I'm going to combine a couple small grammar points into one post here since they're semi-related and similar in nature.
The first is to express how long something took, such as "I did X for 1 hour." That length of time is represented by the number, followed by 時間 to state that it was a period of time. This is placed before the verb within the sentence.
アヤトと二時間話しました。
I chatted with Ayato for two hours.
明日は八時間働く。
Tomorrow I work for eight hours.
Adding ぐらい at the end of the time expression turns it into an approximate measurement.
日本語を一時間ぐらい勉強した。
I studied Japanese for about an hour.
今日は五時間ぐらい走り回った。
Today I ran around for about five hours.
That's about it for that bit of grammar. Like I said, the time expression goes before the verb, so there may be an "interrupt" between the verb and any particles (like を).
The second point is related to expressing "a lot." This is done using たくさん, which I've used before and seen multiple times due to how common it is. It can either be paired with the noun in the sentence, or it can be placed after the を particle.
私はたくさん酒を飲んだ。
私は酒をたくさん飲んだ。
Both sentences translate to "I drank a lot of sake." It's just that the location of たくさん has changed.
たくさん宿題をした。
宿題をたくさんした。
I did a lot of homework.
たくさんピザを食べた。
ピザをたくさん食べた。
I ate a lot of pizza.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Expressing "Also"
The particle も is often used when referencing two or more people who performed the same activity. For example:
私は昨日公園に行きました。
I went to the park yesterday.
アヤトも公園に行きました。
Ayato went to the park, too.
But it can also be used when referring to the same action performed on multiple items.
リーさんは野菜を食べる。
Lee eats vegetables.
彼は果物も食べる。
He also eats fruits.
ライト君は水を飲む。
Laito-kun drinks water.
彼は血も飲む。
He also drinks blood.
In this case, も is replacing the を particle entirely, rather than being used alongside it. も can replace the particles は, が, and を.
If I want to say I went to multiple places (or went somewhere on multiple occasions), then I can use も with the particle に.
本屋に運転した。
I drove to the bookstore.
友達の家にも運転した。
I also drove to my friend's house.
月曜日に図書館に行った。
I went to the library on Monday.
火曜日にも図書館に行った。
I went to the library on Tuesday, too.
Again, in both cases the particle order is にも (which I'll remember by picturing Nemo from Code: Realize). The も particle will not replace the に particle in either instance.
私は昨日公園に行きました。
I went to the park yesterday.
アヤトも公園に行きました。
Ayato went to the park, too.
But it can also be used when referring to the same action performed on multiple items.
リーさんは野菜を食べる。
Lee eats vegetables.
彼は果物も食べる。
He also eats fruits.
ライト君は水を飲む。
Laito-kun drinks water.
彼は血も飲む。
He also drinks blood.
In this case, も is replacing the を particle entirely, rather than being used alongside it. も can replace the particles は, が, and を.
If I want to say I went to multiple places (or went somewhere on multiple occasions), then I can use も with the particle に.
本屋に運転した。
I drove to the bookstore.
友達の家にも運転した。
I also drove to my friend's house.
月曜日に図書館に行った。
I went to the library on Monday.
火曜日にも図書館に行った。
I went to the library on Tuesday, too.
Again, in both cases the particle order is にも (which I'll remember by picturing Nemo from Code: Realize). The も particle will not replace the に particle in either instance.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Describing Location
I held off with this lesson because I've seen conflicting reports of the best way to describe someone or something's location. Tae Kim's site uses ある or いる for it, while Genki uses です. I asked people for advice on the matter and it appears that ある and いる are more commonly used, so that's what I'm going to use in my lesson.
I touched on this in a previous post, but describing a location in relation to something else means using の along with the original item.
アヤトは学校の近くにいる。
Ayato is near the school.
車は銀行の左にある。
The car is to the left of the bank.
犬は池の横にいる。
The dog is next to the pond.
本は机の上にある。
The book is on the desk.
ライト君は家の中にいる。
Laito-kun is in the house.
There are two ways of saying "next to" or "beside": 横 「よこ」 and 隣 「となり」. The former can be used with dissimilar items, while the latter only sounds natural with similar items (like buildings, for example).
I touched on this in a previous post, but describing a location in relation to something else means using の along with the original item.
アヤトは学校の近くにいる。
Ayato is near the school.
車は銀行の左にある。
The car is to the left of the bank.
