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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Translating the idea of the verb "to mean"
Let's say I'm explaning the meaning of a word in my mother tongue to a Japanese.
'Pomme' means apple in French.
I have three possibilities of translating this.
ポムとは、フランス語でりんごっていう意味だ。
ポムとは、...
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Why is this は positioned like that here?
For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/web_tokushu/2018_0202.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-closeup_002
The sentence in question:
山田さんによると、八王子は何度か大規模な火災に見舞われ、戦時中は大規模な空襲も受けたことから、...
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Topic at the end of an utterance
So, I'm well aware that Japanese follows an SOV sentence structure. However, I see -very often- the topic appearing at the end of an utterance, rather than at the beginning. For example:
きれいですね、...
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長くしました: Make long or make longer?
Regarding panda viewing times at Ueno zoo:
動物園はたくさんの人に見てもらうために、シャンシャンを見ることができる時間を２時間半長くしました。
The zoo has made the time when you can see the panda two and a half hours long(er) so that lots of ...
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Does this ３度まで refer to quantity or frequency?
For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20180125/k10011302761000.html
The sentence in question:
熊野那智大社によりますと、２５日午前７時の滝の周辺の気温は氷点下３度まで下がったということです。
My attempt at tramslation:
"When it ...
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「たら〜のに」Grammar help!
I've looked up the 「たら〜のに」grammar, and the site says it means "would have/could have" but I'm having trouble with the potential verb 食える. I know it means "can eat" but I don't know the English ...
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Did I interprete this 反対してきました correctly?
For full context:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10011277371000/k10011277371000.html
The sentence in question:
ローマ法王は、今までも「人間は広島や長崎から何も学んでいない」などと言って、核兵器に反対してきました。
My attempt at translation:
"...
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I don't understand the usage of で in this sentance
This is from the headline of a news article in NHK News Easy.
日本の人口が減る 赤ちゃんが今まで「で」いちばん少ない
Can someone explain this one to me? Thanks!
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～になった versus ～された
Consider the following sentences.
警察官が免許を没収した。The police officer seized (my) license.
免許が警察官に没収された。(My) license was confiscated by the police officer.
If I want to use 「免許が没収になった。」, how can I insert ...
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Examples of how to use した, しも and もと for 下?
So far I learned that these three words mean "below" or "bottom", is it right? If so, are they interchangeable? Could you give me some example and preferably some explanation about how to use them?
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Difference between ようにする and ようになる [duplicate]
What I knew about the ようにする／なる is 'to make sure'
What are the difference in usage?
Please give me examples of each
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can you use ありき as a な-adjective
someone says this in a book:
でもスキルが生きるかどうかは人格ありきなわけだから
whether someone is skilled ... something to do with personality. what does ありき mean here? I found it as a noun meaning location of something ...
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What is this form: Vb + あう + Noun
As I was browsing the Nintendo e-shop, I noticed a new title whose tagline is:
美少女｛びしょうじょ｝と美少女と美少女が惹｛ひ｝かれあうRPG
(Don't judge...)
How to interpret this 惹かれるあう? I understand that the appeal of the ...
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Can verb in past tense + あと act as a noun?
日本で去年亡くなった人は約１３０万人で、２０年前の１．５倍ぐらいになっています。自分が亡くなったあとの葬式や墓について考えている人も増えています。
1.3 million people died in Japan last year; around 1.5 times as many as 20 years ago. The number of people who are thinking ...
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How is と呼ばれる used?
I am reading Tobira and came across this sentence:
日本の国土は、北海道、本州、四国、九州と呼ばれる四つの大きい島と６０００以上の小さい島でできています。
Is と呼ばれる similar to the usage of と言う? I could not find "toyobareru" on the web or in a grammar ...
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What does this expression mean in this context?
For full context, see here:
https://www.docdroid.net/dEbqqGI/img-20170816-0001-new.pdf
The sentence in question is from line 13-14:
ほかにいいの、ありませんか。
In context of this dialogue, there's a high ...
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Are these -てから the same?
I just encountered the following sentence:
A) 祖父は生まれてから死ぬまで、この町に住んでいました。
B) お金を入れてから、このボタンを押してください。
Sentence B says "After you have inserted money, push this button please."
