Sunday, January 24, 2010

Humble form of a verb : O { verb base { shimasu

III. Expression of the speakers and the heare's desire
A. When you want to say "I want something." say "Nani ka ga hoshii desu."
Examples
1. Kyasshukaado ga hoshii desu.
"I want a cash card."
2. Ii kutsu ga hoshii desu.
"I want a good pair of shoes."
3. Kusuri ga hoshii desu.
"I want some medicine."
4. Kono hon wa hoshiku arimasen.
"I don't want this book."
5. Kinoo kore ga hoshikatta n desu.
"I wanted this yesterday."
In "X ga hoshii desu.," X indicates what the speaker wants. The particle ga does not indicate the subject but the direct object of hoshii, an adjective.

B. When you want to say "I want to do something." say "Nani ka ga shitai desu."
Examples
1. Kono kikai ga tsukaitai desu.
"I want to use this machine."
2. Kono kutsu ga kaitai desu.
"I want to buy this pair of shoes."
3. Sakana ga tabetai desu.
"I want to eat fish."
What are common in these three examples above are :
1. all sentences end with desu, so they are polite ;
2. desu follows a word ending in -tai ; and
3. the particle ga precedes a word ending in -tai.

A word ending in -tai comes from a verb base { -tai. The suffix –tai indicates the speaker's and the hearer's desire and changes a verb into an –I adjective.
The sentence pattern for "I want to do something." is :

X ga verb base -tai desu.

In this sentence pattern also, ga indicates the direct object, but it sometimes changes to the particle o.
Examples
1. Nihongo no hon ga/o yomitai desu.
"I want to read a Japanese book."
2. Sakana wa tabetaku arimasen.
"I don't want to eat fish."
3. Kinoo depaato de kaimono ga shitakatta desu.
"I wanted to do some shopping at a department store yesterday."
C. In Japanese culture, it is not good manners to ask one's superior's desire directly.
Instead, you should say "X wa doo/ikaga desu ka." As explained in Lesson 3,
NOTES ON SENTENCE GRAMMAR IV, ikaga is the polite counterpart of doo, so ikaga is better to use when talking to your superiors.
Example
A : Sensee, koohii wa ikaga desuka.
"Would you like some coffee, professor?"
B : Ee, itadakimasu yo.
"Yes, please."

Expressions of request or polite command

C. If you replace kudasai with kudasaimasen ka, you will sound more polite.
Cashing a check, making a cash card, etc. are usual services for a bank to offer. However, teaching how to use a machine is an extra one, so Lwin says, "Kono kikai ga tsukaitai n desu ga, oshiete kudasaimasen ka." "I'd like to use this machine. Would you please tell me how to use it?" in the third line, Dialogue 7-3.

D. When you ask your customer to push the button, "Kono botan o oshite kudasai." is not appropriate, because this sentence sounds a little rude. Instead, you should say :
Kono botan o ooshi kudasai.
This sentence sounds more formal than "Oshite kudasai." or "Oshite kudasaimasen ka." Ooshi in the above sentence is obtained by dropping –masu from oshimasu(the polite form of osu "push") and adding o- to it. When the masu part is taken out of a verb ending in -masu, the remaining part will be called the verb base in this textbook.

* Table of the form of the verbs *
Non-polite form -Masu form Verb base O-verb base
ireru
yameru
toru
yomu iremasu
yamemasu
torimasu
yomimasu ire
yame
tori
yomi oire
oyame
otori
oyomi

Examples
1. Rajio o okiki kudasai.
"Will you listen to the radio?"
2. Motto yukkuri ohanashi kudasai.
"Could you speak more slowly?"
3. Kore o omochi kudasai.
"Will you take this one with you?"
O { verb base { kudasai is often used by clerks, salesmen, etc. in situations such as in a bank, a department store or a ceremony. Note that there are some verbs which don't have o { verb base { kudasai : miru, kuru, suru, etc.

Expressions of request or polite command

A. In this lesson you will learn three ways of expressing your requests or polite commands. In I-A and B you will learn sentences ending in a verb in the –te form { kudasai.
Examples
1. Namae o kaite kudasai.
"Please write your name."
2. Ashita daigaku e kite kudasai.
"Please come to the university tomorrow."
3. Kono kusuri o nonde kudasai.
"Please take this medicine.
The form of a verb ending in -te or- de is called the -te form of a verb. As shown in the above examples, a verb which follows a sentence ending in –te or -de adds some extra meanings such as request, command, etc. to the original sentence. Verbs of this type other than kudasai will be introduced later.

B. The following show how to make the -te form of a verb.

1. Group 1 verbs, or verbs ending in -eru or -iru

Change the final -ru to -te.

* Table of the -te form of Group 1 verbs *

Dicdonary form -Te form masu form
deru
norikaeru
iru
oriru dete
norikaete
ite
orite demasu
norikaemasu
imasu
orimasu

2. Group 2 verbs, or verbs ending in -u

(1) Change -u, -tsu or -ru to -tte.