犬は池の横にいる。
The dog is next to the pond.
本は机の上にある。
The book is on the desk.
ライト君は家の中にいる。
Laito-kun is in the house.
There are two ways of saying "next to" or "beside": 横 「よこ」 and 隣 「となり」. The former can be used with dissimilar items, while the latter only sounds natural with similar items (like buildings, for example).
Friday, August 26, 2016
More On Existence Verbs
My first lesson with ある and いる wasn't 100% thorough, so I'm going to be a bit more explicit in what they're used for this time.
Both are used as "existence" verbs, sort of like "is" in English to describe the state of a noun. (That's one of their many uses, anyway.) ある is for inanimate objects and いる is for living creatures. I'm going to go through a few examples of their usages.
Existence:
あそこに本屋がある。 (or あります)
There's a bookstore over there.
Important things to note: あそこに, which is a vague description of the location, is at the beginning of the sentence. This is often the case when using ある or いる. A good literal translation of it is "At over there, a bookstore exists." In this case, に is used instead of で.
いる can be used just as ある in describing existence, only it's used with living things.
そこに犬がいる。
There's a dog there.
台所にたくさん人々がいる。
There's a lot of people in the kitchen.
Again, in this case it helps to think of the sentence as "At the kitchen, a lot of people exist" for a more literal interpretation.
Possession:
With possession, が is used as if to say "X is the thing that I have."
宿題がある。
I have homework.
野菜がない。
I don't have vegetables.
いる can be used for possession as well, though not in the sense that you own a person.
フランス人の友達がいる。
I have a French friend.
お姉さんがいる。
I have an older sister.
Events:
ある can be used for events, to say something like "There is X occurring."
水曜日に競走がある。
On Wednesday there's a race.
七月に英語のクラスがない。
In July there is no English class.
Both are used as "existence" verbs, sort of like "is" in English to describe the state of a noun. (That's one of their many uses, anyway.) ある is for inanimate objects and いる is for living creatures. I'm going to go through a few examples of their usages.
Existence:
あそこに本屋がある。 (or あります)
There's a bookstore over there.
Important things to note: あそこに, which is a vague description of the location, is at the beginning of the sentence. This is often the case when using ある or いる. A good literal translation of it is "At over there, a bookstore exists." In this case, に is used instead of で.
いる can be used just as ある in describing existence, only it's used with living things.
そこに犬がいる。
There's a dog there.
台所にたくさん人々がいる。
There's a lot of people in the kitchen.
Again, in this case it helps to think of the sentence as "At the kitchen, a lot of people exist" for a more literal interpretation.
Possession:
With possession, が is used as if to say "X is the thing that I have."
宿題がある。
I have homework.
野菜がない。
I don't have vegetables.
いる can be used for possession as well, though not in the sense that you own a person.
フランス人の友達がいる。
I have a French friend.
お姉さんがいる。
I have an older sister.
Events:
ある can be used for events, to say something like "There is X occurring."
水曜日に競走がある。
On Wednesday there's a race.
七月に英語のクラスがない。
In July there is no English class.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Time References
One thing that's always been awkward for me is describing the day or time at which something took place. I wasn't sure if it was ideal to say something like 明日は and go on with the sentence from there, but then that used the topic particle I was saving for something else. Genki explains that I don't need the は particle in this case, though.
昨日映画を見ました。
Yesterday I saw a movie.
今日友達に会う。
Today I'll meet with my friend.
明日学校に行く。
Tomorrow I'll go to school.
Those sentences are all valid without the は particle designating the day as the topic. I could add it to each of them to create the same set of sentences with equivalent meanings, but it's not required.
Now, if I want to give a specific day or time, rather than something relative to my current state (such as today or tomorrow), then I need to use the に particle with it.
火曜日に映画を見ました。
On Tuesday I saw a movie.
十一時半に友達に会う。
I'll meet with my friend at 11:30.
九月に日本に行く。
I'll go to Japan in September.
The に particle is not typically used with things like "in the morning" (朝) or "weekend" (週末), but it can be depending on personal preference. It's also not needed for things like 毎日 (expressing regular intervals) and いつ (when).
昨日映画を見ました。
Yesterday I saw a movie.
今日友達に会う。
Today I'll meet with my friend.
明日学校に行く。
Tomorrow I'll go to school.