Sentence A ...
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How to say "I think studying English is easier for Brazilians than for Japanese"
I wanna say "I think that for Brazilians, studying English is easier than it is for Japanese"
I know how to make simple comparisons like
お寿司の価格の方がラーメンより高い
but I am having trouble coming up with ...
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use of noun then comma and そして
I dont understand this sentence:
Action servletは、リクエストのリクエストURLと対応するPATH、そしてACTIONクラスの完全修飾名を定義しているACTIONMAPPINGの集合によりなりたっています。
Does this mean: "the collection 'action'mapping, which defines the ...
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'のために’ Usage - Why is 「私の ため に 日本語 で 話してください」 incorrect?
For reference, I don't have a teacher.
An online resource I used described 'のために' as being 'for the benefit' of when a verb is involved - the structure being NOUN のために VERB
The example given was
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Do particles like を、で、に、and へ、form noun-phrases?
Can particles like を、で、に、and へ be used like nouns?
Can you do something like:
[ 学校 + に ] + の + 学生 + です。= 学校にの学生です。
[ School + at ] + *'s + student + is. = To-be at-school's student.
Is this kind of ...
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行っちまった and 行っちゃった differences?
I hear them a lot in anime, are they the same?
I think the formal form should be 行ってしまいました／行ってしまった. Is it?
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こと vs. の in this sentence
This is kind of a follow-up question to this one:
Problem with のが in this sentence
To give a quick overview, in this sentence そこで、マッカーサーが自分で作って見たのが地図Aである の had a function I must admit I still can't ...
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How do you say "(noun) is more/less (adj) to (person A) than to (person B)"?
For example "That movie was less scary to me than it was to you."
The best I can manage is something like "私にとってよりあの映画はあなたにとってこわい。” but it feels off, and checking with Google doesn't seem to turn up ...
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What's a formal way of saying "seems like"?
I'm writing a formal essay and I need to use what's equivalent of 〜そうです for "seems like"
Please help
Thanks!
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What is the correct grammar particle for 'for'?
If I want to say, for example,
I'm waiting for Jason
or
I'm not in this for the money
What would be the particle? Ni?
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Meaning of てなきゃ in this sentence?
While playing a Japanese mobile horror game, a girl appears with a knife in hand and says the following:
「おとなしくしてなきゃダメじゃない」
I can guess this probably means something like It's a problem if you don'...
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dai 3 ka renshuu A 5 ( minna no nihongo 1 )
i have a doubt. In the lesson 3 practice A 5:
[x] wa [ y ] desu
x= something
y= place
That mean the X is in the place Y. Like in " The CAR ( x ) is in the GARAGE ( y ) "
BUT the exemples are ...
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Help me to understand やらなきゃいけない and やらなきゃならない
Need more clarity on short forms.
やらなきゃいけない
やらなければいけません
やらなきゃならない
やらなければなりません
As per my understanding all phrase will give same meaning. "Must do". I know this is very basic question ...
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Is this sentence 私の家族の一人は痩せて、かわいい the correct translation of
Is the sentence
私の家族の一人は痩せて、かわいい
a correct translation of
One of my family members is thin and cute
?
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Person I Like vs Person Who Likes Me
From what I understand 好きな人 refers to "the person I like".
How do I express "the person who likes me"?
Preferably the most naturally casual way.
I want to use it in casual ...
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Help understanding N＋でいる+ N
This is the the full sentence below:
A: メールで経歴などはお知らせいただきましたが、今日はさくひんはお持ちですか。
B: はい、もってまいりました。ご覧いただけますでしょうか。
まだ勉強不足ですが、専門家でいらっしゃる先生にいろいろアドバイスいただければと思っております。
The book I was reading was teaching ...
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Fixing my grammar on a line in my essay
I'm revising an essay that I wrote and one of my lines is a little beyond my current grammar abilities. My original line is:
友達はそこに行ったことは分かったことはありません
What I'm trying to say is:
My friend still ...
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Is 「かれがしょうねんですしかよ！」 grammatically correct? (「です」 before 「しか」?)
