Particles, conjugations and endings for verbs and adjectives, and general sentence structure.
7
votes
4answers
285 views
How does the use of いかんによっては in this question determine one answer over another?
In my JLPT practise book, in a section explaining the use of いかんによっては, which roughly means "depending on", they have the following question:
...
3
votes
2answers
150 views
Why is も used instead of が in the sentence 「日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ」
What is the exact sentiment expressed by も in this sentence as opposed to が?
日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ
It's a sentence in response to someone saying "I saw a spider in my room, I was scared".
8
votes
2answers
280 views
ご～いただけます vs. ご～になれます
I know that you can use ご～いただく toward "clients" (which is something I've never really understood; maybe better as a question of its own) such as ご来店いただき、まことにありがとうございます ("Thank you (customer) for ...
2
votes
3answers
265 views
How do I say “before” or “used to” in Japanese?
朝に作文を買ったの時、質問になります。
How can I say something like:
I didn't used to like this band.
*Before, I didn't like this band.*
5
votes
2answers
147 views
How do I say “the reason why” or “the purpose of” in Japanese?
While studying this morning, I became interested in how to say "When you were a child, did you read books for fun?" in Japanese.
In this case, would I use ため?
Or would it be something like this:
...
23
votes
2answers
1k views
Why does Japanese have two kinds of adjectives? (-i adjectives and -na adjectives)
Japanese has two kinds of adjectives known by several terms but the ones I know are i-adjectives and na-adjectives - why?
I recall that Japanese adjectives are much more like verbs than in English ...
1
vote
1answer
142 views
Problems with particles
I'm trying to understand when to use appropriate particles in a sentence, and keep up with vocab too! Please someone help.
customer: "そのぼうし[の, を, か, ね] ください"
"たけしさん [か, の, よ, or no particle] ...
12
votes
3answers
170 views
Positioning of quantities (using counters)
Example 1
ビール一杯を飲む
一杯のビールを飲む
ビールを一杯飲む
Example 2
ネジ2本を取り付ける
2本のネジを取り付ける
ネジを2本取り付ける
Is there any difference between the above examples with the positioning of the ...
8
votes
1answer
306 views
When is 「だ／である」required between a noun and the quotation particle と?
Note: Recent edits in response to comments have been added in italics
The sentence prompting this question is:
時下ますますご清栄のことと、お喜び申し上げます
Which I have always "loosely" taken to mean:
I am ...
4
votes
1answer
149 views
Function of the first の in とかの他の
Are ...とか他の... and ...とかの他の... equivalent? What is the function of the first の in the latter example?
And why can't a の follow とか in ...とかその他...? Or can it?
10
votes
4answers
172 views
Range of numbers
How would one express a range of numbers regarding an action?
Example: I usually study anywhere between 2 to 4 hours a day.
Would the からーまで grammar structure be appropriate here?
...
3
votes
2answers
180 views
How does は apply itself to によっては?
From the question: "How does the use of いかんによっては in this question determine one answer over another?", it is observed that:
The use of によって means to change state or behaviour depending on, or ...
5
votes
1answer
111 views
Why does 考えて need も in the “て + ごらん” pattern?
Consider these three lists:
てごらん
考えてもごらん
てもごらん
In the verb-te form + ごらん structure, it seems that only the verb 考える needs to have も. (It seems that 考える can be used without も, but a cursory look ...
4
votes
1answer
156 views
What is the difference between どころか or ものか?
This is a sentence from my JLPT prep book:
新しい首相に代わったが、景気は回復する （ ）、悪化する一方であった。
The answer is: ものか, but I thought it was どころか.
I can't figure out why どころか isn't correct or is unnatural. They ...
8
votes
2answers
222 views
What is the difference between べからず and べからざる?
In my JLPT practise book, I have the following question:
A：噂にまどわされる＿＿＿＿＿、とは言うものの・・・。
B：つい、信じちゃうよね。
べく 2.べき 3.べからざる 4. べからず
I knew the answer was between 3 and 4, but I couldn't ...
1
vote
1answer
113 views
Grammar problem [closed]
I'd like to ask how can I say in Japanese 'a friend of mine reminded me this great band'?
I thought I should use the ~思い出させてくれる form, but I guess it still too difficult for me.
4
votes
3answers
273 views
What does 遅れに遅れて mean?
I'm pretty sure ～れに～れて is a grammar form that I have studied in my JLPT textbooks, but I came across it again in a text and I can't for the life of me find it again in my grammar dictionaries. I also ...
