Basic Japanese

Talking about activities

This chapter shows you how to express a variety of activities while paying close attention to the time and the aspect of the action using different kinds of adverbs and verb forms. You’ll learn how to talk about activities that occur often in your life, activities you’ve done in the past, and activities you’re planning to do. You’ll also learn how to express your abilities and how to make requests.

Recurring activities

Here you’ll learn how to talk about the activities you do daily, using a variety of verbs for actions.

Words for proportional frequency

Adverbs like usually and always refer to proportional frequency:

The direct object marker o

For many actions, you need to specify the item that the action directly affects or applies to. These items are traditionally called direct objects in grammar. A direct object can be a thing or a person. In English, we know which noun is the direct object because it immediately follows a verb, without an intervening preposition. By contrast, in Japanese, the word order can be flexible. However, a direct object is clearly marked by the particle o. Read the following sentences and identify the direct object in each:

Haha wa yoku kki o tsukurimasu.

My mother often makes a cake.

Tanjbi ni tomodachi o go-nin shtai shimasu.

I’ll invite five of my friends on my birthday.

Daily routines

Certain actions are part of the daily routine for almost everyone. For example:

Specifying the location of activities with de

To specify the location of an activity, use the particle de. For example:

Uchi de eiga o mimasu.

I watch a movie at home.

Think of de as marking what is being used for the action. It could be a transportation method, the location of an activity, a tool, or some means. For example:

Kuruma de ikimasu.

I go there by car.

Toshokan de benky shimasu.

I study at the library.

Hashi de tabemasu.

I eat with chopsticks.

Nihon-go de hanashite kudasai.

Please speak in Japanese.

Activities on weekends

What do you do on weekends? Read manga? Watch anime? Practice karate? You can use the following phrases to express what you do on weekends:

The verb to play

The English verb to play is translated in Japanese differently depending on what is done. For playing a sport or game, use suru (to do). For playing a musical instrument, use a verb that applies to the particular instrument—such as hiku for string instrument and keyboard and fuku (to blow) for wind instruments. When you’re using to play as an intransitive verb, as in Children are playing, use asobu (to play).

Translate the following sentences into English.

Complete each of the following sentences with ni or o. For a greater challenge, cover the English translations.

1.
Depto ______ ikimasu.
I will go to a department store.

2.
Kki ______ tsukurimasu.
I will make a cake.

3.
Shinbun ______ yomimasu.
I will read a newspaper.
( shinbun means newspaper)

4.
Eiga ______ mimasu.
I will watch a movie.

5.
Yfuku ______ kaimasu.
I will buy clothes.

6.
Tenisu ______ shimasu.
I will play tennis.

7.
Gmu ______ shimasu.
I will play a game.

8.
Uchi ______ kaerimasu.
I will go home.

Complete each of the following sentences with de or ni. For a greater challenge, cover the English translations.

1.
I will go home.
Uchi _____ kaerimasu.

2.
Uchi _____ nemasu.
I will sleep at home.

3.
Takush _____ uchi _____ kaerimasu.
I will go home by taxi.

4.
Resutoran _____ ikimasu.
I will go to a restaurant.

5.
Resutoran _____ tabemasu.
I will eat at a restaurant.

6.
Eigakan _____ eiga o mimasu.
I will watch a movie at a movie theater.

7.
Uchi _____ pasokon _____ anime o mimasu.
I will watch anime at home using a computer.

Complete each of the following sentences with o, de, or ni. For a greater challenge, cover the English translations.

1.
Uchi _____ kki _____ tabemasu.
I will eat a cake at home.

2.
Kki _____ uchi _____ tabemasu.
I will eat a cake at home.

3.
Kuruma _____ Bosuton _____ ikimasu.
I will go to Boston by car.

4.
Watashi wa fku to naifu _____ tabemasu.
I eat with a fork and a knife.

5.
Haha wa hashi _____ tabemasu.
My mother eats with chopsticks.

6.
Ani wa karate to kend _____ shimasu.
My older brother does karate and kendo.

Translate the following passage into English.

