50. Particle Review

     We use many, many particles when we utilise the Japanese language, and as you've probably seen there are different rules to using them. Different particles are needed in different circumstances. This section will serve to refresh our memories of particles. You can follow the links back to previous sections to get more information on the use of a specific particle.
     You may be interested to know that particles are called "jyoshi" - literally "helping words".


Particles and their uses
     Study the various particles below and their uses.

Particle 'ga'
     We use 'ga' in a similar way to 'wa', but 'ga' is when new information is being requested or given. For example, "where is the book?" would use 'ga' because we are asking for new information. Likewise, the reply "the book is on the table" would also use 'ga' as it is new information being given.

Ashita no haikingu wa dare ga ikimasu ka - dare (who)
Who is going hiking tomorrow?

Dono hito ga anata no tomodachi desu ka. - 'ga' because this is new information being requested.
Which person is your friend?

Asoko no onna no hito desu.
That woman over there. - onna no hito - "woman's person".


Particle 'kara'
     The particle 'kara' is an often used one, because it has many meanings.

Pätí wa 6(roku)ji kara 9(kyü)ji made desu. - 'kara' as this is "from <time> until <time>".
The party is from 6pm until 9pm.

Gakkö wa nan-nichi kara hajimemasu ka. - 'kara' as we mean 'from' (when).
What day do you start school?


Q. Kono tegami wa doko kara kimashita ka. - 'kara' to mean 'from' (place).
Where did this letter come from?

A. Nihon ni kara kimashita.
It came from Japan.


Yamamoto: Kinö, dö shite shigoto o yasumimashita ka. - yasumu (to rest/be absent)
Why were you absent from work yesterday?

Kimura: Kaze o jimi kara desu.
Because I had a slight cold.


Daniel: Kyö wa yasumi desu kara, watashi wa gakkö ni ikimasen. - yasumi (holiday)
Nozomi: Because today is a holiday, I am not going to school.


Particle 'made'
     Made is often used in conjunction with kara. It is often used in relation to time, but sometimes as a transition from one place to another.

Watashi wa itsumo uchi kara kaisha made, kuruma de ikimasu. - 'made' as this is "from <place> to <place>".
Everytime I go from the house to the office I go by car.


Q: Döshite kyö byöin wa 12-ji made desu ka.
Why does the hospital close at 12:00(midday) today?
A: Kyö wa do-yöbi desu kara.
Because today it is Saturday

Particles 'de' and 'te'
     We use 'de' for several reasons. Mainly, we use it to show that an action is taking place at a place. But it is also used to give a reason in some situations.

Nakamura-san wa kinö kaze de shigoto o yasumimashita. - shigoto o yasumu - be absent from work (yasumu - to rest)
Yesterday Mr. Nakamura had a cold, so (as far as work is concerned) he rested.
     We use 'de' as in this situation it means 'because'. But we only use 'de' for nouns - for verbs we must use 'te'.
e.g. zutsu de narimashita - I got a headache.
    aru te tsukaremashita - because of walking I got tired.

Watashi wa yübe resutoran de gohan o tabemashita. - 'de' is used because the action of eating happens at the restaurant.
Yesterday evening I ate a meal at a restaurant.

Shashin wa zenbu de 5(go)mai arimasu. - 'de' here shows existance of photographs at a place.
There are five photos in total.

Heya de shigoto o shimasu - 'de' here shows an action.
In this room I do work.

Particle 'ni'
     A very common particle. You would have seen this used all the time with 'iku' (to go) as the use of 'ni' indicates direction.
     Do remember that sometimes we see hiragana 'he' substituted for 'ni' but the meaning is the same.

Watashi wa ashita eiga ni ikimasu. - 'ni' is used to indicate direction e.g. iku - to go
I am going to the cinema tomorrow.

Saitö-san wa ie ni tsukimashita. - 'ni' for direction again.
Mr. Saito arrived home.

Watashi wa kinö byöin ni ikimashita.
Yesterday I went to the hospital.

     However, if you wish you say you left someplace, use 'o' with deru (to leave).
Watashi wa London o demashita.
I left London.

     And with travelling using transport, we use ni to get on a train, but o to get off.
Densha ni norimashita. - noru (to get on)
I got on the train.

