Japanese Expression of Desire -

Learn Japanese Online

Intermediate Lessons: 1
In this first intermediate lesson, you are going to learn Japanese expression of desire for something
(for noun) and desire to do something (for verb).

When you desire or want something (noun), the expression used is "欲しい" or "ほしい" (hoshii).

When you desire or want to do something (verb - since it's an action), the Japanese expression "verb
{stem of masu-form} たい" (tai) is used.

While there are some other variations and functions for these two expressions such as when
describing third person desire, this lesson will concentrate on the basic function of them.

I will discuss the other functions in future lessons.

Japanese Expression of Desire for Something

Let's take a look at the sentence pattern for the first expression...

(私は) Noun が ほしいです

(watashi wa) Noun ga hoshii desu

Take note that this expression is only used for first person, so it's always "watashi wa Noun ga hoshii
desu". However "watashi wa" is normally omitted as it's obvious that the speaker is talking as the
first person. Therefore the following sentence is wrong because it's not the speaker's desire...

 田中さんは犬 が ほしいです。 X
tanaka san wa inu ga hoshii desu X
Meaning: Mr Tanaka wants a dog. X

Note: This sentence is wrong because it's Mr Tanaka's desire

However you can ask someone (second person) what's his or her desire in a question. So you can use
this expression in a question like the following...

 あなたは何 が ほしいですか。
anata wa nani ga hoshii desu ka
Meaning: What do you want?
In this expression, the thing that you desire (Noun) is marked with the particle が (ga). This is the rule
that you have to remember.

For the object Noun, it can be a) thing, b) people and c) time. Let's use some examples to further see
how this Japanese expression works...

a) Thing

 今日はとても暑いです。私は冷たいジュース が ほしいです。
kyou wa totemo atsui desu. watashi wa tsumetai ju-su ga hoshii desu

Meaning: Today is very hot. I want cold juice.

 今日は雨が降っています。傘 が ほしいです。
kyou wa ame ga futte imasu. kasa ga hoshii desu

Meaning: Today is raining. I want an umbrella.

b) People

 私は恋人 が ほしいです。
watashi wa koibito ga hoshii desu

Meaning: I want a boyfriend/girlfriend.

 私は日本人の友達 が ほしいです。
watashi wa nihonjin no tomodachi ga hoshii desu

Meaning: I want a Japanese friend.

c) Time

 私はとても忙しいから、時間 が ほしいです。
watashi wa totemo isogashii kara, jikan ga hoshii desu

Meaning: I want time because I am so busy.

Negative and Past Tense of ほしい (hoshii)

As ほしい (hoshii) is an i-adjective, the negative form and past tense (affirmative and negative)
follow how an i-adjective changes form. Take a look at the following...

Present Affirmative: ほしいです

Present Negative: ほしくないです

Past Affirmative: ほしかったです

Past Negative: ほしくなかったです

Let's make some examples to explain the various forms clearly...

 子供の時人形 が ほしかったですが、今はほしくないです。
kodomo no toki ningyou ga hoshikatta desu ga, ima wa hoshikunai desu

Meaning: I wanted a doll when I was a kid, but I don't want it anymore now.
 五年前にカメラ が ほしくなかったですが、今はほしいです。
gonen mae ni kamera ga hoshikunakatta desu ga, ima wa hoshii desu

Meaning: I didn't want a camera 5 years ago, but I want it now.

Bear in mind the Japanese expression ほしい (hoshii) is only used for things/objects. You cannot use
it when you have desire to do something (action). A common mistake student often made is the
following sentence...

 私は寝ます が ほしいです。 X
watashi wa nemasu ga hoshii desu X
Meaning: I want to sleep. X

Note: This sentence is wrong since nemasu is a verb.

Note: You can actually connect Verb to ほしい (hoshii), but you've to change the verb to て-form (te-
form) first: Verb (て-form) ほしい. However, Verb (て-form) ほしい has a different meaning from the
above which will be discussed in one of the future lessons. Just bear in mind that you cannot connect
verb directly to ほしい (hoshii) unless you change it to て-form (te-form).

For own desire to do something (action), you need to use the next Japanese expression of desire to
do something.

Japanese Expression of Desire to Do Something

Let's take a look at the sentence pattern for this Japanese expression...

Verb {stem of masu-form} たいです

Verb {stem of masu-form} tai desu
Check out the page on Japanese verb stem of masu-form if you are not sure how to form it. Let's
make use of few verbs to see how to change into the respective たい-form (tai-form)...

dict-form masu-form tai-form Meaning

1. 買う 買います 買いたい want to buy

2. 待つ 待ちます 待ちたい want to wait

3. 乗る 乗ります 乗りたい want to ride

4. 飲む 飲みます 飲みたい want to drink

5. 死ぬ 死にます 死にたい want to die

6. 遊ぶ 遊びます 遊びたい want to play

7. 行く 行きます 行きたい want to go

8. 泳ぐ 泳ぎます 泳ぎたい want to swim

9. 話す 話します 話したい want to talk

10. 見る 見ます 見たい want to see

11. する します したい want to do

12. くる きます きたい want to come

たい-form (tai-form) is also similar to ほしい (hoshii) that it is only used for first person. Therefore
it's wrong to say "someone (other than yourself) verb(~tai) desu". But it's Ok to use it when asking
someone "what he or she wants to do" in a question.

