grammar - chapter 13
A. Like/Don't Like/Good at/Bad at
In the vocab section, you learned the following four Na Adjectives:
When talking about likes/dislikes and strengths/weaknesses, use the following format: [person が] + [thing/person が] + [好きだ / きらいだ / 上手だ / 下手だ ]
In the vocab section, you learned the following four Na Adjectives:
- すきな 好きな to like
- きらいな to dislike
- じょうずな 上手な to be good at
- へたな 下手な to be poor at
When talking about likes/dislikes and strengths/weaknesses, use the following format: [person が] + [thing/person が] + [好きだ / きらいだ / 上手だ / 下手だ ]
B. Giving and Receiving
There are three types of verbs which help to express giving and receiving:
Each one will be discussed in detail below.
1. あげる give outgroup type
Think of the phrase "outgroup" as people who aren't your family or part of your regular circle of friends/peers; in other words, this is reserved for acquaintances.
The structure for this type goes as follows: [giver が] + [receiver に] + [thing を] + [あげる / さしあげる]
You might notice that there are two different verbs for the "give outgroup" type'
Some examples:
A helpful reminder for which particle goes with which person is that in this case, に means "to". When writing this sentence type, think about who the gift/service is being given to.
Some further notes on verb usage:
2. もらう receive type
The format used for talking about receiving items/services is: [receiver が] + [giver に / から] + [thing を] + [もらう / いただく]
You might notice that there are two different verbs for the "receive" type:
Some examples:
A helpful reminder for which particle goes with which person is that in this case, に / から means "from". When writing this sentence type, think about who the gift/service is received from.
Note that only もらう can be used to describe receiving things from a family member.
3. くれる give ingroup type
The format used for this structure is: [giver が] + [私 /ingroup に] + [thing を] + [くれる / くださる]
You might notice that there are two different verbs for the "give ingroup" type:
Some examples:
Some notes on verb usage:
Giving and Receiving Review
There are three types of verbs which help to express giving and receiving:
- あげる --> give outgroup
- もらう ---> receive
- くれる --> give ingroup
Each one will be discussed in detail below.
1. あげる give outgroup type
Think of the phrase "outgroup" as people who aren't your family or part of your regular circle of friends/peers; in other words, this is reserved for acquaintances.
The structure for this type goes as follows: [giver が] + [receiver に] + [thing を] + [あげる / さしあげる]
You might notice that there are two different verbs for the "give outgroup" type'
- あげる is used when the receiver is equal/inferior to the giver
- さしあげる is used when the receiver is superior to the giver
Some examples:
- 私がリサさんにペンをあげました。
I gave Lisa a pen. - 私が山田先生に本をさしあげました。
I gave Yamada-sensei a book
A helpful reminder for which particle goes with which person is that in this case, に means "to". When writing this sentence type, think about who the gift/service is being given to.
Some further notes on verb usage:
- the verb やる is used in situations where you give food/drink to animals, water to plants, and also when giving to younger siblings.
- さしあげる is never used when referring to family members
2. もらう receive type
The format used for talking about receiving items/services is: [receiver が] + [giver に / から] + [thing を] + [もらう / いただく]
You might notice that there are two different verbs for the "receive" type:
- もらう is used when the giver is equal/inferior to the receiver
- いただく is used when the giver is superior to the receiver
Some examples:
- 私が友だちにたんじょうびのプレゼントをもらいました。
I received a birthday present from my friend. - 私が山田先生から本をいただきました。
I received a book from Yamada-sensei.
A helpful reminder for which particle goes with which person is that in this case, に / から means "from". When writing this sentence type, think about who the gift/service is received from.
Note that only もらう can be used to describe receiving things from a family member.
3. くれる give ingroup type
The format used for this structure is: [giver が] + [私 /ingroup に] + [thing を] + [くれる / くださる]
You might notice that there are two different verbs for the "give ingroup" type:
- くださる is used when the giver is superior to the receiver, or a member of the receiver's ingroup
くださる is conjugated as follows: くださらない、くださいます、くださって、くださらなかった - くれる is used when the giver is equal/inferior to the receiver, and part of the outgroup
Some examples:
- 山田先生が私に本をくださいました。
Yamada-sensei gave me a book. - リサさんが私にCDをくれました。
Lisa gave me a CD>
Some notes on verb usage:
- in くれる sentences, the giver must be an outgroup person, the receiver must be the speaker (私) or a family member
- ingroup size is not fixed, but situational: can by the whole of your country (vs. other countries), your workplace, your peer group, your family, or just yourself
*when you consider only yourself as the ingroup, your family is automatically considered outgroup; therefore, use くれる - くださる is not used when referring to family members
- 私に is ONLY used with the くれる type verbs
- 私に can be omitted from くれる sentences because it is obvious
Giving and Receiving Review
C. Noun Modification
Recall that we have learned how to modify nouns with other nouns, A adjectives and Na adjectives:
In this lesson, we will learn how verbs (or sentences ending with verbs) can also modify nouns. There are two rules to keep in mind for doing this:
An illustrative example:
It is possible to modify different nouns or noun phrases within a particular sentence. Consider this unmodified sentence: あしたすずきさんがモールで映画を見ます。(Tomorrow Suzuki-san will see a movie at the mall). It can be modified to talk about:
"Which", "that" and "who" are underlined in the above examples, because they are helpful in pointing out exactly what is being modified.