Shmatsu wa taitei gozench ni kaimono ni ikimasu. Depto ni yoku ikimasu. Sorekara, resutoran de shokuji o shimasu. Sorekara, gogo, eigakan de eiga o mimasu.

( sorekara means then, in addition)

In Japanese, write what you do on weekends.

Identifying the action performer

In Japanese, the subject noun is marked by the particle ga. The subject noun can be the person who performs the action. If you want to specify the person who accompanies the person for doing the same action, use the particle to.

Specifying the action performer with the subject marker ga

The subject is marked by ga. For example:

Dare ga git o hikimasuka.

Who will play the guitar? / Who plays the guitar?

Yamada-san ga hikimasu.

Ms. Yamada will play it. / Ms. Yamada plays it.

The subject noun can also be the topic of the sentence at the same time in many cases. Then, the topic particle wa discussed in Chapter 2 can mark the subject, covering and hiding the particle ga. For example:

Yamada-san wa git o hikimasu.

Ms. Yamada will play the guitar. / Ms. Yamada plays the guitar.

Specifying the accompanying action performer with to

When one does something with someone else, the latter person is marked by the particle to. For example:

Ky wa Tanaka-san ga Yamada-san to uchi ni kimasu.

Mr. Tanaka will come to my house with Ms. Yamada today.

Of course, you can rephrase it like this:

Ky wa Tanaka-san to Yamada-san ga uchi ni kimasu.

Mr. Tanaka and Ms. Yamada will come to my house today.

See Chapter 3 for using the particle to for listing items as in the above sentence.

Complete each of the following sentences with either ga or o. For a greater challenge, cover the English translations.

1.
Tanaka-san ga Mori-san _____ shtai-shimasu.
Mr. Tanaka invites Mr. Mori.
( shtai-suru means to invite)

2.
Mori-san o Tanaka-san _____ shtai-shimasu.
Mr. Tanaka invites Mr. Mori.

3.
Ashita wa haha _____ tenpura _____ tsukurimasu. Sushi wa chichi _____ tsukurimasu.
Tomorrow, my mother will make tempura. My father will make sushi.

4.
Tanaka-san wa wain _____ kaimasu.
Mr. Tanaka will buy a bottle of wine.

Complete each of the following sentences with to or o. For a greater challenge, cover the English translations.

1.
Chichi wa Chgokugo _____ hanashimasu.
My father speaks Chinese.

2.
Haha wa yoku ani _____ hanashimasu.
My mother often speaks with my older brother.

3.
Watashi wa tokidoki uchi de ane _____ utaimasu.
I sometimes sing with my older sister at home.

4.
Watashi wa yoku kafeteria de Tanaka-san _____ Yamada-san _____ mimasu.
I often see Mr. Tanaka and Ms. Yamada at the cafeteria.

5.
Ky wa haha _____ eiga _____ mi ni ikimasu.
I will go to watch a movie with my mother today.

The following was written by Mika. Read it and answer the questions that follow.

Ban-gohan wa itsumo haha ga tsukurimasu. Taitei ane ga tetsudaimasu. Shmatsu no asa-gohan wa watashi ga tsukurimasu. Yoku pankki o tsukurimasu. Nichiybi no hiru-gohan wa kazoku de resutoran de tabemasu.

( ban-gohan means dinner; tetsudau means to help; asa-gohan means breakfast; hiru-gohan means lunch; kazoku de means with family)

1. Who cooks dinner? ______________________

2. When does Mika cook? ______________________

3. When do they eat at a restaurant? ______________________

Talking about the past

To describe some incidents or events in the past, use the past tense of verbs. It is also always effective to connect sentences appropriately, indicating however, then, in addition, or therefore.

… mashita and masendeshita

To express past actions, replace masu with mashita and masen with masendeshita. For example:

Kanji o kakimashita.

I wrote kanji.

Kanji o kakimasendeshita.

I did not write kanji.

The following table summarizes non-past and past forms for both affirmative and negative polite suffixes:

The colloquial substandard form of the past negative form can be create by changing nai in the nai form with nakatta desu, as in kakanakatta desu. The nai form is introduced later in this chapter.