For たい (tai) sentence, you can still use the particles as per normal. However sometimes particle を
(wo) is changed to が (ga). It's Ok to use either of them, but most of the time が (ga) is used. Let's
check out some examples for this Japanese expression...

 ジュース を/が 飲みたいです。

ju-su wo/ga nomitai desu
Meaning: I want to drink juice.
  本屋 へ 行きたいです。
honya e ikitai desu
Meaning: I want to go to the bookstore.
 電車 に 乗りたいです。
densha ni noriitai desu
Meaning: I want to get on the train.
 日本語の新聞 を/が 読みたいです。
nihongo no shinbun wo/ga yomitai desu
Meaning: I want to read Japanese newspaper.

Negative and Past Tense of Verb たい (tai) form

Similar to ほしい (hoshii), verb tai-form is also an i-adjective. Therefore the same rule applies when
changing form to negative and past tense. Please see the following for a clearer picture...

Present Affirmative: ～たいです

Present Negative: ～たくないです

Past Affirmative: ～たかったです

Past Negative: ～たくなかったです

Let's make some similar examples as you have done in the other Japanese expression "hoshii" to
explain the various forms clearly...

 今朝はビール が 飲みたくなかったですが、今は飲みたいです。
kesa wa bi-ru ga nomitakunakatta desu ga, ima wa nomitai desu

Meaning: I didn't want to drink beer this morning, but I want to drink now.
 子供の時は公園 で 遊びたかったですが、今は遊びたくないです。
kodomo no toki wa kouen de asobitakatta desu ga, ima wa asobitakunai desu

Meaning: I wanted to play at the park when I was a kid, but I don't want to play now.
 Japanese Grammar on Expressing
Experience -
Intermediate Lessons: 2
In this second intermediate lesson you will get to learn the Japanese grammar for expressing your
experience in the past.

It's formed by using the sentence pattern of "Japanese verb (た-form) ことがある/あります" (ta-form
koto ga aru/arimasu).

This is a very useful grammar in daily conversation when you need to say something which you or
others have experienced or something you or others have done in the past.

It can also be used to ask the experience of others.

The sentence pattern for this Japanese grammar is...

Verb (た-form) ことがあります

Verb (ta-form) koto ga arimasu

Normally if you say "去年日本へ行きました" (kyonen nihon e ikimashita), it means you have been to
Japan last year. This sentence is talking about your action at that moment (last year). It doesn't say
anything about other thing.

But if you say "日本へ行ったことがあります" (nihon e itta koto ga arimasu), you are saying you have
been to Japan in the past. It doesn't matter when that happened. So long you have been to Japan
previously.

So if you want to mention that you have done a particular thing at a particular moment, use normal
past tense. However, if you want to say you have done a particular thing in the past regardless of
when you did it, use "ta-form koto ga arimasu".

As this Japanese grammar is talking about something you have done in the past regardless of when
you did it, you cannot put a time stamp in the statement. For example, the following sentence is
wrong...

 昨日刺身を食べたことがあります。 X
kinou sashimi wo tabeta koto ga arimasu X
Meaning: I have experienced of eating sashimi yesterday. X
 Note: This sentence is wrong because the time stamp kinou is not required.

Instead you should just say...

 刺身を食べたことがあります。
sashimi wo tabeta koto ga arimasu
Meaning: I have eaten sashimi before.

No Experience in the Past: ta-form koto ga nai/arimasen

For thing that you have neither experienced nor done in the past, you just need to change the form
to negative like this...

Verb (た-form) ことがありません

Verb (ta-form) koto ga arimasen

For example, if you have not climb Mount Fuji in your life, you can say...

 富士山に登ったことがありません。
fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasen

Meaning: I have not climbed Mount Fuji before.

If you have not play Pachinko (Japanese pinball game) before, you can say...

 パチンコをしたことがありません。
pachinko wo shita koto ga arimasen

Meaning: I have not played Pachinko before.

Number of Times You Have Done in the Past

Although you cannot put the time stamp like "yesterday" or "last year" in this Japanese grammar, you
can put in how many times you have done it in your life. In this case, make use of the Japanese
counter 度 (ど - do) or 回 (かい - kai).

So if you have climbed Mount Fuji for once in the past, you can say the following sentence...

 一度/一回 富士山に登ったことがあります。
ichido/ikkai fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasu

Meaning: I have climbed Mount Fuji once.

If you want to say you have played Pachinko for many times, use the word 何度も (なんども -
nandomo) or 何回も (なんかいも - nankaimo)...

 何度も/何回も パチンコをしたことがあります。
nandomo/nankaimo pachinko wo shita koto ga arimasu

Meaning: I have played Pachinko many times.

For the negative form "ta-form koto ga arimasen", if you want to emphasize that you have not done
something even once, use the word 一度も (いちども - ichidomo). For example, if you want to stress
that you have not drink alcohol even once, you can say...

 一度も お酒を飲んだことがありません。
ichidomo osake wo nonda koto ga arimasen

Meaning: I have not drunk alcohol even once.

Please take note that 一度も (いちども - ichidomo) can only be used with negative sentence.

Asking If Someone Has the Experience of Doing Something

It's simple to turn this Japanese grammar into a question. Just append the question word か (ka) at
the end of the sentence.

So if you want to ask someone whether he has climbed Mount Fuji before...

