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Jul 1, 2010 2:38 AM
#1
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Preface:

This chapter will cover:

1) The verb form, "hanashi": "To speak/talk"
2) The particle question:"ka"
3) The Japanese word "doko" for "where".
4) The Japanese words "koko" and "soko" for "here" and "there".
5) The Japanese meanings for "near" and "far".

Again, these are basic grammatical information necessary for learning Japanese. Memorizing every point isn’t necessary; however reading and understanding every point is vital. There will be examples needed to explain basic Japanese structure. Eventually, you will find that you have a good grasp of the basic features of Japanese grammar without any deliberate memorization of rules. *Note – Each bold type (non-italic) wording/phrase can be found in Audio Lesson 10.




Vocabulary List:
“Around Town”


Around town – machi no suuhen
town – machi
city – toshi, shi
village – mura
car –kuruma, jidoosha
bus – basu
train – densha
taxi – takushii
Subway / metro – chikatetsu
traffic – kootsuu
building (high-rise) – tatemono, biru
Apartment building – apaato
library – toshokan
restaurant – resutoran
store – mise
street – michi, toori
park – kooen
Train station – eki
airport – kuukoo
airplane – hikooki
intersection – koosaten
Lamp post – gaitoobashira
Street light – gaitoo
bank – ginkoo
church – kyookai
temple – (o)tera
Mosque – mosuku
sidewalk – hodoo
bakery – panya, beekarii
Butcher shop – nikuya
Café / coffee shop – kissaten
drugstore – yakkyoku, kusuriya
Supermarket - suupaa
market – ichi, maaketto
Shoe store – kutsuya
Clothing store - yoohinten, iryoohinten
Electronics store - denkiya
Bookstore - honya, shoten
Department store - depaato
Mayor - shichoo, choochooo
City hall / municipal building - shiyakusho
To buy - kau
To go shopping - kaimono ni iku
near / far - chikai / tooi
Urban - tokai no
suburban - koogai no
Rural - inaka no / den’en no / nooson no



A. Common Verb Forms

In Japanese, main verbs come at the ends of sentences (similarly to "desu"). Since Japanese's sentences often omit the subject, the verb is probably the most important part in understanding the sentence. However, verbs forms are considered to be difficult to learn. The good news is the system itself is rather simple, as far as memorizing certain rules. It is also seen that Japanese verbs make no distinction of person or number; the same forms are used for first, second, and third person in both the singular and plural. And, as you have probably noticed, in Japanese is it the verb ending that determine tenses. (More will be learned in Chp. 12.)


1) "Hanashi" (to talk - speaking, chatting, conversations, gossip, story-telling; anything that has to do with speaking and talking)

I speak/talk
I spoke/ talked
I'm speaking/talking


Hanashi masu.
speak/talk
will speak/talk

Hanashi mashita
spoke/talked
have spoken/have talked

Hanashi mashoo.
Let's speak/talk
will (might) talk/speak

Hanashi te imasu.
talking/speaking

Hanashi te imashia.
was talking/speaking

Hanashi te kudasai.
Please speak/talk.



Please note the following:

a) The endings denoting the tenses for the above word are:

Present or future
--masu

Past
--mashita

Tentative
--mashoo

Present progressive
--te imasu

Past progressive
--te imashita

Polite request
--te kudasai


NOTE - The "--te"(て) form (usually written using the "hiragana" stroke) is a useful form of Japanese verbs. It does not indicate tense by itself, however it combines with other verb forms to create other tenses. The use of "--te" is also considered to be a "linking verb" (am, was, were).
Also, notice how the other words correspond with verb the same forms of English:

1. The use of "masu" is simular to "desu", and that the "u" is silent or devoiced. It is the first (and/or future) verb form of speaking.
(ex. I talk / I will talk.)

2. The use of "--shita" is the past verb and can be coupled with "have" and "had".
(ex. I have -or- I've, I had -or- I'd).

3. The use of "--shoo" is the tentative form, or what we consider to be "may", "might", "could", "maybe".
(ex. I might / could / may speak)


b) The same forms are used for singular and plural and for the first, second and third persons. The subject of a sentence does not have to be mentioned when the context clarifies who is speaking or what is being spoken about.


