Particles, conjugations and endings for verbs and adjectives, and general sentence structure.
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How does this で work?
日本女性で電車の中で化粧をする人を見ると恥ずかしいくて嫌な気持ちになる。
In my understanding, the で following 日本女性 could correspond here to the english "of," or "speaking of."
Thus one interpretation of this sentence (though in ...
10
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2answers
646 views
What is the difference between なぜなら、だから、and なので？
I'm trying to get clarification on how to use these three pieces of grammar and whether or not they all hold some kind of "Because" meaning.
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can we optionally include (or exclude) an を particle in between the noun of the する-verb and the する itself?
when we have a する verb, (e.g. 支度する、案内する、心配する) is it true that we could optionally insert an を particle in between the noun and the する?
Because in the example sentences here and here, we can see this ...
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152 views
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420 views
What is the correct way to say: “where are you going?”
What is the correct way to say "where are you going?"?
Is it:
あなたはどこに行きますか
or
あなたはどこに行くの
Also, can someone please explain that の in "あなたはどこに行くの"?
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1answer
158 views
Usage and reading of the Ampersand
In English, & is rather frequently used to mean "and".
How should & be read in Japanese? I think these are some likely readings:
や
と
アンド
Case 1: Assume sentence structure is of the form ...
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1answer
567 views
How to use から and だから as conjunctions?
Recently I was studying the use of から and だから as conjunctions. Could anyone explain why one is used in these examples while the other is not?
Are there rules as to whether から and だから can follow a ...
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175 views
Comparing three or more things
To compare two things, I would use:
りんごのほうがみかんより美味しいです。
i.e. noun のほうがnoun よりadjective
But how can I say, "Out of these five fruits, apples are the most delicious"?
Or "Out of Seoul, Tokyo, and ...
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318 views
How does “ ~ずにはいられない ” work?
時代の流れを感じずにはいられない。
I can't help but feel time passing by.
彼のことを同情せずにはいられない。
I can't help but to feel sorry for him.
私は、彼の才能を賞賛せずにはいられない。
I can't help but admire his talent.
Would ...
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2answers
466 views
Is there a form for “I have never heard of”?
Some examples of what I'm trying to convey:
I have never heard that song before.
I have never heard of Miyazawa Kenji
I have never heard of that before?
I've never heard of that store?
...
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3answers
236 views
Who is performing the actions in this sentence?
I have a question about the last sentence here taken from this essay:
やっぱり旅っていいな…としみじみ感じます。
'Then you will know the true joy of travelling.'
食事の後はちょっと外へ出てみましょう。
'After your meal, go ...
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1answer
134 views
The different ways of producing nouns
What are the different ways to produce nouns from other parts of speech and how are they different?
For example, 高い has these nouns produced from it:
高さ
高み
For 近い :
近く
Also nouns can be ...
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1answer
255 views
When to use 他【ほか】の or 他【ほか】に
I always thought only 他の existed, but my teacher uses 他に a lot. Are there differences between when each can be used?
Here are two examples of each from my online dictionary:
だれかほかの人に聞いてごらん (Ask ...
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3answers
277 views
Does this use of だろうか indicate assertion of an opinion?
I always get a bit confused with だろう, which I've asked about before. In my other question, I got the impression that たろう meant a certain amount of assertion, and だろうか left some room for uncertainty.
...
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130 views
What is the difference in these two keigo terms?
My JLPT practise book has these two sentences to help explain the difference between お目{め}にかける and お目{め}にかかる in a context of keigo.
それでは新製品{しんせいひん}お目{め}にかけましょう。
...
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3answers
246 views
“Instead” using 代わりに
Excerpt from A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar:
Consider the difference in the sentences below:
[a] 昼間遊ぶ代わりに夜遊ぶつもりだ。
I intend to play at night instead of having fun in the daytime.
...
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1answer
184 views
What's the difference between “な感じ” and “という感じ” when written after quotation marks?
な感じ was crossed out and replaced with という感じ in a sentence that I wrote that was similar to this one:
その文には「それは私にはもったいない」 な感じ という感じ があると思う。
I think that sentence has a feeling of "that's more ...
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2answers
444 views
Usage of commas in Japanese sentences
This might sound like a strange question, but how does the usage of commas differ when used in Japanese compared to English?
I believe りんご、オレンジとバナナ wouldn't work, but that it's OK to list like ...
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112 views
Can things hope?