 Question: 富士山に登ったことがありますか。
fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasu ka
Meaning: Have you climbed Mount Fuji before?
 Answer 1: はい、登ったことがあります。
hai, nobotta koto ga arimasu
Meaning: Yes, I have climbed Mount Fuji before.
 Answer 2: いいえ、登ったことはありません。
iie, nobotta koto wa arimasen
Meaning: No, I have not climbed Mount Fuji before.

In actual conversation, you might have used Plain form in your sentences. Therefore instead of
あります (arimasu) or ありません (arimasen), you should use ある (aru) or ない (nai) respectively.

The frequency of using this Japanese grammar is quite high in conversation so read through this
lesson few times until you are familiar with it.
 Japanese Sentence Plain form no desu -
Intermediate Lessons: 3
This lesson will teach you how to make your Japanese sentence sounds more natural using the
grammar Plain form のです (Plain form no desu).

After learning Japanese for some time, you will notice that native Japanese speak differently from
what you have learned so far. One of the differences is that they like to add a の (no) at the end of a
sentence.

This is to make the sentence sounds more natural. Besides, the speaker used this grammar to:

1. confirm if something he/she has seen or heard is true

2. seek an explanation (more information)
3. show curiosity (strong interest)

Let's look at the sentence pattern of this grammar...

Plain form のですか

Plain form no desu ka

Plain form のです

Plain form no desu

Note: For な-adj/Noun -> (～だ) な

While the above sentence pattern is used in writing, it's changed to Plain form んです (Plain form n
desu) when it's used in conversation because it's easier to pronounce.

There is one condition when using this Japanese sentence. In order to use it, something should be
obvious on whatever you have seen or heard. Let's use some examples to explain this condition.

When NOT to Use Plain form no desu?

Let's say summer vacation in coming soon. The teacher is asking the students where they are going
for their holidays. The teacher probably says...
  どこへ行きますか。
doko e ikimasu ka
Meaning: Where are you going?

As the students are still in the classroom wearing their school uniform, the teacher has no idea
where they are going for their holidays. Therefore she can only ask with a question like
"どこへ行きますか" (doko e ikimasu ka).

When TO Use Plain form no desu?

Let's say now that you see your neighbour is waiting for taxi with his travel suitcase beside him and
he is also carrying a camera. It's obvious that your neighbour is going for travel. You want to make
sure that he is really going for travel. In this case you can ask him...

 どこへ行く の ですか。
doko e iku no desu ka
Meaning: Where are you going?

As opposed to the first example, it's obvious that your neighbour is going for travel. And you want
to confirm that. In this case you can use Plain form no desu in the Japanese sentence.

More Examples on Plain form no desu

Assume you are inside the office. If you want to ask someone if it's raining outside, how do you ask?
You will probably ask...

 雨が降っていますか。
ame ga futte imasu ka
Meaning: Is it raining?

However, if you see your colleague carrying a wet umbrella into the office, you should use Plain form
no desu.

 雨が降っている の ですか。
ame ga futte iru no desu ka
Meaning: Is it raining?

It's not a mistake to say "雨が降っていますか。" (ame ga futte imasu ka) for the second case. But
native Japanese use Plain form no desu for something obvious, as it's more natural.

Let's see another example to make sure what situation is considered as obvious.

Suppose today you notice that your colleague who used to maintain long hair suddenly appeared in
front of you with short hair. You are surprised and ask her...
  髪を切った の ですか。
kami wo kitta no desu ka
Meaning: Did you cut your hair?

You have seen your colleague with long hair until yesterday. It's obvious that she had cut her hair.
Therefore it's natural to use Plain form no desu in the Japanese sentence here.

However, if you are talking to your colleague through phone without knowing her new hair style, you
will ask her...

 髪を切りましたか。
kami wo kirimashita ka
Meaning: Did you cut your hair?

Japanese Sentences Ended with Noun or Na-adjective

For sentences ended with Noun or Na-adjective, instead of ending だ (da), change it to な (na). For
example, if you see a tourist carrying a Japanese passport in his hand, it's obvious that he is a
Japanese. So you can ask him the following to confirm...

 日本人 なの ですか。
nihonjin na no desu ka
Meaning: Are you a Japanese?

However if it's not obvious (he is not carrying a Japanese passport), you can only ask him...

 日本人ですか。
nihonjin desu ka
Meaning: Are you a Japanese?

In summary, you can only use this Japanese sentence when something is obvious, either you have
seen or heard about it. It also shows your curiosity and you are seeking for an explanation.

Asking for Reason and How to Answer It

And since you are using this Japanese sentence to ask questions, it always goes with the question
word どうして (doushite - why). The answer to this type of questions is always "Plain form からです"
(Plain form kara desu), as shown in the following sentence patterns...

Question:
どうして Plain form のですか
doushite Plain form no desu ka
 Answer:
Plain form からです
Plain form kara desu

As から (kara) also has the meaning of "reason", it always paired with どうして (doushite) question.
For example...

 Question: どうして昨日学校を休んだのですか。
doushite kinou gakkou wo yasunda no desu ka
Meaning: Why were you absent from school yesterday?

Answer: 頭が痛かった から です。

atama ga itakatta kara desu
Meaning: Because I had a headache.

 Question: どうして早く帰るのですか。
doushite hayaku kaeru no desu ka
Meaning: Why do you go back early?

Answer: 今日は妻の誕生日だ から です。

kyou wa tsuma no tanjoubi da kara desu
Meaning: Because today is my wife's birthday.

