Here is yet another grammar construction that you can use plug and play style. What I mean by this is that you stick verbs into the construction and you can make sentences that make sense. Practice speaking Japanese by inserting in the place of To say that someone seems ‘about to’ verb in Japanese, use the following construction:

Japanese Grammar construction #109 Verb (Base II) + So^ desu.

This one is an easily constructed grammar principle. First take a Japanese verb of our choosing then transform it or put it into base II. It is a pre-requisite for learners just beginning their study of the Japanese language to know thoroughly the concepts surrounding verb conjugation and how to put verbs into bases. There are five bases which correspond to the first five syllables (also called mora) of the Japanese language.. If you want to start using this grammar today however, I can cheat for you just this once so that you can start speaking today without even knowing anything about verb bases and Japanese verb conjugation. But… I might get reprimanded and other teachers may call me ghetto. Oh thats righ… this is ghetto grammar…it is JPPGG or Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar … I forgot….

Don’t delay too long, the study of the Japanese verb bases and how to use them and what they do etc. However, just today, I’ll make it easy for anybody to start speaking Japanese with the verbs you choose from a dictionary you might have or online. All you need is a dictionary or have in your possession or knowledge Japanese verbs. (I hate any Japanese dictionary that allows you to read it in Roman letters (Romaji), but for today’s purpose of getting you to be able to speak in the Japanese language quickly, we will bypass a few things, cut corners and proceed without too much hassle. Today I’ll even let you use the despised Romaji EI-WA dictionary.)

Use any verbs or action words you like at all. Some examples might be

Go – IKU
Leave – DERU
Love – AI SURU
To be absent – SHUSSEKI SURU

I’ll explain to you how to put verbs into base II, but first let me briefly state a few ke points to keep in mind about Japanese verbs. All Japanese verbs will end in some sort of consonant + u combination. U itself is an ending as are the following. (Please refer to a katakana chart or hiragana chart to find the middle row that contains the syllables that end in u)our letter the u (pronounced ooh in Japanese), and it also may end with 9 other possible consonant combinations.

Instructions for putting regular Japanese verbs into base II:

1. Look in your English Japanese dictionary for the verb you want to use.
2. Put your chosen verb into base II

(In order to use the JPPGG (Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar) system, you’ll really need to know how to we put Japanese verbs into their various bases. I admonish you to begin your study now if you intend on having any degree of skill speaking in the Japanese language.)

I can tell you that all verbs listed in the dictionary are in a form know as plain form. All verbs will end in one of the following syllabic combination

ku,
su,
tsu,
nu,
h, (no fu line)
mu,
y, (no yu line)
ru,

and u

Instrutions: Take the dictionary form and decide which type of verb it is, whether it be an ichidan or a yodan verb. This distinction will determine how to make it base II.

I’ll bet you didn’t know that in Japanese grammar, there is an I before E except after C type rule. Now you should realize the two types of Japanese verbs. Verbs ending in eru or iru are called ICHIDAN verbs. The other type of verbs, that is, any verb that doesn’t end with the three roman letters of eru or iru, are called Yo^dan verbs.

With each of the these verbs comes distinctly separate rules or ways to form them, or put them into base II. Today’s grammar construction says to put the verb into base II then add + so^ desu. If we can form this construction, we will then be able to makes sentences that make sense and convey meanings to other speakers of Japanese. So First we must learn how to put verbs into base II.

Rule #1
Putting ICHIDAN verbs into base II:

Drop the final syllable of the verb, “ru”, so that only either i or e remain.

Here is an example of putting an ichidan verb into base II. Ochiru ends in iru making it an ICHIDIAN verb, we drop the ru and leave the i., so that

ochiru – ru = ochi
ochiru in base II is ochi

OCHIRU (落ちる) – to fall – Ochiru (base II) = OCHI

Ochi would be considered the stem before putting the verb into any base, as is the case with ichidan verbs. It is often referred to as the stem.

Rule #2
Putting Yodan verbs into base II is to drop u and change u into an i with whatever consonant may have preceded it.

