The short syntactic words or affixes in Japanese that are used to modify words or entire sentences.
6
votes
2answers
189 views
Questions with some usages of で
From my understanding, "で" have many different usages in Japanese. I have some questions regarding the following particular uses of で. It would be very helpful if someone could also come up with other ...
1
vote
1answer
148 views
Use of はじめて and どれだっけ?
I don't really know where to ask for help, usually I got the meaning of a sentence on my own but, well this sentence is giving me a hard time, it seems easy but I can't figure out what's the use of ...
3
votes
2answers
137 views
への対へ/に-Difference between への and へ/に
This is actually following a recently asked question on how to say "for."
I thought that saying あなたに私の愛 sounded perfectly fine - "toward you, my love."
However another user changed it to あなたに対する愛, ...
5
votes
1answer
317 views
Making sense of もん
How do I make sense of the 終助詞 もん as in
おいしいもん
そうなんだもん
Although I have only heard it in 時代劇 speak, I guess it comes from もの, which I think should be も + の.
But what も can follow the 終止形 and ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
Help translating this japanese sentence please?
I really really need help with this sentence I have tried everything but I don't get its structure and how to translate it so I'd appreciate if someone could help please?
オレ一人 ore hitori
...
3
votes
1answer
199 views
Why should we use 世界で and not 世界に for 日本で一番高い山は富士山です
Why do we always use で in the following situations? 日本で一番寒い月は二月です。 日本で一番高い山は富士山です。 Why can`t we use use に here? There is no action in these sentences yet we use で,rather we are indicating the place of ...
9
votes
3answers
388 views
What's the difference between には and では
My book has these two sentences and I don't quite understand why they are using には in the first example and では on the second one. It seems to me that only では would be correct in this situation.
...
16
votes
5answers
1k views
Pronouncing が as 'nga'
I'm a beginner and am learning from CD (Pimsleur). There are two native speakers going through the dialogue. One, the man, pronounces が as I would expect - 'ga'. The other (female) pronounces it as ...
8
votes
1answer
311 views
Is 感じる {かんじる} transitive or intransitive? Which particle to use?
Please consider 一段 {いちだん} verb 感じる {かんじる}. Sometimes I see particle に applied and sometimes particole を. In the Jisho.org vocabulary it is not specified if this verb is 他動詞 {たどうし} (transitive) or 自動詞 ...
7
votes
2answers
254 views
Which particle is better に or から?
〇〇さんにプレゼントをもらいました。 〇〇さんからプレゼントをもらいました。
I feel it is more natural to use particle に, but I'm not a native speaker. Can someone please help me out on this? Both these options are listed in the current ...
24
votes
8answers
942 views
Particles: に vs. で
I have progressed pretty far in Japanese, but when I construct Japanese sentences, I still get these two particles mixed up. For example, when talking about being inside something, I don't know when ...
2
votes
1answer
113 views
How do you break down “かといって”?
In the phrase かといって or かと言って, meaning having said that, on the other hand, I'm not sure what the か and と are.
My first guess is that these are the generic particles (か+と+いって), but I couldn't find any ...
4
votes
2answers
158 views
Meaning of でもない in this context?
While listening to the song "Yasashisa no Riyuu", I noticed the following sentence:
今は誰の名前でもない 輝きの彼方へ
Which by the fansub is translated like this:
Now it doesn't matter whose name it may ...
8
votes
2answers
676 views
When to use ～ので vs ～から
I was looking in A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar when I saw something on page 329 which truly shocked me:
"node cannot be used and kara must be used [... when ...] the main clause is a ...
2
votes
1answer
173 views
The uses & etymology of で
In Japanese, the particle で seems to have multiple uses:
Instrumental: 車{くるま}で大阪{おおさか}に行{い}った。 "I went to Osaka by car."
Locative: 図書館{としょかん}で数学{すうがく}を勉強{べんきょう}している。 "I'm studying math in the ...
5
votes
3answers
182 views
What is くん doing in these sentences?