Don't forget that the Japanese grammar Plain form no desu is usually used in writing. However
during a conversation, の (no) is changed to ん (n).
 Japanese Grammar on
Expressing Benefit & Purpose -
Intermediate Lessons: 4
In this lesson you will get to learn the Japanese grammar ため (tame). It's used to describe something
(noun) or some action (verb). This "something or action" is for the benefit of individual or group.
Besides, it can also mean "for the purpose of" or "in order to".

For the Benefit of "Noun"

Let's look at the sentence patterns of the first meaning of this Japanese grammar...

NounA のための NounB

NounA no tame no NounB

This means that NounB is for the benefit of NounA.

Let's use some examples to explain this Japanese grammar clearer...

1. これは外国人の ための 日本語の辞書です。

kore wa gaikokujin no tame no nihongo no jisho desu

Meaning: This is a Japanese dictionary for (the benefit of) foreigner.

2. これは子供の ための 本です。
kore wa kodomo no tame no hon desu

Meaning: This is a book for (the benefit of) children.

3. これはベジタリアンの ための 料理です。
kore wa bejitarian no tame no ryouri desu

Meaning: This is a dish for (the benefit of) vegetarian.

4. これはお年寄りの ための 席です。
kore wa otoshiyori no tame no seki desu

Meaning: This is a seat for (the benefit of) elderly

Another sentence pattern is by changing the second noun with a verb (action).
 Noun のために Verb
Noun no tame ni Verb

This one describes the action (Verb) is for the benefit of Noun.

1. 家族の ために 一生懸命働いています。

kazoku no tame ni isshoukenmei hataraite imasu

Meaning: I am working very hard for the benefit of my family.

2. 恋人の ために ケーキを作っています。
koibito no tame ni ke-ki wo tsukutte imasu

Meaning: I am making cake for (the benefit of) my lover.

3. 目が悪い学生の ために 先生は字を大きく書いています。
me ga warui gakusei no tame ni sensei wa ji wo ookiku kaite imasu

Meaning: Teacher is writing the word with big strokes for (the benefit of) students with bad
eyesight.
4. 日本語が分からない人の ために 英語で話してください。
nihongo ga wakaranai hito no tame ni eigo de hanashite kudasai

Meaning: Please speak in English for (the benefit of) people who doesn't understand
Japanese.

Just remember to use ための (tame no) to describe noun and ために (tame ni) to describe action.

For the Purpose of / In Order To

There is another sentence pattern for this Japanese grammar which means "For the purpose of" or "In
order to"...

Verb(dict-form) ために Action

Verb(dict-form) tame ni Action

In this case, a dictionary-form verb is placed before tame ni instead of a noun.

1. 医者になる ために 一生懸命勉強しています。

isha ni naru tame ni isshoukenmei benkyoushite imasu

Meaning: I am studying very hard in order to become a doctor.

2. 弟は自転車を買う ために お金を貯めています。
otouto wa jitensha wo kau tame ni okane wo tamete imasu

Meaning: My younger brother is saving money in order to buy a bicycle.

 3. 漫画を読む ために 日本語を勉強しています。
manga wo yomu tame ni nihongo wo benkyoushite imasu

Meaning: I am studying Japanese in order to read manga.

4. 友達は料理を習う ために イタリアへ行きました。
tomodachi wa ryouri wo narau tame ni itaria e ikimashita

Meaning: My friend went to Italy in order to learn cooking.

In summary, this Japanese grammar tame is used to express the benefit/purpose of something or
doing some action.
 Potential Form 可能形 (kanoukei) &
dekiru -
Intermediate Lessons: 5
You may have come across potential form (or potential verb) in Japanese if you are at the
intermediate level. It's one of the 2 ways to express ability and possibility to do something in
Japanese. Another way is to convert a verb into its noun-form and append ができる (ga dekiru) to it.

It's very simple to convert a Japanese verb into its noun-form. To do that, simply append こと(koto)
to the dictionary-form of any verb. For example, 話す (hanasu) becomes 話すこと (hanasu koto), 読む
(yomu) becomes 読むこと (yomu koto).

By appending ができる (ga dekiru) to a noun or a verb in its noun-form, as shown in the following
sentence patterns, you can express the ability and possibility of performing an action.

A. Noun ができる (Noun ga dekiru)

OR
B. Verb + こと ができる (Verb+koto ga dekiru)

Note: Only noun that is able to connect with する (suru) verb can be used here.

Let's use some examples to show how to use the above sentence patterns...

A. Using Noun ができる

1. 私はテニスをします。
watashi wa tenisu wo shimasu
Meaning: I play tennis. (action to play tennis)

becomes

私はテニスができます。
watashi wa tenisu ga dekimasu
Meaning: I can play tennis. (ability to play tennis)

2. 私はスキーをします。
watashi wa suki- wo shimasu
Meaning: I ski. (action to ski)
 becomes

私はスキーができます。
watashi wa suki- ga dekimasu
Meaning: I can ski. (ability to ski)

B. Using Verb + こと ができる

1. 私は日本語を話します。
watashi wa nihongo wo hanshimasu
Meaning: I speak Japanese. (action to speak Japanese)

becomes

私は日本語を話すことができます。
watashi wa nihongo wo hanasu koto ga dekimasu
Meaning: I can speak Japanese. (ability to speak Japanese)

2. ここで写真を撮ります。
koko de shashin wo torimasu
Meaning: I take photo here. (action to take photo)

becomes

ここで写真を撮ることができます。
koko de shashin wo toru koto ga dekimasu
Meaning: I can take photo here. (possibility to take photo)

Japanese Potential form or 可能形 (kanoukei)

To express ability or possibility, we have one more expression... Potential verb or Potential form. The
meaning of "can" has already been included in the verb without using できる.

