Grammar

Question 1

this book

Answer 1

kono hon この本

Question 2

that magazine (over there)

Answer 2

ano zasshi あの雑誌

Question 3

that bag

Answer 3

sono kaban

Question 4

What is a particle?

Answer 4

a marker that identifies what role a word or phrase plays within the sentence

Question 5

What is the “wa” particle used for?

Answer 5

tells us that the word/phrase before it is the topic of the sentence

Question 6

Where does the topic of the sentence usually appear?

Answer 6

near the beginning of the sentence

Question 7

What is a “topic” of a sentence?

Answer 7

The thing that is being talked about in the sentence

Question 8

In other languages, what’s the equivalent of the topic of a Japanese sentence?

Answer 8

the subject

(basically another word for topic)

Question 9

Where does the main verb go in a sentence?

Answer 9

at the end of the sentence

Question 10

The last thing immediately before “desu” should be either (2)

Answer 10

a noun or an adjective

(car, red, blue, beautiful, grass, house, book)

Question 11

For ending verbs, other than “desu” what does everything in the (other information) section need?

Answer 11

it needs to be accompanied by a particle

[topic] wa … (other information) … [verb]

Question 12

What is the central verb, in both Japanese and English?

Answer 12

the main verb

Taro “saw” Noriko

Question 13

What role does “wo” play in a sentence?

Answer 13

it tells us to whom/what the action was done to and is the object

pronounced as “o”

Question 14

Particles describe words that are in front or before the particle?

Answer 14

describes words before the particle

“Taro wa”
“Noriko wo mimashita”

Question 15

What’s the difference in terms of word order for English and Japanese?

Answer 15

English: SVO. Rely on word order to understand sentences.
Japanese: SOV, but word order isn’t important because they use particles.

Question 16

What does a dash – mean when used with katakana?

Answer 16

it indicates the length of the preceding letter (double the letter preceding)

エーアイ (e-ai also same as eeai)

Question 17

What’s the difference between a voiced vowel and a long vowel?

Answer 17

A voiced vowel changes sound with the special 2 vertical lines mark (sa -> za)
A long vowel has a long vowel sound when there is a dash チーター (chiitaa)

Question 18

What is the role of the small “tsu”? ッ

Answer 18

Not pronounced, insert a pause, and then double the letter in front

example:
ポテトチップ
poteto chippu

(Katakana)

Question 19

How do you make hiragana voiced?

Answer 19

You add 2 short straight lines in the top right corner of it (special marks - dakuten) to change the sound and the result is called a voiced hiragana

か ka

が ga

Question 20

What is dakuten?

Answer 20

The 2 short straight lines (special marks) added to the top right corner of hiragana to change the sound and make it voiced (quotation marks)

き ki

ぎ gi

Question 21

A voiced け ke turns into?

Answer 21

げ ge

Question 22

A voiced く ku turns into?

Answer 22

ぐ gu

Question 23

A voiced し shi turns into?

Answer 23

じ ji

Question 24

Which voiced versions of hiragana are used in most words for “ji” and “zu”?

Answer 24

じ (ji)　ず (zu) - used in most words

ぢ (ji)　づ (zu) - used in only a few words

Question 25

What is handakuten? Which hiragana is it added to?

Answer 25

A small circle that can be added to hiragana "ha" row in addition to dakuten (2 straight lines) that changes the sound to a "p"

Question 26

What hiragana can handakuten be added to?

Answer 26

the "ha" hiragana row *ONLY*

Question 27

Why are long vowels important?

Answer 27

The sounds change the meaning of the word おばさん (obasan) - middle-aged woman; aunt おばあさん (obaasan) - grandmother

Question 28

What are the 3 vowels that can make any hiragana ending in them become long?

Answer 28

1. a あ 2. i い 3. u う Okaasan (mother) Oniisan (older brother) Kuuki (air)

Question 29

What vowel makes hiragana ending in "e" long? What vowel makes any hiragana ending in "o" become long? (2)

Answer 29

1. i い makes ending "e" become long がくせい (gakusei) - student 2. u う makes ending "o" become long ここ (koko) - here こうこう (koukou) - high school

Question 30

What is the only time that we pronounce は differently?

Answer 30

When we use it to spell out the subject particle "wa" so it's pronounced as wa ex. Watashi wa gakusei desu わたし＊は＊がくせいです

Question 31

How do you make hiragana consonants long?