Those sentences are all valid without the は particle designating the day as the topic. I could add it to each of them to create the same set of sentences with equivalent meanings, but it's not required.
Now, if I want to give a specific day or time, rather than something relative to my current state (such as today or tomorrow), then I need to use the に particle with it.
火曜日に映画を見ました。
On Tuesday I saw a movie.
十一時半に友達に会う。
I'll meet with my friend at 11:30.
九月に日本に行く。
I'll go to Japan in September.
The に particle is not typically used with things like "in the morning" (朝) or "weekend" (週末), but it can be depending on personal preference. It's also not needed for things like 毎日 (expressing regular intervals) and いつ (when).
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Invitations
There are many aspects of the Japanese language that utilize the concept of "indirectness." This becomes clear with the idea of invitations, or how you extend an offer to someone. If I want to ask someone to go see a movie, I would use the negative form of the verb, either with ません or ない, depending on formality. I cannot use the ます form to do this, because that would just sound like I'm asking a simple question.
リーさん、映画を見ませんか？
Lee-san, would you like to see a movie?
アヤト、図書館で勉強しませんか？
Ayato, would you like to study at the library?
ライト、買い物に行きませんか？
Laito, would you like to go shopping?
I believe that using the ない form is asking the exact same question, just with a different, more casual tone.
リーさん、そのレストランで晩ごはんを食べない？
Lee-san, do you wanna eat dinner at that restaurant?
アヤト、池の近いで泳がない？
Ayato, do you wanna go swimming at the nearby pond?
ライト、明日家にこない？
Laito, do you wanna come to my house tomorrow?
One last useful tip to note is that saying "no" in Japanese is rather uncommon. So if anyone asks me one of the above questions and I want to respond in the negative, I could say ちょっと. It literally means "a little" or "a bit", but in the context of these sentences, it would mean "not really" or "that's a little inconvenient for me."
アリス：十時に公園に行かない？
ジョン： ちょっと・・・
Alice: Wanna go to the park at ten?
John: It's a little... (inconvenient for me).
リーさん、映画を見ませんか？
Lee-san, would you like to see a movie?
アヤト、図書館で勉強しませんか？
Ayato, would you like to study at the library?
ライト、買い物に行きませんか？
Laito, would you like to go shopping?
I believe that using the ない form is asking the exact same question, just with a different, more casual tone.
リーさん、そのレストランで晩ごはんを食べない？
Lee-san, do you wanna eat dinner at that restaurant?
アヤト、池の近いで泳がない？
Ayato, do you wanna go swimming at the nearby pond?
ライト、明日家にこない？
Laito, do you wanna come to my house tomorrow?
One last useful tip to note is that saying "no" in Japanese is rather uncommon. So if anyone asks me one of the above questions and I want to respond in the negative, I could say ちょっと. It literally means "a little" or "a bit", but in the context of these sentences, it would mean "not really" or "that's a little inconvenient for me."
アリス：十時に公園に行かない？
ジョン： ちょっと・・・
Alice: Wanna go to the park at ten?
John: It's a little... (inconvenient for me).
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Verb Clauses
This is a tricky lesson because it's not necessarily new info, but it's sort of a new way to apply some of the stuff I've already learned. A few examples might help demonstrate the crux of it. English is less consistent than Japanese in descriptions of nouns. For example, I might say:
The silly cat. OR
The cat who jumped on the table.
In the first one, the description comes before the noun, but in the second one, it comes after the noun. Well, in Japanese, descriptive clauses come before the noun even if they contain verbs. If I apply those rules to English it'll read as something like "the jumped on the table cat." Everything before the word "cat" is describing it. With this principle in mind, I can form better descriptions in Japanese. It's pretty difficult for me to write Japanese examples right now, but I'll do my best.
池で泳がない人は、好きじゃない。
I don't like people who don't swim in ponds.
Of course that doesn't make much sense, but that shows a verb clause being applied to the "person" noun. I'll try a couple more.
朝ごはんを食べない人はあまり元気じゃない。
People who don't eat breakfast are not very healthy.
映画を見ない人はつまらないよ。
People who don't watch movies are boring.
The above verb clauses are being treated as adjectives, because they're simply describing a noun. But there is a way to use verb clauses as nouns, too. I can either add こと or の to nominalize the entire verb clause, therefore treating it as a noun and being able to use it in different types of sentences. Tae Kim's guide states that こと is more generic while の is more specific.
