Easy Japanese Chapter 4

Easy Japanese Chapter 4

[Sentences to Memorize]

1. 私は今日えいがをみます。
Watashi wa kyou eiga o mimasu.
I am going to see a movie today.

2. A:(あなたは)あしたえをかきますか?
(Anata wa) ashita e o kakimasu ka?
Are you going to draw a picture tomorrow?

B: はい、かきます。
Hai, kakimasu.
Yes, I am.

3. A: (あなたは)まいにちぎゅうにゅうをもみますか?
(Anata wa) mainichi gyūnyū o nomimasu ka?
Do you drink milk everyday?

B: いいえ、のみません。
Iie, nomimasen.
No, I don't.

4. A:せんせいはまいにち日本語をはなしますか?
Sensei wa mainichi nihongo o hanashimasu ka?
Do you speak Japanese everyday, teacher?

B: はい、はなします。
Hai, hanashimasu.
Yes, I do.

5. A: あきらくんは今日何をたべますか?
Akira-kun wa kyou nani o tabemasu ka?
What are you going to eat today, Akira?

B: すきやきをたべます。
Sukiyaki o tabemasu.
I'm going to eat sukiyaki.

6. A: だれがあした車をかいますか?
Dare ga ashita kuruma o kaimasu ka?
Who is going to buy a car tomorrow?

B: すずきさんがかいます。
Suzuki-san ga kaimasu.
Suzuki-san is (going to buy one).

[Words For This Lesson]

たべる - taberu - To eat
みる - miru - To see
かう - kau - To buy
かく - kaku - To write, draw, paint
のむ - nomu - To drink; take medicine
はなす - hanasu - To speak, talk
今日 - きょう - kyou - Today
あした - ashita - Tomorrow
まいにち - mainichi - Everyday
ときどき - tokidoki - Sometimes
てがみ - tegami - Letter
え - e - Picture, drawing, painting (Not used for "photo" which is "shashin")
すきやき - sukiyaki - Sukiyaki
てんぷら - tempura - Tempura
やさい - yasai - Vegetables (Try not to confuse with "yasai")
にく - niku - Meat
さかな - sakana - Fish
おちゃ - ocha - Green Tea ("O" is rarely omitted)
おさけ - osake - Sake, rice wine (Becomes informal without "o")
ぎゅうにゅう - gyūnyū - Milk (From cow)
かぶき - kabuki - Kabuki
だれ - dare - Who
を - wo/o - Object marker (Shows what object the verb is for)
が - ga - Subject marker

1.) Using Verbs

There are two types of verbs in Japanese. There's -RU verbs and -U verbs. When in the dictionary form, any verb that ends with -eru or -iru is a -RU verb. Any verb that does not fit into these categories is called a U-verb. The -masu form of a verb is the most commonly used in daily conversation. This form shows either present or future tense. From the time expression used, one can tell which tense is meant very easily. Here I'll show you how to change the dictionary form of the verb into the -masu form.

[For -RU verbs, change -RU to -MASU]

Ex. tabeRU --> tabeMASU

[For -U verbs, change -U to -IMASU]

Ex. nomu ----> nomIMASU

The verb "hanasu" (to talk/speak), following this rule would become "hanasimasu", but since Japanese does not have "si", it becomes "shi".

2.) Question Form of Verbs

To ask a question using verbs, just add "ka" at the end. To answer "yes" to verb question, use with "hai" and the -masu form of the verb. To say "no", say "iie" and change -masu to -masen.

Ex. さかなをたべますか。- Sakana o tabemasu ka? - Do you eat fish?

-- はい、たべます。- Hai, tabemasu. - Yes, I do.
-- いいえ、たべません。- Iie, tabemasen. - No, I don't.

For -imasu verbs, change -imasu to -imasen.

Ex. おちゃをのみますか。Ocha o nomimasu ka? Do you drink green tea?

-- はい、のみます。- Hai, nomimasu. - Yes, I do.
-- いいえ、のみません。- Iie, nomimasen. -- No, I don't.

3.) Using Objects with Verbs

In English, a verb usually comes before the object. In Japanese, it usually comes at the end. For this, you need to attached the the object marker "o" after the object associated with the verb.

Ex. けいこさんはまいにちにくをたべますか。- Keiko-san wa mainichi niku o tabemasu ka? - Do you eat meat everyday Keiko?

So the verb of this sentence is "tabemasu" or "eat". What is the object in this sentense associated with "eat"? "Niku" or "meat". Because "niku" is the object associated with the verb, you add "o" after it.

Ex. 今日何をみますか。Kyou nani o mimasu ka? -- What are you going to see today?

4.) Basic Japanese Sentence Structure

The basic sentence structure for a Japanese sentence is:

Focus は Time Object を Verb-ます
Focus wa Time Object o Verb-masu

Ex.

Honda-san wa ashita tempura o tabemasu.
Mrs. Honda is going to eat tempura tomorrow.

5. Using Dare (だれ)

The question word dare (だれ) is always followed by the marker ga (が). The reason being is that you don't know who the person in question is, so you can't focus on a specific person.

Ex.

だれが日本語をはなしますか。- Dare ga nihongo o hanashimasu ka? - Who speaks Japanese?
ほんださんがはなします。- Honda-san ga hanashimasu. - Honda-san does.

6. You/Me (Anata wa/Watashi wa)

"Anata wa" in a "Do/Are you...?" type question is often omitted since it is usually clear in the context. However, using "Name/Title wa" instead of "anata wa" is very natural and recommended. You do not have to say "watashi wa" when answering a question.

Ex.

けいこさんは...? - Keiko-san wa...? - Keiko, do you...?
せんせいは...? - Sensei wa...? - Teacher, do you...?