Possible outcomes –

If verb ends in ku then the verb in base II will end in ki,
If verb ends in gu then the verb in base II will end in gu,
If verb ends in bu then the verb in base II will end in bi,
If verb ends in pu then the verb in base II will end in pi,
If verb ends in su then the verb in base II will end in shi,
If verb ends in tsu then the verb in base II will end in chi,
If verb ends in nu then the verb in base II will end in ni,
If verb ends in mu then the verb in base II will end in mi,
If verb ends in ru then the verb in base II will end in ri.

Hopefully you are gaining a handle on this base II stuff. Ganbatte Ne. Do your best!

All we have left to do for this grammar construction and start making sentences that make senses is to add the + SO^ DESU to our verbs in base II. Simple. For IRU and ERU ending verbs (i.e. ichidan verbs) simply drop off the last syllable ru and add + SO^ DESU. For all other verbs put into i ending of the consonant combination that precedes the u and and add + SO^ DESU

When you practice pronouncing the sentences that you create by using the above construction remember the double vowels, to hold them longer on the So^ desu. Note the ^ symbol stands for the double vowel sound so So^ is sounded Sou ,or so with a long o.

HANASU (話す) – to speak –
Hanasu (base II) = HANASHI

NAKU ( 泣く) – to cry
NAKU (base II) = NAKI

By adding So^ + desu to a Japanese verb in base II, the verb takes on a nuance that the verb in question the action word is about to take place. It could also be interpreted to mean , “ It look like (seems, appears as if etc.) that they (he, she, it, them , us , we, her, my granddad etc) are going to verb soon. I find it unnecessary to think of the sentences I construct in this way as – seems ‘about to’ verb. On the verge of verb’ing

HANASHI SO^ DESU (話しそう)
HANASHISO^ DESU – It seems he is about to speak

OCHI SO^ DESU (落ちそう です)
OCHISO^ DESU – looks like they are about to fall down

As always, Ganbatte Ne!
Do your best!
Makurasuki Sensei


Simple Japanese

22Aug08

X dake ja naku Y (mo) – Not only X, but y (also)

The word dake (pronounced dah – kay) means only. Ja naku is one form of the negative present copula “to be”.  Ja naku is an abbreviated version of the more formal expression for “isn’t” dewa nakute, or dewai naku. Dewa has over the years become ja for all intents and purposes.

Examples

• Ringo dake ja naku banana mo kaimashita

• Not only apples but I also bought banana’s.

Works best where x and y are tangible nouns.

For more Japanese language learning goto

http://saketalkie.blogspot.com or http://japanetics.blogspot.com

for spanish speaking Japanese language learners goto http://spanishjapanese.blogspot.com

For Japanese Food Words goto http://japanesefoodwords.blogspot.com


Here…There… And Everywhere
Japanese demonstrative pronoun

Notice in the following that

Interrogatives (questions) tend toward  D
here proximity  K
there proximity  S
over there proximity  A

Donna ni okii desu – How Big
Konna ni okii desu – About this big
Sonna ni okii desu – About that big
Anna ni okii desu – about that big (over there).

Dore gurai? About how much do you think?
Kore gurai! About this much!
Sore gurai ! About that much!
Are gurai! About (over there) that much

Dochi? –which one?
Kochi – this one
Sochi –that one
Achi – that one (over there)

Doko? – Where?
Koko – here
Soko – there
Muko – over there

Dokora – where abouts?
Kokora – around here
Sokora –around there

** Bonus Ghetto Word Section**
please don’t even dare thinking about using the following words

Dare? –
Koitsu! – This mofo, or this dude, or this guy, or this person!
Soitsu! – That dude! Or that bonehead there!
Aitsu! – That person over there!

Learn these useful words that all begin with mai or every

毎- まい – Mai – Every

毎日 – まいにち – Mainichi –Every Day

毎晩 – まいばん – Maiban – Every night

毎週 – まいしゅう – Maishu^ – Every week

毎月 – まいつき – Maitsuki – Every Month

毎年 – まいとし – Maitoshi – Every year

毎年 – まいねん – Mainen – Every year

毎度 – まいど – Maido – Every time

毎朝 – まいあさ Maiasa – Every morning

As always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki


In Excess – too much
When enough, is ENOUGH!
Verb (base II) + sugiru

Do you overeat? Are there things which you indulge upon which others consider to be excessive. Gambling, money, sex, watching too much T.V.?

