Questions tagged [particles]
助詞. Non-inflecting function words which follow words, phrases, or entire sentences.
0
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1answer
35 views
What does のかもな mean at the end of a sentence?
I played a game (visual novel for PS2) in Japanese. And I came across this sentence:
でも、あの時の俺は、本当は違ったのかもな。。。
And I was wondering what the part after 違う(ちがう）means. I guess, that の may change it ...
2
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0answers
75 views
Usage of ところ to represent time with に and で
I am trying to understand the grammar of using ところ with に and で when using ところ to represent the time that actions have happened.
These are (ungrammatical) sentences I made up:
1) ...
0
votes
1answer
137 views
Shigeru Miyamoto interview
I always have difficulty understanding 宮本 茂. His Japanese is like the hardest to understand. I can watch whole anime's with no problem, and read through lots of text in video games and manuals, but ...
4
votes
2answers
102 views
What nouns can ながら turn into adverbs, and how does this differ from に? (残念ながら、当然ながら…)
I learned 残念ながら quite early on and simply took it at face value, but as I've gained experience in Japanese I've come to question why this piece of grammar has two seemingly unrelated uses - expressing ...
4
votes
1answer
106 views
Particle missing in 'こんなにおいしいの食べたことありません'
I saw following sentence in one text book
こんなにおいしいの食べたことありません
But I would expect
こんなにおいしいのは食べたことがありません
Can both 'は' and 'が' be omitted here?
4
votes
2answers
145 views
Alternative to の
I would like to translate this sentence:
In order to compensate the deviation of the actual from the requested output current, the input voltage must be adjusted.
I would try as follows:
...
1
vote
1answer
57 views
～う／ることが（は、も）ある construction
During my studies I faced a situation where I stuck with understanding this construction. My textbook said that various particles can be used there but it hasn't explained the function of each ...
5
votes
1answer
69 views
で used with non-action verbs like あります
On another forum I encountered the sentence 私の国では色々な店にあります。I understood it as “In my country [it] is in various stores.” But I am wondering about the use of the particle で. In common grammatical ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
What Is The Difference Between 「好きじゃないです」and 「好きではないんです。」?
I understand that they both mean I do not like, but I'm not sure what exactly 「好きではない」means. Moreover, does the particle 'では'make a difference, or could you have just used 'は'?
Thank you
2
votes
0answers
132 views
が in the expression “耳が聞こえない”
I tried to translate this phrase literally and came up with "(My) ears can't hear". Since the expression means "(I'm) deaf", this makes sense.
However, I can't really get it to work grammatically, ...
7
votes
1answer
733 views
The difference between 時 and 時は
I know that it's correct to use は after 時, and it's also correct to omit it. For example:
子供の 時、よく海で泳ぎました。
子供の 時は、よく海で泳ぎました。
How does the meaning of the sentence change when the particle is ...
2
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0answers
29 views
The particle は before 押す [duplicate]
スイッチは押しましたか。
Can を be used in place of は here? (Have you pressed the switch? / Did you press the switch?)
押す is a transitive verb, so the use of は is confusing. Thank you for your help!
3
votes
2answers
159 views
Will expression retain the same definition if particle is changed?
自分を奮い立たせるために、わざと自分の考えを声に出し行動を始めた。
I came across the expression 声を出す on jisho.org. I don't know if replacing the expression's を with に (because を is already used earlier in the sentence) will allow me ...
3
votes
2answers
108 views
“~たい”-form and associated particle usage
My question is about the "~たい"-form ("want to").
I know that in a sentence containing this form, you can use は to mark the person who desires something. For example, "私は、東京に行きたい".
But then I came ...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
Dictionary form + と for a single occasion
自由が丘の駅で、大井町線から降りると、ママはトットちゃんの手を引っ張って、改札口を出ようとした。
As far as I know, a dictionary verb form + と is used to mean "when/if", "whenever" (e.g. 秋になると、木が赤くなります (it's always like that)).
But the sentence ...
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0answers
83 views
What is the meaning of ご in どうかご in the following sentence? [closed]
If it helps at all with the context, I'm going to put down the sentence that comes before the dialogue. The silver-haired man is now listening to the other character's reply, the start of which I am ...
2
votes
0answers
91 views
Word Order - は and が Particles
Today I learn that word order is not very strict in Japanese. You could change the order of noun phrases with no loss of meaning, as long as the correct particles are used.