* Table of the -te form of Group 2 verbs(1) *

Dictionary -Te form masu form
kau
matsu
noru
tooru katte
matte
notte
tootte kaimasu
machimasu
norimasu
toorimasu



(2) Change -bu, -mu or -nu to -nde.

* Table of the -te form of Group 2 verbs(2) *

yobu (call)
yomu
nomu
shinu (die) yonde
yonde
nonde
shinde yobimasu
yomimasu
nomimasu
shinimasu

(3) Change -su to -shite.

* Table of the -te form of Group 2 verbs(3) *
hanasu (speak)
osu hanashite
oshite hanashimasu
oshimasu


(4) Change -ku or -gu to -ite or -ide, respectively.

* Table of the -te form of Group 2 verbs(4) *
oku
kiku
oyogu (swim)
iku oite
kiite
oyoide
itte* okimasu
kikimasu
oyogimasu
ikimasu


Note that the verb with * is an exception to this rule.

3. Irregular verbs
The -te form of kuru is kite.
The -te form of suru is shite.
Examples
1. Otokoro o kaite kudasai.
"Please write your address."
2. Tsuuchoo o tsukutte kudasai.
"Please make my bankbook."(Lit.)
3. Kono kami ni kinyuu shite kudasai.
"Fill in this form, please."
4. Kyasshukaado o irete kudasai.
"Please put in your cash card."
5. Kono botan o oshite kudasai.
"Please push this button."

Some Notes

I. 0mission of a particle
When speaking informally, the particles wa, ga, o and ni are often omitted.
0mission of these particles results in a subtle change of meaning. You are advised not to omit any particles while you are trying to learn to speak Japanese.

Examples
1. Kore (wa) ikura desu ka.
"How much is this?"
2. Sono shatsu (wa) momen desu ka.
"Is that shirt cotton?"
3. Watashi (ga) ikimasu yo.
"I will go."
4. Kore (o) kaimashita.
"I bought this."
II. Response : Doomo
Doomo is the abbreviated form of "Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu."
The former is less polite than the latter and is used by a customer when he speaks to a clerk, or by a teacher to a student.

Example
Customer : Kore kudasai.
"I'll take this."
Clerk : Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu. 1,000 en gozaimasu.
"Thank you very much. It's 1,000 yen."
Customer : Doomo.
"Thanks."
Clerk : Doomo arigatoo gozaimashita.
"Thank you very much."

III. Full form of ja : De wa
In this text book, ja has used instead of de wa. However, ja is the contracted form of de wa. De wa is used in a more formal situation than the one in which ja
is used. De wa used in the fifth line from the top, Dialogue 6-2 means "then." Ja on the seventh line in the same dialogue also means "then."

Example
A : Kore wa watashi no de wa arimasen.
"This is not mine."
B : De wa kore wa.
"Then, how about this?"
A : Aa. Sore wa watashi no desu.
"Oh, that's mine."

IV. Interjection : Mmmm
Mmmm shows the speaker's negative feeling.

Example
Clerk : Kore wa ikaga desu ka.
"How about this?"
Customer : Mmmm.... Amari yoku arimasen.
"Well, this isn't so good."
Clerk : De wa kore wa ikaga desu ka.
"Then, how about this one?"
Customer : Aa, kore wa ii desu ne.
"Oh, this is fine."

Classification of Japanese sentences

IX. Humble forms of desu and arimasu : De gozaimasu and gozaimasu
Those forms are called a humble form. They are used when it is necessary for the speaker to humble himself in order to show a respect, or a deference, etc. to the
hearer. They are also used when the speaker realizes the need to be humble talking about the group to which the speaker belongs, or things belonging to the speaker or his group.

A. De gozaimasu means the same as desu. The information girl in Dialogue 6-1 uses this form twice, in lines six and ten. They are :

(Kutsu'uriba wa) Kono kai de gozaimasu.
"The shoe department is on this floor."
Kutsu'uriba wa sono oku de gozaimau.
"The shoe department is beyond that."

Because kutsu'uriba is owned by the department store and the informahon girl is working for the store, she uses de gozaimasu instead of desu when she speaks to their customers.

Examples
1. Ruin de gozaimasu.
"I'm Mr. Lwin."
2. Kanai de gozaimasu. (Kanai: my wife)
"This is my wife."
3. Kono hon wa watashi no ja gozaimasen.
"This book isn't mine.

B. Gozaimasu is used in the same way as arimasu, but is different from de gozaimasu.

Examples
1. a. Koko ni watashi no ga gozaimasu.
"Here is mine."
b. Kore wa watashi no de gozaimasu.
"This is mine."
2. a. Esukareetaa no tonari ni kaban'uriba ga gozaimasu.
"There is the bag department next to the escalator." (Lit.)
b. Esukareetaa no tonari ga kaban'uriba de gozaimasu.
"The department next to the escalator is the bag department."

Classification of Japanese sentences

V. Numerals, counters and numbers
A. Numerals of Type A from 0 to 10,000 and several counters like -ji for the hour of the day, -en for money, etc., were introduced in either Lesson 1 or 2. As shown there, counters are always preceded by the numerals and never occur as independent words. Japanese has many counters which will be introduced a few at a time.