I was thinking today of how I would describe things in Japanese. One of these things was 'He's just a boy!', which I more or less worked out to be 「かれがしょうねんですしかよ！」which I THINK is correct, but still ...
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Can you disambuguate a specific noun from a general noun with たち
A person was talking about living near a particular mountain. I want to say:
I want to live near the mountains too
where I mean mountains in general, not the specific one he is talking about.
If I ...
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can の as "'s" be used with verbs?
This is actually more than one question but they are connected, I dont know how to post them separated and make sense.
I was reading a translation of ゆめの続きはどこだ!? as "Where Does the Dream Continue?!
...
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Using に in place of が
ボクラなんて、印象に残らないだろうね、
People like us probably don't make an impression.
I belive 残る is intransitive so I suppose the literal translation is more like "For people like us an impression is probably not ...
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Difference between かわいいのは私です and かわいいの私です?
Can someone check and explain the difference, along with literal translations, between these two sentences for me?
かわいいのは私です and かわいいの私です.
I got the former as an answer to one of my questions and ...
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Why the くれる verb is gone in the させるform?
The book I'm reading is giving examples of how direct instructions can be written as indirect instructions using させるform.
As in:
Sensei: 作文を書きなさい。
Indirect >> 先生は学生に作文を書かせました。
I clearly ...
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What does と言ってしまった mean?
この前、大嫌いと言ってしまったのに*。
Translated as:
Even though I told him that I hate him so much.
I understand most of it except for しまった。Looks like a verb in past form, しまる? 閉まる? That doesn't seem to make ...
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What's the meaning of 「〜どんなに抵抗しようとも限り…」
I cannot find any material relating to this grammar point. Give the following example, could you explain what the meaning of this grammar is?
どんなに抵抗しようとも限り生きている人はいつかは死ぬ。
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Any special meaning for "negative verb+なる (なってくる)"?
In the ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 manga (v.5 ch.32) there's a sentence
また、南町にコーヒー豆が入らなくなってきて、今日は、うちも休日。
English translation reads
I need to visit the south town for coffee beans again, but today is a day off ...
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「三昧だと」と「帰宅しようとしていた」 meaning?
I can read this sentence for the most part but i can't seem to quite translate it properly or into something that flows naturally.
he's talking from a view of recalling a set of memories.
...
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V-ている方が meaning
遠坂はしゃがみ込んで、倒れた女生徒を介抱している。
その横顔は真剣そのものだ。
額に汗を浮かばせながら、女生徒の安否を気遣う。
…なんだろう。
その、見ている方が痛みを覚えるほどの真剣な顔を、俺は。
つい最近、すごく間近で見た覚えが---
Tohsaka squats down and start to look after the collapsed student....
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What's the difference between あって vs ありまして?
I was taught that the て form of the verb ある is あって, but I sometimes see the word ありまして acting in the same way. What's the difference and when would you use one or the other?
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じゃ意味がない / じゃNounがない
I am quite familiar with Noun じゃない and Na-adj じゃない - in both cases, they negate the noun or na-adjective, and じゃ is a colloquial form of では; ない is the plain form of ありません.
I also know that じゃ conveys ...
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Understanding a sentence 〜声が誰のものか
それでも、俺はその繊細な声が誰のものかすぐに気づく。
Does もの here refer to a voice?
If so, would there be any difference between the above and the following?
それでも、俺はその繊細な声が誰の声かすぐに気づく。
Is it simply to avoid repetition? If ...
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How to say that I've had an interest in the Japanese culture since x?
The origins of my interest in the Japanese language is something that natives often ask about, but I'm always having trouble with the grammar for answering that and want to rest this case once and for ...
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Verb dictionary form+よう
……久しぶりに自分に戻れた。
こうして筆を持つのは何ヶ月ぶりか。
おそらく次はないだろう。
筆はここで止める事にする。
私の死後、これはアキハに渡すよう娘に言いつけた。
アキハがこれを読むかどうかは解らない。
だが一度でも目を通したのなら、必ず処分する事。
それが私、遠野槙久が我が娘にあてる、ただ一つの遺言である。
After a long time I ...
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Is お needed before 誕生日おめでとう (Happy birthday)?
お誕生日おめでとう vs 誕生日おめでとう
What's the difference? And is it needed?
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