Example: Daigakusei ni Narimashita.
So, the similarity the above 1-2 and 1-3 is that “ni” is used in both. For today, think that “ni” for “Kirei-ni” is the changing part of conjugation of a Na-adjective. Tomorrow, “ni” for “Daigakusei ni” will be explained as a particle.
This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section 19 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Japanese Learning (A4 S16): Using Two Adjectives in a Sentence; [ I-Adj-ku ] te, [Adj] desu. / [ Na-Adj ] de, [Adj] desu.
It is important to know that you cannot use “to” when you use two adjectives parallelly in a sentence. “to” is to juxtapose two nouns, it is not for adjectives.
Do you remember that there are two types of adjectives in Japanese? One is I-adjective and the other is Na-adjective. The definition why we call them “I-” and “Na-” are as below;
– I-adjectives : when an adjective modifies a noun, the last letter of the adjective becomes “i”
Examples; Omoshiroi Manga (funny manga), Atsui Ocha (hot tea), Kanashii Kimochi (sad feeling)
– Na-adjectives : when an adjective modifies a noun, the last letter of the adjective becomes “na”
Examples; Shizukana Toshokan (Quiet library), Shinsetsuna Hito (Kind person), Kireina Kouen (Beautiful Park)
(I always tell you that “Kireina” is not I-adjective but Na-adjective. Please remember it.)
Since there are two types of adjectives, we need to check how two adjectives we can connect for each.
Case1: The first adjective is I-adjective
– Satou-san wa Wakai desu. Soshite, Genki desu. (Sato-san is young. And she is energetic.)
The first adjective “Wakai” is an I-adjective. The second one is Na-adjective “Genkina”. But we don’t need care whether the second is I- or Na-adjectives.
If you connect two sentences above, how do you do it?
– WRONG: Satou-san wa Wakai to Genki desu.
– RIGHT: Satou-san wa Wakakute Genki desu. (Sato-san is young and energetic.)
Don’t think that “to” of Japanese works identically to “and” of English. You can say “Ring to Mikan” for “Apple and Mandarin”, but not “Wakai to Genki” for “young and energetic”. Also, you need to know, when I-adjective is followed by another conjugating word, “i” changes to be “ku”. Do you remember that an I-adjective is followed by negative “nai” which is a conjugating word, “i” becomes “kunai”? That is the same conjugation pattern.
Let us look at one particular I-adjective “ii”
– Satou-san wa Atama ga Ii desu. Soshite, Omoshiroi desu.
When you connect these two sentences;
– WRONG: Satou-san wa Atama ga Ii to Omoshiroi desu.
This is incorrect. You cannot use “to” to juxtapose two adjectives. Then, is the following okay?
– A little Wrong: Satou-san wa Atama ga Ikute Omoshiroi desu.
This is still not perfect.
– RIGHT: Satou-san wa Atama ga Yokute Omoshiori desu. (Sato-san is clever and interesting.)
Case2: The first adjective is Na-adjective
– Satou-san wa Shinsetu desu. Soshite, Yasashii desu. (Sato-san is kind. And she is compassionate.)
The first adjective “Shisetsu” is a Na-adjective “Shinsetuna”. If you connect two sentences above, how do you do it?
– WRONG: Satou-san wa Shinsetsukute Yasashii desu.
No. “-kute” is for I-adjective. Shinsetsu is not an I-adjective, but Na-adjective.
– RIGHT: Satou-san wa Shinsetsude Yasashii desu. (Sato-san is kind and compassionate.)
Remember the correct expressions;
1. Satou-san wa Wakakute Genki desu. (Sato-san is young and energetic.)
2. Satou-san wa Atama ga Yokute Omoshiori desu. (Sato-san is clever and interesting.)
3. Satou-san wa Shinsetsude Yasashii desu. (Sato-san is kind and compassionate.)
Note that “-kute” for I-adjective, and “-de” for Na-adjective.
Actually, there is one caveat. Today, we have learned how to use two adjectives parallelly in a sentence. But to apply today’s construction, you need to be careful about meanings of adjectives. Today’s method is only applicable when the two adjectives are both positive, or both negative.
4. Kono Shokudou no Gohan wa Yashukute Oishii desu. (Foods in this restaurant is reasonable and tasty.)
=> Yasui(reasonable) and Oishii(tasty) are both positive in their meanings.
5. Kono Heya wa Kurakute Samui desu. (This room is dark and cold.)
=> Kurai(dark) and Samui (cold) are both negative in their meanings.
You need to connect differently when two adjectives are opposite in terms of positive or negative meanings. The way to do it will be explained in another opportunity.
Lastly, although I have written “how to use two adjectives parallelly”, but actually it is not completely “parallel”. Sometimes the first adjective is a reason of the second. See 1. “Wakakute Genki”. It sounds like being young is a reason to be energetic. In 2. “Atamaga Yokute Omoshiroi”, being clever is a reason of being an interesting person.
This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section 16 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Japanese Learning (A3 S12): 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 (A2 S12): 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 (A1 S12): 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 (A2 S09): Wa-Ga Construction for Na-adjective “Jouzuna”; [Person]+wa+[Something]+ga+Jouzudesu.
This time is also about “Wa-ga construction”. We learned one of “Wa-ga construction” sentences that uses Na-adjective “Sukina” as the following.
1. Watashi wa Ryokou ga Sukidesu. (I like traveling.)
Today’s “Wa-ga construction” sentence uses also Na-adjective which is “Jouzuna”. Jouzuna means “be good at”. Note that adjectives are word that express state and/or nature.
Some of Japanese learners like “Wa-ga construction” very much because its structure shapes the meaning. Structural thing is also important in Japanese, but the functions of particles are also important. Thanks to the functions of particle, Japanese sentences have freedom for the order of words in some extent. If you stick to “Wa-ga construction” too much, you would not be able to learn the functions that each particle has. The very basic of Japanese is that particle “ga” is for subject, “o” for object. “Wa-ga construction” is out of this basic. Since damage caused by sticking to “Wa-ga construction” is severe, I will continue to explain this problem.
Today we are learning a Na-adjective “Jouzuna” which means “be good at”. Practice and remember the following conversations. Note that neither A or B are Sato-san.
A : Satou-san wa Nani ga Jouzudesuka. (What is Sato-san good at doing?)
B : Satou-san wa Ryouli ga Jouzudesu. (She is good at cooking.)
<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9課A2”の内容を参照しています。>
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。>
Agony or Fun?! Second Language Learning 