Examples
-ji - hour of the day
-fun/-pun - minute
-en - money
-guramu - weight
-nin - person
-mai - things like papers
-kai/-gai - floor of a building
-shuukan - week

B. Numerals of Type B, which are of Japanese origin, are introduced here.

1 hitotsu 2 futatsu
3 mittsu 4 yottsu
5 itsutsu 6 muttsu
7 nanatsu 8 yattsu
9 kokonotsu 10 to, too

Numerals of Type B go only as far as 10; beyond 10, Type A numerals are used.

The following are some Japanese numbers.

1. day of the month

1st tsuitachi 2nd futsuka
3rd mikka 4th yokka
5th itsuka 6th muika
7th nanoka 8th yooka
9th kokonoka 10th tooka
llth juuichinichi l2th juuninichi
13th juusannichi 14th juuyokka
15th juugonichi 20th hatsuka
24th nijuuyokka 30th sanjuunichi

2. month of the year

January ichigatsu February nigatsu
March sangatsu April shigatsu
May gogatsu June rokugatsu
July shichigatsu August hachigatsu
September kugatsu October juugatsu
November juuichigatsu December juunigatsu

3. minute in the hour

1 ippun 2 nifun
3 sanpun 4 yonpun
5 gofun 6 roppun
7 nanafun 8 happun/hachifun
9 kyuufun 10 jippun
15 juugofun 20 nijippun
30 sanjippun,han 40 yonjippun
50 gojippun 60 rokujippun

4. floor of a building

1 ikkai 2 nikai
3 sankai 4 yonkai
5 gokai 6 rokkai
7 nanakai 8 hachikai
9 kyuukai 10 jikkai

5. person(s)

1 hitori 2 futari
3 sannin 4 yonin
5 gonin 6 rokunin
7 shichinin/nananin 8 hachinin
9 kyuunin/kunin 10 juunin


C. Compounds that consist of a numeral { a counter are called numbers. Numbers
are considered nouns in Japanese but often act like adverbs.

Examples
1. Kyoo wa goji ni okimashita.
"Someone* got up at five o'clock today."
2. ichidoru wa nihyakunijuuhachi en desu.
"One dollar is 228 yen."
3. Kono kaban wa happyaku guramu desu.
"This bag weighs 800 grams."
4. Sono eega o sando mimashita.
"Someone* saw the film three times."
5. Gakusee ga sannin kimashita.
"Three students came."
6. Kami ga sanmai arimasu.
"There are three sheets of paper."
7. Niku o sanbyaku guramu kaimashita.
"I bought 300 grams of meat."
8. Kitte o juumai kaimashita.
"I bought ten stamps."
(*"Someone" may be the speaker.)

Classification of Japanese sentences

VI. Adverbs
Adverbs modify a vervb, an adjective or an adverb which they precede.

Examples
1. Atama ga sukoshi itai desu.
"I have a slight headache."
2. Yukkuri hanashimashita.
"Someone* spoke slowly."
3. Kono kanji wa chotto muzukashii desu.
"This kanji is a little difficult."
(*"Someone" may be the speaker.)

The preceding examples show that adverbs like sukoshi "a little," yukkuri "slowly" and chotto "a little" precede the verb or the adjective they modify.
An adverb can also modify another adverb. Moo "more," for example, can modify sukoshi, chotto, ichido, etc.

Examples
1. Moo sukoshi nomimasen ka.
"Won't you drink a little more?"
2. Moo chotto kaimasu.
"I'll buy a little more."

Some adverbs are always followed by a negative predicate. Amari used on the sixth line of Dialogue 6-2 is one of them. Amari ... arimasen means "not very" or "not so."

Examples
1. Kore wa amari yoku arimasen.
"This is not very good."
2. Kono sandaru wa amari kiree ja arimasen.
"This pair of sandals isn't so pretty."
VII. Volitional form, or -oo form of -masu : - Mashoo
The volitional form indicates the speaker's will to do something.
Examples
1. lkimasu.
"Someone* goes." or " Someone* will go."
2. Ikimashoo.
"Let's go." or "I will go."
3. lkimashoo ka.
"Shall we go?" or "Shall I go?"
(*"Someone" may be the speaker.)
In the example above, ikimasu shows a habitual action or a future action of an actor. Ikimashoo shows the will of more than two persons including the speaker's
willingness to do something for other persons in the group.

VIII. Volitional form,or -oo form of desu : Deshoo
Deshoo replaces desu in a question and makes it sound more polite.

Examples
1. Donna no ga yoroshii deshoo ka.
"What kind (of thing) would you like?"
2. Kore wa ikaga deshoo ka.
"How would you like this one?"
Deshoo also indicates the speaker's supposition.

Examples
1. Kono kusuri ga ii deshoo.
"This medicine may be good."
2. Are wa koogakubu no tatemono deshoo.
"I guess that is a building of the Faculty of Engineering."
3. Ruinsan wa genki deshoo.
"Mr. Lwin may be fine."

Classification of Japanese sentences

IV. Question words
You have already learned 17 question words which are summarized below here.
If you want to ask about :

A. things or events which you don't know, use nani or nan ;

Examples
1. Eki no tonari ni nani ga arimasu ka.
"What is there next to the station?"
2. Are wa nan desu ka.
"What is that?"

