This, That, and (That) Over there - Part 2

In her earlier post, Jas-さん covered the basics of "this" and "that".

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Verbs Conjugation (Part 2)

If you still haven't gone to the dictionary and check what is the meaning of "Conjugation", I am not any better.

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Verbs Conjugation

Verbs what??!!

For the "ru"-verbs, we simply strip the "ru" and then add either "masu" or "mashita" or "masen" or "masen deshita" to it.

For the "u"-verbs:

For the "u"-verbs, it is slightly more tricky as it requires you to change the "u" into "i" before adding the corresponding parts to it.

That's all for now, I'm sure that committing 10 verbs into memory is a good start!

~ Rene ~

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Some & Any Expressions

Hmm, I always tend to mix up the following expressions below. Thus, I think I'll list them all down for easy reference.

(a)
Who - Dare 　だれ
Which one - Dore　どれ
When - Itsu 　いつ
Where - Doko 　どこ
What - Nan/Nani 　なん

(b)
Somebody - Dareka 　だれか
Someday - Itsuka 　いつか
Somewhere - Dokoka 　どこか
Something - Nanika 　なにか

From the above, one easy way to remember is just to add a ka for (a) & it'll mean some.... as seen in (b).

Here's another one :

Anyone/Everyone - Dare demo 　だれでも
Anything - Dore demo 　どれでも
Anytime - Itsu demo 　いつでも
Anywhere/Everywhere - Doko demo 　どこでも
Anything/Everything - Nan demo 　なんでも

Ok, now's the last one :

(Not) anyone - Dare mo 　だれも
(Not) any of them - Dore mo 　どれも
(Not) anytime - Itsu mo 　いつも
(Not) anywhere - Doko mo 　どこも
(Not) anything - Nani mo 　なにも

Some examples :

I read something / Watashi wa nanika yomimasu わたしはなにかよみます

I read anything / Watashi wa nan demo yomimasu わたしはなんでもよみます

I do not read anything / Watashi wa nani mo yomimasen

わたしはなにもよみません

I will go somewhere / Watashi wa dokoka e ikimasu

わたしはどこかへいきます

I will go anywhere / Watashi wa doko e demo ikimasu

わたしはどこへでもいきます

I will not go anywhere / Watashi wa doko e mo ikimasen

わたしはどこへもいきません

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Thursday, November 1, 2007.

じかん (jikan) - How to ask for time

A typical conversation asking for time goes like this ...

A: "すみません。いまなんじですか。"
(sumimasen, ima nan ji desu ka.)
Excuse me, what time is it now?

B: "いまさんじにじゅうはっぷんです。"
(ima sanji nijuuhappun desu.)
It is 3:28.

A: "ありがとうございます。"
(arigatoo gozaimasu)
Thank you very much.

B: "いいえ。"
(iie)
Not at all.

***************************
VOCABULARY
***************************

いま (ima) - now

なん or なに (nan / nani) - what

~ Rene ~

Labels: Grammar and Vocab, Time and Date

Wednesday, October 31, 2007.

Adjectives

Ohh, I've been slacking considering my last post was more than a week ago (pictures don't really count, do they?). Whilst I've been slow, Rene has been publishing so many posts on numbers & time ~ i'm really stressed out now!!!! Now look who's the slave-driver (We've been taking turns calling each other that). I've much catching up to do ..

Ok, here's my little contribution. I've covered verbs previously. Now comes the adjectives.
2 types of Adjectives : I-Adjectives & Na-Adjectives.

Below is my list of I-Adjectives (end with i, thus called I-Adjectives)

Warm - Atatakai 　あたたかい
Cool - Suzushii 　すずしい
Hot (Temperature & Touch) - Atsui 　あつい
Cold (Temperature) - Samui 　さむい
Cold (Touch) - Tsumetai 　つめたい
Spacious - Hiroi 　ひろい
Limited space - Semai 　せまい
Cute - Kawaii 　かわいい
Ugly - Minikui 　みにくい
Frightening - Kowai 　こわい
Gentle - Yasashii 　やさしい
Difficult - Muzukashii 　むずかしい
Easy - Yasashii 　やさしい
Long - Nagai　 ながい
Short - Mijikai 　みじかい
Delicious - Oishii 　おいしい
Bad Taste - Mazui 　まずい
Big/Large - Ookii 　おおきい
Small - Chiisai 　ちいさい
Heavy - Omoi 　おもい
Light - Karui 　かるい
Late - Osoi 　おそい
Early/Quick - Hayai 　はやい
Near - Chikai 　ちかい
Far - Tooi 　とおい
Interesting - Omoshiroi　 おもしろい
Boring - Tsumaranai 　つまらない
Expensive/Tall - Takai 　たかい
Cheap - Yasui 　やすい
Low/Short - Hikui 　ひくい
Good - Yoi / II 　よい / いい
Bad - Warui 　わるい
New - Atarashii 　あたらしい
Old - Furui 　ふるい
Busy - Isogashii 　いそがしい
Noisy - Urusai 　うるさい
Fun - Tanoshii たのしい

The adjectives describes nouns & they precede the nouns they describe.