Hanashi masu.
I speak / talk.

Hanashi masu.
You (sg.) speak/talk.

Hanashi masu.
He/she speaks/talks.

Hanashi masu.
We speak/talk.

Hanashi masu.
You (pl.) speak/talk

Hanashi masu.
They speak/talk.



2) Now, we will discuss the negative forms of "hanashimasu" - to speak and talk.

I don't speak
I didn't speak
I wasn't speaking


Hanashi masen.
I don't speak
I will not speak

Hanashi masen desita.
I didn't speak.

Hanashi imasen.
I am not speaking.

Hanashi imasen deshia.
I wasn't speaking.

Hanasa naide kudasai.
Please don't speak.



Please note the following:

a) The endings denoting the tenses for the above word are (note that there are no tentative forms for the negative verb form):

Negative present or future
--masen

Negative past
--masen deshita

Negative present progressive
--te imasen

Negative past progressive
--te imasen deshita

Negative polite request
--naide kudasai


b) Note again, that the subject of each of these sentences could be "I", "you", "he/she", "we", or "they". "I" is arbitrarily used as the subject in the English translations. As the lessons proceed, we'll learn more verbs in these forms and after a while, we'll become familiar with them. Now let's study some more examples:

Japanese Expression
English Translation


Tabe masu.
I eat. I will eat.

Tabe te imasu.
I am eating.

Tabe mashita.
I ate.

Tabe te imashita.
I was eating.

Tabe te kudasai.
Please eat.

Tabe mashoo.
Let's eat.

Tabe masen.
I do not (don't) eat. I will not (won't) eat.

Tabe te imasen.
I am not eating.

Tabe masen deshita.
I didn't eat.

Tabe te imasen deshita.
I was not eating.

Tabe naida kudasai.
Please don't eat.

Donna mono o tabe mashita ka?
What kinds of things did you eat?

Sukiyaki ya tenpura o tabe mashita.
We akt, sukiyaki, tempura, and things like that.

Kooii
Coffee

Koohii o nomi masu.
I drink coffee.

ocha
tea

Ocha o nomi mashoo.
Let's drink (Japanese) tea.

Ocha o nomi mashita.
They drank (Japanese) tea.



B. Asking a Question - I

As we have seen, one way to ask a question is to add the particle "ka" (か) to the end of the sentence (usually written using the "hiragana" stroke) and use either a rising or falling intonation. To ask a question in a negative, use the particle "ka" in the same way. Here are a few examples:

Japanese Expression
English Translation


Nara imasu.
You learn.

Nara imasu ka?
Do you learn?

Nara imashita.
You learned. You have learned.

Nara imashita ka?
Did you learn? Have you learned?

Naratte imasu.
You are learning.

Naratte imasu ka?
Are you learning?

Naratte imashita.
You were learning.

Naratee imashita ka?
Were you learning?

Nara imasen ka?
Don't you learn?

Nara imasen deshia ka?
Didn't you learn?

Naratte imasen ka?
Aren't you learning?

Naratte imasen deshita ka?
Weren't you learning?

Naratte imasen deshita Nihongo ka?
Weren't you learning Japanese?

GTCJul 21, 2012 7:24 PM
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Jul 1, 2010 4:23 AM
#2
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Oct 2007
267
NOTE: Japanese has sets of words which are based on the physical distance from the speaker and the listener. They are called "ko-so-a-do words" because the first syllable is always either ko-, so-, a-, or do-. "Ko-words" refer to things nearer to the speaker, "So-words" to things nearer to the listener, "A-words" to things that are at distance from both the speaker and the listener, and "Do-words" are questions words. Further information on this can be found here. Notice this in the following subtitles:

C. Asking "Where" something is.

The Japanese word for where is "doko" (どこ). Notice the following examples:

Japanese Expression
English Translation [Lit. Translation]


Chotto sumimasen.
Excuse me for a moment. [I'm asking a question, but...]

doko
where

arimasu
there is

Doko ni arimasu ka?
Where is it?

Hoteru wa doku ni arimasu ka?
Where is a hotel?

resutoran
restaurant

Resutoran wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Where is a restaurant?

denwa
telephone

Denwa wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Where is the telephone?

uketsuke
reception desk

Uketsuke wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Where is the reception desk?

eki
station

Eki wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Where is the station?

yuubinkyoku
post office

Yuubinkyoku wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Where is the post office?



