Questions tagged [grammar]
文法. A collective term for syntax (the way sentences are put together) and morphology (forms of words, including the way new words are put together). Often used to describe function words such as particles, to describe word endings, and to talk about general sentence structure.
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Is there a difference between からすると and からして？
These two phrases seem to have very similar usage and I'm unable to determine the difference between them.
The examples I have are:
彼は服装からしてだらしない。きっと他の面も同じだろう。
kare ha fukusou karashite darashinai. ...
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How would you translate: 毎日は楽しくなりました。
毎日は楽しくなりました。
Would you translate this: Every day was fun.
or
Every day became fun.
I know that なる can be used to say that A becomes B. But in this example what is the nuance of the meaning of なる？
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Why is the topic marker often used in negative statements (ではない, ～とは思わない)?
What function does は provide in statements such as 本ではない or 本だとは思わない? I notice the は after と is often left out, at least if a Google search for 思わない is any indication, but there still seems to be a ...
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へ or に particle for 曲がる?
i was wondering what may be the difference in nuance between 右へ曲がる and 右に曲がる ?
Example: Take a right turn and you'll see the library.
1) 右へ曲がると、図書館がある。
2) 右に曲がると、図書館がある。
As for [noun-location] ...
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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?
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When did you last...?
I am searching for a way to ask a question like "When did you last see her?" or "When did you last do the laundry?, or also "When did we last meet?" Basically, how do you construct a question with ...
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What exactly is a "taru adjective"
On the talk page of the Wikipedia article on "Japanese adjectives", user Dougalg suggested nearly two years ago:
I know these are falling out of use, but still exist. If anyone can give an ...
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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 ...
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Is "ガール" (gāru) now considered a Japanese word? What about "ガールズ" (gāruzu)?
In my wanderings around Japan giving my kana knowledge some practice I've noticed both the words "ガール" (gāru) and "ガールズ" (gāruzu) in use at least in signage. Obviously they are borrowed from English "...
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What’s the difference between [v] たとしても and just the plain ても
What’s the difference between [v] たとしても and just the plain ても? Example:
(1) 説明書を読んでも分かりにくい
(2) 説明書を読んだとしても分かりにくい
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ならば vs なら. both are totally interchangeable without affecting the nuance of the sentence?
is it true that なら is merely a short form of ならば and as such, both are totally interchangeable without affecting the nuance of the sentence?
Also, a second question is is ならば more "formal" than "なら" ?...
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Difference between にかんして and について?
What is the difference between にかんして and について?
Example usage would be much appreciated!
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why is it that some 形容動詞 accepts の after it while some only accepts な after it?
why is it that some 形容動詞 accepts の after it while some only accepts な after it?
Examples:
の only: 普通、大勢
な or の: 初心、特別、特殊
Is there a way for us to tell if a 形容動詞 needs a の or な particle after it....
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What is the difference between 特殊 and 特別?
I've got two questions. Firstly, what is the difference between 特殊{とくしゅ} and 特別{とくべつ}?
Secondly, is it true that all these grammar forms are correct:
特殊{とくしゅ}な ＋ [noun]
特別{とくべつ}な ＋ [noun]
特殊{とくしゅ}の ＋...
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Meaning of pattern 「XがXなら、YもYだ」
While reading, I came across this sentence:
「上官が上官なら部下も部下だな」
What does this 「XがXなら、YもYだ」 pattern mean? "Like X, like Y"? "X will be X, and Y will be Y"?
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Use of the particle を to mean where something is going?
A little while back I was working my way through the Book "Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication" When I got to page 156 it explains the topic of the section which is "The te form of ...
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Can placements of adverbs be altered freely? 少なくとも週に一度車を洗う vs 週に少なくとも一度車を洗う
I'm curious if there is any difference in nuance between these two sentences:
彼は少なくとも週に一度車を洗う。
彼は週に少なくとも一度車を洗う。
I'm aware that grammatically speaking both are 100% right, but this question is not ...
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What is the difference between その and あの?
Superficially, I get the sense that あの is for something far away from both speaker and listener, and その is for something closer to the listener than speaker. However, I seem to get in trouble when ...
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The use of -さん when answering about oneself
If someone says,
あなた は Chris-さん です か。
Are you Chris?
Do you answer
Chris です
Or
Chris-さん です
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Difference between -ていく and -てくる
Can someone explain the differences between v-ていく and v-てくる for me. I know that they both express some kind of ongoing action (like a place getting crowded). For example, what's the difference between ...
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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?
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The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb
When using the potential form of a verb, I was taught that the particle を becomes が. However, in real life this seems to not always be the case. I've even heard Japanese people use を instead of が ...
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「～たじゃない」 expression in spoken Japanese
I noticed in an anime I watched, one of the characters said something like below:
さっき食べたじゃない。
And what I think the meaning is: Didn't you just eat a few while ago?
From what I have learned in ...
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Usage of なんて and なんか as emphasis
When are なんて and なんか used as emphasis in casual speech? Are they used when you're surprised, angry or can it be both? What sort of feeling does it convey to the listener compared to a normal sentence ...
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What are the differences between 〜ので and 〜から?
When I was studying this, my 先生 kind of brushed over the point, and then years later, I realize that they are different, but I don't know exactly how.
The only thing I understand is that ので is more ...
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Is it ok to use ～て下さりました instead of ～ていただきました?
Just to avoid repeatedly saying いただきました too much, can I occasionally switch it with 下さりました or 下さいました?
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Differences among -たら, なら, -と, -んだったら, -ば, etc
The 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?:
行くと
行ったら
行くなら
行けば
行くんだったら
行くのなら
...
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Is the grammar of 心の冷たい人 idiomatic?
The phrase 心の冷たい人 (which is given by Japanese-English dictionary on OS X) looks wrong to me, but given that it's an example in a respected dictionary and confirmed by tens of thousands of Google hits, ...
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What is the significance of の in 「鳥の詩」?
I've seen it used in many places, and sometimes it feels like a connection between words.
For example in 「鳥の詩」 (tori no uta), it looks as if the の is connecting 鳥 (tori) and 詩 (uta), and I would like ...
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How can I say "Right now", or "At that exact moment"?
Saying "now" is easy, with 今, but in my experience that doesn't express so much "right now, this instant" as it does "currently". I am looking for structure that translates these examples well:
I ...
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What are the fundamental differences between the ～と一緒に and the ～とともに fragments?
I'm accustomed to saying together with using the ~ to issho ni fragment, but I've been noticing that some people I talk to phrase this using ~ totomo ni instead.
i.e.
彼女と一緒に日本へ来た。
Kanojo to issho ni ...
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Can 「XければXほどY」 clause pattern be shortened to 「XほどY」?
There is a clause pattern 「XければXほどY」. For example, 「近【ちか】ければ近【ちか】いほど便【べん】利【り】」 which means something like "the nearer it is, the more convenient it will be". Can I shorten the clause to 「近【ちか】いほど便【べん】...
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Does "させ" comes from the verb 刺す or just する ?
Recently I came across this sentence in a computing-related technical document:
some software と連携させ、 some feature のカスタマイズを作成します。
I get the meaning (after having integrated some product, we will ...
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Is there a general rule for deriving xasu→xaseru intransitives such as 死なせる from 死なす?
There are a number of verbs where there is a 〜xasu → xaseru transformation to produce an transitive verb from an intransitive, eg:
死なす→死なせる
生かす→生かせる
飲ます→飲ませる
Is this some kind of generalized rule? (...
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What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる?
Is it a nuance difference? Is it formality?
EDIT
For example:
請求書のお支払いは現金のみとなりますので、ご了承くださいませ。
請求書のお支払いは現金のみになりますので、ご了承くださいませ。
I just made that example up, but for some reason, my gut tells me it's ...
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When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)?
Can you use へ and に interchangeably, as in:
北海道へ行く
and
北海道に行く ?
Are there any subtle differences in the use of these two?
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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 the ...
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Can 何で mean "how"?
Looking at this, it seems that when the word 何 is used with the で particle, it roughly translates into "by means of what" or "in what context." Personally, that sounds like asking "how". Is this ...
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What's the difference between wa (は) and ga (が)?
When is it correct to use は but not が, and when is it correct to use が but not は? Are there any times when you can use either without changing the meaning of the sentence? How does switching change ...
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What are other language equivalents to Japanese particles?
When a person is learning は and が in terms of particles, what are the best way to relate them to English equivalents?
The closest I can come to explaining them to others is "the" and "a" but I'm not ...
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