I have come across two sentences in a manga that is using くん in a way that I can't seem to find any information on, in both my books and online. I am guessing this may be some sort of slang, odd ...
6
votes
1answer
133 views
How to express “with (x) as well” and “even with (x)”
I am trying to express something akin to these sentences:
Even with a spoon, he digs well (でも?)
Even without a shovel, he digs well
I would also like to express this:
With a shovel ...
1
vote
1answer
110 views
Can より be used differently than saying “b more x than a”?
I could not find any examples of this usage, but what I'm basically asking is whether or not this is possible:
怒るより悲しいですよ
Rather than being mad, I am sad
Is this a legitimate way of using ...
2
votes
1answer
167 views
Limitations of に for emphasis?
I remember having learning that に can be used for a simple emphasis of the word before it, like so:
私はケーキを食べた - I ate cake
私にはケーキを食べた - I ate cake (the others may or may not have, but I did)
...
20
votes
4answers
993 views
What is the difference between “に” and “には”?
The title should be pretty self-explanatory. What meanings does each convey? And in what kinds of circumstances would one be used instead of the other?
For example, what are the differences between ...
7
votes
5answers
289 views
A は／が difference [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What’s the difference between wa (は) and ga (が)?
I've been trying to wrap my head around the は/が differences, and I'm trying to figure out the differences between the ...
5
votes
1answer
152 views
The difference between (な形容詞)さ and (な形容詞)性?
I'm in the middle of writing a paper in Japanese, and I can't quite figure out which is right. If I want to nominalize a な形容詞, should I affix さ or 性 at the end? I've been checking on search engines, ...
8
votes
1answer
182 views
Relation between -ますよ and -ましょう
They sound alike. Are they cognate historically?
Morphologically, is よ in both cases a particle or part of the morpheme in -ましょう?
4
votes
3answers
244 views
に vs で with state of being (but no verb)
All the に vs で comparisons I can find discuss using them with verbs. However I recently wanted to say something like "I am alone at home", and phrased it without a verb:
家で一人です
But that got me ...
3
votes
1answer
117 views
How does のは work in this sentence?
彼が持っているのは二百円です。 Supposedly this means "It is 200 yen that he has.". But I am really not familiar with this sentence construction. Therefore, I'm not sure how everything before の works with the rest of ...
4
votes
2answers
134 views
Usage of けど / でも
I've heard けど / でも has to be placed after the part that contradicts the other part.
I never heard of it actually as I learned it by context and not by grammar rules.
Is it true, or does it depend ...
1
vote
3answers
106 views
Can particle と and で both mean with? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
particle で versus particle と
For example:
今晩家族*で*レストランに行きます。(Konban kazoku de resutoran ni ikimasu)
Tonight, I will go to the restaurant with my family.
...
5
votes
1answer
135 views
-たい words and a student's confusion
I was doing some Rosetta Stone earlier, and I came upon a sentence ending with:
行きたいです。
Noting the "たい" part, I was reminded of the word
食べたいです
which I think I first saw in Japanese 1010, ...
3
votes
2answers
82 views
Use of the “へ” particle when asking about transportation methods
I have a question relating to question 19 of the JLPT N5 'example' grammar exam. This is a question where you have four things to fit into four gaps:
A: [会社 ＿ ＿ ＿ ＿ 行って いますか]
B: [わたしは あるいて ...
4
votes
2answers
138 views
Simple Particle Question (よびます）
I am a little confused as to what is going on here:
ともだちを パーティーに よびました。
Why is this not ともだちに (recipient of the invite) パーティーで (place of the invite) よびました? It would be helpful if someone can please ...
9
votes
2answers
224 views
Can the particle は be used twice?
Can the topic marker は be used twice in a sentence? For example, かれは日本語はいいですね。 Is that right?
7
votes
2answers
341 views
Expressing the “after [verb]-ing”, using 後で, -てから, 後に, 後から?
It's my understanding that when telling what you did after an action can be said using:
た後で
てから
た後に
For instance,
さおとめさんが泳いでから私たちはお祭りで会いました。
さおとめさんが泳いだ後{あと}で私たちはお祭りで会いました。
...