B. the hearer's choice between the two things, use dochira ;

Examples
1. Hon to kyookasho no dochira o yomimasu ka.
"Which will you read, a book or a textbook?"
2. Wada sensee wa dochira desu ka.
"Which is Prof. Wada?"
(This sentence also means "Where is Prof. Wada?" See
NOTES ON SENTENCE GRAMMAR IV - H of this lesson.)

C. the hearer's choice among more than two, use dore or dono berore a noun ;

Examples
1. A. Dore o kaimasu ka.
"Which one will you buy?"
B. Kono akai no o kaimasu.
"I'll buy this red one."
2. A. Dono hito ga sensee desu ka.
"Which person is the teacher?"
B. Ano shizuka na hito desu.
"That quiet person is."

D. condition of things, persons, etc., in reference to "what kind of," use donna before a noun ;

Examples
1. Donna eega o mimashita ka.
"What kind of movie did you see?"
2. Wada san wa donna hito desu ka.
"What kind of person is Mr. Wada?"
3. Taihen shizuka na hito desu.
"He is a very quiet man."

E. how a thing or a person is, use doo or ikaga (the polite counterpart of doo);

Examples
1. Konogoro doo desu ka.
"How have you been, these days?"
2. Nihongo no benkyoo wa ikaga desu ka.
"How is your study of Japanese?"

F. a way of doing something, use doo yatte ;

Examples
1.Sakae e wa doo yatte ikimasu ka.
"How can l get to Sakae?"
2. Kore wa doo yatte tabemasu ka.
"How can l eat this?"
G. time, use itsu ;

Examples
1. Itsu Nihon e kimashita ka.
"When did you come to Japan?"
2. A : Daigaku e wa itsu ikimasu ka.
"When will you go to the university?"
B : Ashita ikimasu.
"I'll go there tomorrow."

H. place, use doko or dochira (the polite counterpart of doko);

Examples
1. Nagoya daigaku wa doko ni arimasu ka.
"Where is Nagoya University?"
2. Sensee, dochira e.
"Where are you going, professor?"

I. number of things, size or age, use ikutsu ;

Examples
1. Kasettoteepu wa ikutsu kaimashita ka.
"How many cassette tapes did you buy?"
2. Ruin san wa ikutsu desu ka.
"How old is Mr. Lwin?"

J. money, use ikura ;

Examples
1. Kono hon wa ikura desu ka.
"How much is this book?"
2. Kore wa ikura no kaban desu ka.
"How much is this bag?"

K. approximate number or quantity, use 'dono kurai'/'dono gurai' or 'dore kurai'/ 'dore gurai';

Examples
1. Kono daigaku ni gakusee ga dono kurai imasu ka.
"About how many students are there in this university?"
2. A : Nihon ni dore gurai imasu ka.
"How long will you stay in Japan?"
B : Ninen gurai imasu.
"I'll be here for about two years."

L. the name of a person you don't know, use dare ;
Example
Ano gakusee wa dare desu ka.
"Who is that student?"

M. a thing which is someone's possession, use dare no.

Example
Are wa dare no hon desu ka.
"Whose book is that?"

In addition, + nan { a counter (-ji for hour of the day, -en for money, -nichi for date, etc.)is used.

Examples
1. lma nanji desu ka.
"What time is it now?"
2. Kore wa 'nan en'/ikura desu ka.
"How much is this?"
3. Kyoo wa nannichi desu ka.
"What's the date today?"

Nani { a noun is also used to ask about nationality, language, color, etc.; nanujin "what nationality," nanigo "what language," nani'iro "what color," etc.

Examples
1. A : Arisu san wa nanijin desu ka.
"What's Alice san's nationality?"
B : Ejiputojin desu.
"She's an Egyptian."
2. A : Arisu san wa nanigo o hanashimasu ka.
"What language does Alice san speak?"
B : Arabiago desu.
"She speaks Arabic."

Classification of Japanese sentences

III. Normal order of noun phrases
When more than two noun phrases precede a verb, they are normally arranged in the following order.

SUBJECT + TlME { PLACE { OBJECT { VERB
noun GA + noun (NI) { noun (DE) { noun O { verb

Examples
1. Arisu san wa rokuji ni kissaten de koohii o nomimashita.
"Alice san drank a cup of coffee at the coffee shop at six o'clock."
2. Kaarin san wa kinoo daigaku de Hasegawa sensee ni aimashita.
"Karin san met Prof. Hasegawa at the university yesterday."

Classification of Japanese sentences

II. Four types of desu
Desu is classified into four types according to its usage.

A. Desu shows the equality of the two nouns.

Examples
1. Arisu san wa Ejiputojin desu.
"Alice san is an Egyptian."
2. Ano otoko no hito wa Ruin san desu.
"That man is Mr. Lwin."

B. Desu used with a -na adjective

Examples
1. Kyoo wa genki desu.
"Someone* is fine today."
(*"Someone" may be the speaker.)
2. Ano tatemono wa kiree ja arimasen.
"That building isn't beautiful."

