Previous page -- Next page -- Home page

This lesson requires a browser with Japanese fonts or you will read only the English fonts, (you should download the IME(Input Method Editor) to see Japanese web pages and write e-mail in Japanese with Internet Explorer


BASIC ELEMENTS
This is the order of the words in sentences:
subject + time + space + indirect object + object + verb (Example: I+ today + here + to you + a lesson + give).
To describe the use of a word in the sentence there are markers (i.e. particles at the end of the word they refer).
To say this is a pencil ==>this a pencil is ==> kore wa empitsu desu (wa is the particle which marks the subject and desu is the present of to be).
Note that in Japanese there's no difference between singular and plural.
To read japanese fonts look at hiragana table.
Subject is marked with the marker wa (written は usually read ha, but pronunciation wa indicates the subject or the object marker) and the nominal predicate (empitsu=pencil) doesn't need a marker.
You don't need to repeat some parts of the sentence if they are understood by the context; if you say pencil is yellow then you can say it is useful without repeating the subject and the same for other parts of the sentence (complements and verbs).
If part of the sentence is a new information markers change: the subject marker for new information is ga and for object is o (to write this o you must type wo in your IME). Example: what do you study today? today I study Japanese! <==> 'today I study' is an old information (topic) and Japanese is the new information (focus) . Often the subject is an old information and the object is the new information.
New subject + ga ( が ) Old subject + wa ( は)
New object + o ( を ) Old object + wa ( は )
Example: I eat the apple==>I the apple eat==>I (subj.) the apple (c obj.) eat (verb)==>watashi(=I) wa(mark. subj.) ringo (=apple) o (mark. c. obj.) taberu(eat)==>watashiwa ringo o taberu==>watashi は ringo を taberu.
the rose is red = the rose red is = bara wa akai desu = ばら は あかい です
So the subject of a sentence is often with particle wa and sometimes with ga to mark new information for example in an answer..
Now let's see another particle that indicate the
complement of specification and possession: no ( の )
(it indicates propriety(ex: my apple), argument(ex: lesson of Japanese) and provenience(es.student of college).
Ex: Kei's book..==>Kei no hon ..==>Kei の hon ..
Ex2: my apple ==> I's apple ==> watashi no ringo ==> watashi の ringo..
To say my, your etc. use personal pronoun (there are not possessive adjectives) and the order of the words is always the same of the apostrophe 's.
For answers add ka ( か ) at the end of the sentence. Ex: is this a pencil?==>this a pencil is?==>kore wa empitsu desu ka?==>kore は empitsu desu か?
Question + ka ( か ).

PRONOUNS AND DEMONSTRATIVES
These are the pronouns with their hiragana and their kanji (for now kanji are not really important..).
I = watashi = わたし = 私 ; you = anata = あなた; he = かれ = 彼 ; she = kanojo = かのじょ = 彼女 ; we = wareware = われわれ; you (plural) = anatagata = あなたがた; they = karera = かれら.
There are three Demnostrative pronouns: this = kore (これ), that (near to you not me) = sore (それ), that = are (あれ).
You must use kore to refer objects near to the speaker and the listener, are to refer objects far from speaker and listener and sore to refer objects near to the listener but far from the speaker.
Their adjectival use (with a noun) changes the last syllable in kono, sono, ano (ex. this one=kore; this book=kono hon).

I am #name# = I #name# am = watashi wa #name# desu = わたし は #name# です
you are Mario= anata wa Mario desu = あなた は マリオ です
I am talian (italia+jin) = watashiwa italiajin desu = わたしは イタリアじん です
you are american = anatawa amerikajin desu = あなたは アメリカじん です
this rose is red = this rose red is = kono bara wa akai desu = この ばら は あかい です
this is a book = kore wa hon desu = これ は ほん です
this is a pencil = kore wa empitsu desu = これ は えんぴつ です
is this a pencil? = kore wa empitsu desu ka?= これ は えんぴつ です か?
yes, (it) is a red pencil (we can omit 'it' because it can be understood) = hai, akai enpitsu desu = はい あかい えんぴつ です (to say yes/no you can use hai/iie but remember they express your agreement with the speaker, not exactly yes or no...)
that is my pencil = sore wa watashino enpitsu desu = わたしの えんぴつ です
that's my apple = sore wa watashino ringo desu = それ は わたしの りんご です

ADJECTIVES
Adjectives include in their meaning the verb to be so they have inflection.
You find the present in the dictionary and it ends with -i ( い ) and you can have the past changing i with katta ( かった) and to be polite (see verbs) simply add desu ( です ) after the present or the past.
sushi is tasteful = sushiwa oishii desu = すし は おいしい です

VERBS
Japanese has two different inflections for the present of verbs: the informal (which is the dictionary form) and the polite one used to speak with someone of higher position, older and unknow people.
The copula to be has respectively the present informal, present polite, past informal, past polite:
da ( だ ) desu ( です ) datta ( だった ) deshita ( でした ) and the negative forms denai ( でない ), denaidesu/dearimasen ( でないです/でわありません ), denakatta ( でなかった ), dearimasendeshita ( でありませんでした ).
There are two groups of verbs: group 1 with verbs with dictionary form ending in -u except of verbs ending in -iru ( る ) and -eru (える) which are the group 2 (other exception verbs kaeru and hairu which belong to the group 1 and the irregular verbs suru(=to do) and kuru(=come) described above). Es. gr1 hanasu, gr2 taberu.
Present
The present informal is the dictionary form.The polite present of group 1 is done by the verb without the -u ( う ) at the end (root) adding imasu.
g1=root+imasu ( います ) (exception verbs ending in -tsu not tsimasu but chimasu). Es.hanashimasu.
The polite present of the group 2 is the verb without -ru ( る ) at the end (root) adding -masu.
g2=root+masu ( ます ). Es. tabemasu.
For the negative present add -anai or -nai to the root(or add wanai if the verb ends with う)
g1 pres. negative=root+anai (oppure +wanai). Es. hanasanai.
g2 pres. negative=root+nai; Es. tabenai
g1g2 pres. negative polite=pres.polite-su+sen (or with the more colloquial pres.negative+desu (ok for g1 and g2). Es.hanashimasen, tabemasen.
Past
For the past informal of group 1 exchange last syllable in this way: su=>shita ku=>ita gu=>ida tsu=>tta ru=>tta u=>tta nu=>nda mu=>nda bu=>nda (verbs of group1 end with shita,ita,ida,tta,nda)(exception: iku(to go) changes into ita not iita).
g1 past=verb-syllable+shita/ita/ida/tta/nda ( した いた いだ った んだ )
For group 2 change the -ru at the end with -ta
g2 past=root+ta ( た )
Negative form: pres.negative-i+nakatta
The past polite g1=root+imashita ( いました )
g2=root+mashita ( ました )
Irregular verbs
Kuru and suru, the two irregular verbs have the present polite kimasu and shimasu, past kita and shita, polite past kimashita and shimashita, the negative forms shinai and konai, shimasen and kimasen, konakatta and shinakatta.
Now let's try some verbs...(taberu belongs to group 2)
I eat sushi = watashiwa sushiwo taberu (informal) = わたし は すし を たべる
you eat the apple = anatawa ringowo tabemasu (formal) = あなたは りんごを たべます
you ate the apple = anata wa ringo wo tabemashita (past formal) = あなた は りんごを たべました
For this lesson is enough, other verbs in lesson 5

---

© 2000 Alessandro Pisan
source page http://jlesson.cjb.net