In lesson 1 we looked at the particles は ha 、が ga 、を o 、に ni 、で de 、and へ he . Now let's look at some more fun grammatical markers!
からkara - from (a starting point in time or place)
PLACE:
アメリカ から きました。 amerika kara kimashita.
(I) came from America .
TIME:
8時 から 始めましょう . hachi ji kara hajimemashou .
Let's start at (from) 8 O'clock .
までmade - until, through, as far as
TIME:
私は7時から8時 まで 日本語を勉強します。 watashi wa shichi ji kara hachi ji made nihongo wo benkyou shimasu.
I study Japanese from seven until eight.
PLACE:
ここから東京 まで 30分かかりました。 koko kara toukyou made sanjuu pun kakarimashita.
From here to Tokyo, it took 30 minutes.
のno - 's, of (possessive)
私の 本です。 watashi no hon desu.
(it's) my book.
アメリカ の フロリダ州から来ました。 amerika no furorida shuu kara kimashita.
(I) came from America 's Florida state. (I came from Florida , America.)
とかtoka - and, or... etc. (used in lists of 2 or more things and then 'etc')
学校で英語 とか フランス語 とか ドイツ語などを勉強しました。 gakkou de eigo toka furansu go toka doitsu go nado wo benkyou shimashita.
In school, I studied English, and French, and German...
何か飲む? お茶 とか コーラ とか 。。。 nanika nomu? ocha toka kora toka ...
Wanna drink something? Tea... or Coke ... or ...
やya - and... etc. (used in lists of 2 or more nouns and then the list continues)
お茶 や コーヒーがあ る。 ocha ya ko-hi- ga aru.
(We) have tea and coffee ...
もmo - also, too
私 も 熊のプーさんが好き。 watashi mo kuma no pu-san ga suki.
I like Winnie the Pooh too !
ドイツ語 も 話せる。 doitsu go mo hanaseru.
I can also speak German.
がga - but
熊のプーさんが 好きです が ドラえもんは あまり 好き じゃない。 kuma no pu-san ga suki desu ga , Doraemon wa amari suki ja nai.
I like Winnie the Pooh but I don't like Doraemon too much.
NOTE: The first ga in the above example is the subject marker
毎日練習します が 。。。 mainichi renshuu shimasu ga ...
Everyday I practice but ...
...(and sorry if this is really picking at the most unnecessary things lol),
Is there a difference in watashi when you use the hiragana vs kanji? I aslo noticed (way back in chapter one) it was the same with taberu, one spot it was in hiragana and another kanji.
Nope, no difference in these cases. :) Many can be written either way but might be listed as "usually kana" or "usually kanji" in the dictionary. Some are basically almost never written as kanji, and some are almost always written as kanji.
Children's books for example write everything in hiragana, but this can lead to ambiguity as you get into more complex writing because of the amount of words that are homophones (sound the same or are written with the same kana). So using kanji for these clarifies exactly which definition you intended.
So when you first see わたし or たべる, they'll probably be written as kana like that.. but once you've learned the meaning, they'll probably be some of the first kanji you'll start using since they're such basic words. 私 and 食べる.
が means "but" and でも means "even" or "although". You will sometimes see でも translated as "but" however that is when it has a similar English meaning to "although". For example, 日本語が話せます、でも上手じゃありません may be translated as "[I] can speak Japanese but not very well" or "[I] can speak Japanese although not very well."
Don't complain to me that people kick you when you're down. It's your own fault for lying there
BIt off topic but something I noticed...
...(and sorry if this is really picking at the most unnecessary things lol),
Is there a difference in watashi when you use the hiragana vs kanji? I aslo noticed (way back in chapter one) it was the same with taberu, one spot it was in hiragana and another kanji.
Nope, no difference in these
Nope, no difference in these cases. :) Many can be written either way but might be listed as "usually kana" or "usually kanji" in the dictionary. Some are basically almost never written as kanji, and some are almost always written as kanji.
Children's books for example write everything in hiragana, but this can lead to ambiguity as you get into more complex writing because of the amount of words that are homophones (sound the same or are written with the same kana). So using kanji for these clarifies exactly which definition you intended.
So when you first see わたし or たべる, they'll probably be written as kana like that.. but once you've learned the meaning, they'll probably be some of the first kanji you'll start using since they're such basic words. 私 and 食べる.
猿も木から落ちる
yea me too wats with that is
yea me too wats with that is it a typo with the ga and demo
が and でも
I'm just wondering what's the difference between が and でも. I'm just new at learning Japanese and I thought でも also means "but".
が means "but" and でも means
が means "but" and でも means "even" or "although". You will sometimes see でも translated as "but" however that is when it has a similar English meaning to "although". For example, 日本語が話せます、でも上手じゃありません may be translated as "[I] can speak Japanese but not very well" or "[I] can speak Japanese although not very well."
Don't complain to me that people kick you when you're down. It's your own fault for lying there