Posts under "Grammar"

Japanese Pitch Accent

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Aug 27 2011

Japanese pitch accent can be tricky, especially when it comes to words that are spelled with the same hiragana but have different pitch accents.

Rain (あめ) (雨) (ame) a[high] me[low]

Sentence : 雨が降ると思う (ame ga furu to omou) I think it’ll rain

Candy (あめ) (飴) (ame) a[low] me[high]

Ex: 飴がほしい = (ame ga hoshii) I want candy

The first two words are ‘rain’ and ‘candy’. Notice that the hiragana that comes after these two words are the same, but the kanji are different. In written communication these two words can be easily distinguished by their kanji. In verbal communication the way to differentiate the two words is by context and pitch accent. The first part of the word for rain starts off with a high pitch accent with ‘a’ (あ) but falls to a lower pitch accent with ‘me’ (め). However the word for candy starts off with a low pitch accent and ends with a higher pitch accent.

Here are some other examples:

Bridge (はし) (橋) (hashi) (accent on second mora)

Ex: 橋は修理中です = (hashi ha shūrichū des) The bridge is being repaired

Chopsticks (はし) (箸) (hashi) (accent on first mora)

Ex: パーカーさんは箸で食べてみた (paakaa san ha hashi de tabetemita) Mr. Parker tried to use chopsticks

Another way to look at pitch accent is by looking at what part of the word is accented. For the word ‘bridge’, the accent is on the second mora. A mora is something that determines syllable weight. So with the word bridge, は would be the first mora and し would be the second mora. The word for bridge will have the accent on the second mora, but the word for chopsticks will have the accent on the first mora.

Watch out for this one:

Oyster (かき) (硴) (kaki) accent on first mora

Ex: 硴はたべれますか (kaki ha taberemasu ka) Can you eat oysters?

Fence (かき) (垣) (kaki) accent on second mora

Ex: 父は庭のまわりに垣根を作りました (chichi ha niwa no mawari ni kakine wo tsukimashita) My father made a fence around the garden

Persimmon (かき) (柿) (kaki) no accent

Ex: 今日スーパーで柿を買います (kyō sūpā de kaki wo kaimasu)

So with the word for persimmon, there is no accent on any mora

Intention

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Aug 16 2010

To express intention, use the short present tense of the verb + つもりだ

1) 町田先生の誕生日にケーキを作るつもりです = I plan to make a cake for Professor Machida’s birthday

(まちだ/町田 = Machida. せんせい/先生 = Professor. の = particle. たんじょうび/誕生日= birthday. に = particle. ケーキ = cake. を = particle. つくる/作る = make. つもりで す = intend)

There is a slight difference in meaning when compared with this sentence :

2) 町田先生の誕生日にケーキを作ります = I will make a cake for Professor Machida’s birthday

The ending is where you want to pay attention. Instead of 作るつもりです, the second sentence uses 作ります. When using つもりです, the person is stating their intention to do something, which means that there is the possibility that they may change their mind and not do it. However with the second sentence, there is an implication that there is likelihood that the person will complete the action.

To express that you do not intend to do something use the plain, nonpast negative form of the verb + つもりだ :

久多良木さんは私のうちに来ないつもりです = Mr. Kutaragi does not intend to come to my home.

(くたらぎ/久多良木 = Kutaragi. さん = Mr. は = particle. わたし/私 = I. の = particle.うち = home. に = particle. こないつもりです/来ないつもりです = does not intend to come)

A stronger way to express that someone has no intention of doing something is to use the dictionary form of the verb + つもりはない :

あの手紙を読むつもりはありません = I have no intention of reading that letter

(あの = that. てがみ/手紙 = letter. を = particle. よむ/読む = reading. つもりはありません = no intention)

To Become

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Jul 29 2010

なる can be used to show a change in state :

彼の娘はどうなりましたか = What has become of his daughter?

(かれ/彼 = him. の = possessive particle. むすめ/娘 = daughter. は = particle. どう =how, in what way, about. なりました = became. か = question particle.)

When using a noun to show a change in state, use noun + になる

来年、大学院生になります = I will be (literally “become” or “turn into) a graduate student next year.

