Japanese Studies Program @ York University

JP1000 Lecture 2

Structures: Basic

1. X is N            :     X wa N desu       Watashi wa Kanada-jin desu.

2. X is not N :X wa N de wa arimasen         Kore wa daigaku de wa arimasen.
                       ja                                     ja

3. X is A            :     X wa A (desu)     Nihongo wa omoshiroi (desu).

4. X is not A :X wa Ast-ku arimasen          Kyoo wa samuku arimasen.

5. A + N             :     A N               takai kamera

6. N V               :     N wa/ga V	     Fuyu ga kimasu nee. Nihongo ga wakarimasu. Watashi wa arukimasu.

7. N N V             :     (N wa) N o V      Tomodachi wa Supein-go o hanashimasu.

8. N N V             :     (N wa) N e V      Chichi wa Nihon e ikimashita.

9. N N V             :     (N wa) N de V     Ashita koko de aimasu.

10.N N N V           :     (N wa) N de N o V Kyoo wa toshokan de Hiragana o renshuu-shimasu.

Adjectives:

Dictionary [ or citation] Form:  -i [-ai/-ii/-ui/-oi]
                                taka-i, ooki-i, atsu-i, ko-i

KU [or adverbial] Form        :  -ku                  
                                chiisa-ku, muzukashi-ku, yasu-ku, tanoshi-ku

         [N.B.]
         ii ---> yoku   *iku

         As Japanese adjectives contain the meaning of BE, they can be predicates
         by themselves, that is, without DESU, but nouns cannot.
                  Compare:  Kyoo wa atatakai.  *Are wa daigaku.
         Thus,
         N + DESU : copula + politeness
         A + DESU : politeness [of MASU : polite form for verbs]
         Adjectives have their own conjugation.


    Nihongo wa yasashii desu nee.

    Watashi wa wakaku arimasen.

    Kodomo wa totemo chiisakatta desu.

    Kono rapputoppu wa takaku arimasen deshita.

    Yooku-daigaku wa totemo ookii desu.

    Kinoo wa hito ga ookatta desu nee.

    Tanoshii desu.

    Omoshiroi desu ka?

    Oishiku arimasen ka?

    Kyuuba wa atsuku arimasen deshita. 

Nouns:

Singular/Plural distinctions are rarely marked.
         Plural Markers: kare-ra 'they', kore-ra 'these', sensee-gata 'teachers',
         kodomo-tachi 'children', hito-bito 'people'

Definite/Indefinite distinctions are sometimes marked by demonstratives, WA,
...
         Topic  :  definite

         [N.B.]  soo 'so', onaji 'same', dame 'no good', ... are nouns.
                 Chigaimasu 'is different' is a verb.

Demonstratives: kore 'this' sore 'that' are 'that over there' dore 'which'

    Kore wa anata no kuruma desu ka?

    Sushi wa suki ja arimasen.

    Mae wa sarariiman deshita.

    Haha wa genki ja arimasen deshita.

    Senshuu kurasu wa yasumi deshita.

    Kookoo wa onaji ja arimasen deshita.

    Toronto wa ooki-na machi desu. 

Verbs: basic verbs

 masu conjugation:      

	-masu   -masen    -mashita    -masen deshita
        

    Maiasa shinbun o yomimasu.   

    Natsuyasumi wa Montoriooru ni ikimashita.

    Shuumatsu wa taitee uchi de tabemasen.

    Sensee no setsumee wa zenzen wakarimasen deshita.

    Moo nemasu ka?

    Ima okimasu.

    Wakarimashita.

    Shirimasen deshita.

    Doko e ikimasu ka?

    Nani o kaimashita ka?

    O-sake wa nomimasen.

    Tabako wa suimasen.

    Itsu Kananda ni kimashita ka?

    Kyonen kimashita.            

Sentence particles:

 Modality:  speaker's attitude toward proposition

KA  :  interrogative               Wakarimasu ka?
YO  :  assertive                   Chigaimasu yo.
NE  :  confirmative                Suzuki-san desu ne.
NEE :  agreement-seeking/giving    Atsui desu nee./ Soo desu nee.