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Lesson 4
nigatsu yokka doyoubi (february the 4th saturday)

Verbs
There are 5 forms of verbs: Masu-form, "Dictionary" form, Te- from, Nai-form and Ta-form.

Verbs you see in dictionaries are most often dictionary forms. All verbs in dictionary form end with "u" (taberu, nomu)

Verbs are divided into 3 groups:
III: irregular verbs. There are only 2 of them in Japanese; Kuru (to come), and suru(to do).
II: Verbs that end in _eru and _iru in dictionary form (taberu, okiru)
I: All other verbs. Some verbs that seem to belong in group II can be found here as well. (i.e. hairu).

Japanese only has 2 time tenses; past, and non-past
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Grammar

Alright, now you have a bit of a basic knowlegde about verbs. But let's look at the masu-form, the form I will be using for the biggest part of these lessons.

In positive, present, all verbs end in _masu.
In negative, present, all verbs end in _masen

Tabemasu = to eat
Tabemasen = not to eat

Now we need to learn a new particle. Wo (pronounced just 'o').
Wo refers to the object of the sentence. In other words, the object with the verb.

Let's take some examples:

Hon (w)o yomimasu = to read a book
Pan (w)o tabemasen = to not eat a bread
watashi wa kono hon (w)o yomimasu = I read this book. ("watashi wa" can be skipped)
Terebi (w)o mimasen = to not watch TV


NOTE: Sometimes there is no object involved.

Watashi wa nemasu.= I sleep
Watashi mo nemasu. =I sleep also
Inu wa nemasen. = The dog doesn't sleep.

Remember, that the topic can always be skipped if it's clear.
--: Watashi wa tabemasu. Mizu (w)o nomimasu. = I eat.Idrink water.

Wakarimasu ka? = Understand?

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Vocabulary:
Tabemasu - To eat
Nomimasu - To drink
Mimasu - To watch
Kikimasu - To listen
Yomimasu - To read
Okimasu - To wake up
Nemasu - To go to sleep
Ikimasu- To go
Kimasu- To come
Kakimasu - To write / to draw
Akemasu - To open
Shimemasu - To close
Torimasu - To take
Machimasu - To await
Wakarimasu - To understand
Mizu - Water
Hon - Book
Terebi - Television
Rajio - Radio
Basu - Bus
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End of lesson 4.

Lesson 6
nigatsu juurokunichi (February the 16th)

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Adjectives:

Adjectives are dived into 2 groups: na-adjectives, and i-adjectives.
All i adjectives end with the japanese letter for ''i'' (ki, mi, tsi, etc. do NOT count for this. It has to be the hiragana ''i'' -----> kii, aoi)
Na-adjectives are adjectives that do not end in "i". There are a few exeptions to this (i.e. kirei). Na-adj behave exacly like nouns.
(This will become clearer in later lessons
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When na-adjectives are placed before a noun, you add a "na" at their end:
Genki desu ----> Genkina inu.
to be in good spirits/ healthy ------> a healthy dog.

I-adjectives don't change even if they're in front of a noun:
Ii -----> Ii inu
Good -----> A good dog

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Negative

Since you'll probably use "desu" a lot, let's look at the negative form.
Desu = Is / to be / are
Dewa arimasen/ Ja arimasen = Is not / to be not / are not

This is used for nouns and na-adj.
Inu desu - Inu dewa arimasen (is a dog - is not a dog)
Nigiyaka desu - Nigiyaka dewa arimasen (is lifely - is not lifely)

This can, however, NOT be used for i-adj.
To make i-adj negative, you change the last "i" into "ku nai"
Yasashii desu --> yasashiku nai desu
To be easy----> to not be easy

NOTE: The original word for "ii" used to be "yoi", so "ii" become "yoku nai" in the negative
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Dialogue

Hiki: Zi-san, genki desu ka?
Zi: Hai, genki desu.
Hiki: Nani wo tabemasu ka?
Zi: Ringo tabemasu.
Hiki: (Ringo wa) oishii desu ka?
Zi: Hai, oishii desu. Sore wa kireina hana desu ne.
Hiki: Hai, kirei desu. Kyou wa samui tenki dewa arimasen. Zi-san wa isogashii desu ka?
Zi: Iie, isogashiku nai desu.


Hiki: Miss Zi, how are you? (are you healthy/ in good spirits?)
Zi: I am well (Yes I am healthy)
Hiki: What are you eating?
Zi: I'm eating an apple.
Hiki: Is it delicious?
Zi: Yes, it is delicious. This is a pretty flower, don't you think?
Hiki: Yes, pretty. Today isn't cold weather. Miss Zi, are you busy?
Zi: No, I'm not busy.

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Vocabulary

Ookii = big
Chiisai = small
Takai = high, expensive
Yasui = cheap
Ii = good
Warui = bad
Muzukashii = difficult
Yasashii = easy, simple, kind-hearted
Samui = cold
Atsui = hot
Isogashii = busy
Oishii = delicious
Shizuka(na) = quiet, calm, tranquil
Nigiyaka(na) = lifely
yuumei(na) = famous
Genki (na) = healthy, in good spirits, fulll of energy
Kirei (na) = beautiful, pretty, clean

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That's it for now. End of lesson 6 ninja

*bows* Oh!! Thanks for the lesson!

Lesson 7
nigatsu nijuugonichi (February 25th)


Adjectives continued:

The past tense of ''desu'' (to be) is deshita
The past negative tense of ''desu'' is dewa arimasen deshita/ ja arimasen deshita

Na-adjectives behave just like nouns when standing on their own.

Kore wa inu deshita = this was a dog
Inu wa genki deshita = the dog was in good spirits
Inu wa genki dewa arimasen deshita - the dog was not in good spirits

Yasahii desu ne? (easy, isn't it?)


The i-adjectives are a bit tricky though.
I-adjectives in past tense, like in the present negative, drop out the last ''i'' and take a new ending.

In past tense positive, the last ''i'' changes to katta desu.
ookii desu --> ookikatta desu
to be big ----> was big/ to have been big

In past tense negative, the last ''i'' changes to ku nakatta desu
ookii desu ----> ookiku nakatta desu
To be big ----> wasn't big

NOTE: The ''desu'' should always be in present positive with i-adj.
Also remember that ii is irregular, and becomes yo_(yokatta desu, yoku nakatta desu).

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Asking.

As you should know, adding a ''ka'' to the end of a sentence changes it to a question. So:
Inu wa kawaii desu ka? = Is the dog cute?
Inu wa kawaiku nakatta desu ka? = Wasn't the dog cute?

When asking how, or what kind something is, you use ''donna'' or ''dou''
Donna = what kind of (stands in front of a noun)
Dou = how (stands on it's own)

Inu wa dou desu ka? = how is the dog?
Sore wa donna hon deshita ka? = What kind of book is that?


Or if you want to ask what it is that is, i.e., good, you use nani for the subject.
Nani ga ii desu ka? = What is good?
(As the topic is unknown, you use ''ga'' instead of ''wa'')
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Ga or Wa?

The particles ga and wa are often, understandably, mixed up.

Ga is used when the topic is unknown, and when talking about something in general, and when saying ''there are/there is''.(I'll take this better in later lessons).

Wa is used when the topic is known to both, all speakers, and when talking about something specific. It can sort of be thought of as ''the'' in English (this is not a complete rule though sweatdrop )

I'll take a few examples
Mizu ga ii desu --> Water is good (water in general is good)
Mizu wa ii desu ---> The water is good (a sertain water is good)
Kono mizu wa ii desu ----> This water is good (a sertain water is good)
Nani ga ii desu ka? ---> What is good? (the topic ((water)) is unknown)

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Dialogue:

Hiki: Nani o tabemashita ka?
Zi: Ringo o tabemashita.
Hiki: Oishikatta desu ka?
Zi: Iie, oishiku nakatta desu. Hiki san, kinou nani o shimashita ka?
Hiki: Hon o yomimashita.
Zi: Aa, hon wa dou deshita ka?
Hiki: Tanoshikatta desu.
Zi: Donna hon deshita ka?
Hiki: Kireina hon deshita whee
Zi: Hiki san wa genki deshita ka?
Hiki: Hai, genki deshita.

Hiki: What did you eat?
Zi: I ate an apple.
Hiki: Was it delicious?
Zi: No, it wasn't delicious. Miss Hiki, what did you do yesterday?
Hiki: Read a book.
Zi: Oh, how was the book?
Hiki: It was fun.
Zi: What kind of book was it?
Hiki: A pretty book whee
Zi: Was miss Hiki in good spirits?
Hiki: Yes, I was in good spirits.
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Vocabulary:

Atarashii - new
Hurui - old
Akarui - bright
Kurai - dark
Kandan - easy
Omoshiroi - interesting
Tsumaranai - boring, uninteressing
Urusai - noisy, loud
Anzen- safe
Abunai - dangerous
Shinsetsu - polite
Kitanai - messy, unclean
Oishii - delicious
Mazui - bad tasting
Hiroi - wide
Semai - narrow (opposite of "hiroi")

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End of lesson 7

Partly yes, partly no. I am learning Japanese (outside of school), and I use my lessons as reference, but it would make me feel bad if I just copied them straight out. I mainly use the vocabulary from the lessons.

Lesson 8
Sangatsu youka (Mars the 8th)


To want

When wanting a noun, you use this sentence pattern:
N ga hoshii desu -> to want N

Watashi wa, mizu ga hoshii desu = I want water
(Anata wa,) Nani ga hoshii desu ka? = what do you want

Quite simple, right? But wait, it isn't over yet.

If there's something that you want to do, you have to change the verb itself. Now don't panic, it's not that hard.
All you have to do is to know the "masu" form of the verb. Take the _masu ending off, and add "tai desu" instead. As simple as that.

Watashi wa tabemasu = I eat
Watashi wa tabetai desu = I want to eat

If you want to define more what you want to do (i.e. what you want to eat, where you want to go etc.), you can use either "ga" or "wo" particle. Either one is fine.
And of course you use "ni" when speaking of direction.

Watashi wa, ringo wo tabetai desu = I want to eat an apple
Watashi wa ringo ga tabetai desu = I want to eat an apple
Watashi wa gakkou ni ikitai desu = I want to go to school

Kandan desu ne? (easy, isn't it?)

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To want, negative and past

Alright, here it becomes a bit tricky. Hoshii and __tai do NOT act like normal verbs. You must think of them as i-adjectives. Therefore, they act just like i-adj in past and negatice, that is, you just change the last "i".

Mizu ga hoshii desu - I want water
Mizu ga hoshiku nai desu - I don't want water
Mizu ga hoshikatta desu - I wanted water
Mizu ga hoshiku nakatta desu - I didn't want water

Ringo o tabetai desu - I want to eat an apple
Ringo o tabetaku nai desu - I don't want to eat an apple
Ringo o tabetakatta desu - I wanted to eat an apple
Ringo o tabetaku nakatta desu - I didn't want to eat an apple


It takes a while to get used to, but it can help if you think of hoshii as "wantable", where as "mizu ga hoshii desu" would be "water is wantable" (if that makes sence. If I'm just confusing you, forget it -_-)

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Dialogue

Ima: Watashi wa okane ga hoshii desu.
Hiki: Sou desu ka?
Ima: Hai, keitai ga hoshii desu.
Hiki: Aa, ii desu ne. Ima san, nani o shitai desu ka?
Ima: Doubutsuen ni ikitai desu.
Hiki: Kinou watashi wa doubutsuen ni ikimashita. Shiro ni ikimashou.
Ima: Iie, watashi wa ikitaku nai desu.

Ima: I want money.
Hiki: Oh really?
Ima: Yes, I want a cell-phone
Hiki: A, that's nice. Miss Ima, what do you want to do?
Ima: I want to go to the zoo.
Hiki: I went to the zoo yesterday. Let's go to the castle.
Ima: No, I don't want to go.

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Vocabulary

okane - money
jikan - time
megane - glasses
shiro - kastle
bijutsukan - art museum
denwa - telephone
keitai - cell phone
doubutsuen - zoo
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End of lesson 8

arigatou gozaimasu!! this stuff will be really helpful!