I've learned this with the ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
How to specify a day and a shop/office/etc. when asking for business hours? [closed]
I'm very sorry this is a very basic Question, I just started learning japanese as my third language (german being my native one and english my second) and Right now I learned a basic way of asking for ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
何を食べても美味しくない vs 魚を食べてもいい
歯が痛くて何を食べても美味しくない
vs
魚を食べてもいい
The first example seems to me as though
何ても - anything
and in the middle is
食べ
So basically reading as Anything Eaten is not delicious
but the second example ...
10
votes
1answer
187 views
Meaning of「残るは」in a sentence
Came across this sentence in a memoir and I have a grammar question about it. For context, a person is thinking about someone sleeping nearby:
さっき声をかけてきたヤツは当分寝ないだろ。残るは寝ているか寝ていないかわからない隣の隣。
...
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0answers
46 views
Implied particles in the lyrics “桜咲いてひとひら / 秘めた想い預けて”
The lyrics are from this song (lyrics are in tab in the main info box.)
I am pretty sure that 秘めた想い預けて = 秘めた想い[を]預けて in this context. But I'm not so sure how to understand the lyrics as a whole.
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9
votes
2answers
183 views
plain form + bakari vs. te form + bakari
How to translate plain form + ばかり? And what's the difference between plain form + ばかり vs. te form + ばかり?
For example:
赤ちゃんが泣いてばかりいます。In my understanding this means "The baby is always crying/does ...
8
votes
2answers
128 views
Difference between も and だって
Both of those particles can mean "too", "even" or "any" (when used with wh-question). Do they have any difference in meaning or connotation when used like this? E.g. 私もフランスに行きたい vs 私だってフランスに行きたい.
3
votes
1answer
99 views
Confusion about 大したこと(で)(は)ない
There are three variations on this phrase that I can find in Google, and I'm not sure whether all three are really used, or how frequently. But I am confused about the differences between them.
...
4
votes
1answer
229 views
The difference between 'no naka' and 'no naka ni'
I understand that 'no naka' means 'in' or 'inside', but how does the meaning change when 'ni' is placed after it?
For example:
Hako no naka - inside the box.
Hako no naka ni - ???
2
votes
1answer
68 views
か after short forms
In the Genki textbook, it is said that "In the casual conversational use of short forms, question sentences do not end with the question particle か, but with rising intonation alone."
Nonetheless, in ...
4
votes
1answer
117 views
「を」Vてある - Typo or actual construction?
Seen in the introduction to a book entitled 日本語文法ハンドブック, so it would greatly surprise me if it's a typo. Each section in the book is broken into parts and one is entitled "これだけは", being described ...
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0answers
44 views
Particles after に [duplicate]
I've been given two examples:
Niwa ni ki ga arimasu
and
Kono heya ni wa nani ga arimasu ka?
Why is wa required in the second sentence, but not in the first one?
Thank you in advance!
3
votes
0answers
72 views
“と” plus a clause — but what is it doing? [duplicate]
I have a question about a passage in an article I'm reading. For context, here's the passage:
仕事はご縁。もちろん求められていることができる能力がなければ元も子もないが、そこさえクリアしていれば、あとは相性だったりタイミングだったりする。そんなご縁が転がっているかもしれないと、...
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0answers
55 views
Clarification of -たら context [duplicate]
I read the following sentence on the BBC Japanese site:
「そうしたら温かいものに触れて、直感的に下を見たら、小さな赤ちゃんの頭と両腕が見えた」
Until now I understood the -たら form only to mean "if", but the 見たら in this sentence indicates that ...
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votes
1answer
99 views
Use of 当たる in this sentence
Character A and B (A's coach) discuss C (A's opponent), who is known for having an amazing defense. Then C joins in and positively talks with B about A's potential. Then C drops this line:
...
4
votes
1answer
98 views
What`s the meaning of のを and だと in this text?
**
この羽織は、三輪田のお光さんのおっかさんが織ってくれたのを、紋付に染めて、お光さんが縫い上げたものだと、母の手紙に長い説明がある.
**
I can grasp the overall meaning: in mom's letter there is a long explanation about the fact that omitsu's mother wove a ...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
What is 「や」doing in these sentences?
From a book about space:
近年になり、観測技術の向上や大きなプロジェクトとして取り組まれるようになって、惑星の存在の確認が待たれていたのです。
And from a ghost story:
そんな訳で、小学生の頃は友達と学校帰りや家に帰ってから山へ入り、虫取りや秘密基地を作ったりして泥だらけになるまで遊んでいました。
The や seems like ...
2
votes
1answer
138 views
Why we should use “を” instead of “に” when talking about a place?
I have a question regarding this sentence:
かのじょといっしょにこうえんをさんぽします。
If the "を" marks a direct object of a sentance, why we use it the way it looks above.
Could we use here "に" instead of "を"?
...
2
votes
2answers
110 views
Verb woes; two or three questions
I'm working on a translation and there's this one line I can get through but can't get a handle on.
こんなヤツに負けおって
いままで何のために練習
してきたと思っておる!
Problem 1 is that I can't figure out if this is one sentence ...
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vote
0answers
80 views
How to express future times?
I'm a little confused on how exactly I would say "I'm going to Japan in 2 months." I don't want to make it seem like I'm saying "I'm going to Japan for 2 months"
What would be the difference between ...
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votes
3answers
117 views
What is the grammatical function of と in the sentence 同じ心を持った人は二人といない
What is the grammatical function of と in the sentence:
同じ心を持った人は二人といない。
7
votes
2answers
228 views
Why is 何が used to mean “sorry for what?” instead of 何で?
I was watching an anime where character A apologizes to character B after trying to kiss her:
A: ごめん！I’m sorry!
B: 何が？言ってみて！For what? Just try to say it!
My question is why was が used after ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
What does「のには」mean in this sentence?
[彼女]{かのじょ}が[最初]{さいしょ}に[来]{き}たのにはびっくりした。
What is the usage of のには?
I think that「の」means「こと」, that is, a generic event. But I can't understand the usage of には in this case.
5
votes
2answers
130 views
Changing を to は in negative statements
I've got confused and have a few questions:
In some situations speaker is obligated to change the particle e.g. answering yes/no questions.
Question: あなたはくじにひこうきにのりますか。(A)
Answer: いいえ、わたしはくじ ...
2
votes
1answer
131 views
is “と” always needed for when saying ”with?"
can I say しごとがんばってね for saying have a nice day at work? do I need the particle と to make it "with work" しごととがんばってね
2
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0answers
71 views
Why is this sentence using が here? [duplicate]
娘が一人で服が着られるようになった。
着る is supposed to take を but it's using が here. Why?
1
vote
0answers
44 views
Reason why に is used in this sentence [duplicate]
The title for the fifth episode of My Hero Academia is
今僕に出来ることを which means "What I can do now". The problem is I don't understand why they decided to use に instead of just using が after 僕.
Again, ...
1
vote
1answer
106 views
Usage of で after みんな [duplicate]
これしかないから みんなでどうにかやってきたんだろう
In the sentence above, why after みんな, instead of particle は or particle が, particle で is used?
3
votes
1answer
81 views
Particle “に” in sentences with “です” and “あります”
I do not quite understand why some sentences do not need particle に.
For example:
いすはテーブルの上です
Instead, is it gramatically correct to say:
いすはテーブルの上にです
Like in this sentence:
いすはテーブルの上にあります
...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
「に」used to signify addition? [duplicate]
There are several instances where I noticed people use に to mean something along the lines of "and". Here's an example: https://youtu.be/3cjyUg-XjjU?t=24
I think the narrator says, "修理人が使う道具は、牛の皮、...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
Sentence-ending で in a formal context
I am aware that there is another question that talks about sentence-ending で. But the example in that question is in an informal setting.
I have an example of a sentence-ending で in a newspaper ...
3
votes
0answers
83 views
日本語教室 versus 日本語の教室 [duplicate]
I know that it's correct to say 日本語教室, and it's also correct to say 日本語の教室. I am confused by 日本語教室. From my understanding, the particle の connects 2 nouns. For example, さくら大学の学生 (there is no particle ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Grammatic relationships inside a sentence - parsing
once again I need again your help:
I have this sentence and also its translation (same auther/text as here) :
まだどこにも兆{きざ}していない死苦{しく}が、感覚{かんかく}を灼{や}けた鉄{てつ}のように真赤{まっか}に鍛{きた}えてくれるのを感{かん}じた。
I think I ...
2
votes
0answers
23 views
Using the particle と instead of the particle で [duplicate]
Can I say 家族と instead of 家族で in the sentence below?
今年の夏、私は家族で山の中にあるホテルに泊まりました。
If I can, how does the meaning of the sentence change if I use the different particle?
Another example:
兄弟で遊びます。
...