Densha o orimashita. - oriru (to get off)
I got off the train.



Kinö watashi wa köen e sakkä o shi ni ikimashita. - Go to do - convert to -masu, remove -masu, then 'ni iku'.
Yesterday I went to the park to play football.

Dözo mata asobi ni kite kudasai. - Come and do - As above - asobu(to visit or (sometimes)play) - asobi ni
Afterwards, please come see me.

O-sara wa doko ni arimasu ka. - 'ni' is used with doko and arimasu to ask where something is.
Where is the ashtray?
     o- is the honourific prefix for sara (ashtry in this case, but literally 'big plate').

Ogawa-san wa nan ji ni kaerimashita ka - We use 'ni' with definate time.
At what hour did Ogawa-san return?

1 shükan ni 3kai püru ni ikimasu. - We use 'ni' with frequency also.
I go swimming three times in a week.
     Note: 1 shükan is pronounced 'ee-shoe-kan' (not ee-chee).

Ginkö de Harada-san ni aimashita. - The meeting was 'at' the bank (de) but we 'went' there (ni).
I met Mr. Harada at the bank.

Watashi no ane wa asoko ni imasu. - The person is 'over there'
My older sister is over there.

Heya ni 3(san) hito ga imasu - 'in' the room
In this room there are three people.

Particle 'ka'
     'ka' is a particle that is used sometimes as a replacement for other particles and as such its meaning can change.

ka - either
Watashi no chichi wa mai-asa köhí ka köcha o nomimasu. - 'ka' means "either" in this context.
Every morning my father drinks either coffee or tea.

ka - what
Nani ga nomitai ka oshiete kudasai. - 'ka' means "what" in this context. oshieru (to teach/impart knowledge)
Please show me (lit. teach me) what you would like to drink.

ka - Linking verbs
Takahashi-san wa ima doko ni iru ka shite imasu ka. - ka is used to link iru (existance) with 'do you know' (shite imasu ka).
Do you know where Mr. Takahashi is now?

Yamaguchi-san ga itsu ryokö ni iku ka, oshite kudasai. - ???
     Please tell me when Mr. Yamaguchi goes on his trip.

(doko) ka - somewhere
Doko ka e ikimasu ka - This is like "where" + "either".
Are you going somewhere?
     Consider this sentence compared to that of one that does not use 'ka':
Doko e ikimasu ka.
Where are you going?
     The response would be to use 'mo' for negative - iie, doko e mo ikimasen.

ka - I don't know
Taberu ka wakarimasen. - Here, 'ka' means "with" as 'mo' can.
I don't know if [I/he/she] can eat. (Perhaps there is some fried beef and you are speaking to someone about your friend who may be vegetarian)
     As we said, we are using 'ka' to link "not understand" with an action. This is quite confusing, so let's look at more examples.

Oishii ka wakarimasen.
I don't know if it is tasty.

Sensei ga nan-ji ni kuru ka wakarimasu ka.
Do you know when the teacher is coming?

Kimura-san ga pätí ni kuru de döka shite imasu ka.
Do you know whether Mr. Kimura is coming to the party?

Kimura-san ga pätí ni kita ka döka shite imasu ka.
Do you know if Mr. Kimura came to the party?


Past Tense
     Be careful with the past tense, as there are two different meanings.
Kuruma wa aokatta ka wakarimasen. - present tense about an object in the past.
     I don't know if the car was blue.

Kuruma wa aokatta ka wakarimasendeshita. - past tense about an object that was also in the past.
     I did not know if the car was blue (...before my friend drove it to my home).


Particle 'to'
     We use 'to' when wanting to state multiple items, but crucially we are explicitly stating that those items are the only ones - there are no others.
     For example, "in this room there are two chairs and a table (and nothing else)" would use 'to', but "in this room there are two chairs and a table (and some other objects)" would take the particle 'ya'.

Watashi wa kesa pan to ringo o tabemashita. - 'to' meaning 'and' when only those stated items apply (as opposed to 'ya').
This morning I ate bread and apples (and nothing else).
     Or we could say "nani mo tabemasendeshita" - I ate nothing. Similar to "heya ni nani mo arimasen" - there is nothing in the room. See the section below for more on this.


