Japanese Grammar

Section One - Sentence #001 The very basic sentence is: [noun] wa [noun] desu / [noun] は [noun] です. です Also written: [Topic] wa [Object] desu. Key Sentences:* 1) watashi wa jaanaris(u)to des(u). 2) kanai no namae wa rie des(u). 3) anata wa san-sai des(u) ka. 4) watashi wa san-sai dewa arimasen. 5) kochira wa shachou no Takahashi-san des(u). 6) are wa Toukyou ginkou desu ka.

I am a Journalist. My wife’s name is Rie. Are you 3 years old? I am not 3 years old. This is the company president, Mr. Takahashi. Is that (over) there the Tokyo bank? *All the key sentences use the basic sentence structure.

Explanation - Sentence 1:

watashi wa jaanaris(u)to des(u).

Topic The first [noun] is basically the Topic of the sentence. A Topic is something that was already previously mentioned and is familiar with both the speaker and listener. The Topic, the first [noun], is marked by the particle wa. Particle: wa ( は) The particle wa is basically the topic marker, meaning it follows the Topic of the sentence and indicates that the words that it follows is the Topic. It has no exact English translation, but it is often taught to mean: ‘as for [Topic]’ or ‘speaking of [Topic]’. Object The second [noun] is the Object of the sentence. The Object of this sentence states that the [Topic] is the [Object], by giving more information about the [Topic] of the sentence.The [Object] completes the simple statement that -- (something) is (something). Auxiliary Verb: desu ( です) The auxiliary verb / polite copula desu completes the sentence. It is commonly taught to mean to be: is, am, are. But desu does not have a meaning, it just make what you are saying more or less polite or formal. It can be added to a sentence but it is not required, but since it is an auxiliary verb it will always end a sentence. All verbs in japanese will come at the end of a sentence. desu conjugates differently from other verbs. The following are auxiliary verb desu conjugations: Plain

Polite / Neutral

Dictionary

-

です des(u)

Present Positive

だ da

です des(u)

Present Negative

じゃない ja nai

じゃありません ja arimasen

Past Positive

だった datta

でした deshita

Past Negative

じゃなかった ja nakatta

じゃありませんでした ja arimasen deshita

-Te form

で de

Probable Present

だろう darou

でしょう deshou

Probable Present Neg.

じゃないだろう ja nai darou

じゃないでしょう ja nai deshou

ja (じゃ) is the contraction of dewa (では), most Japanese use ja in everyday conversation, but dewa is used occasionally. dewa makes the negative conjugation of desu formal, instead of just polite / neutral.

Explanation - Sentence 2:

kanai no namae wa rie desu.

Particle: no ( の ) Thr particle no is in it’s most basic form a possession particle, meaning it connects the owner (noun; person, place, thing) with the owned (noun; person, place, thing). The particle no is equivalent to English ‘-‘s’, The particle no, like many particles, has other functions but in Sentence 2 it is acting as a joiner for the [owner] (kanai) with the [owned] (namae). no (の の) Function 1: [owner] no [owned]

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[owner] の [owned] To Be Continued …