Kore wa mijikai enpitsu desu / This is a short pencil
Koko wa ookii ie desu / This is a big house

I-adjectives with past tense => drop -i, add -katta
Negative I-adjectives => drop -i, add -ku nai
Negative past I-adjectives => drop -i, add -ku nakatta
To make it formal, just add a desu at the back

Let's take the example, Omoshiroi

Omoshiroi hon / The book that is interesting
Omoshiroku nai hon / The book that is not interesting
Omoshirokatta hon / The book that was interesting
Omoshiroku nakatta hon/ The book that was not interesting.

Ok, now lets look at the other type of adjective, ie Na-adjectives.

Convenient - Benri 　べんり
Inconvenient - Fuben 　ふべん
Healthy - Genki 　げんき
Strange - Hen 　へん
Beautiful - Kirei 　きれい
Clever - Rikoo りこう
Kind - Shinsetsu 　しんせつ
Quiet - Shizuka　 しずか
Famous - Yuumei 　ゆうめい

Let's take the example, Shinsetsu

Anata wa shinsetsu desu / You are kind
Anata wa shinsetsu dewa arimasen / You are not kind
Anata wa shinsetsu deshita - You were kind
Anata wa shinsetsu dewa arimasen deshita - You were not kind

I think Na-adjectives is much easier, right?
Just to take note when a na-adjective is used, -na must be dropped. However, if a na-adjective is placed before a noun, a -na is added

Yuumei na hito / A famous person
Genki na hito / A healthy person

Okie, I finally finish what I have on adjectives. My mind is now in a blank as to what I should write for my next post (Maybe its late & I'm close to dozing off ^-^ Zzzz time). Please, pls keep reading, thank you v much! I'll be back again once I think of something.

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Basic Grammar

The sentence structure :

Indirect subject wa grammatical subject ga "adjective" + desu is used to describe to want something, like/dislike and skills.

To Want
Saying "I want (something)" is pretty easy. Just say the thing you want and add ga hoshii to it.
The negative of hoshii is hoshiku nai

Nomimono ga hoshii desu / I want a drink
Ke-ki ga hoshii desu ka / Do you want cake?
Watashi wa asa-gohan ga hoshiku nai desu / I dont want breakfast

Want To Do
Sentences may be transformed to express wishes by changing o into ga & masu into tai desu
First get the masu form of the verb. Then drop the masu and add tai.

Tabemasu (To eat) becomes Tabetai (Want to eat)
Nomimasu (To drink) becomes Nomitai (Want to drink)
Shimasu (To do) becomes Shitai (Want to do)

Watashi wa hon ga yomitai desu / I want to read a book
Watashi wa hana ga mitai desu / I want to see flowers
Watashi wa netai desu / I want to sleep
Ke-ki o tabetai desu ka / Do you want to eat cake?
Anata wa nani ga shitai desu ka / What do you want to do?

I Dont Want To
You can make negative statements by converting tai desu into either taku arimasen or taku nai desu. The direct object may be followed by either ga or o.
My examples below uses the latter.

Watashi wa hon ga/o yomitaku nai desu
I do not want to read a book

Ototo wa arukitaku nai desu
The younger brother does not want to walk

You can form the negative past tense by changing taku nai desu into taku nakatta desu. The direct object can be followed by ga or o as above.

Kinoo watashi wa benkyou ga/o shitaku nakatta desu
Yesterday, I did not want to study

To Like
It is easy to like something and to say it! Just add ga suki after the object that you like.
For something you dislike, just add ga kirai after the object of dislike.

Watashi wa tenisu ga suki desu / I like tennis
Watashi wa ninjin ga kirai desu / I dislike carrots
Anata wa nani ga suki desu ka / What do you like?

The negative of suki/kirai desu is suki/kirai de wa arimasen

Betty-san wa ringo ga suki de wa arimasen / Betty does not like apples

I Am Good At That
Good (at a particular skill) / Jouzu
Bad (at a particular skill / Heta

Ojiisan wa Nihon-go ga jozu desu / Grandfather is good at Japanese language

Below are addditional information :)

I Think
You believe what you say, but are not 100% sure. It is also used to show one's opinion, just add to omoimasu at the end.

Sakana wa oishii to omoimasu / I think fish is delicious

Become
To show the state of to become something, use ni narimasu. The ni is placed after what is becoming something. The narimasu means to become. Nouns and -na adjectives use ni narimasu.
The negative future tense is obtained by changing narimasu into narimasen

Yoru ni narimashita / It has become night (mashita shows past)
Tomodachi ni narimashou / Let's become friends (mashou means "Let's")
Yoru gakkou wa shizuka ni narimasu / At night, school will be quiet
Ashita wa atsuku narimasen / It will not be hot tomorrow

-Ing
This is a very important grammar point. It corresponds to the English "-ing" form.
It is used to describe things happening now.
To use the form, change the first verb into the 'te' form. Then add the 'imasu'.

Ima anata ni hanashite imasu / I am talking to you now
Ima gohan o tabete imasu / I am eating rice now

This form is also used when stating things that are done on a regular basis (even if you are not presently doing the activity)

Mai nichi, nihongo o ichi jikan benkyou shite imasu / Everyday, I study Japanese for an hour.

