That class of words which describe events and states and can be inflected or conjugated to indicate relative time, as well as many other nuances.
5
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2answers
160 views
What's the difference between 捕らえる and 捕まえる? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Fun with synonyms - “to grab/catch/capture”
From my current understanding, 捕らえる means 'to capture', while 捕まえる is used to mean 'to arrest'. Is this correct? And is 捕まる ...
5
votes
1answer
117 views
Dative subjects
I just finished reading this paper, which describes the situations in which Japanese allows a dative subject and a nominative object. For example, the verb 分かる can be used like this:
彼に英語が分かる
"彼" is ...
5
votes
2answers
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 ...
4
votes
2answers
140 views
What's the proper verb for opening a web page?
What's the proper verb to use when you want to ask somebody to open (or load up) a certain link on their browser?
4
votes
3answers
361 views
How do you express “did” + verb in Japanese?
For instance, you can ask someone:
Did you go to the store today?
or
You went to the store today?
Would those both be translated as: 今日、乾物屋{かんぶつや}に行ったか？
Or is there another way to ...
4
votes
2answers
249 views
Can there be such a thing as のんでましょう？
I know のみましょう but I was wondering if the above was legal japanese as well.
4
votes
3answers
351 views
Usage of ~まんねん (関西弁)
Steven Seagal stars in two TV advertisements for the energy drink アリナミン, as seen here and here. In the first commercial he is shown using martial arts two dispatch his opponents, while in the second ...
4
votes
2answers
183 views
How can a verb be in the beginning of a sentence when it is usually at the end? Ex. 折れた淡い翼。
When composing sentences in Japanese, the verb tends to be last right? For example,
バナナを食べました。 --> I ate a banana
But recently I came across a sentence where the verb was at the beginning of the the ...
4
votes
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 ...
4
votes
3answers
370 views
What the difference between these two uses of toki?
国へ帰るとき、かばんを買いました。
国へ帰ったとき、かばんを買いました。
According to the book I'm reading, they both translate to: I bought a bag when I went back to my country.
Now the nuance, if I understand correctly, is that 1. ...
4
votes
1answer
90 views
How to choose between 「いれる」 and 「はいれる」？
The questions is how to choose between 「いれる」 and 「はいれる」.
As far as I know, the same kanji is used for both (入れる).
How can one make the distinction when reading a text?
4
votes
1answer
173 views
Is 来おった the 連用形{れんようけい} of くる plus おる → おった?
I came across the following dialogue, which occurs right as the hero arrives:
「やっと来おったか。」
I'm not sure how to parse 来おった. Is it 来{き} + 居{お}る? If so, what exactly does this form mean? Do other ...
4
votes
2answers
191 views
〜(ら)れる - Ambiguity between passive and Keigo
In my Japanese Bible, it often uses the 〜(ら)れる Keigo form when talking about God's actions. However, there are certain cases when talking about both people and God in the same sentence where the use ...
4
votes
2answers
366 views
Plural in ancient Japanese?
It is known to Japanese learners that the Japanese verb isn't affected by the subject (number or gender). Today, a linguistics professor of my university told me he heard from his teacher that ancient ...
3
votes
3answers
358 views
How to say “you may not [verb] here”?
たとえば、おすしを食べてもいいですか？ is for "May I eat sushi?". However I know that ちょっと、食べなくてもいいです。Is not the right phrase because that means: "Well, you don't have to eat (that)." So what is the response for ...
3
votes
2answers
142 views
Stem classification 終止形 vs 連体形（しゅうしけい vs れんたいけい）
What is the difference between 終止形 and 連体形 and which one is the correct term for the dictionary form?
The Japanese Grammar Wiki entry says...
Terminal form (終止形 shūshikei) -u
is used at the ...
3
votes
1answer
165 views
What is 死す doing in this question?
My friend recently played through a game called Persona 4, and he took plenty of screen shots. He showed me this one containing 死す:
It says:
巽 完二
「言っとくがなぁ…
可愛すぎてキュン死すっぞ！」
I understood ...
3
votes
3answers
187 views
How does a noun phrase translate into a verb?
Ok. The whole sentence is:
Person A bandages Person B's arm.
Person B says: ありがとう。ずいぶん慣れた処置ね？看護婦でもやってたの？
I get what the sentences are saying.
But! For the life of me I can't parse ずいぶん慣れた処置ね？ into ...
3
votes
2answers
202 views
What is なく・ない and why is it used?
This question showed the following:
言わない (negative)
言わなく・ない (negative+negative)
言わなく・なかった (negative+negative+past)
I've never seen this conjugation before. Why would you have a negative + ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
人生に生き甲斐を求めてギターを習い始めた。 Can 求める mean give?
人生に生き甲斐を求めてギターを習い始めた。
I started learning guitar to give myself something to do with my life.
Is this translation a little too loose?
Can 求める mean give?
Or would another way of translating this ...
3
votes
1answer
110 views
Can 差す be an intransitive verb?
WWWJDIC lists 差す as an intransitive verb, but in all of the example sentences I've seen it looks more like a transitive verb.
So my question is, is 差す a transitive or intransitive verb?
3
votes
1answer
281 views
What would be the literal meaning of the causative form here? 暴風警報発令中のため本日の営業はお休みとさせていただきます。
暴風警報発令中のため本日
bōfū keihō hatsurei chū notame honjitsu
の営業はお休みとさせて
no eigyō wa oyasumi to sasete
いただきます。
itadakimasu.
暴風 bōfū = storm winds
警報 keihō = warning
発令 hatsurei = official ...
3
votes
2answers
105 views
Can もらう mean to keep?
While studying I came across this short 会話{かいわ}：
A: この本をもらってもいいですか？
B: ええ、いいですよ。どうぞ。
A was translated as: "Can I keep this book?" Now, I've learned that もらう means to receive (something). I would have ...
3
votes
1answer
123 views
Can と be used with verbs other than 思う to imply a thought process behind the action?
Following hot on the heels on my other question about と and 思う, I know と can be used with 言う, but can it also be applied to verbs that imply some kind of thinking process other than 思う?
Do these make ...
3
votes
2answers
235 views
Reading 捻る: when is it ねじる or ひねる?
How can I tell whether 捻る is read as ひねる (P. ・ N.C.) or ねじる (P. ・ N.C.)?
I assume the answer is "based on which verb is appropriate", so I've been trying to learn the difference between them. Based ...
3
votes
1answer
149 views
What forms of verbs (potential or passive) are more frequent in Japanese?
A simple question to those speaking and the native ones. What of the two forms (potential verbs or passive voice verbs) in Japanese verbs is more frequent?
This question may seem strange, but I need ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
Please help to understand the verb suffix 掛ける
I have a sentence フライト・アテンダントはよく話しかけてくれて親しみがありました。
Where 話しかけて is what I can't understand. What sort of suffix is "shikakete"? Or is it two suffixes, shi + kakete?
3
votes
1answer
156 views
Meaning and usage of suffix -まい
According to the WWWJDIC, the verbal suffix まい can mean:
(1) probably isn't (doesn't, won't, etc.)
(2) don't (doesn't) intend to; intend not to
(3) must not; (when used in an imperative ...
3
votes
1answer
212 views
What are the exceptions of using に and で with regard to 住む and 勤める?
I am going over the cases when に and で are used with location. According to the "Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar", に is used when something exists in a specific location (page 299) and で is used ...
3
votes
1answer
115 views
Trying to make sense of this 記号, I'm wondering if verb-suru verbs can be jidoushi/tadoushi?
I have a couple of questions. Can verb-suru verbs be classified as jidoushi/tadoushi?
And could you take a look at this legend to help clear up my confusion?
Higher-res: ...
3
votes
1answer
228 views
What are the “slots” in the Japanese agglutinative verb system?
In another question we established that Japanese is an agglutinating language (more here), if only in its verb system.
Since it is not traditional in Japanese grammar or teaching to go into this ...
3
votes
1answer
178 views
How to understand the contractionしていて、/-てて
I am trying to better understand this sentence:
金さんは、微妙なニュアンスまで気にされてて、すごいですね。
It's amazing how interested you are in these subtle nuances.
Is the following an accurate understanding of this ...
3
votes
1answer
168 views
Can the よう ending signify an imperative?
Can the よう ending be used for imperatives like て？
If so then can you show some examples?
3
votes
1answer
198 views
How does うんざり work in the Present Indicative, Causative, Passive, and Causative-passive tenses
Consider the following:
そいつはひどく鼻持ちならないやつで、私をすっかりうんざりさせる。(That guy is so obnoxious that he really turns me off.)
あなたをうんざりさせるものは何ですか？(What turns you off?)
痛み以上に私をうんざりさせるものはない。(Nothing turns ...
3
votes
1answer
100 views
What is the difference between 越える and 越す and are they truly transitive verbs?
My question arose when I was trying to rationalise the first two sentences below. I wondered if these two verbs (越すand 越える） formed a pair with one transitive, one intransitive (like 消える & 消す）with ...
3
votes
0answers
156 views
Are many する verbs becoming 五段 verbs?
I noticed recently that 愛する has a negative form 愛さない. This surprised me because, as far as I'm aware, さない is not a negative form of する. In fact, it looks like 五段活用 to me, so I decided to look up 愛す ...
3
votes
0answers
175 views
Is the pitch data correct in this pdf file intended for learners? [closed]
(If the question is inappropriate here, please direct me to an appropriate site or forum)
In an effort to simplify the acquisition of pitch in L2 learners (ie. myself), I created a pdf document that ...
2
votes
3answers
210 views
Japanese construction verb+noun, how do I interpret it. I am confused!
A) lets take just transitive verbs first:
食べる人
食べられる人
B) now lets take intransitive verbs:
起きる人
起きられる人
起こす人
起こされる人
OK, this thing has confused me for a very long time now, like really long. ...
2
votes
2answers
187 views
I am confused about the meaning of the conjugations of [買]{か}う
I am on Livemocha and it says that 買います。 means "I am going to buy it." But I figure that should be 買いに行きます。 . Also I know that ぎゅうにゅうを買っています。 is "I am buying milk." But for some reason, I thought that ...
2
votes
1answer
127 views
Verbs in application drop down lists
I am working on translating pick list items that appear in a piece of software from English to Japanese. There is a mix of verbs and nouns on the lists, ex: workplace, attack, wolf, assault, etc... ...
2
votes
2answers
250 views
How to Convert Na-adjectives and Nouns to the ば-form?
I am practicing the ば-conditional and my main reference right now is the oxford grammar book.
It only mentions how to convert keiyoushi or i-adjectives and not keiyoudoushi or na-adjectives.
Can ...
2
votes
2answers
157 views
What's the difference between 真似る and 真似する？
I'm just wondering if they are the same word or if there is an actual difference (in meaning or nuance). It seems weird to me that there would be two different verbs with the same kanji stem that mean ...
2
votes
1answer
80 views
What is the correct kanji for the verb to sweat 汗をかく
What is the character used for the verb to sweat? 汗をかく
2
votes
2answers
145 views
What is って doing in this sentence?
From Noir, Episode 2 (anime).
I don't get what the って is doing in this sentence. For context, the father came home early from work. He quickly answers his wife in the first sentence then in the ...
2
votes
1answer
223 views
Difference between に and が for intransitive verbs
What is the difference between 試験に受かる and 試験が受かる?
It seems that the first one means "to pass an exam" while the second one is more like "passing exams" (really not sure about it).
In which cases ...
2
votes
1answer
291 views
What's the difference between Ichidan/Godan and Ru/U verbs classification?
I've come across two different ways (at least, apparently for me) to classify verbs. Please note that this question is fundamentally different from Verb classifications by japanese learners.
The ...
2
votes
3answers
287 views
2
votes
1answer
112 views
Can the ったら form of a verb be used to mean “after?”
Take this example:
AったらB
Could this mean, "After doing A, B happened?"
2
votes
1answer
143 views
How to say “to ride a bicycle”?
Is it 自転車に乗る or 自転車を走る? I know I've read the latter somewhere before. But I just came across the former today and didn't know if there was a difference.
2
votes
1answer
311 views
The differences and similarities between ーたら and ーば [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc.
There are different ways to say "if" in Japanese. I want to concentrate on these two verb endings which mean "if": たら and ば. ...