A modified noun phrase can appear anywhere in a sentence, because once modified, it acts as any other noun would.
As you might have noticed, the subject in a modified clause is marked with が instead of は.If the sentence is quite short, の might replace が.
Noun Modification Review
Recall that we have learned how to modify nouns with other nouns, A adjectives and Na adjectives:
- フランス語のじしょ a French dictionary
- 古いじしょ an old dictionary
- 便利なじしょ a convenient dictionary
In this lesson, we will learn how verbs (or sentences ending with verbs) can also modify nouns. There are two rules to keep in mind for doing this:
- The modified noun comes after the phrase that modifies it
- The verb before the modified noun is in plain form
An illustrative example:
- えを 書く 人 a/the person who will draw a picture
- えを 書かない 人 a/the person who doesn't draw a picture
- えを 書った 人 a/the person who drew a picture
- えを 書かなかった 人 a/the person who didn't draw a picture
- えを 書っている 人 a/the person who is drawing a picture
It is possible to modify different nouns or noun phrases within a particular sentence. Consider this unmodified sentence: あしたすずきさんがモールで映画を見ます。(Tomorrow Suzuki-san will see a movie at the mall). It can be modified to talk about:
- the movie: [あしたすずきさんがモールで見る] 映画 --> the movie which/that Suzuki will see at the mall tomorrow
- the mall: [あしたすずきさんが映画を見る] モール --> the mall which/that Suzuki will see the movie in/at
- Suzuki: [あしたモールで映画を見る] すずきさん --> Tanaka-san who will see a movie at the mall tomorrow
"Which", "that" and "who" are underlined in the above examples, because they are helpful in pointing out exactly what is being modified.
A modified noun phrase can appear anywhere in a sentence, because once modified, it acts as any other noun would.
- As a subject/noun
[あしたすずきさんがモールで見る映画]は何ですか。 What is the movie that Suzuki will see at the mall tomorrow? - As a direct object
[あしたすずきさんがモールで見る映画]を知っていますか。 Do you know the movie that Suzuki will see at the mall tomorrow? - As a predicate
それは[あしたすずきさんがモールで見る映画]です。 That is the movie that Suzuki will see at the mall tomorrow.
As you might have noticed, the subject in a modified clause is marked with が instead of は.If the sentence is quite short, の might replace が.
Noun Modification Review
D. Progressive Action: ~ている
We have already learned that ている expresses action that still continues in the present.
To discuss an action that continued for a long time in the past, use ていた. For example:
We have already learned that ている expresses action that still continues in the present.
To discuss an action that continued for a long time in the past, use ていた. For example:
- 大学生のとき、大学のアパートに住んでいました。
E. Only, Just: ばかりだ
To indicate that an action took place very recently, use ~たばかりだ. For example:
Using the phrases ~たばかりなので / たばかりで can be used to indicate causality. For example:
To indicate that an action took place very recently, use ~たばかりだ. For example:
- 友だちに手紙をもらったばかりです。 I just received a letter from my friend.
Using the phrases ~たばかりなので / たばかりで can be used to indicate causality. For example:
- 日本語を勉強したばかりなので、まだ早く話しません。 I've only just studied Japanese, so I can't speak quickly yet.
- 漢字を習ったばかりで、まだよく書きません。 I've only just learned kanji, so I can't write it well yet.
F. As many, as long as: quantity + も
This often indicates that the quantity is an unexpected amount. For example:
きのう漢字は六時間も勉強しました。 Yesterday I studied kanji for as many as SIX HOURS.
The above sentence sounds a lot less surprising than:
きのう漢字を六時間勉強しました。 Yesterday i studied kanji for six hours.
This often indicates that the quantity is an unexpected amount. For example:
きのう漢字は六時間も勉強しました。 Yesterday I studied kanji for as many as SIX HOURS.
The above sentence sounds a lot less surprising than:
きのう漢字を六時間勉強しました。 Yesterday i studied kanji for six hours.