JAPN 1411 GRAMMAR (VERBS)

I. Be-verb (is/are/am)

is

Kore wa meshi desu.

Watashi wa sensee desu.
Are wa nihon ryoori desu.
Paatii wa hachi-ji desu.
America wa asa desu.

This is a name card.

I am a teacher.
That one is Japanese food.
Party is 8:00.
Its morning in the U.S. (America is morning)

NAN

NN

is

Kore wa nan desu ka.

Are wa dare desu ka.
Hon wa doko desu ka.
A:
B:
A:
B:

WHAT ?
NNis this?
What
Who is that?
Where is the book?

Are wa nan desu ka?

Are wa supagettii desu.
Nihon ryoori desu ka?
Iie, chigaimasu.
Itaria ryoori desu.

What is that?
That is spaghetti.
Is (spaghetti) Japanese food?
No, thats not right.
(Spaghetti) is Italian food.

Topic particle (As for.) ---- > WA

Use to write the topic particle WA.

II. Verb

A.

___

Object particle ---- > O

Use to write the object particle O.

(Watashi wa) terebi o mimasu.

(Anata wa) jazu o kikimasu ka.
Sensee wa hon o yomimasu.

(I) watch TV.

(Do you) listen to jazz?
The teacher reads a bo

Optional
*** In conversation, Japanese speakers often drop the object marker O
IF the verb is DO

B.

go

come
go back

Destination particle ---- > E

Use to write the destination particle E.

(Watashi wa) nihon e ikimasu.

(Anata wa) UT e ikimasu ka.
Gakusee wa ACC e kaerimasu.

(I) will go to Japan.

(Are you going to) go to UT?
The student will go back to ACC.

Adding time expressions / frequency words

Preferred word order

TOPIC

VERB

TIME / FREQUECY

TIME / FREQUENCY
1) Time expression without on in at etc. in English
e.g. Mainichi = every day Maiasa= every morning (NO particle )
A: (Anata wa) mainichi sushi o tabemasu ka.
B: Hai, tabemasu / Iie, tabemasen.

Do you eat sushi every day?

Yes, I do / No, I dont.

2) Time expression used with on in at etc. in English

e.g.

at 9:00 a.m. / in 2016 / on Monday

Time expression particle ---- > NI

TIME EXPRESSION

A: (Anata wa) nan-ji ni sushi o tabemasu ka.

B: (Watashi wa) ku-ji ni tabemasu.

At what time (do you) eat sushi?

(I) eat (sushi) at 9:00.

3) Frequency words
e.g. yoku = often tokidoki = sometimes zenzen + .masen = not at all
A: (Anata wa) yoku koohii o nomimasu ka.
B: (Watashi wa) zenzen (koohii o) nomimasen.

Do you drink coffee often?

(I) dont drink (coffee) at all.

Omitting shared information

Since Japanese speakers usually drop the subject, you usually hear the time expression/
frequency word at the beginning of a sentence. When you respond to a Japanese question, it is
better to drop the shared information. e.g. Hai, (sushi o) tabemasu. Iie, (UT e) ikimasen.