This sentence in my JLPT book is explaining the nuance of 映{は}える, but actually it's the use of ほしい that's a puzzling me a bit:
このピンクのスカーフが映{は}える服{ふく}を選{えら}んでほしい。
This is saying that the pink ...
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1answer
245 views
入らない versus 入れない in a JLPT question
This question is in my JLPT practise book:
このチームの試合{しあい}の切符{きっぷ}はなかなか手{て}に____ない。
A 取{と}れ B 入{はい}れ C 入{はい}ら D 持{も}て
My translation is, "I can't easily get the tickets to this team's games".
...
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412 views
How is なっている different from なっていた?
I apologize if I am beating a dead horse with this question but is this correct?
なっている: have (already) become
as opposed to
なっていた: had become
so often the meaning of なっている can be thought ...
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136 views
Emphasis instead of negation in 「そんなバカなことはありません」
In this quote by Akihiro Miwa, 「そんな～ことはありません」 isn't used the way I'd expect it to be:
努力{どりょく}をしない人も[平等]{びょうどう}になどと、そんなバカなことはありません。
It's (extremely?) foolish to treat people who don't make an ...
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2answers
138 views
Use of に and を with 触れる
The verb 触れる challenges my concept of what を does; to mark a direct object.
Consider these uses of 触れる:
（人）の頬に指を触れる (Touch a finger to someone's cheek)
（人）の頬に手を触れる (Touch someone's cheek ...
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1answer
129 views
Does には in this sentence imply vagueness of the source?
This comes from a friend's post on Facebook. The situation is that my friend had injured his leg a while back, but it has since healed and he's now in for a checkup. His leg is in great condition, so ...
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1answer
153 views
Who is doing the thinking?
Observe the change:
彼女は行かないと思う。 "I think that she will not go"
彼女は行くまいと思う。 "She thinks that she will not go"
彼女は and と思う are conserved in the sentence, yet the person who is doing the ...
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114 views
Is this sentence making a comparison?
This sentence comes from my JLPT practise book:
宗教{しゅうきょう}とは何{なん}か、迷信{めいしん}とは何{なん}かを正確{せいかく}に定義{ていぎ}するのは困難{こんなん}だ。
I think it's basically saying:
Things like religions and supersitions are ...
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1answer
162 views
How do the two ideas in this sentence come together?
I have this sentence as part of a question in my JLPT practise book:
スリのグループがボスの合図{あいず}で乗客{じょうきゃく}から金{かね}を盗{ぬす}むのを目{ま}の当{あ}たりにして恐{おそ}ろしかった。
Part of the sentence means, "the pickpocket group ...
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332 views
Verb volitional form (動詞の意志形) - usage
I have a couple of questions about the volitional form of verbs that I've become unclear on lately. Here is a Bible passage containing the grammar in question:
(Note that I'm using a Bible passage ...
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2answers
233 views
What does 「つっぱしり」mean in this context?
I recently heard about a manga entitled つっぱしり元太郎, and I'm slightly confused about the meaning of the 「つっぱしり」 in its name. I've looked the word up in several dictionaries, but have gotten no results.
...
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3answers
611 views
How do I express sentences like: He is dying?
For instance, "He is eating" is "Kare wa tabete iru". However, "He is dying" is not "Kare wa shinde iru". Another example is "He is going to Japan" is not "Kare wa nihon ni itte iru". So if I can't ...
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230 views
When the agent takes を in the causative form
I've seen a few sets of terminology when referring to the causative form, so for the basic case, I will use the following:
instigator が agent に 〇〇 を ｖ－させる。
In its most basic, text-book form, we have ...
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2answers
136 views
How does 話{はなし}が噛{か}み合{あ}わない work?
I saw this phrase discussed on esaura.cc
話が噛み合わない
'There's a gap in their conversation.'
'They can't meet on common ground.'
'They have been at odds with each other.'
'They have not been ...
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1answer
363 views
How are 〜上, 〜上は and 〜上に different?
I'm wondering about these, mainly because I don't see how they change the meaning.
これほど確かな証拠がある上は、Ａが犯人だと認めないわけにはいかない。
Since there's such solid evidence, there's no denying that A's the culprit. ...
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1answer
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What kind of conjugation is 済{す}ませた?
This is from the anime Noir, Episode 1 starting at 23:13 at the school:
[The two characters A and B are leaving the country.]
A: 出国{しゅっこく}の手配{てはい}は済{す}ませた。
'I've made the arrangements to ...
