Jis A Grammar - Quantifiers

Grammar: quantifiers In Japanese, quantity expressions are typically stated as adverbs, and thus placed in the adverb position (right before the verb it modifies). This is different from English. Compare the following two examples: 例: I bought two pens. に ほ ん か

(Literal translation: I bought pens to the extent of two.)

ペンを二本買いました。

In the English example, “two” modifies the pens. In the Japanese example, “二本” modifies the buying. So, when expressing a quantity in Japanese, make sure that it is placed directly preceding the verb, and that there is no particle between the quantity and the verb*. いちまい

いっぽん

ひと

いっさつ

This applies to counters (一枚、一本、一つ、一冊、etc.), which give a specific number, and also quantity expressions that are not specific, such as たくさん and ちょっと. 例: 昨日、ピザをたくさん食べたんですよ。 ちょっと待ってください。

I ate a lot of pizza yesterday. Please wait a little bit.

But what happens when you have more than one object? For example, how would you say “I bought three pens and two envelopes” in Japanese, if the quantities go in front of the verb? Follow this pattern: noun + particle + quantity + to, noun + particle + quantity + to, … noun + particle + quantity + verb. 例: ふうとう

に ま い か

ペンを三本と、封筒を二枚買いました。 I bought three pens and two envelopes. 赤いのを二本と、黒いのを三本と、青いのを五本ください。 Please give me two red ones, three black ones, and five blue ones.

*

While there are some situations that you can have a quantity expression modify a noun in Japanese, it typically sounds more natural to express a quantity as an adverb. I will therefore ask you to always express quantities as adverbs.

JIS-A: Grammar: quantifiers 3/16/2009

名前: ________________________________________

See the reverse side for explanation of this grammar principle. 次の文章を、Quantifier を使って日本語で書きなさい: 1. I bought two new dictionaries yesterday. (Speaking to a teacher) _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 2. I woke up early this morning, but the bus was 10 minutes late. (Explaining why you were late). (「んです、んです」を使いなさい) (speaking to a friend) _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 3. How many calculators do you have? (「んです」を使いなさい) (speaking to a teacher) _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 4. But I said the answer, so please give me two pluses. (「から」を使いなさい) (speaking to the teacher) _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 5. Yesterday I bought 5 black pens, and 7 red ones, and 3 blue ones. (speaking to a friend) _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 6. I studied a lot yesterday, but I’ve forgotten everything. (speaking to a teacher) (「んです、んです」を使いなさい) _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

Formation Exercise: What is the appropriate counter? Say just the number in Japanese. 7 Markers 4 Chairs 2 Dictionaries 1 Teacher 3 Pieces of paper 10 Minutes 3 Hours 8 Students 5 Red pens 6 Notebooks 9 Calculators 3 Pieces of candy 2 Pencils 3 Days 8 Months 4 Movie tickets