D. Explaining "Here" and "There"

The Japanese word for here is "koko" (ここ). The Japanese word for there is "soko" (そこ). Notice the following examples:

Japanese Expression
English Translation [Lit. Translation]


koko
Here, this place

soko
there, that place (near to person addressed by speaker)

asoko
there, that place over there (far from both speaker and person addressed)

doko
where, which place

Doko desu ka?
Where is it? Which place is it?

kochira
this way

sochira
that way

achira
that way over there

dochira
which way

Dochira desu ka?
Which way is it?

Achira desu.
It is over that way

Kochira desu
It's this way.

migi no hoo ni
to the right [in the direction of the right]

hidari no hoo ni
to the left [in the direction of the left]

Migi no hoo ni arimasu.
It's to the right. [It is in the direction...]

Hidari no hoo ni arimasu.
It's to the left.

Migi e magari masu.
You turn right.

Hidari e magari masu.
You turn left.

Massugu iki masu.
You go straight ahead.

Massugu saki desu.
It's straight ahead.

Choodo hantaigawa desu.
It's directly opposite.

Kado ni arimasu.
It's on the corner.

Koko ni wa arimasen.
It's not here.

Soko ni wa arimasen.
It's not there.

Asoko ni arimasu.
It's over there.

Koko ni imasu.
He is here.

Koko ni kite kudasai.
Come here, please.

Koko ni ite kudasai.
Stay here, please.

Soko de matte ite kudasai.
Wait there, please.

Kochira e itte kudasai.
Go this way, please.

Achira e itte kudasai.
Go that way, please.

Soko ni dare ga imasu ka?
Who's there?

Koko ni oite kudasai.
Put it here, please.

Soko ni oite kudasai.
Put it there, please.




E. Explaining "Near" and "Far"

The Japanese word for near is "chikai" (近 い). The Japanese words for far are "tooi" (遠 い) and "tooku" (遠 く). **The word "Chikaku" (近 く) is a noun being used for the meaning of a nearby place. Notice the following examples:

Japanese Expression
English Translation [Lit. Translation]


Chikai desu.
It's near.

Koko kara chikai desu.
It's near here. [Near from here.]

Totemo chikai desu.
It's very near. It's quite close.

Mura no chikaku** desu.
It's near the village.

Michi no chikaku desu.
It's near the road.

Kare no uchi no chikaku desu. It's near the house.
Koko kara totemo chikai desu.
It's very near hear.

tooi
far

Tooi desu ka?
Is it far?

Tooi desu.
It's far.

Tooku arimasen.
It's not far.

Koko kara tooi desu.
It's far from here.
GTCJul 1, 2010 6:23 AM
Jul 1, 2010 4:24 AM
#3
Offline
Oct 2007
267
*Answers are in my blog.*


Quiz 1 – Matching

1. Denwa wa doko ni arimasuka?
2. Hanashimasu.
3. Kochira desu.
4. Massugu saki desu.
5. Migi no hoo ni arimasu.
6. Mura no chikaku desu.
7. Soko de matte ite kudasai.
8. Kochira e itte kudasai.
9. Hidari e magarimasu.
10. Choodo hantaigawa desu.
11. Tooku arimasen.
12. Soko ni oite kudasai.
13. Koko ni arimasen.
14. Koko ni ite kudsai.
15. Soko ni dare ga imasu ka?
16. Hoteru wa doko ni arimasu ka?
17. Nara imashita ka?
18. Tabete imasu.
19. Tabe mashoo.
20. Koohii o nomimasu.


a) It's the way.
b) It's to the right.
c) He's / I'm turning left.
d) It's directly opposite.
e) It's straight ahead.
f) Where is a telephone?
g) He speaks.
h) It's near the village.
i) It's not here.
j) Stay here, please.
k) Wait here, please.
l) Go this way, please.
m) Who's there?
n) Put it here, please.
o) I'm eating.
p) Let's eat.
q) I drink coffee.
r) Where is a hotel?
s) It's not far.
t) Did you learn?
GTCJul 1, 2010 6:32 AM
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