文法第5課 Grammar Notes for Lesson 5

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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
文法第５課
Grammar Notes for Lesson 5
1. Sentence with a Verbal-Adjective as Predicate
1. 1 Verbal-Adjective 形容詞
1.1.1 The Ordinary Polite Affirmative Form of VA
1.1.2 The Ordinary Polite Negative Form of VA
1.1.3 The Ordinary Polite Past Form of VA
1.1.4 Negation of the Past Form of VA
1.1.5 Sentence with a VA as Predicate
1.2 Attributive Form of VA
1.2.1 Modification of the Attributive Form
1.2.2 Attributive Form of VA used in a sentence
2. Numbers (part 2)
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
文法第５課 Grammar Notes for Lesson 5
1. Sentence with a Verbal-Adjective as Predicate
1. 1 Verbal-Adjective 形容詞
Unlike European languages where only one category of adjectives exists, there are two groups
of adjectives in the Japanese language, which are identified by different inflexions and consequently
by different formal appearances. The one group is called nominal-adjective (abbreviation: NA) and
the other group is called verbal-adjective (abbreviation: VA). In Japanese the last one is called
形容詞 (けいようし). The nominal-adjective (NA) 形容動詞 (けいようどうし) will be discussed in lesson 6.
The verbal-adjectives (VA) behave like verbs, i.e. they are inflected and are composed of an
unchangeable stem and a changeable (inflexional) ending. The first modification of the VA we want
to learn is the dictionary form:
The Dictionary Form of VA
In contrast to the verbs there are no subgroups of VA. The dictionary form of all VA always ends
in the vowel –i. (For this reason some of the grammars use the expression i-adjective.)
Word Formation:
stem + い
Examples of VA:
安い
やすい
cheap
小さい
ちいさい
small
古い
ふるい
old (state of materials, not the age of beings)
暑い
あつい
hot (climate, but not fluids)
新しい
あたらしい
new
良い
よい／いい
good
悪い
わるい
bad
As the name already indicates, the lexicalized form is just responsible for the ascertainment of
the word in a dictionary. It does not carry any information in respect of politeness.
notice:
- The VA 古い can not be used for the age of creatures, at most for the way of thinking of a person.
- 暑い is used for the climate, but not for hot things like fluids and solids.
- It depends on the phonetic surrounding how to pronounce the VA 良い . (see next chapters)
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
1.1.1 The Ordinary Polite Affirmative Form of VA
The first applicable form of the VA is the ordinary polite affirmative form.
This form is compounded of the stem, the sound い , and です:
Word Formation:
dictionary form
stem + い + です
ordinary polite
affirmative form
安い
→
安いです
cheap
小さい
→
小さいです
small
古い
→
古いです
old (materials, not the age of beings)
暑い
→
暑いです
hot (climate)
新しい
→
新しいです
new
良い
→
良いです（いいです）
good
悪い
→
悪いです
bad
notice:
In the ordinary polite affirmative form the VA 良い is pronounced as いい and not よい!
1.1.2 The Ordinary Polite Negative Form of VA
The negation of the VA is formed using the stem and the ending ∼くないです :
Word Formation:
stem + くないです
dictionary form
ordinary polite negative form
安い
→
安くないです
not cheap
小さい
→
小さくないです
not small
古い
→
古くないです
not old
暑い
→
暑くないです
not hot
新しい
→
新しくないです
not new
良い
→
良くないです（よくないです）
not good
悪い
→
悪くないです
not bad
notice:
The negative form of 良い is pronounced よくないです and not
いくないです!
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
Alternative Negation
The negation of the VA can also be formed using the stem and the ending ∼くありません :
Word Formation:
stem + くありません
ordinary polite
negative form
alternative negation
安くないです
安くありません
not cheap
小さくないです
小さくありません
not small
古くないです
古くありません
not old
暑くないです
暑くありません
not hot
新しくないです
新しくありません
not new
良くないです
良くありません
not good
悪くないです
悪くありません
not bad
Quiz 1: Put the right forms into the spaces.
affirmative ∼です
negation∼くないです
alternative
negation∼くありません
高い（たかい）
大きい（おおきい）
寒い（さむい）
楽しい（たのしい）
小さい（ちいさい）
h
The answers will be discussed during the grammar lesson.
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
1.1.3 The Ordinary Polite Past Form of VA
The past form of the VA is made by using the stem, the information about the past ∼かった and the
information about the ordinary polite level ∼です:
Word Formation:
stem + かったです
dictionary form
ordinary polite past
安い
→
安かったです
it was cheap
小さい
→
小さかったです
it was small
古い
→
古かったです
it was old
暑い
→
暑かったです
it was hot
新しい
→
新しかったです
it was new
良い
→
良かったです（よかったです）
it was good
悪い
→
悪かったです
it was bad
1.1.4 Negation of the Past Form of VA
The negation of the past form (e.g. it was not cheap) is made by using the stem, the information
about negation ∼くな, the information about the past ∼かった and finally the information about the
ordinary polite level ∼です. On looking more carefully it becomes clear that that the ending ∼くない
is modified exactly like a VA ( because of its final sound い) , i.e. it will be connected to the
information about negation by changing the form of linkage, a fundamental attribute of every
inflected word of Japanese.