Rules for Changing Dictionary-form to Potential-form

The following are the rules for the 3 groups of Japanese verbs.

Group 1 Verbs

Group 1 verbs always end up with words containing u-sound. To change group 1 verbs to potential-
form, change the u-sound to e-sound in the last word. After that append る (ru) to the changed
words and you will get the potential-form of the verb.
For example, this group 1 verb よむ (yomu) ends up with む (mu). If you change the u-sound to e-
sound, む (mu) becomes め (me). Adding る (ru) at the end, you will get よめる (yomeru).

Let's look at one more example, this group 1 verb はしる (hashiru) ends up with る (ru). If you change
the u-sound to e-sound, る (ru) becomes れ (re). Adding る (ru) at the end, you will get はしれる
(hashireru).

Group 2 Verbs

Changing group 2 verbs from dictionary-form to potential-form is much simpler. All group 2 verbs
end up with る (ru). To change to potential-form, simply replace る (ru) with られる (rareru) and you
will get the potential-form of the verb.

For example, this Japanese verb たべる (taberu) is a group 2 verb. To change to potential-form,
replace る (ru) with られる (rareru) and you will get たべられる (taberareru).

I will use another example to show the change. This group 2 verb ねる (neru) means go to bed.
Change る (ru) to られる (rareru) and you will get ねられる (nerareru).

Group 3 Verbs

Group 3 verbs are irregular verbs. You just have to memorize them. The potential-form of くる
(kuru) is こられる (korareru) and the potential-form of する (suru) is できる (dekiru).

In summary, the following diagram shows the rules when changing dictionary-form to potential-
form for Japanese verbs.
So you have 2 ways to express the meaning of ability or possibility in Japanese. For example, the
following 2 sentences mean the same thing... "I can speak Japanese".
  私は日本語を話すことができます。
watashi wa nihongo wo hanasu koto ga dekimasu
 私は日本語が話せます。
watashi wa nihongo ga hanasemasu

Note: When using potential form, you have to change the particle from を (wo) to が (ga). This was
what I were taught by my teacher in the beginning. However, I later found out that this is not always
the case. Depending on situations, を (wo) can also be used. We were told to use が (ga) because our
teacher didn't want us to be confused when we were first learning the potential form. So in this
lesson, I will still use が (ga) for the particle.

And since all potential verbs are Group 2 verbs, it's easy to change a potential verb to its other
forms. Following the rules for group 2 verbs,

 masu-form : る -> ます
 ta-form : る -> た
 nai-form : る -> ない
 nakatta-from : る -> なかった

For example, using the potential verb 話せる (hanaseru), which means "can speak"...

 masu-form : 話せる -> 話せます

 ta-form : 話せる -> 話せた
 nai-form : 話せる -> 話せない
 nakatta-from : 話せる -> 話せなかった

Potential verbs can also be applied to the polite style. Using the same example,

 Present Affirmative : 話せる -> 話せます

 Present Negative : 話せる -> 話せません
 Past Affirmative : 話せる -> 話せました
 Past Negative : 話せる -> 話せませんでした

More Examples on Using Potential form and dekiru

Let's practise using both ways to express ability or possibility with more examples...

1. 兄は泳ぐことができます。
ani wa oyogu koto ga dekimasu
兄は泳げます。
ani wa oyogemasu

Meaning: My elder brother can swim.

2. 母は日本料理を作ることができます。
haha wa nihon ryouri wo tsukuru koto ga dekimasu
 母は日本料理が作れます。
haha wa nihon ryouri ga tsukuremasu

Meaning: My mother can cook Japanese dish.

3. 弟は自転車に乗ることができます。
otouto wa jitensha ni noru koto ga dekimasu
弟は自転車に乗れます。
otouto wa jitensha ni noremasu

Meaning: My younger brother can ride the bicycle.

4. 明日パーティーに行くことができません。
ashita pa-ti- ni iku koto ga dekimasen
明日パーティーに行けません。
ashita pa-ti- ni ikemasen

Meaning: I can't go to the party tommorrow.

5. 昨日晩御飯を食べることができませんでした。
kinou bangohan wo taberu koto ga dekimasendeshita
昨日晩御飯が食べられませんでした。
kinou bangohan ga taberaremasendeshita

Meaning: I couldn't eat dinner yesterday.

 ようになる you ni naru -
Intermediate Lessons: 6
In this lesson I am going to introduce the Japanese grammar ようになる you ni naru. Depending on the
verb form that comes before it, it can mean change in habitual action or change in ability/possibility.

なる (naru) is a verb that expresses change. For example...

 春になりました
haru ni narimashita
Meaning: The season has changed to Spring.
 天気が暖かくなりました
tenki ga atatakaku narimashita
Meaning: The weather has become warm.
 手がきれいになりました
te ga kirei ni narimashita
Meaning: The hand has become clean.
 ズボンが小さくなりました
zubon ga chisaku narimashita
Meaning: The pants has become small.

By combining ように (you ni) with なる (naru), you can express the change of state of situation.

Basically the following two sentence patterns are used for this grammar...

1. Verb (dictionary-form) ようになりました

Verb (dictionary-form) you ni narimashita

Meaning: change in habitual action.