一人で食べることは難しいです。
It's difficult to eat alone.
毎日買い物に行くのが好きだよ。
I like to go shopping every day.
友達に会うことはいつも楽しい。
It's always fun to meet with friends.
週末にゲームをやるのが大好きです。
On weekends I really like to play games.
One important thing to note is that the plain verb form is used in all of these clauses, because the polite form can only come at the end of a sentence.
That's about it for the lesson. I'll certainly need to practice these, but I think it'll be helpful to simply do more reading so I can familiarize myself with this pattern.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
The silly cat. OR
The cat who jumped on the table.
In the first one, the description comes before the noun, but in the second one, it comes after the noun. Well, in Japanese, descriptive clauses come before the noun even if they contain verbs. If I apply those rules to English it'll read as something like "the jumped on the table cat." Everything before the word "cat" is describing it. With this principle in mind, I can form better descriptions in Japanese. It's pretty difficult for me to write Japanese examples right now, but I'll do my best.
池で泳がない人は、好きじゃない。
I don't like people who don't swim in ponds.
Of course that doesn't make much sense, but that shows a verb clause being applied to the "person" noun. I'll try a couple more.
朝ごはんを食べない人はあまり元気じゃない。
People who don't eat breakfast are not very healthy.
映画を見ない人はつまらないよ。
People who don't watch movies are boring.
The above verb clauses are being treated as adjectives, because they're simply describing a noun. But there is a way to use verb clauses as nouns, too. I can either add こと or の to nominalize the entire verb clause, therefore treating it as a noun and being able to use it in different types of sentences. Tae Kim's guide states that こと is more generic while の is more specific.
一人で食べることは難しいです。
It's difficult to eat alone.
毎日買い物に行くのが好きだよ。
I like to go shopping every day.
友達に会うことはいつも楽しい。
It's always fun to meet with friends.
週末にゲームをやるのが大好きです。
On weekends I really like to play games.
One important thing to note is that the plain verb form is used in all of these clauses, because the polite form can only come at the end of a sentence.
That's about it for the lesson. I'll certainly need to practice these, but I think it'll be helpful to simply do more reading so I can familiarize myself with this pattern.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Negative Variants
I know I said I was going to progress to the -te form shortly, but now that I'm supplementing Tae Kim lessons with Genki, I've got new material to learn. The book's grammar points tend to be short and sweet, but I think I'll still break them up into separate posts so I can refer to them individually as needed. This lesson isn't the most critical one, but it's something I'll surely come across in both speaking and writing, so it makes sense to know it.
Currently to negate nouns and na-adjectives, I use じゃない, with じゃ being a contraction of では and ない being the plain negative conjugation of ある. This is probably the most commonly used form, but there are two other ways to negate things that may be seen in more formal language or books.
リーさんは犬じゃないです。
リーさんは犬じゃありません。
リーさんは犬ではありません。
All of these state that Lee is not a dog, with varying degrees of formality. The first is the common way that I initially learned. The second is a more conservative style of speech, with the じゃ contraction but the polite ありません in place. The third is more appropriate in writing and uses the original では.
アヤトは先生じゃありません。
Ayato is not a teacher.
ライトは静かじゃないですよ。
Laito is not quiet.
私は歌手ではありません。
I am not a singer.
Currently to negate nouns and na-adjectives, I use じゃない, with じゃ being a contraction of では and ない being the plain negative conjugation of ある. This is probably the most commonly used form, but there are two other ways to negate things that may be seen in more formal language or books.
リーさんは犬じゃないです。
リーさんは犬じゃありません。
リーさんは犬ではありません。
All of these state that Lee is not a dog, with varying degrees of formality. The first is the common way that I initially learned. The second is a more conservative style of speech, with the じゃ contraction but the polite ありません in place. The third is more appropriate in writing and uses the original では.
アヤトは先生じゃありません。
Ayato is not a teacher.
ライトは静かじゃないですよ。
Laito is not quiet.
私は歌手ではありません。
I am not a singer.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Sentence Practice 8/13/2016
I've been a bit lighter on the grammar studies lately because my kanji studies have really increased in volume. But I'll get through it. I have one more lesson in Tae Kim's guide before proceeding to the -te form of verbs, which I'm sure I'll simultaneously love and hate. Anyway, here we go.
アヤトは池で泳ぎました。
Ayato swam in the pond.