     'to' because it is with a friend and nobody else. If with a friend and others, we would use 'ya', and if by ourselves we use 'hitori de'.
Watashi wa kinö tomodachi to sakkä o shimashita.
Yesterday I played football with my friend (and nobody else).

     We can also use 'to' with 'dare' to ask "with who?" (did you go to London etc.).
Mike: Dare to kimashita ka. - Who did you come here with?
Yamamoto: Hitori de kimashita. - I came here by myself.
   Or
Yamamoto: Tomodachi to kimashita. - I came here with a friend.


Particle 'o'
     Because it is used for objects, it is easy to remember how to use particle 'o'.
Mai asa nani o tabemasu ka. - 'o' because we are asking about an object.
Every morning, what do you eat?

     But when used to indicate leaving someplace or getting off a mode of transport, we use 'o' with a verb because the place or transport is treated as an object and we are going away from it.
Watashi wa Oxford o demashita.
I left Oxford.

Basu o orimashita. - oriru (to get off)
I got off the bus.

     But we use 'ni' to get on a bus.
Basu ni norimashita. - noru (to get on)
I got on the bus.


Particle 'mo'
     The use of 'mo' is to mean "with". Interestingly you can use this with a negative to mean "without" (literally 'with no (verb)').      Similarly, 'mo' can be used to mean "also". See the examples below for more information.

Kinö Sasaki-san wa gakkö o yasumimashita. Ikeda-san mo yasumimashita. - 'mo' because we mean 'also'.
Yesterday Sasaki-san was absent from school. Ikeda-san was also absent.

     We can use this particle to ask if someone is going somewhere "as well", or if they will be doing something "as well". Consider the example below.
Peter: Yübinkyoku ni ikimasu ka. - Are you going to the post office?
Nozomi: Hai, ikimasu. - Yes, I am going.
Peter: Süpä ni mo ikimasu ka. - Are you going to the supermarket as well?
Nozomi: Hai, ikimasu. - Yes, I am going (there as well).

     Using 'mo' to say that, although you are expected to go somewhere, you are not going:
Brian: Kotoshi wa Furansu ni ikimasu ka. - Are you going to France this year?
Peter: Iie, kotoshi mo ikimasen. - No, not this year.


     The word mö however is used to mean "already". In hiragana this looks different of course - literally it is 'mou'. Consider the following.
Brian: Mö sono eiga o mimashita. - Have you already seen that film?
Mike: Iie, made mite imasen. - No, not yet. (mada here means 'yet')
OR
Mike: Hai, mö mimashita. - Yes, I have already seen it.
     Because the response is positive we use the same particle - mö.

Yübe watashi wa reizöko no b&etilde;ru o zenbu nomimashita. Reizöko ni b&etilde;ru wa mö arimasen.
Yesterday evening I drank all the beer in the refridgerator. There is no beer in the fridge.



Particle 'no'
     Indicates belonging.
Watashi wa maishü tenisu no renshü o shimasu. - 'no' because it is tennis' practice.
Every week I practice tennis.

Onna no hito:Sumimasen. Kono boshi wa dare no desu ka. - Woman: Excuse me. Whose hat is this?
Hito:Dare no ka wakarimasen. - Man: I do not know whose it is.
     Literally translated this is "who 's I do not know". We could also have used 'watashi no desu' - "it belongs to me".


Gurai / Goro
     Not really a particle but included for completeness, these two words relate to an approximate amount and duration. You must understand which to use relating to time, and objects.

Ashita no pätí ni 50(gojü)nin gurai kimasu. - gurai (about/approximately)
There are about 50 people coming to tomorrow's party.

Watashi wa yübe 8(hatchi)jikan gurai nemashita. - 'gurai' is used for amount or duration(time), while goro is for a point in time such 12 o'clock.
Yesterday I slept for 8 hours.

San-ji goro aimasu.
I will meet him around 3 o'clock.

Kesa wa 7(shichi)-ji goro okimashita.
This morning I went out around 7 o'clock.

Dake - Only
     We can use dake to show an exception. In the first example below we say that 'only' Ishikawa-san ate.

Nozomi: Minna hiro gohan o tabemashita ka - Has everyone eaten?
Masashi: Iie, Ishikawa-san dake tabemashita. - Only Ishikawa-san ate.

