Sunday, January 24, 2010

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.

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