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1answer
374 views
らしい / っぽい / みたい question: Why 黒{くろ}っぽい車{くるま} and not 黒{くろ}みたいな車{くるま}?
I'm using Nihongo So-Matome 文法{ぶんぽう} while preparing for JLPT N3, and having some issues with some of the grammar descriptions.
This StackExchange answer was awesome in clearing up most of my らしい / ...
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264 views
what does 可哀想{かわいそう}でならない mean?
I came across this expression in my JPLT N2 study materials.
I deciphered the parts as
可哀想{かわいそう} means pitiable, pathetic
でならない means can't help feeling
so does it mean "can't help feeling ...
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2answers
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Does the volitional form of a verb mean both “lets” and “I want to”?
I was taught ages ago that the volitional form of a verb means "let's" do something. For example, if you take 行く and change it to 行こう, you get "let's go".
However, I feel like I can use the same form ...
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1answer
160 views
Dictionary entry and derived forms, were they equal at some point?
I will first state the dictionary entry, and then other formations that also yield the dictionary entry.
Consider the following :
思える - to seem/appear,
potential form of 思う - can think
合わせる - ...
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2answers
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What is the difference between がる and ぎみ?
In one of my study flashcards, I have this sentence:
疲{つか}れぎみだけど生{い}きてます。
Which should translate to something like, "[He] appears worn out but [he's] still kicking."
The main point is that in ...
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1answer
644 views
Is this the correct way of saying attending a school?
My friend and I were having a debate.
Basically, the line 「あんたは一人でこの家から学校に通っている。」 in an anime was translated as "And you live here alone, attending school."
A direct literal translation of the ...
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3answers
282 views
気にしてられないと思えるようになる。Is this interpretation of the grammar here correct?
人の目なんて。
気にしてられないと思えるようになる。
You can't concern yourself with what other people think.
I saw this on a TV show where the hosts were talking about coming out in public if you are gay. They had ...
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Can a noun + suru have an adjective modify the noun as well?
”I did some difficult studying last night."
Could I say, "昨夜、難しい勉強しました。”?
Basically, my question is: can an adjective, relative clause, or adjectival phrase modify a noun that has する attached. For ...
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2answers
185 views
女性の身体は本来美しいもの. Is this sentence grammatical?
I found the sentence:
女性の身体は本来美しいもの。
'The female body is a fundamentally beautiful thing.'
in the following passage:
毎食後2錠から3錠、油っこい食事のあとは少し多めに飲むだけと、とっても簡単にダイエットできてしまいます。
'An effective ...
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1answer
191 views
Does a list using と end with が?
Asking this other question has reminded me of another confusion I often have, one of my long standing bad habits that you'd think I'd have sorted after all this time in Japan.
I'm never quite sure ...
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1answer
188 views
“きのう、何をしていた。” vs. “きのう、何をした。”
What is the difference in nuance between きのう、何をしていた。 vs きのう、何をした。? To be fair, I can't really tell the difference between these two english sentences:
What were you doing yesterday ?
What did you do ...
5
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1answer
196 views
“トムと話した” vs. “トムと話し合った”
This book (Chap. 29) says that for some verbs which can be unilateral or bilateral (like 相談する, 話す, 合う),
The particle と implies that the verb is shared 50/50 between the two participants (bilateral), ...
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2answers
447 views
What is the difference between “〜がる” and “〜がっている”
I want to know the difference between 〜がる and 〜がっている, and in what situations I can use them.
My friend said 〜がる is used for a regular activity that someone does every day or every week, and the ...
13
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2answers
362 views
“太ってる猫” vs “太った猫”
Greetings people I saw this sentence in a textbook: 彼女は太った猫が好きじゃない。, which was translated to "She doesn't like fat cats".
I was under the impression that 太ってる猫 means something like "cat that is in ...
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1answer
120 views
Does this と mean “and” or “with”?
Recenly, with Facebook's new "feed" feature, whatever the heck that is, I've been seeing this notification coming up a lot:
[Friend One]さんと[Friend Two]さんがフィード購読{こうどく}を許可{きょか}しています。
I have to ...
5
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1answer
186 views
Usage of まるで with 見ているようだった.
その翼はとても滑らかに動くため、まるでコンピュータ・グラフィックスを見ているようだった。
Its wings were moving so smoothly that it almost looked like CGI.
or would a more accurate translation be:
Its wings were moving so smoothly ...