     Again, another example of 'dake'.
Peter: Nakajima-san no kodomo wa minna onna no ko desu ka - Are all of Nakajima-san's children girls?
Daniel: Iie, Onna no ko dake dewa arimasen. - No, not only girls.



Nobody, Nowhere, Nothing
     This is a western idea that is strange for Japanese people to grasp, and likewise the translation takes some getting used to. We use an interrogative (such as 'where') and the word 'with' to give it meaning.

Nobody
Heya ni dare mo imasen. - dare mo("with who?")
There is nobody in this room.

Kono mondai wa dare mo dekimasendeshita.
Nobody was able to do(solve) this problem.
     But if somebody was able to solve the problem, you can say "Kono mondai wa Mike-san ga dekimasu".

Kinö wa ichinichi ie ni ita kara, dare ni mo aimasendeshita. - 'ni mo' because verb au (to meet) takes 'ni'
Yesterday, because I was at home all day I did not meet anyone.


Nowhere
Watashi wa doko ni mo ikimasendeshita. - doko ni mo("with where?")
I did not go anywhere.
     See how this differs from "where did you go?" (doko ni ikimashita ka?) and "I went to London" (London ni ikimashita).
     Similarly ni is sometimes replaced by 'e' (hiragana 'he').
Ashita wa doko e mo ikanai de ie ni imasu.
Tomorrow I do not want to go anywhere, I will stay at home.

Ototoi wa nichi-yöbi deshita ga, doko e mo ikimasendeshita.
Two days ago as it was a Sunday, I did not go anywhere.
     Remember that sometimes 'e' (hiragana 'he') is used in place of 'ni'.

Watanabe-san o sagashimashita ga, doko ni mo imasen. - sagasu (to look for)
I searched for Miss Watanabe, but I found nobody.
     This is difficult to understand.


Nothing
Heya ni nani mo arimasen. - nani mo("with what?")
There is nothing in this room.

Kyö tesuto ga arimasu ga, watashi wa kinö nani mo benkyö shimasendeshita.
Even though there is a test today, I did no studying yesterday.

Kinö kaimono ni ikimashita ga, nani mo kaimasendeshita.
Even though I went to do shopping yesterday, I bought nothing.

51. Interrogatives Review

     Interrogatives for the basis of most conversations and are a great way to give yourself some thinking time as it invites the other person to speak, at least for a while.


Who, What, Where, When, Why?
     The following are examples of how to use the questions who, what, where, when, and why.

Donata / Dare - Who
     Donata is the more formal version, but dare is perfectly acceptable. We have already seen that we can combine "who" with particles to make "whose", "who with" and other variations.

Brian: Tsukue no ue no megane wa dare no desu ka - Whose are the glasses on top of the table?
Mike: Watashi no desu. - (They) belong to me.
     We could also say 'dare no (megane) ka wakarimasen' - I don't know whose glasses (they are).

Dare desu ka.
Who is it?

Kochira wa donata desu ka.
Who is this?


Nan(i) - What
     What is this, what is that etc.

Kore wa nan desu ka. - What is this?
Sore wa gaikoku no kitte desu. - Those are foreign stamps.

Doko - Where?
     Use <Subject> wa 'doko desu ka' for "where is <Subject>?".

Sumimasen. Ginkö wa doko desu ka.
Excuse me. Where is the bank?
Asoko ni arimasu.
Over there.

Naomi: Kore wa doko no kuni no hana desu ka. - doko no kuni - where's country
Which country do these flowers come from?
Nozomi: Nihon no desu..
They are Japanese.

Dore - Where <Obj>?
     Use Dore ga <Object> desu ka for "where is <Object>?".

Dore ga kinö no shinbun desu ka.
Where is yesterday's newspaper?

Itsu - When?
     When is an often used interrogative word and its usage is important.

Itsu Nihon ni kimashita ka. - itsu (when?)
When did you come to Japan?

Kyo nen no natsu kimashita. - natsu (summer)
I came this Summer.

Dö shite desu ka - Why Is That?
     This phrase is used to ask why. For instance, in Section 47: I think / Probably there is a conversation regarding tickets being sold out. a follow up to being informed of this would be to ask 'dö shite' - "why is that?".