Answer 31

a small tsu (not pronounced) っ いつか - itsuka いっか - ikka

Question 32

How do you pronounce a long consonant?

Answer 32

insert a brief pause before pronouncing the long consonant きて ください (kite kudasai) - Please come. きって ください (kitte kudasai) - Please cut. (Ki-pause-te kudasai)

Question 33

Does a small tsu change the meaning of the word?

Answer 33

Yes いて ください。(ite kudasai) - Please stay. いって ください。(itte kudasai) - Please go.

Question 34

To make "n" consonants long, we can't use a small tsu. What do we have to use instead?

Answer 34

ん (n) ✅ correct: さんねん (sannen) - three years ❌ incorrect: さっねん

Question 35

What 3 letters are used to create a blended sound (one sound)? [Hiragana]

Answer 35

small forms of や (ya), ゆ (yu), or よ (yo

Question 36

What is a blended sound?

Answer 36

Small versions of ya, yu, or yo that blend with the previous hiragana to create one sound きや (kiya) きゃ (kya)

Question 37

For blended sounds, we can only combine the 3 hiragana letters with letters that end with what sound?

Answer 37

"i"

Question 38

What are the 11 hiragana letters that can be made into a blended sound?

Answer 38

1. ki 2. gi 3. shi 4. ji 5. chi 6. ni 7. mi 8. hi 9. bi 10. pi 11. ri

Question 39

What do you add to a country name to say a nationality?

Answer 39

jin じん

Question 40

What do you add to a country name to name a language?

Answer 40

go ご

Question 41

「」is the...?

Answer 41

「」is the single quotation mark in Japanese.

Question 42

In Japanese, what do you put at the end of each sentence?

Answer 42

In Japanese, a full stop is a little circle (。) and we put it at the end of each sentence.

Question 43

When は comes after the subject of a sentence, we pronounce it as?

Answer 43

wa

Question 44

In Japanese, in what order do you say their name?

Answer 44

say a person's *family name* before their given name たかはし あきら (Takahashi Akira)

Question 45

When can we omit "watashi wa" or "boku wa"?

Answer 45

When the subject of the sentence is clear とうきょう が すき です。 "I like Tokyo"

Question 46

How do you turn "watashi/I" into "my"?

Answer 46

watashi no よしさんはわたしのともだちです。/ Yoshi-san wa watashi no tomodachi desu. よしさんは私の友達です。

Question 47

The particle の connects what in a sentence?

Answer 47

の is used to connect 2 nouns (additional noun) の (main noun) ちゅうごくじんのともだち / chuugokujin no tomodachi (Chinese friend)

Question 48

What's the difference between the main noun and the additional noun?

Answer 48

Main noun - something we are describing Additional noun - extra information about the main noun にほんごのせんせい / nihongo no sensei (Japanese teacher)

Question 49

What are the 2 uses for the particle の as of Chapter 8?

Answer 49

1. boku no, ore no, watashi no = my 2. (additional noun) の (main noun) = connects 2 nouns, additional info

Question 50

How many additional nouns can you have when using the の particle?

Answer 50

Doesn't matter as long as the main noun is the last noun ぼくのにほんごのせんせい / boku no nihongo no sensei (my Japanese teacher) わたしのともだちのなまえ / watashi no tomodachi no namae (my friend’s name)

Question 51

What do we add after a name to be polite?

Answer 51

san (san itself has no translation, never added to our own names)

Question 52

How to do you form a negative sentence? Make the sentence: I am not a student

Answer 52

Watashi wa gakusei janai desu

Question 53

(Informal) speaker has a soft masculine personality (mildly masculine)

Answer 53

boku

Question 54

(informal) speaker conveys a strong masculine personality

Answer 54

ore

Question 55

Speaker can use this word in semi-formal and casual contexts to refer to self

Answer 55

boku (meeting new friends) On a date -> ore (casual)

Question 56

When talking to friends or someone younger than us, what do we a dd to their names instead of "san" for males/females?

Answer 56

1. kun to male names 2. chan to female names

Question 57

What particle do we use at the end of a sentence to show or ask for agreement?

Answer 57

ね (ne)

Question 58

What do we use to indicate politeness?

Answer 58

です (desu)

Question 59

What construction do we use to offer something?

Answer 59

To offer something, we use the construction: *subject + wa + dou + desu + ka.* Sushi wa dou desu ka. How about tea?

Question 60

What's the difference between を (o) and お (o)?

Answer 60

を (o) is ONLY used as an object marker お (o) for all other words with an “o”.