C. Desu makes the polite form of an -i adjective.

Examples
1. Migi no me ga akai desu yo.
"Your right eye is red."
2. Mainichi isogashii desu.
"Someone* is busy everyday."(*"Someone" may be the speaker.)

D. Desu used as a substitute for a verb mentioned previously

Examples
1. A : Shokudoo wa doko ni arimasu ka.
"Where is the cafeteria?"
B : Koogakubu no mae desu.
"It's in front of the Faculty of Enginnerring."
2. A : Kinoo dare ni aimashita ka.
"Who did you meet yesterday?"
B : Kaarin san desu.
"I met Karin san."

As mentioned in Lesson 4, NOTES ON CONVERSATIONAL GRAMMER I, desu cannot be used alone. It follows a noun.

Classification of Japanese sentences

I. Classification of Japanese sentences
Japanese sentences are classified into four and only four types according to the part of speech of the predicate.

A. Sentences ending in a verb (Introduced in Lesson 1)

Examples
1. Ja,kore o kudasai.
"Then,I'll take this."
2. Esukareetaa no tonari ni kaban'uriba ga arimasu.
"There is a bag department next to the escalator."
3. Aoi no wa gozaimasen.
"We don't have a blue one."
4. Asoko no annaigakari de kikimashoo ka.
"Shall we ask at the information desk over there?"
5. Saizu o machigaemashita.
"I bought the wrong size."

B. Sentences ending in a noun { desu (Introduced in Lesson 2)

Examples
1. Gosenmon wa nan desu ka.
"What is your major?"
2. Ano kutsu wa 9,800 en desu.
"That pair of shoes is 9,800 yen."
3. Saizu wa emu ja arimasen.
"The size is not medium."
4. Ruin san wa Birumajin desu.
"Mr. Lwin is a Burmese."
5. Kaarin san wa Nagoya daigaku no gakusee desu.
"Karin san is a student at Nagoya University."

C. Sentences ending in - i adjective (Introduced in Lesson 3)

Examples
1. Watashi no wa akaku arimasen.
"Mine isn't red."
2. Sukoshi takai desu ne.
"It's a little too expensive, isn't it?"
3. Kono sandaru wa yoku arimasen.
"This pair of sandals isn't good."
4. Atama ga itakatta desu.
"I had a headache."
5. Mainichi isogashii desu.
"Someone* is busy everyday."
(*"Someone" may be the speaker.
D. Sentences ending in -na adjective (Introduced in Lesson 3)

Examples
1. Nihongo no koosu wa taihen desu.
"The Japanese Course is tough."
2. Sore wa shitsuree desu.
"That's rude."
3. Arisu san wa genki desu.
"Alice san is fine."
4. Hidari no me wa daijoobu desu.
"The left eye is all right."
5. Ogenki desu ka.
"How are you?"

Particles : Wa...ga...construction

As mentioned in Lesson 1, NOTES ON CONVERSATlONAL GRAMMAR I, wa indicates a topic, and a wa-noun phrase is followed by a comment. A comment may or may not have the subject. If the subject must be mentioned, the whole sentence will be X wa Y ga shimashita. X wa Y ga benri desu, etc.

Examples
1. Arisu san wa, atama ga itai desu.
"Alice san has a headache."
2. Arisu san wa, kanji no shukudai ga taihen desu.
"Alice san has a lot of kanji homework."
3. Yagoto wa, basu ga benri desu.
"The bus is more convenient, if you go to Yagoto."

Mo "also" is quite similar to wa, and you will see X mo Y ga shimashita type sentences somewhere in this textbook.

Example

A : Yagoto wa, basu ga benri desu yo.
"The bus is more convenient, if you go to Yagoto."
B : Sakae wa.
"How about Sakae?"
A : Sakae mo, basu ga benri desu.
"The bus is also more convenient, if you go to Sakae."

Phrase : Saa and Anoo

Phrase : Saa
Saa is used when someone asks about something and the person who is asked cannot find a proper answer.
Saa in Dialogue 5-2 was uttered because Lwin didn't know if No. 85 bus goes to Yagoto.

Example

A : Kore wa Tanaka san no hon desu ka.
"Is this Mr. Tanaka's book?"
B : Saa, wakarimasen.
"Well, I don't know."

Phrase : Anoo
Anoo is used when the speaker hesitates to say something because what he wants to say may sound unpleasant to the hearer. Anoo in Dialogue 5-2 was uttered, because Alice felt too many questions might bother the man.

Example

A : Anoo, sumimasen.
"Excuse me."
B : Hai.
"Yes."
A : Kono densha wa Sakae ni ikimasu ka.
"Does this train go to Sakae?"

Particle : Ga

Before you start the main part of a conversation on the phone, you may tell your name to the listener, "This is A speaking, but...." Before you ask a stranger for a direction on the street, you may say "Excuse me, but...."
"This is A speaking.," "Excuse me.," "etc. will be called introductory remarks. They are necessary to make a conversation go smoothly. Japanese tend to use
introductory remarks fairly often.
Examples
1. Sumimasen ga.
"Excuse me, but...."
2. Chotto ukagaimasu ga.
"Excuse me, but may l ask a question?"
3. Moshimoshi. Kochira wa Ruin desu ga.
"Hello. This is Lwin speaking, but...."
As you have already noticed, all sentences above are followed by ga. Ga is added to the end of an introductory remark and the main part of a coversation follows it.
The function of ga can be said to combine an introductory remark and the main part. The particles which have a similar function as ga will be called Group 4 particles. The basic function of Group 4 particles is to combine two sentences.

Question words : Doo yatte, ikutsu and ikura

A. Doo yatte meansehow" or "what way."

Examples
1. Doo yatte Nihongo o benkyoo shimasu ka.
"In what way do you study Japanese?"
2. Yagoto made doo yatte ikimasu ka.
"How do you go to Yagoto?"
Koo yatte "this way," soo yatte "that way" and aa yatte "that way" act in the same way as doo yatte. The difference among them is the same as that among kore, sore, are and dore.

B. Ikutsu means "how many" and "how old." It is used to ask the number of things or the age of a person. Ikura means "how much." It is used for talking about money.

Examples
1. Teepu wa ikutsu kaimasu ka.
"How many cassette tapes do you buy?"
2. Ruin san wa ikutsu desu ka.
"How old is Mr. Lwin?"
3. Are wa ikura desu ka.
"How much is that?"
4. Sakae made ikura desu ka.
"How much is it to Sakae?"

Question word ka or mo

A. In the conversation below nani ka means "something" or "anything" and nani
means "what."
Example
A : Kesa nani ka tabemashita ka.
"Did you eat anything this morning?"
B : Hai.
"Yes, I did."
A : Nani o tabemashita ka.
"What did you eat?"
B : Pan o tabemashita.
"I ate some bread."

In the first sentence, A wants to know whether B ate something this morning or not, so A uses nani ka instead of nani o. B needs not refer to the thing he ate in
his answer. In the second sentence, A wants to know what B ate, and A uses nani o. When question words such as nani, dare, doko, etc. are followed by the particle
ka, their meanings change. Notice how the meanings of the question words change by the addition of ka.

Examples
nani "what" - nani ka "something" or "anything"
dare "who" - dare ka "someone"or"anyone"
doko "where" - doko ka "somewhere"or"anywhere"
Question words with ka can be used in affirmative sentences or in interrogative sentences. They can be followed by Group 1 particles.

Examples
1. Dare ka kimashita.
"Someone came."
2. Nani ka nomimashita ka.
"Did you drink anything?"
3. Doko ka de koohii o nomimashita ka.
"Did you drink coffee somewhere?"
4. Dare ka ni shookai shimashita ka.
"Did you introduce him to someone?"

B. Question words like dare "who," doko "where," etc. can also be followed by the particle mo.

Examples
1. Dare mo kimasen deshita.
"Nobody came here."
2. Nani mo yomimasen deshita.
"I didn't read anything."

A question word + mo before a negative predicate means "nobody," "nothing," "nowhere,"etc. Some question words { mo before an affirmative predicate have an all-inclusive meaning, "always." "everyone" and "both."
*Table of the meaning of question words { mo construction*

Question word {mo {Negative {Affirmative

dare "who" dare mo "nobody" *
nani "what" nani mo "nothing" *
doko "where" doko mo "nowhere" "everywhere"
itsu "when" itsu mo "never" "always"
dore "which" dore mo "none" "everything"
dochira "which" dochira mo "neither one" "both"

Remember that the particle mo replaces particles ga and o, but follows other
Group 1 particles.

(See Lesson 1, NOTES ON CONVERSATIONAL GRAMMAR II.)

Examples
1. A : Dare ka kimashita ka.
"Did anyone come here?"
B : Dare mo kimasen deshita.
"Nobody came."
2. A : Doko e ikimashita ka.
"Where did you go?"
B : Doko e mo ikimasen deshita.
"I didn't go anywhere."
3. Itsu mo shinbun o yomimasu.
"Someone* always reads a newspaper."
4. Dochira mo tabemasu.
"Someone* will eat both of them."
(*"Someone" may be the speaker.)

Group 1 particles : De, o, made and ka

A. De means "by," "by means of" or "with." It is different from de indicating the
place of an action.
(See Lesson 2, NOTES ON SENTENCE GRAMMAR IV - D.)

Examples
1. Daigaku e basu de ikimasu.
"Someone* goes to the university by bus."
2. Hashi de sakana o tabemasu.
"We eat fish with chopsticks."
(*"Someone"may be the speaker.)

B. In this lesson you will learn two more meanings of the particle o.

1. "through" or "along"

Examples
1. Kono chikatetsu wa Yagoto o toorimasu ka.
"Does this subway go through Yagoto?"
2. Yamatedoori o arukimasen ka.
"Won't you walk along Yamate Avenue with me?"


2. "from"

Examples
1. Meedaimae de basu o orimashita.
"I got off the bus at Meedaimae."
2. Mainichi hachiji ni uchi o demasu.
"I leave home at eight everyday."