2. Verb (potential-form) ようになりました

Verb (potential-form) you ni narimashita

Meaning: change in ability or possibility.

1. Verb (dictionary-form) you ni naru

This grammar demonstrates the change in habitual action of someone. For instance, you don't do
something in the past but are doing it currently. Maybe you don't smoke in the past, but recently you
took up the habit of smoking.
Normally you can express this change in habitual action in two sentences like...

 昔はたばこを吸いませんでした。今はたばこを吸います。
mukashi wa tabako wo suimasendeshita. ima wa tabako wo suimasu

Meaning: I didn't smoke in the past. I smoke now.

However by using Verb (dictionary-form) you ni naru, you can express the same action in a single
sentence...

 たばこを吸うようになりました。
tabako wo suu you ni narimashita

たばこを吸う (tabako wo suu) is the present state where you smoke now. It also means that in the
past you didn't smoke. So from the above sentence you can conclude two things: You didn't smoke
in the past, but you smoke now.

More Examples

1. 新聞を読むようになりました。
shinbun wo yomu you ni narimashita

Meaning: I didn't read newspaper in the past. I read newspaper now.

2. ジャズを聞くようになりました。
jazu wo kiku you ni narimashita

Meaning: I didn't listen to Jazz in the past. I listen to Jazz now.

3. 歌を歌うようになりました。
uta wo utau you ni narimashita

Meaning: I didn't sing in the past. I sing now.

2. When to Use Verb (potential-form) you ni naru?

You will need to use the potential verb when you want to show the change in ability or possibility
instead.

Using the same example of smoking, let's say that in your country you are not allowed to smoke
until you are 18 years old. Normally you can express this in the following sentences like...

 十六歳の時、たばこが吸えませんでした。
今は十八歳です。たばこが吸えます。
juurossai no toki, tabako ga suemasendeshita.
ima wa juuhassai desu. tabako ga suemasu
 Meaning: I couldn't smoke when I was sixteen. I am eighteen now. I can smoke.

By using Verb (potential-form) you ni naru, you can express the same situation in only one
sentence...

 たばこが吸えるようになりました。
tabeko ga sueru you ni narimashita

The above example shows the change in possibility was occurred. How about the change in ability?

Let's say that you were not able to read Japanese in the past. After studying Japanese for 5 years,
now you can read Japanese newspaper. You can express this situation in the following sentences...

 昔は日本語の新聞が読めませんでした。
今は日本語の新聞が読めます。
mukashi wa nihongo no shinbun ga yomemasendeshita.
ima wa nihongo no shinbun ga yomemasu

Meaning: I couldn't read Japanese newspaper in the past. I can read now.

Again by using Verb (potential-form) you ni naru, you can express the same situation in only one
sentence...

 日本語の新聞が読めるようになりました。
nihongo no shinbun ga yomeru you ni narimashita

More Examples

1. 日本語の歌が歌えるようになりました。
nihongo no uta ga utaeru you ni narimashita

Meaning: I couldn't sing Japanese song in the past. I can sing now.
2. 漢字が書けるようになりました。
kanji ga kakeru you ni narimashita

Meaning: I couldn't write kanji in the past. I can write now.

3. 日本語の漫画が読めるようになりました。
nihongo no manga ga yomeru you ni narimashita

Meaning: I couldn't read Japanese manga in the past. I can read now.
 かどうか ka dou ka -
Intermediate Lessons: 7
This lesson will explain how to use the Japanese grammar かどうか ka dou ka to combine two
sentences into one, where the first sentence is a Yes/No question.

However, if a question word like なに (nani) or どの (dono), etc is used in the first sentence, the
particle か ka will be used instead to connect the two sentences.

To translate ～かどうか (~ka do ka) to English, it actually means whether ~ (or not). For example, in
the following Japanese sentences...

 田中さんはかわいいですか、かわいくないですか。教えてください。
tanaka-san wa kawaii desu ka, kawaikunai desu ka. oshiete kudasai

Meaning: Please tell me whether Ms Tanaka is pretty (or not).

By using かどうか ka do ka, you can shorten the sentences into one like this...

 田中さんはかわいいかどうか教えてください。
tanaka-san wa kawaii ka dou ka oshiete kudasai

Meaning: Please tell me whether Ms Tanaka is pretty (or not).

This grammar can be preceded by verb, i-adjective, na-adjective and noun. And the sentence
patterns are...

Verb plain-form かどうか ～

い-adjective plain-form かどうか ～

な-adjective plain-form (～だ) かどうか ～

Noun plain-form (～だ) かどうか ～

Note: For な-adjective & noun, remove the ending だ before adding かどうか

Try to combine the following two sentences using the above sentence patterns...
  先生は来年日本に帰りますか、帰りませんか。知っていますか。
sensei wa rainen nihon ni kaerimasuka, kaerimasenka. shitteimasuka

Meaning: Do you know whether our teacher is going back to Japan next year?

That's simple right? Just change 帰ります (kaerimasu) to its plain-form and add かどうか (ka dou ka).
The resultant sentence is...

 先生は来年日本に帰るかどうか知っていますか。
sensei wa rainen nihon ni kaeru ka dou ka shitteimasuka

Meaning: Do you know whether our teacher is going back to Japan next year?

More Examples

Let's practise how to connect the two sentences using かどうか by your own on the following
examples...