The conjunctions sorekara, demo, and desukara

When talking about one’s actions, it’s useful to use a conjunction such as however, then, in addition, or therefore. Some useful conjunctions are listed in the following table:

For each of the following, choose the appropriate answer from the options in the parentheses. For a greater challenge, cover the English translations.

1.
Kin wa terebi o mimashita. Sorekara, supagett o (tabemasu, tabemashita).
I watched TV yesterday. Then, I ate spaghetti.

2.
Sushi wa tabemasu. Demo, sashimi wa (tabemasu, tabemasen).
I eat sushi. However, I do not eat sashimi.

3.
Haha wa Nihon-jin desu. Desukara, watashi wa Nihon-go o (hanashimasu, hanashimasen).
My mother is Japanese. So, I speak Japanese.

4.
Haha wa Nihon-jin desu. Demo, watashi wa Nihon-go o (hanashimasu, hanashimasen).
My mother is Japanese. However, I don’t speak Japanese.

5.
Kyonen wa Nihon-go o benky-shimashita. Demo, kanji wa benky-(shimashita, shimasendeshita).
I studied Japanese last year. However, I did not study kanji.

Expressing your plans

Here you will learn how to express your intentions and your future plans using the correct verb forms.

… tsumori desu

To say I plan to …, use a verb in the plain non-past form and add tsumori desu. You already know the plain non-past affirmative form, which is the dictionary form, introduced in Chapter 4. For example:

Iku tsumori desu.

I plan to go.

The plain non-past negative form always ends in nai, so we call it the nai form for short. For example:

Ikanai tsumori desu.

I plan not to go.

Nai form

You make a nai form by dropping ru or u from the dictionary form and adding nai or anai. The following table lists representative ru verbs and u verbs as well as the two major irregular verbs in the dictionary form and the nai form. To conjugate a verb, find out its verb class (ru verb, u verb, or irregular verb) and check the ending of the dictionary form, and then follow the pattern of one of the verbs in the following table. Note that when a verb ends in a vowel directly followed by u, or in other words, when a verb ends in the hiragana u, its nai form is formed by adding wanai after dropping the final u. For example, the nai form of kau (buy) is kawanai.

Conjugate the following verbs into the nai form. The verb class is specified only when it is not predictable based on the ending sound of the verb.

Rephrase the following sentences using tsumori desu.

1.
Rainen Nihon ni ikimasu.
I will go to Japan next year.

2.
Daigakuin ni wa ikimasen.
I won’t to go to graduate school.

3.
Nichiybi ni sji to sentaku to kaimono o shimasu.
I will do cleaning, laundry, and shopping on Sunday.

4.
Konban wa nemasen.
I won’t sleep tonight.

Telling what you can do: Potential form

To say what you can do, you use a verb in the potential form. For ru verbs, drop the final ru from the dictionary form and add rareru. For example, taberu (to eat) becomes taberareru (to be able to eat). For u verbs, drop the final u and add eru. For example, nomu (to drink) becomes nomeru (to be able to drink). The potential form of the verb kuru (to come) is korareru (to be able to come). To express the potential form of the verb suru (to do), use the verb dekiru (to be able to do). To convert a verb to the potential form, look at the following table and follow the pattern of the verb in the same class and with the same ending:

A verb in the potential form can conjugate just like another ru verb. For example, the potential form of taberu (to eat) is taberareru (to be able to eat). It can be conjugated to taberarenai (not to be able to eat), and taberaremasu (to be able to eat, polite), and taberaremasenn (not to be able to eat, polite). The direct object particle o is usually replaced by the particle ga when the verb is in the potential form. For example:

Katakana de namae o kakimasu.

I (will) write my name in katakana.

Katakana de namae ga kakemasu.

I can write my name in katakana.

Change the following verb phrases to mean to be able to do, by using the potential form.