Word Formation:
stem + くなかったです
dictionary form
ordinary polite negation of past
安い
→
安くなかったです
it was not cheap
小さい
→
小さくなかったです
it was not small
古い
→
古くなかったです
it was not old
暑い
→
暑くなかったです
it was not hot
新しい
→
新しくなかったです
it was not new
良い
→
良くなかったです
it was not good
悪い
→
悪くなかったです
it was not bad
alternative form: stem + くありませんでした
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
1.1.5 Sentence with a VA as Predicate
Example:
日本語はおもしろいですか。
Nihon-go wa omoshiroi desu ka.
Is Japanese interesting?
Like verbs and nouns, an adjective can be used as a predicate of a sentence. The very basic types
of sentences with a VA as predicate are:
Affirmative:
N は VAです。 e.g. 日本語はおもしろいです。Japanese is interesting.
Question:
N は VAですか。 e.g. 日本語はおもしろいですか。Is Japanese interesting?
Negation:
N は VAくないです。／くありません。 e.g. パンは新しくないです。The bread is not new. (fresh)
Past:
N は VAかったです。 e.g. 映画は長かったです。The film was long.
Negation of the Past:
N は VAくなかったです。／くありませんでした。 e.g. 映画は悪くなかったです。The film was not bad.
The interrogative how used for adjectives is どう.
日本語はどうですか。やさしいですか。
How is Japanese ? Is it easy?
いいえ、やさしくないです。難しいです。
No, it is not easy. It is difficult.
でも、おもしろいです。
But it is interesting.
何が難しいですか。
What is difficult? (What in particular?)
漢字が難しいです。
The Kanji are difficult.
学食はどうですか。
How is the canteen (a common room)?
広いです。
It is roomy.
ご飯はどうでしたか。おいしかったですか。 How was the meal? Was it tasty?
いいえ、今日は良くなかったです。
No, today it was not good.
まずかったです。
It was unpalatable (tasteless).
肉はどうでしたか。大きかったですか。
How was the meat? Was it big (a big piece)?
いいえ、とても小さかったです。
No, it was very small.
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
Quiz 2: Answer the question by using the negation.
h
部屋は広いですか。
森さんは大きいですか。
弟さんは小さいですか。
ビールはおいしかったですか。
今日は寒いですか。
昨日は暑かったですか。
駅は遠いですか。
週末はたのしかったですか。
車は新しいですか。
セーターは古いですか。
日本語は難しいですか。
漢字はやさしいですか。
ごはんはまずかったですか。
Quiz 3: Answer the question freely.
日本語はつまらないですか。
日本語はやさしいですか。
部屋はどうですか。
家は近いですか。
映画はどうでしたか。
デュースブルクはおもしろいですか。
日曜日はどうでしたか。
学食は安いですか。
レストランはどうですか。
ご飯はどうでしたか。
先生はどうですか。
教室はどうですか。
何が古いですか。
何が難しいですか。
何がおいしいですか。
何がおもしろいですか。
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
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1.2 Attributive Form of VA
Example:
古い車
furui kuruma
an old car
This sample phrase shows us a VA in its new function. The VA furui modifies the following
noun kuruma. In this case, the VA does not play the role of a predicate (the car is old ) but it
elucidates the status of a noun. The VA is here just an appendix or attribute of the noun. That
means that the noun is the dominant element, and the unit VA+N can be placed in all parts of a
sentence where a noun can stay: VA+Nは (topic), VA+Nを (object), VA+Nです。 (predicate) etc.
In order to become an attribute, the VA must be transformed to a special grammatical form which is
logically called the attributive form.
Since in the Japanese language we cannot build a relative clause like a car that is old, the only
possibility to express the elucidation of a noun is to use the attributive form. So, all constructions
including a relative clause should be translated by using this form.
The general structure of an attributive form of the VA is as already mentioned:
VA + N
1.2.1 Modification of the Attributive Form
In this lesson four modifications of the attributive form of VA will be introduced.
