Chapter 2 Grammar Flashcards
Identifying someone or something,
using 〜は , 〜 です DEFINITION + USE:
The sentences X は Y です (X is Y) and X は Ｙ じゃありません／じゃないです (X isn’t Y) are used to IDENTIFY OR CHARACTERIZE A PERSON OR THING.
じゃないです is more colloquial than じゃありません.
The particle は, which is pronounced wa, indicates that the preceding noun X IS THE TOPIC of the sentence.
Y です is a comment about the topic and represents information concerning the topic. X is what the speaker wants to talk about, or the topic, and Y is what the speaker wants to say about the topic.
たなかさんはさんねんせいです。Mr./Ms. Tanaka is a junior.
Particle description:
Japanese uses particles in addition to nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Particles most often consist of one character (sometimes two), and they are PLACED IMMEDIATELY AFTER A NOUN OR at the END OF A SENTENCE.
Particles that appear AFTER NOUNS = assigned GRAMMATICAL FUNCTION to the NOUN.
Those that appear at the END OF A SENTENCE = the FUNCTION OF the preceding SENTENCE OR the SPEAKERS ATTITUDES OR EMOTIONS.
すずきさんはりゅうがくせいじゃありません／じゃないです。
Mr./Ms/Suzuki is not an international student
わたしはいちねんせいです。でも、たなかさんはいちねんせいじゃありません。
I am a freshman, but Ms./Mr. Tanaka is not (a freshman).
ロペスさんはメキシコじんです。がくせいです。
Mr./Ms. Lopez is Mexican. He/She is a student.
モネさんはだいがくいんせいです。でも、リーさんはだいがくいんせいじゃありません。
Mr./Ms. Monet is a graduate student, but Mr./Ms. Li is not.
Identifying someone or something,
using 〜は , 〜 です NOTES: Omission
The topic X は can be omitted if the context is clear to the listener. For example, わたしは is omitted in greetings such as はじめまして 〜です。どうぞ よろしく, because it is obvious that the speaker is talking about
himself/herself.
Asking はい／いいえ questions, using 〜 は 〜ですか USE:
Sentence + か (question particle) = question.
すずきさんですか。Are you Mr./Ms. Suzuki?
Affirmative answer: はい／ええ、そうです。Yes, I am.
Negative answer: いいえ、そうじゃありません／じゃないです。No, I am not.
OR いいえ、〜(your name)です。No, I am (your name).
A: うえださんですか。
B: はい、そうです。
A: Are you Ms. Ueda?
B: Yes, I am.
A: うえださんはにほんじんですか。
B: いいえ、アメリカじんです。
A: Are you Japanese, Ms. Ueda?
B: No, I’m American.
Asking はい／いいえ questions, using 〜 は 〜ですか NOTES: How common is the word ‘you?’:
The Japanese pronoun あなた, although it is equivalent to you, is NOT USED AS COMMONLY as its English counterpart. It is MORE COMMON TO USE THE NAME OF THE PERSON being addressed. Thus, アリスさんは がくせいですか can mean either ‘Are you a student, Alice?’ or ‘Is Alice a student?’ depending on whether you
are talking to Alice or someone else
Indicating relationships between nouns with のDEFINITION + USE:
The particle の allows the FIRST NOUN in a phrase to MODIFY the SECOND ONE. Because の can convey a variety of relationships between two nouns, such as possession, group membership, or location, the particle’s meaning depends on the context.
とうきょうだいがくのリーさん
Mr./Ms. Li from Tokyo University
とうきょうだいがくのがくせい
student at Tokyo University
わたしのせんこう
my major
れきしのせんこう
history major
わたしのせんせい
my teacher
せんせいのほん
teacher’s book; book written by the teacher
メキシコのうち
house in Mexico
にほんのほん
book about Japan; book from Japan
にほんごのほん
book written in Japanese; book about Japanese
とうきょうのおかださん
Mr./Ms. Okada who lives in Tokyo; Mr./Ms. Okada who is from Tokyo
A: はじめまして。りゅうがくせいセンターのきむらです。
How do you do? I’m Kimura of the International Student Center.
A: うえださん、こちらはうえださんのホストファミリーのすずきさんです。
Ms. Ueda, this is Mr. Suzuki from your host family.
A: ロペスさんのせんこうはビジネスですか。
B: いいえ。わたしはこうがくのせんこうです。
A: Is your major business, Mr./Ms. Lopez?
B: No. I’m an engineering major.
IV. Asking for personal information, using question words DEFINITION + USE:
In Japanese, you don’t have to change the word order of a sentence to form an information question. All you have to do is to use a question word, such as なん (what) or どこ (where), for things you want to ask about.
おまえはなんですか。What is your name?
キムさんはなんねんせいですか。What year are you in, Mr./Ms. Kim?
A: いまなんじですか。
B: さんじです。
A: What time is it now?
B: It’s 3 o’clock.