To say that you verb too much in Japanese, use the following construct:

Verb (base II) + SUGIRU

Any verb put into Base II can be added unto, with sugiru.

Example 1. yarisugi da ne – you over do it man!

Example .2. oso^sugi – used with adjectives becoming – “its too late”, hayasugi (too
early), nagasugi ( too long), okiisugi (too big).

Example.3. ~tai of base II forming to want to endings becomes

Verb(Base II) + tasugi- even tai which is a form of the verb tagaru acts as adjectivial end meaning to desire the verb excessively

Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Ahsh/~3/300268531/in-excess-in-japanese-grammar.html


Table 1 – The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary (Romanized)

a ka sa ta na ha ma ra ya wa n
i ki shi chi ni hi mi ri
u ku su tsu nu fu mu ru yu
e ke se te ne he me re
o ko so to no ho mo ro yo wo

あ か さ た な は ま ら や わ ん
い き し ち に ひ み り
う く す つ ぬ ふ む る ゆ
え け せ て ね へ め れ
お こ そ と の ほ も ろ よ を

The above are the 46 syllables of the Japanese (alphabet) Syllabary. Individually they are called mora. Plurally they are called morae. One mora in particular is the focus of this article. The Tsu つmora. When the tsu つsyllable is added before the consonants k, p, and t, a hardened double consonant sound is produced. You spit out the words Like the sound of the doubled k in bookkeeper, adding the syllable tsu つ to ka, ki, ku, ke, ko makes pronunciation double succinct as in the following:

Tsu っ+ ka か= kka っ
Tsu っ+ ki き= kki っ
Tsu っ+ ku く= kku っ
Tsu っ+ ke け= kke っ
Tsu っ+ ko こ= kko っ

This special Japanese pronunciation of the doubled consonant is denoted by a lowered case, subscripted tsu っ in either hiragana平仮名
or katakana片仮名. Some examples are as follows:

速い行け!

1. makka 真っ赤– deep red
2. jikken 実験– experiment or test
3. shuppan 出版 する– publish , shuppatsu – departure
4. zettai ぜったい– suredly, absoluteness
5. tokkyo – not the kyou which has the elongated
6. happi ハッピ– the English word happy in katakana

Note the use of the doubled consonant sound in Japanese is indicated by a lower case tsu ッ followed by the doubled consonant sound.

When the last Japanese syllable n (ん) is not connected to a vowel, as in the very last syllable of the Japanese syllabary which in fact is just n or , it is like a syllable unto itself. It receives a full count if language were a music it would receive the same amount of time that a two letter syllable receives., and is denoted by the apostrophe ‘. For example:

1. Kin’en 禁煙 is Japanese for “No Smoking@!” not, kinen 記念, or the word for anniversary.
Kin’en 禁煙 has four syllables and the word for anniversary kinen 記念 has 3.

To say the raらriり ruる re れ ro ろ line of the syllabary say first in English name, “Eddy”, then make sure the tip of your tongue is touching delicately behind the upper front teeth. If you say it like this you come close to a true pronunciation of the Japanese word for collar, or eri 襟.
To learn more haya ike! はや行け!

http://japanetics.blogspot.com
or
http://squidoo.com/japanesevocabularyindex

As always,

Ganbatte ne! 頑張ってね
Do your best!
Makurasuki

Ja mata kondo! じゃ また こんどう


These Japanese words help intesify or heat up other Japanese words and Japanese phrases. Learn these useful Japanese Intesifiers.

1. Honto ni? 本当に- really?
2. Hijo^ ni? 非常に- extremely
3. Sugoku 凄く- greatly (very)
4. Tottemo とっても- very
5. Taihen 大変- awful (rough, hard), that’s terrible,
6. Donna ni… どんなに- how…
7. Kanarazu 必ず- absolutely

As Always,
Ganbatte ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki


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20Aug08

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