Questions

1. マイクさんは日本語が話せますか、話せませんか。知りません。
maiku san wa nihongo ga hanasemasuka, hanasemasenka. shirimasen
2. あの映画を見ましたか、見ていませんか。教えてください。
ano eiga wo mimashitaka, miteimasenka. oshiete kudasai
3. このラーメンはおいしいですか、おいしくないですか。知っていますか。
kono ra-men wa oishii desu ka, oishikunai desu ka. shitteimasuka
4. ジョンさんはそばが好きですか、好きではありませんか。聞いてください。
jon san wa soba ga suki desu ka, suki dewaarimasenka. kiite kudasai
5. 今日学校は休みですか、休みではありませんか。分かりません。
kyou gakkou wa yasumi desu ka, yasumi dewaarimasenka. wakarimasen
6. 東京は昨日雨でしたか、雨ではありませんでしたか。知りたいです。
toukyou wa kinou ame deshitaka, ame dewaarimasendeshitaka. shiritai desu

Answers

Have you tried to answer by your own before looking for the answers below? I do hope so. Below are
the answers...

1. マイクさんは日本語が話せるかどうか知りません。
maiku san wa nihongo ga hanaseru ka dou ka shirimasen

Meaning: I don't know whether Mike can speak Japanese (or not).
2. あの映画を見たかどうか教えてください。
ano eiga wo mita ka dou ka oshiete kudasai
 Meaning: Please tell me whether you have watched that movie (or not).
3. このラーメンはおいしいかどうか知っていますか。
kono ra-men wa oishii ka dou ka shitteimasuka

Meaning: Do you know whether the ramen is delicious (or not).

4. ジョンさんはそばが好きかどうか聞いてください。
jon san wa soba ga suki ka dou ka kiite kudasai

Meaning: Please ask John whether he like soba (or not).

5. 今日学校は休みかどうか分かりません。
kyou gakkou wa yasumi ka dou ka wakarimasen

Meaning: I don't know whether the school is off (or not) today.
6. 東京は昨日雨だったかどうか知りたいです。
toukyou wa kinou ame datta ka dou ka shiritai desu

Meaning: I want to know whether there was rain in Tokyo (or not) yesterday.

For no. 4 and 5, remember to remove the だ (da) after 好き (suki) and 休み (yasumi) since they are
na-adjective and noun respectively. However for no. 6, you are not required to do so since the plain-
form of the noun 雨 (ame) is in past tense.

Using Particle か (ka) If There is a Question Word

If the first sentence is not a Yes/No question, but contains a question word instead, you have to use
the particle か (ka) to connect the two sentences. For example...

 あなたの誕生日はいつですか。教えてください。
anata no tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka. oshiete kudasai

Meaning: Please tell me when is your birthday.

The question word in the first sentence is いつ (itsu), which means "when". So how can you combine
the two sentences? Just replace かどうか with か as in the above sentence patterns.

The plain-form of いつです (itsu desu) is いつだ (itsu da). And for noun sentence you need to remove
the だ. So the resultant sentence will be...

 あなたの誕生日はいつか教えてください。
anata no tanjoubi wa itsu ka oshiete kudasai

Meaning: Please tell me when is your birthday.

More Examples

Let's try again by your own for the following examples...

Questions

1. 今何時ですか。知っていますか。
ima nanji desu ka. shitteimasuka
2. どのカメラがいいですか。聞いてください。
dono kamera ga ii desu ka. kiite kudasai
3. 今晩何を食べますか。考えています。
konban nani wo tabemasuka. kangaeteimasu

Answers

1. 今何時か知っていますか。
ima nanji ka shitteimasuka

Meaning: Do you know what time is it now?

2. どのカメラがいいか聞いてください。
dono kamera ga ii ka kiite kudasai

Meaning: Please ask which camera is good.

3. 今晩何を食べるか考えています。
konban nani wo taberu ka kangaeteimasu

Meaning: I am thinking what to eat tonight.

 Japanese Expressions だけ dake and しか
shika -
Intermediate Lessons: 8
In this lesson, you will get to learn the Japanese expressions that indicate "only", "just" or "merely".
Basically there are two of them - だけ (dake) and しか (shika). While both of them have the meaning of
"only", they are not exactly the same.

Firstly, most of the time だけ (dake) goes with positive sentence whereas しか (shika) always goes
with negative sentence.

Secondly, a "～だけ" sentence is used for general description of something or the situation, without
any personal feeling involved for the speaker. The meaning is neutral and there is no judgement.

Whereas a "～しか" sentence highlights the objective term and emphasizes the speaker's feeling on
the exclusiveness or uniqueness of something or the situation. It's usually used to explain one's
inclination towards something.

Usually しか (shika) is used in the situation where the speaker think that the amount is not enough or
it's too little, with negative personal feeling involved.

For example, if you say the following sentence...

 ここにケーキが一つだけあります。
koko ni ke-ki ga hitotsu dake arimasu

Meaning: There is only one cake here.

You are merely stating the fact that "there is only one cake here". No judgement, no personal feeling.

However, if you were to say it this way...

 ここにケーキが一つしかありません。
koko ni ke-ki ga hitotsu shika arimasen
 Meaning: There isn't anything but one cake here.

Although it still means the same where there is only one cake, you are emphasizing that the amount
is not enough. Maybe your family has 4 members, but you only have one cake. You are feeling that
it's definitely not enough to share among your family members.

Therefore, although both Japanese expressions だけ (dake) and しか (shika) have the same meaning
of "only", they are used differently depending on the situation.

More Examples

Let's use another example to show the differences between these two Japanese expressions. If you
say this...