Affirmative:
The first attributive form of the VA is affirmative. The affirmative version of the attributive form
is extremely simple to build. It is identical with the dictionary form:
VAい + N
Examples:
新しい車
a new car
高いカメラ
an expensive camera
長いえんぴつ
a long pencil
important note:
The two VA 大きい(big) and 小さい (small) have an alternative (affirmative) attributive form which
is made by adding the ending ∼な :
大きい車 or 大きな車
a big car
小さい車 or 小さな車
a small car
further note:
The attributive forms should not contain any information in respect of politeness. So you can not
say something like 古いです車 . The information referring to politeness is always covered by the
predicate:
これは古い車です。(This is an old car.)
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
Negation:
The negative version of the attributive form is made by adding the ending ∼くない:
VAくない + N
Examples:
新しくない車
not a new car (a car that is not new)
高くないカメラ
not an expensive camera (a camera that is not expensive)
長くないえんぴつ
not a long pencil (a pencil that is not long)
These examples show us already the vagueness of a literal translation. It is recommendable to
translate the attributive form by using the relative clause.
Past:
The past version of the attributive form is made by adding the ending ∼かった:
VAかった + N
Examples:
新しかった車
a car that was new
高かったカメラ
a camera that was expensive
長かったえんぴつ
a pencil that was long
In these cases we have no other option than to translate the attributive form by using the
relative clause.
Negation of the Past:
The negative past version of the attributive form is made by adding the ending ∼くなかった:
VAくなかった + N
Examples:
新しくなかった車
a car that was not new
高くなかったカメラ
a camera that was not expensive
長くなかったえんぴつ
a pencil that was not long
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
Quiz 4: Translate the following sequences.
h
an old house
not an old house
a house that was old
a house that is old
a house that is not old
a house that was not old
a new house
a big house
a house that is not big
a small house
a house that was not small
an old book
a book which is not old
an expensive book
a book that is expensive
a book that is not expensive
a difficult foreign language
a cold room
a room that was not cold
a tasty apple
an apple that was tasty
a room that was old
the small Michael
Michael who was small
a meal that was tasty
a boring film
a film that was boring
a film that was not boring
a new friend
a good friend
a bad friend
an old friend
(not the age but the acquaintance)
a bicycle that is not old
a person who is not friendly
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
1.2.2 Attributive Form of VA used in a sentence
これは高いカメラです。
Kore wa takai kamera desu.
This is an expensive camera.
森さんは高いカメラを買いました。
Mori-san wa takai kamera o kaimashita.
Ms Mori bought an expensive camera.
As it was already mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the unit VA+N can be placed in all
parts of a sentence where a noun can stay. (The noun, the word which is elucidated by a VA is in a
manner of speaking the main actor, while the VA is merely an appendix of the noun.) The first
sample sentence shows the attribute in the position of a predicate VA+Nです。. In the second sample
sentence the attribute is in the position of an object VA+Nを.
More sample sentences with the unit VA + N:
新しい喫茶店はあそこです。 Atarashii kissaten wa asoko desu.
The new coffee shop is there.
Topic: VA+Nは...
小さいりんごがおいしかったです。 Chiisai ringo ga oishikatta desu.
The small apple was tasty.
Subject: VA+Nが...
難しい漢字を覚えます。 Muzukashii kanji o oboemasu.
I am going to learn difficult Kanji.
Object: VA+Nを...
小さな町から来ました。 Chiisana machi kara kimashita.
I came from a small town.
Place: VA+Nから...
これは高いとけいです。 Kore wa takai tokei desu.
This is an expensive watch.
Predicate: VA+Nです。
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
Interrogative どんな+N
どんな+N
(what kind of + N...) can be used as an interrogative for the quality. In such case the
answer should contain an attribute including a VA.
どんな本を読みましたか。 Donna hon o yomimashita ka.
What kind of a book did you read?
おもしろい本を読みました。
Omoshiroi hon o yomimashita.
I read an interesting book.
どんな漢字を書きましたか。 Donna kanji o kakimashita ka.
What kind of Kanji did you write?
難しい漢字を書きました。
Muzukashii kanji o kakimashita.
I wrote difficult Kanji.
森さんはどんな先生ですか。 Mori-san wa donna sensei desu ka.
What kind of teacher is Ms Mori?
やさしい先生です。
Yasashii sensei desu.
She is a friendly teacher.
中国はどんな国ですか。 Chuugoku wa donna kuni desu ka.
What kind of country is China?
とても大きな国です。
Totemo ookina kuni desu.
It is a very big country.
It is of course possible to answer a question including どんな with a simple enumeration of typical
features without an attributive adjective. (To answer a question about reading books you can just
enumerate the titles.)
Quiz 5: Answer the following questions by using an attribute including a VA.
h
それはどんなりんごですか。
りんごはどんな果物ですか。
森さんはどんな学生ですか。
どんな漢字を書きますか。
ドイツはどんな国ですか。
どんな週末でしたか。
どんな映画を見ますか。
ここはどんな教室ですか。
どんな車を買いますか。
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
2. Numbers
(part 2)
In Modern Japanese the numbers following the pronunciation of Chinese origin (on-reading) are
the foundation of all operations involving the complex system of numbers.
From the point of view of grammar, the numbers belong to the group of nouns and share its
features, especially if they are used in a sentence.
Numbers are simply words and they have to be learnt just like any other vocabulary. Nevertheless
some peculiarities should be mentioned in this chapter.
zero:
4:
7:
19:
As a borrowing from English the expression zero is used as the equivalent
for the Japanese れい, which can be written either 〇 (it is a totally round circle)
or 零. This Kanji is often used in combination with classifiers (units of measurement)
like 零度 (れいど zero degree centigrade) or 零時 (れいじ 12 PM, midnight)
The number four has two ways of reading: よん and し. (I.e. all the rest of the
numbers including four: 14,24,34,44,etc., too.)
Nowadays, mostly よん is used. But in compounds like 四国 (the island Shikoku),
四方 (しほう the four points of the compass, the four directions), or 四則(しそくthe
four arithmetical operations) the reading shi is still in use.
The number seven has two ways of reading: なな and しち. (I.e. all the rest of
numbers including seven:17,27,37,47,etc., too.) The reading なな is more
common while shichi sounds quite antiquated. Exception: 七時(しちじ 7 o’clock)
The number nineteen has two ways of reading: じゅうきゅう and じゅうく.
This exception must be a relic of the former and meanwhile lost reading of nine: く
Pronunciation of eleven and upwards
In the list of vocabulary the numbers and their pronunciation from one to ten are mentioned.
The knowledge of these ten numbers will be enough to build all following numbers:
the number eleven is ten one じゅういち (十一), i.e. there is no special denotation for all double-digit
numbers (with the exception of 十 ten). Correspondingly, twelve is ten twoじゅうに (十二), thirteen is
ten three じゅうさん (十三),, twenty is two ten にじゅう (二十),, ninety-nine is nothing else but a nine ten
nine きゅうじゅうきゅう (九十九), etc.
vertically written numbers
Since Japanese can be written in two directions (horizontally from left to right, and vertically
top-down), positional variants of numbers have to be noticed. If you write the numbers horizontally
the relevant Kanji for numbers are used in the conventional way as we have seen above.
Unlike that, vertically written numbers can be indicated in a manner of the Arabic numbers. E.g.
the numbers are written in Kanji but they follow the order of the decimal system. The following
twelve numbers 10,11,12,13,14,15,....20,21,22,23,...99,100 are written using these two styles:
conventional Kanji style:
10 11 12 13 14 15 ....
20 21 22 23 ... 99 100
十 十 十 十 十 十
二 二 二 二 九 百
一 二 三 四 五 .....
十 十 十 十 ..... 十 一 二 三 九
Arabic number style:
10 11 12 13 14 15 ....
20
一 一 一 一
二 二 二 二 九 一
一
一
〇 一 二 三 四 五 .....
21
〇 一
22
二
23
三
...
99
100
..... 九 〇
〇 13
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Intensive Japanese I, Grammar Lesson 5
Special numbers for financial transactions:
Some of the numbers are written in a unique way in support of an unequivocal identification.
This practise underlies the fact that particularly for financial transactions the amount should clearly
indicate their values. It is comparable with the custom to fill in the amount in words. The following
numbers of our lesson are in use:
1 = 壱 (instead of 一), 2 = 弐 (instead of 二), 3 = 参 (instead of 三), 5 = 伍 (instead of 五),
10 = 拾 (instead of 十), 100 = 佰 (instead of 百), etc.
Examples:
壱拾壱 =11
壱拾弐=12
壱拾参=13
壱拾四=14
壱拾伍=15
壱拾六=16
弐拾=20
弐拾壱=21
弐拾弐=22
弐拾参=23
弐拾四=24
弐拾伍=25
参拾=30
伍拾=50
伍拾伍=55
六拾=60
六拾伍=65
九拾=90
九拾壱=91
九拾弐=92
九拾参=93
九拾伍=95
九拾九=99
壱佰=100
Quiz 6: Read the following numbers.
h
1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ,5, 6, 7, 8,9,10
11,12,13,14,15
16,17,18,19,20
21,24,27,30
40,50,60,70,80,90,100
Quiz 7: Read the following numbers.
h
一二三四五六七八九十
十一 十二 十三 十四 十五
十六 十七 十八 十九 二十
二十一 二十四 二十七 三十
四十 五十 六十 七十 八十 九十 百
Quiz 8: Read the following numbers.
h
一 一 一 一 一
一 〇 一 二 三 四 五 二 二 二 二 三 〇 二 五 九 〇
五 六 七 八 九
五 〇 七 九 〇
五 四 六
七 八
九 四 七 六 一
九 九 九 一
二 六 九 〇
〇
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