(らいねん/ 来年. だいがくいんせい/大学院生 = graduate student. になります = become)

You can also use なる in the past tense :

先週、会社員になりました = I became a company employee last week

(せんしゅう/先週 = last week. かいしゃいん/会社員 = company employee. になりました = became)

When using a な adjective, leave off the な and add になる :

最近、うどんが好きになりました = I have recently grown to like udon

(さいきん/最近 = recently. うどん = udon. が = particle. すきになりました/好きになりました = grown to like)

When using an い adjective, drop the い at the end of the adjective and add the stem to the くなる :

日本語のクラスが詰まらなくなりました = Japanese language class has become boring

(にほん/日本 = Japan. ご/語 = language. の = possessive marker. クラス = class. が =particle. つまらなくなりました/詰まらなくなりました = become)

Quote Marker と

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Jul 11 2010

Quote marker とcan be used to quote someone’s speech :

勅使河原さんは来週来ると言いました = Mr. Teshigawara said that he will come next week.

(てしがわら/勅使河原 = Testhigawara. さん = Mr. は = particle. らいしゅう/来週= next week. くる/来る = to come. と = quote marker. いいました/言いました = said.)

The sentence above is an example of an indirect quote. To quote someone indirectly, use this general formula :

plain form of the verb, adjective or copula + と言う

The sentence above is an example of someone being quoted indirectly, but this next sentence is used when someone is quoting another person by using their exact words :

「早く寝てください。」と勅使河原さんは言いました = Mr. Teshigawara said, “Please sleep early.”

(はやく/早く =  early. ねてください/寝てください = Please sleep.)

If the sentence above was an indirect quote, it would say, “Mr. Teshigawara said to sleep early.” Also, this symbol  「」is equivalent to the quotation mark  “ ” used in English.

Quote marker と can also be used to express thoughts :

その人は犯人だと思った= I thought that person was a criminal

(その = that .  ひと/人 = person. は = particle.  はんにん/犯人 = criminal. だ = past tense affirmative of です. と = quote marker. おもった/思った = thought)

To express that you don’t think something is the case, use ~ないと思います

勅使河原さんは起きないと思います = I don’t think Mr. Teshigawara will wake up (literally : I think Mr. Teshigawara will not wake up)

(てしがわら/勅使河原 = Teshigawara. さん = Mr. は = particle. おきない/起きない = not wake up. と = quote marker. おもいます/思います = think.)

Quote marker とcan be used to explain what you heard :

総理大臣は日本に帰ると聞きました = I heard that the Prime Minister will return to Japan.

(そうりだいじん/総理大臣 = Prime Minister. は = particle.  にほん/日本 = Japan. に = particle.  かえる/帰る = return. と = quote marker.  ききました/聞きました = heard.)

Expressing Purpose

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Jun 11 2010

The particle に plus a motion verb can be used to express purpose :

レストランにカレーを食べに行きました = I went to the restaurant to eat curry.(Or, I went to the restaurant for the purpose of eating curry. Or, I went to the restaurant in order to eat curry.)

(レストラン = restaurant. に = to. カレー = curry. を = particle. たべ/食べ = eat. に = to. いきました/行きました = went)

To express a sentence for the purpose of doing something, use this formula :

Location/destination + に + purpose + に + motion verb.

Using the example above :

The location/destination  = レストラン (restaurant)

+ に (to)

Purpose = 食べ (eat curry)

+ に (to)

Motion verb = 行きました (went)

Here’s another example using this formula :

彼は花やに花を買いに来ました = He came to the flower shop to buy flowers. (Or, he came to the flower shop for the purpose of buying flowers. Or he came to the flower shop in order to buy flowers.)

(かれ/彼 = He. は = particle. はな/花 = shop. や = shop. に = to. はな/花 = flower. を = particle. かい/買い = buy. に = to. きました/来ました = came)

Now try making sentences of your own for practice. Here are some other motion verbs that you can use :

かえる/帰る (to return [to a place])

もてる (to return [something])

でかける/出かける (to go out)

でる/出る (to leave)

Back to the Top