Brian: Onaka ga suite imasu ka. - Are you hungry?
Emma: Iie, onaka ga suite imasen. - No, I am not hungry.
Brian: Dö shite desu ka - Why is that?
Emma: Asa-gohan o taberu kara desu - Because I have eaten breakfast.

     Below we see another example of asking why, but also note the example usage of 'kara' - because.
Masaomi: Dö shite jugyö o yasumimashita ka. - yasumu (to rest/be absent)
Why were you absent from class?

Daniel: Atama ga itakatta kara desu - itai (painful)
Because I had a headache.


Other Interrogatives
     Some other questions can be made with the folowing words.

Dö desu ka - How do you find it?
     A familiar phrase similar to dö shite, we use this to ask what a person thinks of something.

Ryo: Ryöri wa dö desu ka. - What do you think of the cooking?
Masashi: Totemo oishii desu. - It is tasty.

Masaomi: Atarashii ofisu ga dö desu ka. - ofisu(office)
What do you think of the new office?

Peter: Okikute shizuka desu.
It is big and quiet.
     See the adjective conjugation section below for detail on joining adjectives together. In this example we use ooki -> ookikute shizuka desu. The opposite (quiet and big) would have been shizuka -> shizuka de ookii desu.

Brian Ima no shigoto wa dö desu ka. - What do you think of the current work?
Peter: Amari omoshiroku arimasen. - Not very interesting.


Dochira - Which?
     You must remember 'which'.

Yamamoto: Pan to gohan to dochira ga suki desu ka. - dochira (which?)
Which do you like, bread or (cooked) rice. - Pan (bread)

Kayoko:Gohan no hö ga suki desu ne.
Cooked rice is better.


Masaomi:Email to denwa to dochira ga hayai desu ka
Email or telephone, which is faster?

Mike:Denwa no hö ga hayai desu.
Telephone is faster.


Dono - Which Object?
     Very useful and very important to remember. This is the interrogative form of this object (kono, sono, ano, dono).

Dono ga Nihon-go no jisho desu ka. - dono (which object?)
Which (object) is the Japanese book?

Dono densha wa Fujisawa ni ikimasu ka.
Which train goes to Fujisawa?

     You can also use it to ask "which person?".
Emma: Itö-san wa dono hito desu ka. - Which person is Mr.Itö?
Mike: Ano hito desu. - That person (over there).


Donogurai - How Much?
     Sometimes changes to donokurai, this askes how much or how long.

Daniel: Eki kara gakkö made donogurai kakarimasu ka. - donogurai (how much time), kakaru (to take time)
From the station to the school how much time does it take?
Yamamoto: Basu de 30-pun (san-jü) kakarimasu..
It takes 30 minutes by bus.

52. Grammar Review

     Throughout the past 11 or so pages you will have seen many Grammar boxouts that explain a new syntax. Here we shall review the most important of those and introduce a couple more.


Grammar Reminders
     The following boxouts are reminders of how to use the various rules and syntax, and to follow these we'll have some examples.

Grammar - Relative Time Needs No Particle      When we talk about travelling to or from places with relative time markers we have no need to use particles. By relative time we mean this year, last week, tomorrow, etc. while examples of definite time would be 24th June, 1999, and the fifth week in the year. Refer to the table in page one for relative time markers. Kyõ ikimasu I am going today

Grammar - Would You Like...? From Basics #2.      "Would you like" is an often used phrase. We use "ikaga desu ka" preceeded by the object. Gohan o mö ippai ikaga desu ka. Would you like a cup of rice? Kekkö desu. No thank you.

Grammar - If You Are Expected To Go Somewhere      Suppose we visited Japan last year and a friend asks us if we are going again this year. The assumption is that we are going again because we went last year. Kotoshi wa Nihon ni ikimasu ka Are you going to Japan this year? Hai, kotoshi wa ikimasu Yes, this year. Iie, kotoshi mo ikimasen No, not this year.      Be warned that sometimes these are reversed, i.e. the person with the assumption may use mo instead of wa. A simple rule of thumb is to use the same particle if the assumption is correct, and the opposite if wrong.

