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Lesson 2: Japanese Grammar Goto Page: 1 2 [>] [»|]

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Great_Aku_Ha
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 8:31 pm


Characteristics of Japanese Grammar

Here are some characteristics of Japanese grammar.

Japanese nouns have no gender (languages such as French or Spanish do) or number (there is no singular or plural).

Senshuu watashi wa hon o san-satsu yonda. (先週私は本を三冊読んだ。) --- I read three books last week.
Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. (机の上に本があります。) --- There is a book on the table.
Watashi wa inu o ni-hiki katte imasu. (私は犬を二匹買っています。) --- I have two dogs.
Tonari no inu wa yoku hoeru. (隣の犬はよくほえる。) --- The neighbor’s dog often barks.

Verb conjugation is not affected by the gender or number.

Watashi wa nihon-jin desu. (私は日本人です。) --- I am Japanese.
Kanojo wa amerika-jin desu. (彼女はアメリカ人です。) --- She is American.
Kare wa asu nihon ni ikimasu. (彼は明日日本に行きます。) --- He goes to Japan tomorrow.
Karera wa asu nihon ni ikimasu.  (彼らは明日日本に行きます。) --- They go to Japan tomorrow.

Japanese verbs have only two tenses: the present and the past.

Watashi wa maiasa shichi-ji ni okimasu. (私は毎朝七時に起きます。) --- I get up at seven every morning.
Otouto wa hachi-ji ni okimashita. (弟は八時に起きました。) --- My brother got up at eight.
PostPosted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:12 pm


Word Order

English is a subject-verb-object language. (so are French, Spanish, etc.) Japanese is a subject-object-verb language. (so are Korean, Turkish, etc.) Generally the subject comes first, then the object and the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

subject object verb
Tanaka-san wa
Mr. Tanaka ringo o
apple tabemasu.
eat.
Tom-san wa
Tom terebi o
TV mimashita.
watched.


"San" is a title of respect added to a name. (so it can not be used when referring to oneself.)
"Wa" and "o" are particles. They are like English prepositions, but they always come after nouns. Particles are very important for proper Japanese sentence structure. I will introduce them gradually later.
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Composing questions in Japanese is easy! The word order remains the same, and a sentence becomes a question by adding the particle "ka" at the end. Question marks are not used in Japanese.

Tanaka-san wa ringo o tabemasu ka. 田中さんはりんごを食べますか。 Does Mr. Tanaka eat apples?
Tom-san wa terebi o mimashita ka. トムさんはテレビを見ましたか。 Did Tom watch TV?

Great_Aku_Ha
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Xandara Kagamine

PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 10:47 am


Thanks so much for these lessons they are such a big help =)
PostPosted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:22 pm


got it!! mrgreen

Shiidiot


Wood Cookie

PostPosted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 1:41 pm


Thank you Sensi!!!
PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 9:33 am


Oh now i get it! Arigatou Sensei! 3nodding

tokyomewmewfreak


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:11 pm


Arigatou Aku-san! blaugh
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 2:13 am


Arigato Aku-sama!!

II Takeshi II


BIueEssence

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:28 pm


arigato sensi...
I'm learning slower than a snail but thats okay i guess............
Thanks.....
PostPosted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:41 pm


Thank you Sensi!!! (^-^) ^_^

Heart_Peace_xD_Love

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Mibbon

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 6:57 pm


b]Kuso!(damn?) This is confusing. I can't learn well. Can anyone help?
PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:12 am


Gosh, this is great. Thanks smile

Kaysurin


aimike3

PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 2:37 pm


Densetsu Shoujo A
b]Kuso!(damn?) This is confusing. I can't learn well. Can anyone help?

@ Legendary Girl A

You like Yoda must speak, if you wish Japanese to learn. (or get better at least! I "Yoda speak" work on still, until I the "Yoda speak" master!)
PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:20 pm


neko- cat
haha-my mother
chichi-my father
ani-my older brother
ane-my older sister
sobo-my grandmother
sufu-my grandfather

xoxspammy

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Learn To Speak Japanese~!

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