新しい車が欲しいけど、お金がない。
I want a new car, but I don't have any money.
私は勉強したいですが、図書館に行きたくない。
I want to study, but I don't want to go to the library.
でも君はケーキがあるんだよね！
But you always have cake!
毎日ライトはそのレストランで食べて。
Every day, Laito eats at that restaurant.
昨日は肉屋に行きました。
Yesterday I went to the butcher.
先日姉が生みましたから、今は赤ちゃんがいます。
The other day my sister gave birth, so now she has a baby.
私は働きたいですが、私もゲームをやりたいですよ。
I want to work, but I also want to play games.
スバル君はテレビを見ません。
Subaru-kun doesn't watch TV.
明日はリーさんが暇だから、買い物に行きたいよね。
Lee-san is free tomorrow, so I want to go shopping.
アヤトは池で泳ぎました。
Ayato swam in the pond.
新しい車が欲しいけど、お金がない。
I want a new car, but I don't have any money.
私は勉強したいですが、図書館に行きたくない。
I want to study, but I don't want to go to the library.
でも君はケーキがあるんだよね！
But you always have cake!
毎日ライトはそのレストランで食べて。
Every day, Laito eats at that restaurant.
昨日は肉屋に行きました。
Yesterday I went to the butcher.
先日姉が生みましたから、今は赤ちゃんがいます。
The other day my sister gave birth, so now she has a baby.
私は働きたいですが、私もゲームをやりたいですよ。
I want to work, but I also want to play games.
スバル君はテレビを見ません。
Subaru-kun doesn't watch TV.
明日はリーさんが暇だから、買い物に行きたいよね。
Lee-san is free tomorrow, so I want to go shopping.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Notebook Correction 8/10/2016
I posted some practice sentences on Italki for people to correct, so I'll list them and note the differences.
Original:
1. アヤトは学校の後ろにあります。
2. 買い物に行きたいけどお金がありません。
3. 祭りは今日１２時から４時までですよ。
4. 先週はたくさん勉強しました。
5. 明日は公園に行こう、ライト君。
6. 友達に会いに行きたいけど、仕事にあります。
7. 昨日はつまらない映画をみました。
8. この週末は暑いと雨天ですよ。
Corrected:
1. アヤトは学校の後ろにいます。 - います is required here because アヤト is a person, so あります doesn't make sense.
6. 友達に会いに行きたいけど、仕事があります。- I originally wanted to say "I want to go meet with my friend, but he's at work." I believe the people correcting it interpreted it as "I want to go meet with my friend, but I have work." So that's why the が is necessary.
8. この週末は暑くてと雨が降るよ。- The くて is making it into an adverb, while the 雨が降る is essentially saying "it's going to rain."
My other sentences were fine, so hurray for minor issues!
Original:
1. アヤトは学校の後ろにあります。
2. 買い物に行きたいけどお金がありません。
3. 祭りは今日１２時から４時までですよ。
4. 先週はたくさん勉強しました。
5. 明日は公園に行こう、ライト君。
6. 友達に会いに行きたいけど、仕事にあります。
7. 昨日はつまらない映画をみました。
8. この週末は暑いと雨天ですよ。
Corrected:
1. アヤトは学校の後ろにいます。 - います is required here because アヤト is a person, so あります doesn't make sense.
6. 友達に会いに行きたいけど、仕事があります。- I originally wanted to say "I want to go meet with my friend, but he's at work." I believe the people correcting it interpreted it as "I want to go meet with my friend, but I have work." So that's why the が is necessary.
8. この週末は暑くてと雨が降るよ。- The くて is making it into an adverb, while the 雨が降る is essentially saying "it's going to rain."
My other sentences were fine, so hurray for minor issues!
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Question Words
There's a lot of kana-only question words in Japanese that are important for daily communication. I know the basic ones like who, what, where, etc., but there are ways to modify those words to make them more broad or narrow, depending on the particles you add.
The particle も can be used to include or exclude everything. For example:
誰も - everybody (or nobody when used with negative)
どこも - everywhere (or nowhere when used with negative)
どうしても - no matter what
いつも - always
Initially it's strange to see a word be able to transform into its total opposite (like everywhere vs. nowhere), but I'm sure context will take care of it in almost all sentences.
Next is でも, which can be used to turn a word into its "any" form.
誰でも - anybody
何でも - anything
いつでも - any time
いくらでも - any amount
Finally, か can be used to turn a word into its "some" form.
誰か - somebody
何か - something
どうしてか - for some reason
いくつか - some number of things
There are more question words that can undergo this transformation, but I'm not going to list all of them because it'd take up a ton of space. For now, I've made flash cards for all 42 of them so I'll be able to recall each of them offhand.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
The particle も can be used to include or exclude everything. For example:
誰も - everybody (or nobody when used with negative)
どこも - everywhere (or nowhere when used with negative)
どうしても - no matter what
いつも - always
Initially it's strange to see a word be able to transform into its total opposite (like everywhere vs. nowhere), but I'm sure context will take care of it in almost all sentences.
Next is でも, which can be used to turn a word into its "any" form.
誰でも - anybody
何でも - anything
いつでも - any time
いくらでも - any amount
Finally, か can be used to turn a word into its "some" form.
誰か - somebody
何か - something
どうしてか - for some reason
いくつか - some number of things
There are more question words that can undergo this transformation, but I'm not going to list all of them because it'd take up a ton of space. For now, I've made flash cards for all 42 of them so I'll be able to recall each of them offhand.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
Adverbs
This is another relatively simple topic, but it still warrants its own post. Adverbs are useful for describing how an action is performed, or for specifying things like frequency or amount.
It's easy to turn existing i- and na-adjectives into adverbs. For na-adjectives, I can simply add に to the end, and bam, it's done. For i-adjectives, I must replace the い with く instead. That's it. It's much like adding -ly to the end of words in English.
静かに眠る。
Sleep quietly.
かわいく歌う。
Sing cutely.
早く起きる。
Wake up early.
陽気笑う。
Laugh cheerfully.
嬉しく吹く。
Whistle happily.
よく勉強する。
Study often.
Tae Kim notes that adverbs do not require particles and are fairly flexible with where they're placed in the sentence. I think different placement can change the noun or verb that you're trying to emphasize.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
It's easy to turn existing i- and na-adjectives into adverbs. For na-adjectives, I can simply add に to the end, and bam, it's done. For i-adjectives, I must replace the い with く instead. That's it. It's much like adding -ly to the end of words in English.
静かに眠る。
Sleep quietly.
かわいく歌う。
Sing cutely.
早く起きる。
Wake up early.
陽気笑う。
Laugh cheerfully.
嬉しく吹く。
Whistle happily.
よく勉強する。
Study often.
Tae Kim notes that adverbs do not require particles and are fairly flexible with where they're placed in the sentence. I think different placement can change the noun or verb that you're trying to emphasize.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Telling Time
I tend to hate learning numbers in other languages (I felt the same about telling time in Spanish, back in high school), but this is a useful lesson, so I'll buckle down and do it. The main difficult part about it is remembering the exceptions for counting minutes. Otherwise it's fairly intuitive.
There are two counters to use when telling time in Japanese: 時 for hours, and 分 for minutes. When reading any time, the format is [hour] 時 [minutes] 分. Of course, if it's an even time then I don't have to add the minutes portion, and if it's a half hour, I can say 半.
今は、三時ですよ。
It's 3 o'clock now.
四時半です。
It's 4:30.
今は、十時四十五分です。
It's 10:45 now.
午前 and 午後 are used for AM and PM respectively, though Japan uses a 24-hour clock more often. But to specify AM or PM, it has to come before the time, not after like in English.
午前九時半ですよ。
It's 9:30 AM.
午後十一時に十分です。
It's 11:20 PM.
When discussing time, we often need to specify intervals, as well. If I want to say "The party will go from 8:00 until 10:30, then I have to use the particles から and まで. In this case, they come after the given time.
授業は十時から十二時半までですよ。
Class is from 10 to 12:30.
毎朝いつまで寝る？
Until when do you sleep every morning?
In Tae Kim's practice sentences, there's a lot of particles where I don't quite understand the usage. I think I'll just have to keep reading and practice writing things with relation to time to better understand when to use them and how to connect various parts of my sentences.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
There are two counters to use when telling time in Japanese: 時 for hours, and 分 for minutes. When reading any time, the format is [hour] 時 [minutes] 分. Of course, if it's an even time then I don't have to add the minutes portion, and if it's a half hour, I can say 半.
今は、三時ですよ。
It's 3 o'clock now.