Grammar - Comparisons      The syntax for comparing is as follows: _____ no hö ga _____ yori <adjective> desu _____ is <adjective> than _____      For example, let's use ooki (big) and chiisai (small): A B A no hö ga B yori ooki desu. A is bigger than B. B no hö ga A yori chiisai desu. B is smaller than A.      Let's try a real-world example where a bus is heavier than a car: Basu no hö ga kuruma yori omoi desu. A bus is heavier than a car.      And for perfect Japanese: Kono basu to sono kuruma to dochira ga omoi desu ka. Which is heavier, this bus or that car? Kono basu no hö ga sono kuruma yori omoi desu. This bus is heavier than that car.

Grammar - Concatenating Sentences      Two sentences can be made into one using the -te or -ta form of verbs. Do-yöbi ni London ni ikimashita. Eiga o mimashita.      Becomes... Do-yöbi ni London ni itta, eiga o mimashita. On Saturday I went to London to see a film. Uchi ni ikimasen ka. Nödüru o tabemasen ka.      Becomes... Uchi ni itte nödüru o tabemasen ka. Won't you come to my house to eat noodles? Hon-ya ni ikimasu. Jisho o kaimasu.      Becomes... Hon-ya ni itte, jisho o kaimasu. I went to the bookstore, I bought a dictionary. Tanaka-san ni aimasu. Issho ni eiga ni ikimasu.      Becomes... Tanaka-san ni atte, issho ni eiga ni ikimasu. I am meeting Mr. Tanaka, and together with him I am going to the cinema. Kabuki o mimasu. Shokuji o shimasu. Takushi de kaerimasu.      Becomes... Kabuki o mitte, shokuji o shite, takushi de kaerimasu I saw the kabuki, I had a meal, I returned by taxi.

Grammar - Different Ways to Concatenate      Concatenation in Japanese depends on what it is you are trying to join, for example -i adjectives have a different method to -na adjectives. Subjects      Use ya and to, with ga before the verb. Heya ni Daniel-san to Mike-san ga imasu. In this room exist Daniel and Mike. Verbs      This is where we use the te form of the verbs, except the last one which does not change. Rämen o tabete, bíru o nomimasu. I eat rämen and drink beer.      Rämen is chinese style noodles in broth. Sentences      Instead of using desu twice, we can use de for the first statement then desu. Hayashi-san wa Nihon-jin de, ABC no buchö desu. Mr. Hayashi is Japanese, and ABC's general manager. -i Adjectives      For when you want to use two or more describing words (-i adjectives) we take off the i and replace with kute.      Below we see the words kuroi (black) and ookii (big). Kurokute ookii fukuro desu Black, big bag. -na Adjectives      As above, except with -na adjectives we remove the na and replace with de..      Below we see the words shizuka-na (quiet) and hen-na (strange). Shizuka de hen-na hito desu Quiet and strange person. Adverbs - adjective + verb      This differs depending on the type of adjective used. For -i adjectives we remove the last i and add ku, and for -na convert it to ni.      Here we use utsukushii (beautiful), aoi (blue), and kirei-na (neat/clean). Utsukushiku kaku To write beautifully. Aoku kaku To write in blue Kireini kaku To write neatly. Kyö amari isogashiku arimasen Today I am not very busy. Multiple Verbs      For example, I am going to a restaurant to eat.      To use multiple verbs, we remove the -masu extention and use the last verb as usual. Sakana o tabe ni ikimasu. I am going someplace to eat fish. Sukiyaki o tabe ni ikimasen ka. Wouldn't you like to go and have sukiyaki? Shashin o tori ni ikimasu. I'm going someplace to take a photograph. Kinö Kamakura ni oyogi ni ikimashita. I went to Kamakura yesterday to swim.

New Grammar

Grammar - Hoshii - Wish / Want      The word 'hoshii' is used commonly in Japan. Think of it as a word similar to suki, but more like 'want' instead of 'like'. Shabushabu ga hoshii desu. I want shabushabu. Nihon no kiite ga hoshii desu. I would like Japanese stamps. Watashi wa jitensha ga hoshii desu. I want a bicycle.

Grammar - <Attribute> is <Adjective>      Rather than say "Mr. Smith is tall" was can say "Mr Smith's height is tall" or "Mr Smith has long arms". Some examples follow. Sumisu-san wa se ga takai desu. lit. As far as Mr. Smith is concerned, height it tall. Sumisu-san wa uda ga nagai desu. Mr. Smith has long arms. Sumisu-san wa atama ga ii desu. Mr. Smith has a good head (is clever).