1. katakana o kaku (to write katakana)

2. katakana de namae o kaku (to write one’s name in katakana)

3. kanji o yomu (to read kanji)

4. Nihongo o hanasu (to speak Japanese)

5. Nihongo de hanasu (to speak in Japanese)

6. tenpura o tsukuru (to make tempura)

7. kuruma o unten-suru (to drive a car)

Answer the following questions in Japanese based on your situation. For a greater challenge, cover the English translations.

1.
Hashi de taberaremasu ka.
Can you eat with chopsticks?

2.
O-sake ga nomemasu ka.
Can you drink alcoholic beverages?

3.
Katakana de namae ga kakemasu ka.
Can you write your name in katakana?

4.
Kanji ga yomemasu ka.
Can you read kanji characters?

Making requests

There are many different ways of making a request, but the most common way is to use the verb in the te form and add kudasai.

Te form

The te form ends in te or de. For example, the te form of kaku (write) is kaite, and the te form of yomu (read) is yonde. The te form of a verb means do … and. It includes the meaning and. So, for example, kaite means write and. To create the te form from a dictionary form, follow these rules:

For ru verbs, drop the final ru and add te.
For u verbs that end in su, change the final syllable to shite.
For u verbs that end in ku, change the final syllable to ite, and for u verbs that end in gu, change the final syllable to ide.
For u verbs that end in u, ru, or tsu, change the final syllable to tte.
For u verbs that end in mu, nu, or bu, change the final syllable to nde.
The u verb iku is slightly irregular, and its te form is itte.
The te form of kuru (come) is kite, and the te form of and suru (do) is shite.

These rules are illustrated in the following table:

You create the negative te form of a verb by replacing nai in its nai form with nakute (e.g., tabenakute not eat and) or by adding de to its nai form (e.g., tabenai de not eat and). The nai form with nakute is used to express a cause-effect relationship, as in not do … and so … The form with nai de is used to mean not do … and then …, which actually means instead of doing … or without doing … . The negative te form you should use depends on the context. See Chapter 8 for more about the te form.

Requesting with … te kudasai

kudasai literally means please give it to me when it follows a noun and o. (See Chapter 3 for … o kudasai please give me … .)

When it follows a verb in the te form, it means Please do … . For example:

Tky ni itte kudasai.

Please go to Tokyo.

When you ask someone not to do something, use the negative te form that ends in nai de. For example:

Tky ni ikanai de kudasai.

Please do not go to Tokyo.

Give the te form of each of the following verbs.

1. kaku (write) ________________________

2. kau (buy) ________________________

3. iu (say) ________________________

4. iku (go) ________________________

5. katsu (win) ________________________

6. tobu (jump) ________________________

7. yomu (read) ________________________

8. oyogu (swim) ________________________

9. suru (do) ________________________

10. kuru (come) ________________________

What do you say in Japanese if you want to ask someone to do the following?

1. hairu (to enter)

2. suwaru (to sit down)

3. yasumu (to rest)

4. kono tegami o yomu (to read this letter)

5. mata kuru (to come again)

6. tabako o suwanai (not to smoke)

7. shaberanai (not to chat)

8. shizuka ni suru (to be quiet) (See Chapter 7 for the adverb + suru to do)

Talking about “now” with … te iru

You know that the past tense shows what one did and the non-past tense shows what one will do or what one does as a habit. So how do you show an action progressing in the present? To express an action progressing, use a verb in the te form and add the verb iru (exist). In this case, iru is functioning as an auxiliary verb. This construction can also express an action taking place habitually and a state that results from an action.

Progressive state

… te iru can express the state where one is doing something such as eating, drinking, dancing, or studying. It is often used with an adverb like ima (now). For example:

Haha wa ima tenpura o tsukutte imasu.

My mother is making tempura now.

Habitual state

… te iru can also express what one does regularly. In this case, you can use an adverb for intervals like mainichi (every day) to clarify the meaning. For example:

Haha wa mainichi yguruto o tabete imasu.

My mother is eating yogurt every day.

Resulting state

… te iru can also express the state that results from a completed action. For example, even if one is not drinking currently, if he is drunk because he drank one hour ago, you can express his current state by using … te iru because the current intoxicated state resulted from the past action of drinking. For example: