24
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Why can't だ be used after an I-adjective?
だ is the plain-form copula (the "is; to be" word). In the plain form, い adjectives already form a complete predicate (the piece of a sentence or clause that can complete that sentence or clause). In ...
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20
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Why can't だ be used after an I-adjective?
Grammatically speaking, there really are no adjectives in Japanese. i-adjectives are just special verbs. i-adjectives have many of the same inflections as do verbs, and they fulfill a grammatical role ...
- 1,268
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Is なんです the same as んです?
I think you have a few things mixed up.
Let's start with んです. This is not just one thing. It's two: ん＋です where ん is just short for the nominalizer の. Generally, this may be untranslatable when ...
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「です」, what is it really? Is my analysis correct?
Your collection of questions conflate a few things: 1) what is だ・です in modern Japanese, and 2) how did だ・です derive historically.
Because of #2, #1 is a bit ... messy. :) So let's start with the ...
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13
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Difference between どこですか and どこにいますか/どこにありますか?
The verb ある is translated "be located", so there's usually little semantic difference between どこですか？ and どこにありますか？ This rule can be further extended to XはYにあります = XはYです for a thing X and ...
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Why is 高いです acceptable but 高いではあります not acceptable?
This is because an i-adjective does not require だ (or its te-form で) in the first place. です at the end of a sentence like これは高いです is not a copula but a politeness marker which never conjugates.
Why ...
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12
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When to use である vs であります?
である is formal, but not polite
であります is formal and polite, but not humble
でございます is formal and polite and humble
だ is informal, but not polite
です is informal-* and polite
*- compared to である
A ...
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What does "da" mean in "tabeta bakari da"?
ばかり【bakari】 is a 副助詞 (adverbial particle), which is derived from the 連用形 (-masu stem) of the verb はかる. But the particle (and 連用形 in general) behaves much like a noun. (Join to other noun-like words ...
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11
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Difference between ます and です
です is the polite form of is/am/are/be. It can also come after adjectives to make a sentence polite. ます is an ending attached to verbs, and functions to make the sentence polite.
これは猫です。
This is a cat....
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10
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Difference between ます and です
Another beginner answering here.
ます is a (polite) verb ending.
The verb to eat (食べる) for example can be conjugated to 食べます, which can be used in polite speech.
です is a state of being, also to be ...
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Origin of the usage of な in ~なんだ
The な after -na adjectives is indeed the same な that appears in the explanatory sentence ending なんだ.
This gets long. I tried creating a "TL;DR" short version, but I couldn't figure out how ...
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8
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Attributive だろう
I think there is a slight difference in what the uncertainty is about:
… 六十五歳を過ぎ、<unsure>体力的な衰えを感じはじめた</unsure>だろう頃だ。
… <unsure>六十五歳を過ぎ、体力的な衰えを感じはじめた頃</unsure>だろう。
...
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Difference between だと vs と before 認める
The omission of the copula だ before a と meaning "as" is grammatically permitted, and common. And since the だ mostly serves a grammatical function, the meaning remains effectively the same after ...
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Difference between だと vs と before 認める
(Basically I agree with goldbrick, but I think I should post my own answer...)
一般に公正妥当と認められる企業の基準
一般に公正妥当だと認められる企業の基準
Despite mackygoo's statement, in my opinion, both 公正妥当と認められる and ...
- 307k
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For this sentence 本日は晴天なりといったとする, could I replace なり to です, if not, why?
It's very misleading to say なり is a literary or formal version of だ. It is an obsolete copula that is no longer actively used in Japanese. You'll never come across it in contemporary Japanese, but you ...
- 307k
7
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です after some verbs (ほしいです)
ほしい isn't a verb, it's an adjective. You can think of it like the English word "wanted"or "desired". So, a ほしいもの is a wanted or desired thing.
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What exactly is "なの" (nano)?
I stumbled across this question looking for something else, and I realize it's pretty old by the time I'm writing this, but while some of the answers did adequately cover the meaning/interpretation, ...
- 2,074
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Do I need to add "da" before "to iimashita"?
I would like to add a clarification to user4092's answer:
In English, present tense verbs are changed to past tense in reported speech.
"My mum said it was fun" would mean that she said she ...
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What is the meaning of で in this sentence
This 〜で is just connecting two です statements. Your sentence is basically just contracting this
オーストラリアは大陸です。そして、それから国です。 → Australia is a continent. It is also a country.
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When can AはBです mean 'A has B'
You can say/write (a bit less colloquially):
～～はXXする計画です。
～～はXXする予定です。
～～はXXする考えです。
to mean
～～はXXすることを計画しています。 ~~ is planning to do XX
～～はXXすることを予定しています。 ~~ is planning/scheduled to do ...
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6
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Overall syntax of this sentence
この部屋はシャワーだけだ makes sense at least in conversation. It means something like "This room is shower-only" by itself. この部屋はシャワーだ (literally "This room is a shower") sounds weird in isolation, but it still ...
- 307k
6
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「だが」は単なる「が」に言い換えることができますか
探してもこの用法に関する解説がなかなか見つかりませんので私も今一つ確信が持てませんが、
この「が」は、逆説の接続助詞の「が」ではなく、主語を表す格助詞の「が」の用法の一つだと思っています。
そのため、名詞（体言）の後ろに来るのは当たり前といえます。
似たような表現に、
「鍵を閉めたはずが、実は開いていた」
「前は小さかったのが、いつの間にか大きくなっている」
「遊びのつもりが、...
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「だが」は単なる「が」に言い換えることができますか
「つもりが」の「が」は「私が」の「が」と同じ名詞につく格助詞であり、「きれいだが」のように動詞・形容詞につく接続助詞ではありません。なので「つもりが」は「つもりだが」とは違う意味を表します。
違うとは言っても、用法的には似たような意味になります（そもそもこの二つの「が」は語源的に関係しているので）。この意味の「～が」は、事前に想定していた内容を表す名詞句 (noun phrase) をとり、「X ...
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6
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Can です be used attributively (as a modifier of a noun)?
According to this page, the attributive です connects to only ので and のに.
上の活用表で連体形の「です」が丸かっこで囲んであります。
これは、連体形の「です」が用いられるのは、助詞の「ので」「のに」が付く場合だけにかぎられるということを意味しています。つまり、連体形であっても、体言（名詞）は付きません。「雨です日」...
- 307k
6
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What's the usage of で in this sentence: 日本はユーラシア大陸の東にある島国で国の70%は山です。
日本はユーラシア大陸の東にある島国で国の70%は山です。
The で is the continuative form of the copula だ. Your translation looks good to me. You can split the sentence into two, like this:
日本はユーラシア大陸の東にある島国 だ/です。（そして）国の70%...
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5
votes
What does どくしんでハンサムだからね mean?
独身{どくしん} で ハンサム だから ね
Without further context it's hard to tell who is the subject/object of this phrase, but it shall be read:
It's because だから
someone
is single and... どくしんで
handsome ハンサム
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Noun + da kara desu -- why are da and desu mixed? why not both "da" or both "desu"?
Basically, the casual form is ～だからだ and its polite form is ～だからです. e.g.
ネコだからだ(よ)。
人間だからです。
坊やだからさ。
The から is a 接続助詞(conjunctive particle), definition #1 in デジタル大辞泉:
2⃣ [接助]活用語の終止形に付く。 １ ...
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