9
votes
3answers
339 views
When to use “もっと” vs “より”
Giving examples if possible, what's the difference between e.g. もっと大きい and より大きい to mean "more (than)"/"bigger (than)"? In what situations would you use もっと over より and vice versa?
For instance, why ...
3
votes
3answers
126 views
Does the lack of は change the sentence?
So I saw this sentence: きのう初めておすしをたべました。 And wondered if the は is just being left out. Does the sentence change any if は is added in? Like so: きのうは初めておすしをたべました。
2
votes
0answers
48 views
What is the difference between using なる with the particles に and と [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる?
What is the difference between using なる with the particles に and と? When should which be used?
5
votes
1answer
176 views
Obligatory zero particle
Sometimes, particles are omitted.
I've read, however, that this can be analyzed as inserting a "zero particle" instead. See for example Particle omission or zero particle by Mitsuaki Shimojo. See ...
3
votes
2answers
203 views
も particle after an adverb
I know that も particle can be used in place of は、が、を. And it means "in addition", "also".
What function does it have in this adverb "不運にも"?
Should we treat it as a separate word here?
6
votes
3answers
163 views
When do you use は/に for どようびは/に?
There is a sentence in a worksheet that goes: どようびは ほんを よみます。Why is it not どようびに? When do I know which one to use and what is the difference?
Spoke to my sensei and she said you can use something ...
7
votes
4answers
643 views
When to use だ before と思います。
If you want to state what you think you can put と思います at the end of a sentence. However I noticed that sometimes you're supposed to put だ before と思います so that it becomes だと思います, and sometimes you're ...
11
votes
3answers
266 views
Using で instead of に with いる
The example sentence in 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」,
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
got me thinking "Why is it using で, not に?". I.e., why not
...
3
votes
1answer
103 views
In what cases do I use 見られる with を? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb.
I know the difference between 見る, 見られる, and 見える. I know that 見える and 見られる are verbs expressing a ...
10
votes
2answers
326 views
や in Kansai-ben when it is not だ
The following sentence occurs in The Legend of Zelda:
ナンカ コウテ クレヤ
(This would be なんか買うてくれや！ and was famously translated as "Buy somethin', will ya!".) From the 買うて, it's obvious he's speaking ...
4
votes
1answer
146 views
Difference between だけで and でだけ?
The だけ meaning "only", and で being the "at/in" particle. When saying "only in/at", does the で come before, or after the だけ? What does it mean, if anything, when it's reversed?
Example: "You can only ...
6
votes
2answers
133 views
What purpose does は serve after へ in this sentence?
ところで、今週末のゴルフ大会へは行くんですか。
I feel I have a decent understanding of both of those particles, but I'm wondering how the meaning of the sentence changes with and without the は after へ.
Thanks in advance.
6
votes
2answers
117 views
1
vote
1answer
93 views
Help with sentence 私が外国を歩くようになったのは・・・
This clause is from a book that I'm reading called "日本人が知らない世界の歩き方". It's the first clause of the first sentence in the book and coincidentally the first one that I'm having trouble with. In ...
8
votes
1answer
173 views
What is じゃ in じゃない?
Since there is possibility of "じゃありません" instead of "じゃないです" (which is logical, given "ありません" is polite "ない"), and it also seemed that I have seen "じゃ" used without "ない", I'd like to ask, what "じゃ" ...
8
votes
1answer
156 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
143 views
Explain Noun + へ particle?
I have a sentence 来年にはテレフォニカが製品投入へ. This is translated by google: "Telefonica is to rollout next year." Where is the verb in this sentence as 製品投入 looks like "noun" + "noun"? And what is へ doing after ...
4
votes
2answers
168 views
この道をまっすぐ行ってください。Why “を” and not “で”?
In a quiz, I got a question where one had to complete with に、を、で or が the following sentence:
この道 (?) まっすぐ行ってください。
The correct answer being:
この道をまっすぐ行ってください。
It always seems more natural to me to ...