四時半です。
It's 4:30.
今は、十時四十五分です。
It's 10:45 now.
午前 and 午後 are used for AM and PM respectively, though Japan uses a 24-hour clock more often. But to specify AM or PM, it has to come before the time, not after like in English.
午前九時半ですよ。
It's 9:30 AM.
午後十一時に十分です。
It's 11:20 PM.
When discussing time, we often need to specify intervals, as well. If I want to say "The party will go from 8:00 until 10:30, then I have to use the particles から and まで. In this case, they come after the given time.
授業は十時から十二時半までですよ。
Class is from 10 to 12:30.
毎朝いつまで寝る？
Until when do you sleep every morning?
In Tae Kim's practice sentences, there's a lot of particles where I don't quite understand the usage. I think I'll just have to keep reading and practice writing things with relation to time to better understand when to use them and how to connect various parts of my sentences.
Credit goes to Tae Kim's lesson seen here.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Verbs - Polite Past Tense
Polite past tense is very simple because both positive and negative forms use the verb stem for conjugation.
Polite positive: verb stem + ました
Polite negative: verb stem + ませんでした
That's it! Here's a couple example sentences that use both forms.
先週はたくさん勉強しました。
Last week I did a lot of studying.
先月は毎日プールで泳ぎました。
Last month, we swam in the pool every day.
アヤトさん、昨日学校に行きませんでしたか？
Ayato, didn't you go to school yesterday?
ライトさん、先生と話しませんでしたか？
Laito, didn't you speak with your teacher?
I really want to get back on track doing more lessons. The issue is that the next 3-4 are less interesting topics, and they also require a lot of flash cards to learn vocab. But hopefully I'll be able to knock out two of them this weekend, and then I'll move on to more verb forms.
Polite positive: verb stem + ました
Polite negative: verb stem + ませんでした
That's it! Here's a couple example sentences that use both forms.
先週はたくさん勉強しました。
Last week I did a lot of studying.
先月は毎日プールで泳ぎました。
Last month, we swam in the pool every day.
アヤトさん、昨日学校に行きませんでしたか？
Ayato, didn't you go to school yesterday?
ライトさん、先生と話しませんでしたか？
Laito, didn't you speak with your teacher?
I really want to get back on track doing more lessons. The issue is that the next 3-4 are less interesting topics, and they also require a lot of flash cards to learn vocab. But hopefully I'll be able to knock out two of them this weekend, and then I'll move on to more verb forms.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Conjugation Practice 8/1/2016
Hurray, more verb practice! Same as yesterday, only with all new verbs this time, including the few irregulars.
Plain Positive
する
来る
待つ
見せる
持つ
話す
行く
正す
下がる
行う
Plain Negative
しない
こない
待たない
見せない
持たない
話さない
行かない
正さない
下がらない
行わない
Polite Positive
します
きます
待ちます
見せます
持ちます
話します
行きます
正します
下がります
行います
Polite Negative
しません
きません
待ちません
見せません
持ちません
話しません
行きません
正しません
下がりません
行いません
Desire Positive Present
したい
きたい
待ちたい
見せたい
持ちたい
話したい
行きたい
正したい
下がりたい
行いたい
Plain Volition
しよう
こよう
待とう
見せよう
持とう
話そう
行こう
正そう
下がろう
行おう
Polite Volition
しましょう
きましょう
待ちましょう
見せましょう
持ちましょう
話しましょう
行きましょう
正しましょう
下がりましょう
行いましょう
Plain Positive
する
来る
待つ
見せる
持つ
話す
行く
正す
下がる
行う
Plain Negative
しない
こない
待たない
見せない
持たない
話さない
行かない
正さない
下がらない
行わない
Polite Positive
します
きます
待ちます
見せます
持ちます
話します
行きます
正します
下がります
行います
Polite Negative
しません
きません
待ちません
見せません
持ちません
話しません
行きません
正しません
下がりません
行いません
Desire Positive Present
したい
きたい
待ちたい
見せたい
持ちたい
話したい
行きたい
正したい
下がりたい
行いたい
Plain Volition
しよう
こよう
待とう
見せよう
持とう
話そう
行こう
正そう
下がろう
行おう
Polite Volition
しましょう
きましょう
待ちましょう
見せましょう
持ちましょう
話しましょう
行きましょう
正しましょう
下がりましょう
行いましょう
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