Grammar - Not So Much <Adjective>      In English we can say that the weather is "not too bad". We can also say "that (watch) is not too expensive". In Japanese this is a difficult idea to communicate, but we can use 'sorehodo' and a negative adjective to make our point. Sorehodo warukunai desu. warui - warukunai (bad -> not bad) Not too bad. Sorehodo takakunai desu. takai - takakunai (expensive -> not expensive) Not too expensive. Sono tokei wa sorehodo takakunai desu. That watch is not too expensive.

Linker 'sorekara'
     Sorekara is used to mean "and then". It is used in the same manner as in English.

Nichi yöbi watashi wa sentaku o shimashita. Sorekara, heya o söjishimashita. - 'sorekara' to link the sentences. "and then...".
On Sunday I did the washing. And then, I cleaned the room.
     Sentaku o suru - to do washing. Söjishimashita - did cleaning.


Linker 'sore dewa'
     Sore dewa means "well then...". Consider the following.

soredewa, hiköki de aimasu.
Well then, let's meet at the airport.


Linker 'soshite'
     We can use 'soshite' and link sentences with an and.

Kyönen Nihon ni kimashita. Soshite rainen igirisu ni kaerimasu.
Last year I came to Japan. And this year I am returning to England.

Tanaka-san ni atte, issho ni ban-gohan o tabemashita. Soshite uchi ni kaerimashita.
I met Mr. Tanaka and had dinner with him. And then I returned home.


Ano tatemono wa hoteru desu ka. - tatemono - building
Is that building a hotel?

Hai, sö desu.
Yes (it is).

When we talk about things we do in our spare time we often mean to infer that these actions happen often. To show this, we use -tari with verbs (see Section 39 - repeating actions).
Kayoko: Yasumi no hi ni wa donna koto o shimasu ka - yasumi no hi (spare time)
What do you do in your spare time?
Ryo: Sö desu ne, püru de oyoidari, köen o sanposhitari shimasu. - oyogu -> oyogi (to swim), sanpo (to walk)
I swim in the pool, and walk in the park.

     Asking someone to perform some action - <verb>-te kudasai. Or simply <obj> o kudasai to request an object.
Sumisu: Hagaki o 5(go)mai kudasai - Please give me 5 postcards.
Ten'in: Hai, dözo. - Here you are.

     Asking someone to not do something - <verb>-nai de kudasai.
Keikan: Sumimasen ga, koko de tabako o suwanai de kudasai imasen. - Policeman: Please do not smoke here.
Hito: Dömo sumimasen. - Woman: Ok.

53. Adjective Review

     We use adjectives to describe things in more detail, and have done so many times already. Here we will go over the different ways of using adjectives to add meaning to our sentences. Remember the various rules for using adjectives with verbs, tenses, and other adjectives.


Adjective Types

     There are two types of adjective that we have been using: the -i adjectives and the -na adjectives, named after their ending characters. How you utilise the two types is different. Let's examine some of these describing words as a reminder.

-i adjectives akai red aoi blue shiroi white kuroi black midori green kiiroi yellow takai tall / expensive hikui short (height) nagai long mijikai short (length) tooi far chikai near fukai deep asai shallow omoi heavy karui light ii / yoi good warui bad tsuyoi strong yowai weak atsui hot (air temp) samui cold (air temp) amai sweet karai spicy hot -i adjectives ending in -shii tadashii right / correct atarashii new mezurashii rare kuwashii full, detailed shitashii friendly, intimate - - isogashii busy muzukashii difficult kanashii sad koishii miss ureshii glad, happy yasashii kind airashii lovely utagawashii doubtful sabishii lonely kewashii steep kibishii severe hazukashii abashed wazurawashii troublesome ichijirushii remarkable utsukushii beautiful - - - - - - -na adjectives      These -na adjectives are Japanese. There are also Chinese and Foreign and are written in kanji and katakana repectively (see below). shizuka-na quiet nodoka-na peaceful odayaka-na calm makkuro-na coal-black akiraka-na obvious kasuka-na vague komayaka-na tender shiwase-na happy      These -na adjectives are Chinese. myö-na strange kyü-na sudden hen-na strange kantan-na simple - - rippa-na wonderful kiken-na dangerous kirei-na beautiful kagakuteki-na scientific bunkateki-na cultural      These -na adjectives are Foreign. They are spelt with katakana characters, and sound similar to English! furesshu-na fresh shinpuru-na simple shikku-na chic sumaato-na refined romantikku-na romantic

Adjective Conjugation

     Check out Section 16 for more examples and explanation.