6
votes
2answers
188 views
3
votes
1answer
154 views
Making sense of the N1にN2 construction (「パンにバター」＝「パンにバターをぬる」）
I understand from my previous question on the N1 に N2 construction that it is usually a phrase with omission of a verb (eg パンにバターをぬる makes パンにバター, which comes from パンにぬる and バターをぬる). If this is the ...
4
votes
1answer
186 views
What is “masu-stem + ざま”?
Here is a part of a sentence from my book:
・・・・手裏剣をよけざま・・・・
I can't find any help in any of my references on the pattern of "masu-stem + ざま", which makes me hesitant to say that's exactly what ...
34
votes
5answers
3k views
Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc.
Japanese language has a lot of patterns for "if" clauses. What are the differences among the following patterns and how do we choose to use one over the others?:
行ったら
行くなら
行けば
行くんだったら
行くのなら
行くとしたら
...
2
votes
1answer
260 views
Why do we use 楽しめそう and 楽しみ rather than 楽しい・楽しそう in these sentences?
Could someone explain why we use 楽しめそう instead of 楽しそう in the first sentence and what exactly 楽しみ means and why?
(The translations are my best guess at what the sentences might mean.)
...
8
votes
1answer
158 views
Can けれども be analysed further?
Consider the conjunction ども, e.g.:
行けども
言えども
Formation rule:
Verb Hypothetical form (仮定形) + ども
This leads me to hypothesise that the conjunction けれども (meaning "but; however; although") is ...
10
votes
3answers
140 views
心配でたまらず - what is the verb and its form?
Could someone explain the grammar/words behind this and similar phrases? I did some research and probably found the explanation, but I am not sure if this is correct.
The phrase may be found in a ...
5
votes
2answers
424 views
What is -からです, and when is it used?
I have seen this expression a few times, and have never quite understood it. In particular, it seems to be equatable both to ですから and to んです, but I can't figure out where it would be used over either ...
9
votes
4answers
559 views
In what way is the negative form of a verb an adjective?
I was reading the wikipedia page on "predicate," where it mentioned that in Japanese, the negative form of a verb is an adjective. I thought that this was too expansive a statement to be true, but ...
7
votes
1answer
214 views
Imperative used instead of conditional form
This quesion:
と言っても vs とは言え .
reminded me of a similar case:
どっちにしても vs どっちにしろ
which are also synonymous as far as I can tell.
That got me thinking:
Is this coincidental? Are there ...
4
votes
2answers
201 views
what does “mata ha” stand for in this sentence?
くるまはみぎ、ひだりまたはまっすぐいってもいいです
i understand what mata normally means but, it doesn't seem to work in this sentence.
please & thank you.
3
votes
1answer
139 views
What does そこによるところは大きい mean?
could anyone help me with a sentence? It was from an article in the Asahi about the leadership change in North Korea. The full sentence is 拉致被害者の早い救出も、そこによるところは大きい。I understand the first part of the ...
9
votes
2answers
195 views
What is the purpose of the suffix “さ” on adjectives?
What is the purpose of the suffix "さ" on adjectives like 美しさ and 多さ?
The former is the title of an essay by Banana Yoshimoto, so I don't have much context for it. The book editors translated it as ...
6
votes
1answer
159 views
How do we roll a ball along a street from A to B?
This question is a follow up to この道をまっすぐ行ってください。Why “を” and not “で”? posted earlier.
If:
道で転ぶ = fallover on the road
ボールが道を転がる = a ball rolled along the street
〜を転がす = roll something ...
4
votes
2answers
230 views
Help with the difference between causative and the causative-passive for the verb 笑う
I've always had a hard time immediately understanding the differences between passive, causative, and causative-passive. If I really sit down and try to work out the meaning I can generally get it, ...
9
votes
2answers
212 views
How close are なりつつある and なっている?
語学学習は私の新しい習慣の一部になりつつあるのでしょうか？
"Is learning languages becoming a part of my new daily routine?"
なりつつある here seems similar to なっている... are they often interchangeable? Would I be able to ...
6
votes
2answers
183 views
ひき or 頭 for horses?
Initially I'd thought ひき is for small animals and 頭 is for animals that are not small ("big" animals) however EDICT (http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUE%E3%81%B2%E3%81%8D) ...