C. Made means "as far as," "to" and "until." A noun of place or time precedes made.

Examples
1. Kinoo Tookyoo made ikimashita.
"I went as far as Tokyo yesterday."
2. Daigaku kara ryuugakusee kaikan made 20ppun gurai kakarimasu.
"It takes about 20 minutes from the university to the Foreign Students' House."
3. Rainen no sangatsu made Nihon ni imasu.
"I'll stay in Japan till next March."
4. Sanji made koko ni imashita.
"I was here until three o'clock."

D. Ka is equivalent to English "or." It appears between nouns.

Examples
1. Basu ka chikatetsu de daigaku e ikimasu.
"I go to the university by bus or by subway."
2. Nihongo ka Chuugokugo o benkyoo shimasu.
"I'll study Japanese or Chinese."
N.B.
Don't confuse this ka with Group 3 particle ka : the former is used between nouns, and shows the alternative between them, while the latter comes at the end of a sentence as a question marker.

Response : Hai

The basic meaning of hai is "what you have just said is right." It is used in the
answer to a question. Hai also has other usages.

1. It is used when handing something over to someone.

Example
Lwin : Sakanafuraiteeishoku o onegai shimasu.
"I'll have sakanafuraiteeshoku."
Cashier : 350 en itadakimasu.
"350 yen, please."
Lwin : Hai.
"Here you are."
Cashier : Arigatoo gozaimashita.
"Thank you very much."

2. It is used to indicate that the hearer expects the speaker to continue to talk.

Examples
Alice : Sumimasen.
"Excuse me."
Kuno : Hai.
"Yes."
Lwin : Shitsuree shimasu.
"Excuse me."
Office worker : Hai.
"Yes."
In the above examples, ee cannot be used instead of hai.

Demonstrative pronouns : Sono and sore

Sono and sore are used to refer to what was just mentioned.

Example Alice : Toire wa doko desu ka.
"Where is the rest room?"
Kuno : Kaidan no migi ni 21ban kyooshitsu ga arimasu.
"Room 21 is on the right of the stairs."
Alice : Hai.
"I see."
Kuno : Toire wa sono mae desu.
"The rest room is in front of it."

Sore was introduced in Lesson 2, NOTES ON SENTENCE GRAMMAR II. The function of sore in Lesson 2 is different from sore as used in the conversation above. Sore can also be used to indicate something that was just mentioned.
Sono in the above stands for 21ban kyooshitsu no.

Examples
Kinoo sakana o tabemashita. Sore wa oishikatta desu.
"I ate fish yesterday, It was good."
A : Kinoo Satoo san ni aimashita.
"I met Mr. Satoo yesterday."
B : Sono hito wa donna hito desu ka.
"What kind of person is he?"

Substitute : Desu as a substitute for a verb

Examples
1. A : Nanji ni okimasu ka.
"What time do you get up?"
B : Rokuji desu.
"I get up at six o'clock."
2. A : Doko e ikimasu ka.
"Where are you going?"
B : Kyooto desu.
"I'm going to Kyoto."
2. A : Kaarin san wa doko ni imasu ka.
"Where is Karin san?"
B : Shokudoo desu.
"She's in the cafeteria."
In each of the examples above, desu serves as a substitute for the verb used in the previous sentence : okimasu "get up," ikimasu"go" or imasu "be." Desu is used to avoid repeating the verb mentioned previously. Desu cannot be used alone. It follows a noun. The Group 1 particles, ga, o, e and ni, are omitted before desu,
while kara, made, etc. are kept.

Examples
1. A : Arisu san wa doko ni imasu ka.
"Where's Alice san?"
B : Shokudoo desu.
"She's in the cafeteria."
2. A : Kaarin san wa doko desu ka."
"Where is Karin san?"
B : Seekyoo desu.
"She's in the Co]op."
3. A : Ruin san wa doko kara kimashita ka.
"Where did Mr. Lwin come from?"
B : Biruma kara desu.
"He's from Burma."
Alice : Ruin san wa nani o tabemasu ka.
"What will you eat?"
Lwin : Watashi wa sakana desu.
"I'll eat fish."
Alice : Kaarin san wa.
"How about you, Karin san?"
Kalin : Niku desu.
"I'll eat meat."

The sentence "Watashi wa sakana desu." may sound strange. But this desu does not mean the equality of two nouns. You should get used to this desu as soon as possible.
Desu can replace not only the imperfective form of a verb but also the perfective
form of a verb.

Examples
1. A : Kinoo doko e ikimashita ka.
"Where did you go yesterday?"
B : Tookyoo desu.
"I went to Tokyo."
2. A : Depaato de nani o kaimashita ka.
"What did you buy at the department store?"
B : Teepurekoodaa desu.
"I bought a tape recorder."

Substitute : No as a substitute for a noun

Examples
1. A : Kore wa dare no hon desu ka.
"Whose book is this?"
B : Watashi no desu.
"It's mine."
2. A : Akai kaban wa dare no desu ka.
"Whose is the red bag?"
B : Ruin san no desu.
"It's Mr. Lwin's."
3. A : Aoi no wa.
"How about the blue one?"
B : Arisu san no desu.
"It's Alice san's."

