Posts under "Grammar"

Probably

Posted by Ginny No Comments
May 26 2010

でしょう can be a way to express probability, or a prediction or a guess.

あの人が加藤さんでしょう = That person over there is probably Mr. Katō.

(あの = that over there. ひと/人 = person. が = particle. かとう/加藤 = Katō. さん = Mr. でしょう = probably)

If you want to indicate the possibility of something or someone not being someone or something :

あの人日本人じゃないでしょう = That person over there is probably not a Japanese person.

(あの = That over there. ひと/人 = person. にほんじん/日本人 = Japanese person. じゃない = not. でしょう = probably)

When でしょう is used with nouns, like the examples above, just tack でしょう to the end of the sentence. When it is used with verbs, don’t conjugate the verbs. Leave them in the dictionary form.

田村さんは午後九時までに帰るでしょう = Mr. Tamura will probably return by 9 pm.

(たむら/田村 = Tamura. さん = Mr. は = particle. ごご/午後 = pm. く/九 = 9. じ/時 = o’clock. までに = by. かえる/帰る = return. でしょう = probably)

Like the sentence above, でしょう can also be used to express the probability of events that may or may not happen in the future. Even adjectives can be used with でしょう :

カリフォルニアは暖かいでしょう = It’s probably warm in California

(カリフォルニア = California. は = particle. あたたかい/暖かい = warm. でしょう = probably)

The sentence above used an い adjective, but な adjectives work as well :

その先生は親切じゃないでしょう = That teacher is probably not kind

(その = that. せんせい/先生 = teacher. は = particle. しんせつ/親切 = kind. じゃない = not. でしょう = probably)

Please Don’t…

Posted by Ginny No Comments
May 17 2010

When you want to ask someone from refraining to do something, you can use the negative short form of the verb with でください.

Here’s an example :

ここで食べないでください = Please don’t eat here.

(ここ = here. で = particle. たべないでください/食べないでください = please don’t eat)

If you’re unfamiliar with the short form, maybe this page will help :

http://www.transparent.com/japanese/informal-forms-of-verbs/

When you leave off the ください, the request becomes less polite. Let’s compare the two sentences below :

1) 行かないでください = Please don’t go.

2) 行かないで = Don’t go.

(いかない/行かない = don’t go)

Here are some polite negative requests that might be useful to you in the future :

ここで写真を撮らないでください = Please don’t take photos here.

(ここ = here. で = particle. しゃしん/写真 = photos. を = particle. とらないでください/撮らないでください = please don’t take)

テレビを見ないでください = Please don’t watch tv.

(テレビ = tv. を = particle. みないでください/見ないでください = please don’t watch)

ここでたばこを吸わないでください = Please don’t smoke (cigarettes) here.

(ここ = here. で = particle. たばこ = cigarette. を = particle. すわないでください/吸わないでください = please don’t smoke)

Te Form + います

Posted by Ginny No Comments
May 8 2010

We’ve already talked about the て form + います as being used to express the present progress, but did you know that there are other uses of the て form + います.

When verbs of movement like 行く (to go), 来る (to come), 帰る (to return), 出る (to go out), and 入る (to enter) is combined with the て form, the time of when the action takes place is not always in the present progressive :

佐藤さんは部屋に入っています = Mr. Satō is in the room.

(さとう/佐藤 = Satō. さん = Mr. は = particle. へや/部屋 = room. に = particle. はいっています/入っています = enter)

In this case, the sentence can be interpreted as, “Mr. Satō entered the room and is still there”.

There may be some ambiguity as to the meaning of certain sentences :

益子さんはブラウスを着ています = Ms. Masuko is putting on a blouse/Ms. Masuko is wearing a blouse

(ますこ/益子 = Masuko. さん = Ms. は = particle. ブラウス = blouse. を = particle. きています/着ています = wearing/putting)

The example above could mean, “Ms. Masuko is putting on a blouse right now” or “Ms. Masuko put a blouse on, and she still has the blouse on”.

て form + います can also be used to indicate a change in status :

新さんは結婚しています = Mr. Arata is married

(あらた/新 = Arata. さん = Mr. は = particle. けっこんしています/結婚しています = married)

In other words, Mr. Arata was single before, but now he’s married.

て form + います can also be used to express a habitual action :

高橋さんは毎日テニスをしています = Mr. Takahashi plays tennis every day

(たかはし/高橋 = Takahashi. さん = Mr. は = particle. まいにち/毎日 = every day. テニス = tennis. を = particle. しています = do/”play”)

Describing People

Posted by Ginny 1 Comment
Apr 29 2010

You can describe people with this formula : name + は + body part + が + adjective.

Here’s an example :

井上さんは耳が小さいです =  Inoue has small ears

(いおうえ/井上 = Inoue. さん = polite suffix. は = particle. みみ/耳 = ear. が = particle. ちいさい/小さい = small. です = is)

Now look at this sentence :

うさぎの耳は長いです = A rabbit has long ears

(うさぎ = rabbit. の = possessive particle. みみ/耳 = ear. は = particle. ながい/長い = long. です = is.)

The second sentence doesn’t follow the formula that I introduced in the beginning of the post.

Technically, you can describe people and things like the second sentence, but it’s much more natural for Japanese people to describe people using the formula of the first sentence than the second sentence.

Now take a look at this sentence :

鈴木先生は背が高いです = Mr. Suzuki is tall

(すずき/鈴木 = Suzuki. せんせい/先生 = (teacher) polite suffix. は = particle. せ/背 = height. が = particle. たかい/高い = tall/high. です = is.)

The adjective たかい can mean “high”, “tall”, or “expensive”. In the example used above, you can rule out the meaning “expensive” because the context tells us that height is invovled.

With the sentence below, it’s especially important not to translate the meaning literally :

中村さんは頭がわるいです = Mr. Nakamura is stupid

(なかむら/中村 = Nakamura. さん = polite suffix. は = particle. あたま/頭 = head. が = particle. わるい = bad/inferior. です = is)

If you were to translate this literally, it would mean, “Mr. Nakamura’s head is bad”. Sor far, we described people physically, but this time, the sentence is describing Nakamura’s intelligence, rather than the physical description of his head.

Interrogative + も

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Apr 23 2010

The use of an interrogative + も is interesting in that it has different meanings based on whether it’s used in affirmative sentences or negative sentences :

いつ (when) + も = always, all the time

(1) 真弓の母はいつも忙しい = Mayumi’s mother is always busy

(まゆみ/真弓 = Mayumi. の = possessive particle. はは/母 = mother. は = particle. いつも = always. いそがしい/忙しい = busy)

But いつ (when) + も can also mean “never”

(2) 私は日曜日にいつも家にいない = I’m never home on Sundays

(わたし/私 = I. は= particle. にちようび/日曜日 = Sunday. にいつも = never. いえ/家 = house. に = particle. いない = not here)

どこ (where) + も can mean everywhere

どこも同じですか = Is it the same everywhere?

(どこも = everywhere. おなじ/同じ = same. です = is. か = question particle)

どこ (where) + も can mean nowhere

どこも行くところがありません = I have nowhere to go

(どこも = nowhere. いく/行く = to go. ところ = place. が = particle. ありません = have)

However, the word for “everyone” in the affirmative is not だれも, it’s actually みんな or みなさん. When used in negative sentences, “no one” will be だれも, which is a combination of だれ (who) and も. When you want to be polite, you can use どなたも instead of だれも.

As a general rule, an interrogative + も will mean things like, “everyone”, “always”, “everywhere” in affirmative sentences, but an interrogative + も in negative sentences will mean, “no one”, “never”, “nowhere”.

Back to the Top