Ok, I hope the above information & examples helps :))

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Verbs ~ Action Words

One of the characteristics of the Japanese language is that the verb generally comes at the end of the sentence. Since Japanese sentences often omit the subject, the verb is probably the most important part in understanding the sentence

Masu-verbs are used for the polite style of speech, which is the most commonly used style.
Its appropriate for general use so I'll be using only masu-verbs in my notes.
Below is a list of masu-verbs which I've came across. The list is not exhaustive though, I'll add on more as & when I come across them :)

Too many words to learn at one go, isn't it? Probably you can start to memorise a few at a time till such time when the words just come naturally to yr mind & you can proceed on with the next few & so forth! Well, learning japanese has made me feel like a small small kid all over again learning how to write, speak & understanding its meaning. Learning is really fun, ya?
(Have to tell yrself its fun even when it's too hard, ya?) SO, even if the going gets tough, try motivating yourself & persevere!
A new language if mastered well is both a skill & an asset, agree? YES!!!

Wash - Araimasu あらいます
Speak - Hanashimasu 　はなします
Buy - Kaimasu 　かいます
Sell - Urimasu 　うります
Write/Draw - Kakimasu 　かきます
Listen to/Hear - Kikimasu 　ききます
See/Watch - Mimasu 　みます
Learn - Naraimasu 　ならいます
Drink - Nomimasu 　のみます
Eat - Tabemasu 　たべます
Take - Torimasu 　　とります
Send - Okurimasu 　おくります
Make - Tsukurimasu 　つくります
Read - Yomimasu 　よみます
Wait - Machimasu 　まちます
Sleep - Nemasu 　ねます
Know - Shirimasu 　しります
Play - Asobimasu 　あそぶます
Walk - Arukimasu 　あるきます
Go - Ikimasu 　いきます
Come - Kimasu 　きます
Leave - Demasu 　でます
Do - Shimasu 　します
Return - Kaerimasu 　かえります
Meet - Aimasu 　あいます
Enter - Hairimasu 　はいります
Begin - Hajimarimasu 　はじまります
Have - Mochimasu 　もちます
Think - Omoimasu 　おもいます
Sit - Suwarimasu 　すわります
Stand - Tachimasu 　たちます
Wake Up - Okimasu 　おきます
Stop - Tomarimasu 　とまります
Arrive - Tsukimasu 　つきます
Sing - Utaimasu 　うたいます
Understand - Wakarimasu 　わかります
Laugh - Waraimasu 　わらいます
Teach - Oshiemasu 　おしえます
Get off - Orimasu 　おります

Present Tense
Japanese verb forms have two main tenses, the present and the past. There is no future tense. The present tense is used for future and habitual action as well.

Past Tense
The past tense is used to express actions completed in the past (I saw, I bought etc.) and present perfect tense (I have read, I have done etc).

Take off ~masu , and add ~ mashita

Present Negative
To make sentence negative, verb endings are changed into negative forms

Replace ~ masu with ~ masen

Past Negative
Add ~ deshita to the formal present negative form

Examples :
Present Tense
1) Nomimasu
2) Tabemasu
3) Mimasu

Past Tense
1) Nomimashita
2) Tabemashita
3) Mimashita

Present Negative
1) Nomimasen
2) Tabemasen
3) Mimasen

Past Negative
1) Nomimasen deshita
2) Tabemasen deshita
3) Mimasen deshita

Forming Sentences
Otoosan wa shinbun o yomimasu / Father reads newspapers
Watashi wa nihon-go o naraimasu / I learn Japanese
Imooto wa pan o tsukurimasu / The younger sister makes bread

Would you like to __?
Negative masu-verbs + ka means Would you like to __?

Eiga o mimasen ka / Would you like to see a movie?
Kore o yomimasen ka / Would you like to read this?

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

This, That, and (That) Over there

Japanese has many different words for this & that. When you talk about a thing or person, Kore, Sore & Are are used.

Kore これ　- This (indicates a thing/person near the speaker)
Sore それ　- That (indicates a thing/person near the listener)
Are あれ　- That over there (indicates a thing/person away from the speaker & listener)
Dare だれ　- Who
Dore 　どれ - Which

Kore is used when "this" is not connected to a noun
Kore wa nan desu ka / What is this?
Kore wa neko desu / This is a cat.

When you put "this" before a noun, it changes to Kono （この）
Kono neko wa pochi desu ka / Is this cat, Pochi?
Iie kono inu wa pochi desu / No. This dog is Pochi.

Similarly, When you put "that" & "that over there" before a noun, it changes to Sono （その）& Ano （あの）respectively.

When you refer to other people to whom you have to show yr respect, such as teachers or elders, Kochira (This), Sochira (That) & Achira (Over there) are used.

When you talk about this & that related to a place, Koko, Soko & Asoko are used.

Koko - This place (a place near the speaker)
Soko - That place (a place near the listener)
Asoko -That place over there (a place away from speaker & listener)
Doko - Where

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab