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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Omission of particles in haiku
This may be a little too specific, but am I allowed to omit particles with verbs in haiku? Here’s what I wrote for context:
この世界
から逃げるとき
夢入る
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What difference will it make if I just write sentaku in the sentence "Ii tenki denaito, sentaku mono ga kawakimasen"?
What's the difference between sentaku and sentakumono?
Can't I just say "Ii tenki denaito, sentaku ga kawakimasen"?
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Why is "Kore de ii" correct? [duplicate]
So I've learned that the de particle is used to indicate the location where an action takes place or indicate the means by which something is done.
However in "Kore de ii" Kore is neither ...
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Why is dake followed by a negative verb in "Boku dake ga inai machi" [duplicate]
I read that dake is followed by a postive. So "Sushi dake taberu" is correct while "Sushi dake tabenai" is wrong. And the first sentence means "I only eat sushi"
So why ...
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Can I use きれいそう to say that someone looks beautiful? [duplicate]
Since きれいそう means "to look(seem) beautiful/clean" would it be okay if I used "彼女はきれいそうです" to say that a girl looks beautiful or should I just say "彼女はきれいです"?
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Is there any other difference between なくなり vs なくなって besides the former being more formal than the latter?
I can't figure out if the difference between the two is just a matter of formality or if there are cases I would prefer to use one over the other regarding the context or nuance I want to convey.
For ...
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What does it mean when the kana を is at the end of the sentence?
I have seen a couple of instances of を being used at the end of sentence. From my limited knowledge, を is supposed to be used to indicate the direct object of a verb, but I have seen it following a ...
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Use of ており JLPT N3: 「このような都市はコンパクトシティと言われており、...」
I am studying a reading book for JLPT3 and I came across a grammar I can't seem to find:
このような都市はコンパクトシティと言われており、お年寄りも気軽にいろいろな場所へ行くことができる。
Can someone explain the use of the verb おる here?
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How can I determine what particle (∅, に or は) should I use with temporal nouns?
I’m a bit confused with the choice of particle with temporal nouns. For example, which is the difference between the following sentences?
夏休旅行したいと思っています。
夏休に旅行したいと思っています。
夏休は旅行したいと思っています。
And ...
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なるほど why it means "I understand" and usage as an adverb
I recently came across this phrase
しばらくは呆れていましたが、なるほど考えてみると
My questions are:
What is the meaning of this なるほど?
Why なるほど means "I understand" when used in isolation?
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Why say 彼らは私の勉強を手伝ってくれる instead of 彼らは勉強を私に手伝う?
Why say
彼{かれ}らは私{わたし}の勉強{べんきょう}を手{て}伝{つだ}ってくれる
instead of
彼{かれ}らは勉強{べんきょう}を私{わたし}に手{て}伝{つだ}う
to say "they help me study"?
What does くれる do in the first sentence? Doesn't it mean "to ...
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What does the きた in this sentence mean?
今度は何を覚えてきた?
Mother said to her daughter that just got back home
I wanna interpret it as "what did you learn? (and got back here home)?" but i don't know if that's correct.
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How to say "For me it’s hard to speak Japanese"?
Just a quick question: If I wanted to say "For me it’s hard to speak Japanese." would it be correct to say 私は日本語を話しにくいです。or would that be unnatural? And do I have to use を or で after 日本語 (...
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Why are both 選び and 祝福した taking the same object even though one is in their masu stem and the other isn't? [duplicate]
I noticed that in this sentence:
主{しゅ}はあなたを選{えら}び、祝福{しゅくふく}した。
選{えら}び (masu stem) and 祝福{しゅくふく}した (noun + suru verb) take the same object. Is there a grammar rule for this? I can't seem to find any ...
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Why does the sentence "Omo wa anata to tomoni oraremasu" use "anata to"?
So I've changed the question since it was a segmentation fault.
Why did the sentence use "anata to"?
Tomo means together, doesn't to already means together?
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Past vs present tense in relative clause
I found this thread that was really useful, but I'm still have some doubts, especially because this other thread seems to suggest that there isn't significative difference between using one or the ...
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Trying to translate a more complex sentence, Instrumentives
I am having difficulty translating something (I am translating as an excerise), how would one translate a more instrumental sentence, like:
"Charlie sweetens the cake with sugar"
"...
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I'm having trouble understanding the usage of 特に...もっとですね, and 15回以上は
From Sakura Tips podcast episode 615. パッキング, there is a transcript to the podcast. I'm having difficulty understanding due to my confusion regarding word/phrase ordering.
Original transcript:
...
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Saying "mostly" in Japanese: ほとんど or something else?
I've come across a problem repeatedly when I use Japanese, and that is the proper use of ほとんど. I've gathered that it means most in an opposite manner; e.g. ほとんどない to say mostly don't have and I want ...
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Confused in understanding 僕にしかできない事
I'm confused whether 僕にしかできない事 means
(1) something (you) can do only to me
or
(2) something only I can do
My Korean brain suggests (1) because its naive translation 나한테밖에 못하는 일 means (1). But this ...
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participial constructions / sentence adverbials
I’ve come across two sentences that seem to share a construction that I’m not familiar with:
一時間 働いて どのくらいのお金がもらえますか。
ご心配かけて申し訳 ございません
I haven’t been able to find references to it.
In both, the ...
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What does 来てさえいれば mean in 「クリスマスに来てさえいれば、ケーキを食べられたのに」?
So I have this sentence:
[クリスマス]{くりすます}に[来]{き}てさえいれば、[ケーキ]{けーき}を[食]{た}べられたのに。
and I've been trying to puzzle what 来てさえいれば means. I know いれば is the conditional form of いる and きて is the te form of くる ...
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Historical/Linguistic explanation for the conditional in (seemingly) non-conditional situations?
In Japanese there are conditional sentences that translate well into the English conditional:
お金があればいいね。
It would be nice if I had money.
食べなければ病気になるよ。
If you don't eat you'll get sick.
These ...
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で used to indicate the state of something
I came across this usage of で in this article.
彼はお酒を熱燗で飲む
He drinks sake in a hot state.
Is this で the て form of the copula or the particle で?
If its the て form of the copula, why is を and not が? ...
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"を奪{うば}われた" used incorrectly instead of "が奪{うば}われた"? (Bleach) [duplicate]
In Bleach Sennen Kessen-hen (S01,E04), (slight spoilers) captains have an ability called Bankai. They thought that the enemy could seal this ability. But as KB realizes, the enemy actually steals this ...
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Japanese people using a "?" (question mark) after making a statement (not question) ending in "よ"?
I've encountered this a number of times, where, in Japanese, a question mark (?) is used when someone is clearly making a statement, not when posing a question or hypothetical or any such thing. It ...
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Does へ in 東京へ何しに行くの？ mean "to"?
So I have this sentence:
[東京]{とうきょう}へ[何]{なに}しに[行]{い}くの？
The translation for this is "What are you going to Tokyo for?"
But as I understand it へ means "to", and 何しに行く means "...
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Why are conflicting verb tenses allowed in usage of なら
In https://japanesetest4you.com/japanese-language-proficiency-test-jlpt-n4-grammar-exercise-7/ I encountered the following sentence:
父は何でも作れたんだ。
戸棚が必要なら、父が作ってくれた。
If I were to translate this into ...
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Function of ておく in 伝えておきます
ておく basically means to do something in advance/preparation, and 伝えておきます seems to be a common saying for "I will tell somebody", e.g.
素晴らしい披露宴だったと彼に伝えておきます。
I do not understand how does ておく ...
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kamakaketa = having someone spill the beans?
In Episode 10 of "Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia", MC and love interest's older sister are talking. Older sister (as bait) says she heard love interest had confessed to MC, and MC responds all ...
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Is たべにいっている in the sentence 「かれはすしをたべにいっている」 correct?
I've got this sentence: かれはすしをたべにいっている。
Why is たべ which is たべる followed after by に and then by another verb? Is this correct?
Apparently it means "He is going to eat the sushi."
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Rules for にもかかわらず with な-adjectives
Lately I've been looking up some entries in "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar". Under the entry for にもかかわらず (p. 257), it describes the formation rules for な-adjectives as:
(iii)...
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How to say "must be" in the sense of making an affirmative guess?
Sorry if the question isn't clear enough. In English, we can make an affirmative guess based on prior information we received from someone/something by saying "X must be Y". Some example ...
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Grammar - ちょうど as an adverb and を verb omission (actual ところを)
Source
それで日本人ならば、ちょうど花見とか月見とか言う処を、蛙どもは雲見をやります。
Frogs do cloud seing in the exact same way that Japanese people do flower viewing or moon viewing.
Is ちょうど modifying やります? What is omitted after を? How ...
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What’s the difference between 1人のお客さん and お客さんの1人？ [duplicate]
Does one have a different meaning? My guess is that 1人のお客さん means "one guest", while お客さんの1人 means "one of the guests", but I'm not sure.
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Compound particles: ni wa [duplicate]
So I have this sentence: Sotsugyou paatii ni wa sanka shinai yotei desu.
Now if I take wa from the sentence, it should still mean the same. What is the purpose of wa in this sentence?
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can someone tell me whether or not japanese has the rule of omitting the comma,linking two different phrases like in this article i found on wikipedia
第一次若槻内閣(若槻禮次郎)は鈴木商店の不良債権を抱えた台湾銀行の救済のために緊急勅令を発しようとしたが、枢密院の反対にあい、総辞職した。
there is nothing to seperate the phrase :"鈴木商店の不良債権を抱えた" from "台湾銀行の救済のために緊急勅令を発しようとしたが"
i know i am just a ...
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Why is に{ni} used instead of を{wo} in ~に{ni}[当たる]{ataru}?
In this sentence:
[父]{chichi}[親]{oya} [が]{ga} [昔]{mukashi} [宝くじ]{takarakuji} [に]{ni} [当たった]{atatta} [こと]{koto} [を]{wo} [話した]{hanashita}。
[当たった]{atatta} is a verb taking the object [宝くじ]{takarakuji}. ...
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Why is が{ga} used instead of を{wo} in ~が{ga}[聞ける]{kikeru}?
Why is が{ga} used instead of を{wo} in ~が{ga}[聞ける]{kikeru} in the following sentence?
[日本]{nihon} [に]{ni} [いながら]{inagara}、[フランス語]{furansugo} [の]{no} [ラジオ]{rajio} [番組]{bangumi} [が]{ga} [聞ける]{kikeru}。
...
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Is there some poetic license in 止めど or is it following classical grammar?
This line is from the lyrics of a song called TSUNAMI
止めど流る清か水よ
消せど燃ゆる魔性の火よ
I had to look up the dictionary to understand what ど does in that line, and found an entry with this example.
呼べど答へず、...
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Meaning of となつかしむなり in this context?
End of chapter 33 of the manga 課長島耕作.
先斗町 袖より合うも 春の夜の 他生の縁と なつかしむなり
先斗町 is the setting of the chapter.
I guess 春の夜 doesn't differ from its dictionary entry:
short spring night
I know 袖より合うも他生の縁 is ...
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Usage of 脇付 depending on the sender and the addressee
According to these websites
https://bizushiki.com/wakiduke
https://origamijapan.net/origami/2018/06/05/wakizuke/
脇付 follow this classification when thinking on the sender and the addressee of a letter....
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What is the meaning of なのか in this sentences? Is it a grammar pattern?
私が家でよく作るのは、生姜焼きや唐揚げ、鍋料理などです。どれも、とても簡単ですよ！どんな料理なのかを、少し説明しますね。
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Negatives problem
According to Cure Dolly's guide,~ない is an adjective/auxiliary adjective used for describing state of non-existence/not doing. When we use an adjective, we have to use が because a subject state is ...
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あっちゃいけない - Grammatical origin
あっちゃいけない
I can find multiple example sentences for this but no explanation :
そのための売買市場がなぜあっちゃいけないんだろうね？
私だけが特別であっちゃいけないんです
そしてその権力者に仕える指導者たちもまた権力を振りかざすのがたまらなく好きだ43いいか、おまえたちは、そうであっちゃいけない！
The meaning ...
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"Ningen ga kurushindeiru" vs "ningen wa tsuyoi" [duplicate]
Ningen ga kurushindeiru means Humans are suffering while ningen wa tsuyoi means Humans are strong.
My question is can't we just say Ningen wa kurushindeiru?
My reason for asking this is because "...
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Confusing use of だけ
広間の中では、ゴーストとダンブルドアの白髪だけが同じようにキラキラ輝いているだけだった。
Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. (original Harry Potter text)
I'm having trouble ...
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Meaning of もの in どこに入れたものかな? [duplicate]
どこに入れたものかな?
I wonder where I should put you?
The context is deciding which class to place a student in. I have two problems:
Why is 入れた in the past tense? At the time this sentence is spoken the ...
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The actual meaning of 別に (べつに)
Though this question has been asked a lot, I do not find any explanation with the literal meaning and the logic behind the expression (with 別 referring to "distinction").
As a result, it's ...
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Question word + noun + にも
どの要求にも当てはまらないような気がした
He felt as though none of the requirements applied (to him)
I can't find anything that discusses the pattern "question word + noun + にも" as in the bold part of the ...
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