5
votes
2answers
300 views
How to use に with “masu-stem (連用形 stem) + に + Verb” structure
Could somebody provide a bit more explanation, possibly giving correct and incorrect examples on how to use に with "masu-stem (連用形 stem) + に + Verb" as illustrated in the following examples?
Both ...
5
votes
1answer
79 views
Equivalence of Traversal Verb + て and で of Means/Instrumentality
Consider:
XにYで行く
学校に自転車で行く
"Go to school by bicycle" ("means/instrumentality" interpretation)
"Is* bicycle and go to school" (Questionable?) (Verb conjunctive interpretation)
XにTraversal ...
10
votes
2answers
341 views
What does 逃げっこなしにしよう mean?
So, I was reading a children's story and came across this sentence:
「いいか、この最後のローソクが消えたら、本当のお化けが出るかもしれん。だが、どんなお化けが出ようと、お互いに逃げっこなしにしよう」
What I'm having trouble understanding and dictionaries haven't ...
6
votes
1answer
138 views
What is going on with 書けている? What is Potential Form+ている?
I'm having difficulty in understanding 書けている (initially observed from an answer to "パソコンが 得意だ/わかる/上手だ"). Also observed from SPACEALC:
この小説は上手に書けている。
最もよく書けている記事。
...
12
votes
3answers
836 views
When to use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい
When does one use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい? For example, in phrases like:
先生は野菜を食べて欲し｛いです・がっています｝。
My incomplete understanding is that the がる form is more formal/polite, but it can only be used ...
3
votes
1answer
234 views
Examples of when passive form in English takes active/non passive form in Japanese
Can anyone give a few more common examples (or even more insight) of when we should be "switching" from English passive into Japanese active/non-passive?
(A joint effort might help a lot of us to ...
8
votes
3answers
354 views
In what situations can you use "ぞ” as a sentence ender
When can one use the sentence ender ぞ? I've only ever heard it anime, so I'm unsure of it's actual usage in the real world. Is it not used that often or limited to specific age/gender groups?
13
votes
4answers
234 views
Questions with ~か or without: how to choose?
Studying Japanese on my own, I've learned that in order to make a question, you usually add the particle "~か", like this:
今何時ですか。
It's also true that a question can be asked without it, using ...
2
votes
1answer
118 views
What is the difference between 「Adj-さと言ったらなかった」＆「Adj-いと言ったらなかった」？
Could someone explain the difference between the following two expressions:
恐ろしさといったらなかった
恐ろしいといったらなかった
I am struggling with the first which my text book tells me means とても恐ろしかった. Why is ...
1
vote
1answer
129 views
～なければならない and ～によって auxiliary meanings
I am having trouble with the bold part of this sentence from wikipedia:
バブル経済（バブルけいざい、economic
...
3
votes
2answers
233 views
<動詞の辞書形> + がよい ― How is this allowed?
I've come across this form many times in my Japanese Bible. The meaning is quite obvious based on context, and seems to be one of the following: ～べきです, ～ほうがいい, ～なさい, or ～ように (let it be ～).
Here are ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
Is 「～べくして」 related to 「～べき」 / 「～べく」?
How I understand it, ～べく, meaning "for the purpose of..." / "In order to....", is the conjunctive form of ～べき, which indicates something that should be done.
たくさん本を読む べき (you should read many ...
7
votes
2answers
193 views
〜しては is this a grammar pattern?
I was trying to translate this sentence:
僕はアルバイトしてはレコードばかり買っていたから、一日半働けばLP一枚買えるな、と思って働いていた。
I think I get the overall meaning as: Because I spent all my wages on records I went to work thinking "If ...
4
votes
2answers
349 views
Please help me understand this grammar: ようになるだけではなくて
I'm having trouble understanding this grammar. Could someone please help.
「ようになるだけではなくて」
Taken from the sentence:
本を読めるようになるだけではなくて
Thanks in advance.
10
votes
2answers
798 views
How to say “also” or “too”
The sentence "I also ate in Tokyo" can mean three different things:
(Aside from my friends who ate there), I also ate in Tokyo.
(Aside from the other places where I tried local cuisines), I also ate ...
4
votes
1answer
315 views
Meaning of 「そればかりか、〜Vーるというようなことさえ、始めはしない。」
I am struggling to grasp the meaning of this expression 「そればかりか、〜Vるというようなことさえ、始めはしない」It comes up in the following sentence. The English translation is my best effort but I am guessing from the ...