Busy

Affirmative Form

Negative Form

isogashii desu I'm busy

isogashikunai desu I'm not busy

Nigel-san, isogashii desu ka
Nigel, are you busy?

Isogashii hito desu.
A busy person.

Affirmative Past Form

Negative Past Form

isogashikatta desu I was busy

isogashikunakatta desu I was not busy

Kinö, isogashikatta desu.
Yesterday I was busy.


Pretty / Clean

Affirmative Form

Negative Form

kirei desu It is clean

kirei dewa arimasen It is not clean

Heya ni kirei dewa arimasen.
In this room it is not clean.

Kore tsukue wa kirei desu.
This table is clean.

Kore wa kireina tsukue desu.
This is a clean table.

Affirmative Past Form

Negative Past Form

kirei deshita It was clean

kirei dewa arimasendeshita It was not clean

Kinö, heya ni kirei deshita.
Yesterday this room was clean.

ame desu It is raining

ame dewa arimasen It is not raining

ame deshita It was raining

ame dewa arimasendeshita It was not raining

Linking Adjectives

-i Adjectives
     For when you want to use two or more describing words (-i adjectives) we take off the i and replace with kute.
     Below we see the words kuroi (black) and ookii (big).
Kurokute ookii fukuro desu
Black, big bag.

-na Adjectives
     As above, except with -na adjectives we remove the na and replace with de..
     Below we see the words shizuka-na (quiet) and hen-na (strange).
Shizuka de hen-na hito desu
Quiet and strange person.

Adverbs - adjective + verb
     This differs depending on the type of adjective used. For -i adjectives we remove the last i and add ku, and for -na convert it to ni.
     Here we use utsukushii (beautiful), aoi (blue), and kirei-na (neat/clean).
Utsukushiku kaku
To write beautifully.

Aoku kaku
To write in blue

Kireini kaku
To write neatly.

     The table below shows how adjectives link when together when with another adjective or with a verb or noun.

+ atarashii + shizuka(na)	+ kaku	+ hito
ookikute atarashii Big and new	ookiku kaku Write big	ookii hito Big person
kirei de atarashii Beautiful and new	kirei ni kaku Write beautifully	kirei-na hito Beautiful person.
shizuka de ookii Quiet and big	shizukani kaku Write quietly	shizuka hito Quiet person

Sentences Using Adjective Conjugation
     Using the table above you can see how the different adjectives conjugate in various circumstances.

Koko wa attatakai desu. - atatatakai (warm)
This place is warm.
Koko wa attatakakunai desu.
This place is not warm.

Ano ko wa ji o kirei ni kakimasu. - kirei (na) -> kirei ni
That child writes beautifully.
Ano ko wa ji o kirei ni kakimasen.
That child does not write beautifully.

Shigoto wa kinö taihen dewa arimasendeshita. - taihen (na) (difficult/extremely)
The work yesterday was not difficult.

Yübe wa samukatta desu. - samui (na) - samukatta (was hot)
Last night it was hot.
Yübe wa samukunakatta desu. - samui (na) - samukunakatta (was not hot)
Last night it was not hot.

Renshü o shita kara, sukí ga jözu(na) ni narimashita. - jözu ni naru - become good at
Because of practice, I became good at skiing.

Harada-san wa isha ni narimashita. - ni naru - transitive verb takes 'ni'
Mr. Harada became a doctor.
     Or perhaps kaikeishi (accountant) or bengoshi (lawyer).

Reizöko ni irete bíru o tsumetaku shimashita. - ireru (to put in), tsumetai suru - tsumetaku shita (was cold)
Beer put into the fridge was cold.

Kyö wa amari samukunai desu. - samui - samukunai desu (not cold)
Today it is not very cold.