In a modifier { noun, like noun + no + noun, -i adjective { noun, etc., a modified noun can be replaced by no, when the referent is obvious between the speaker and the hearer. And omit one no in case of noun { no { no. Take Ruin san no hon for example. When hon is replaced by no, you may expect Ruin san no no. However, the correct form is Ruin san no.
Examples
1. A : Kore wa anata no kutsu desu ka.
"Are these your shoes?"
B : Iie, watashi no ja arimasen. Ruin san no desu.
"No, they aren't mine. They are Mr. Lwin's."
2. A : Kono aoi no wa doo desu ka.
"How about this blue one?"
B : Ee, sore o kudasai.
"That's good. I'll it."

Location of a thing or a person

"I watch TV in the room."
D. The following are some nouns of place used in a phrase indicating a location.

1 „ shokudoo "cafeteria"
daigaku "university"
heya "room", etc.
2 „ koko "here"
soko "there" or "the hearer's area"
asoko "over there"
doko "where"
3 „ Ruin san no tokoro "place where Mr. Lwin is" "MrLwin's place."
Ishihara san no tokoro "place where Mr. Ishihara is" "Mr. Ishihara's place."
Tomodachi no tokoro "place where a friend is" "a friend's place.", etc.
4 „ tatemono no mae ni "in front of the building"
ushiro ni "behind the building"
naka ni "inside the building"
soba ni "near the building"
tonari ni "next to the building"
tsukue no ue ni "on the desk"
shita ni "under the desk"

The relationship among koko, soko, asoko and doko in 2„ is the same as that of kore, sore, are and dore.
3„ shows that Ruin san is a noun of person, while Ruin san no tokoro is a noun of place. You should say "Ruin san no tokoro e ikimashita." instead of "Ruin san e ikimashita.," when you want to say "I went to Mr. Lwin's."

Recall that when a noun modifies another noun, the modifying noun comes first and the modified noun follows the modifying noun { the particle no. You cannot say mae no tatemono but tatemono no mae in order to express "the front of the building."

Examples
1. Ruin san no tokoro ni teepurekoodaa ga arimasu.
"The tape recorder is at the place where Mr. Lwin is."(Lit.)
2. Shoogakukin wa Mugishima san no tokoro ni arimasu.
"The scholarship is in Mr. Mugishima's place(office)."(Lit.)
3. Asoko ni shiroi tatemono ga arimasu.
"There is a white building over there."
4. Kaarin san wa doko ni imasu ka.
"Where is Karin san?"
5. Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu.
"There is a book on the desk."
6. Koogakubu no soba ni seekyoo ga arimasu.
"There is a Co-op near the Faculty of Engineering."
7. A : Kaban wa doko ni arimasu ka.
"Where is the bag?"
B : Tsukue no shita ni arimasu.
"It's under the desk."

E. This pattern is also used to express an abstract idea.

Examples
1. Watashi ni iken ga arimasu.
"I have an opinion."
2. Ano gakusee no Nihongo ni mondai ga arimasu.
"There is a problem with that student's Japanese."

Location of a thing or a person

A. All things or all persons occupy a definite place. For example, the tape recorder you are using is on your desk, the cafeteria where you go everyday is near the Faculty of Engineering, or Mr. Lwin is now in the classroom, etc.
The basic English pattern used to express these ideas is "There is something/someone somewhere."In Japanese, all of these are expressed by the following
pattern.

(Place) ni (thing) ga arimasu
(Place) ni (person) ga imasu

Examples
1. Daigaku ni shokudoo ga arimasu.
"There is a cafeteria at the university."
2. Daigaku ni toire ga arimasu.
"There is a restroom at the university."
3. Daigaku ni Ruin san ga imasu.
"There is a Mr. Lwin at the university."
4. Daigaku ni sensee ga imasu.
"There are teachers at the university."

B. The verb arimasu is used when the noun preceding ga, the subject of a sentence, isa non-living or non-moving thing. The verb imasu is used with living things which can move themselves, that is human beings and animals.
Examples
1. Keezai gakubu ni kenkyuushitsu ga arimasu.
"There are professor's offices in the Faculty of Economics."
2. Keezai gakubu ni Hasegawa sensee ga imasu.
"There is a Prof. Hasegawa on the Faculty of Economics."
3. Ryuugakusee kaikan ni robii ga arimasu.
"There is a lobby in the Foreign Students' House."
Ryuugakusee kaikan ni Arisu san ga imasu.
"There is an Alice san in the Foreign Students' House."

C. In this pattern the place or the location is signaled by the particle ni. Ni indicates the place where a thing or a person is located, while de, which has already been introduced in Lesson 2, NOTES ON SENTENCE GRAMMAR IV-D, indicates the place where an activity takes place.

Examples
1. Shokudoo ni Ruin san ga imasu.
"There is a Mr. Lwin in the cafeteria."
2. Ruin san wa shokudoo de tabemasu.
"Mr. Lwin eats in the cafeteria."
3. Heya ni terebi ga arimasu.
"There is a TV in the room."
4. Heya de terebi o mimasu.
"I watch TV in the room."