 あの人は英語だけ分かります。
ano hito wa eigo dake wakarimasu

Meaning: That person only understands English.

You are just stating the fact that "That person only understands English". There is no other personal
feeling involved.

But if you say the following sentence instead...

 あの人は英語しか分かりません。
ano hito wa eigo shika wakarimasen

Meaning: That person doesn't understand any language but English.

Besides the meaning of "That person only understands English", you also emphasize your feeling
towards that person where understanding English alone is not enough, that person should
understand other languages as well.

Let's use one more example. If you were to say this...

 私は肉だけ食べます。
watashi wa niku dake tabemasu

Meaning: I only eat meat.

In the above sentence, you are merely describing the fact that "you only eat meat".

However if you were to say this...

  私は肉しか食べません。
watashi wa niku shika tabemasen

Meaning: I don't eat anything but meat.

The above sentence has a stronger nuance of your eating habits, it also emphasizes your feeling that
you eat nothing but meat only.

Some Exceptions on the Two Japanese Expressions

By now you should know that there are always exceptions in Japanese.

1. When だけ (dake) is used in a noun sentence (Noun です), it doesn't always go with a positive
sentence. Sometimes, it can also go with a negative sentence. For example...

 私達の先生は日本人だけです。
watashitachi no sensei wa nihonjin dake desu

Meaning: Our teachers are only Japanese.

 私達の先生は日本人だけではありません。
watashitachi no sensei wa nihonjin dake dewaarimasen

Meaning: Our teacher are not only Japanese.

2. While しか (shika) is often used in the situation that involved speaker's negative feeling, it's not
always the case. For example...

 うちから学校まで10分しかかかりません。
uchi kara gakkou made juppun shika kakarimasen

Meaning: It takes only 10 minutes from my house to the school.

In this situation, you are stressing the positive meaning that the school is very near to your house.
 Japanese Grammar for Intention -
Intermediate Lessons: 9
In this lesson you will get to learn the Japanese grammar used to express your intention of doing
something. In fact there are two of them: つもり tsumori and the volitional-form or 意向形 (ikoukei).

Be careful that since these grammars are used to express your own intention to do something, you
cannot use them to express intentions of other people.

Let's look at the first Japanese grammar つもりです tsumori desu.

つもり tsumori

This grammar is often used to express definite intention or firm determination of the speaker. The
sentence patterns for this grammar are as follow...

1. (私は) Verb (dictionary-form) つもりです

(watashi wa) Verb (dictionary-form) tsumori desu

Meaning: I intend to do ~.

2. (私は) Verb (nai-form) つもりです

(watashi wa) Verb (nai-form) tsumori desu

Meaning: I intend not to do ~.

For example, you can say this...

 夏休みに日本へ行くつもりです。
natsu yasumi ni nihon e iku tsumori desu

Meaning: I intend to go to Japan this summer holiday.

You can say the above since it's just your intention only. However if you are 100% sure that you are
going, you will normally say this instead...

 夏休みに日本へ行きます。
natsu yasumi ni nihon e ikimasu

Meaning: I will go to Japan this summer holiday.

And if you intend not to go anywhere, you should say this...

 夏休みにどこへも行かないつもりです。
natsu yasumi ni doko emo ikanai tsumori desu

Meaning: I intend not to go anywhere this summer holiday.

Let's use another example that uses this Japanese grammar...

 今晩そばを食べるつもりです。
konban soba wo taberu tsumori desu

Meaning: I intend to eat soba this evening.

 今晩何も食べないつもりです。
konban nani mo tabenai tsumori desu

Meaning: I intend not to eat anything this evening.

Volitional form or 意向形 (ikoukei)

This Japanese grammar is also used to express speaker's intention. Normally the volitional-form is
not used alone but in conjunction with ～と思っています(~to omotte imasu) or ～と思います(~to
omoimasu).

The sentence pattern is as follow...

(私は) Verb (volitional-form) と思っています

(watashi wa) Verb (volitional-form) to omotte imasu

Meaning: I am thinking of doing ~.

Using the same example of intending to go to Japan, you can say the following sentence...

 夏休みに日本へ行こうと思っています。
natsu yasumi ni nihon e ikou to omotte imasu

Meaning: I am thinking of going to Japan this summer holiday.

行こう (ikou) is the volitional-form of the verb 行く (iku). So how are you going to change the verb to
volitional-form?
Rules for Changing dictionary-form to volitional-form

The following are the rules for the 3 groups of Japanese verbs.

Group 1 Verbs

Group 1 verbs always end up with words containing u-sound. To change group 1 verbs to volitional-
form, change the u-sound to o-sound in the last word. After that append う (u) to the changed
words and you will get the volitional-form of the verb.

For example, this group 1 verb よむ (yomu) ends up with む (mu). If you change the u-sound to o-
sound, む (mu) becomes も (mo). Adding う (u) at the end, you will get よもう (yomou).

Let's look at one more example, this group 1 verb かえる (kaeru) ends up with る (ru). If you change
the u-sound to o-sound, る (ru) becomes ろ (ro). Adding う (u) at the end, you will get かえろう
(kaerou).

Group 2 Verbs

Changing of group 2 verbs is always much simpler as usual. All group 2 verbs end up with る (ru). To
change to volitional-form, simply replace る (ru) with よう (you) and you will get the volitional-form
of the verb.

For example, this Japanese verb たべる (taberu) is a group 2 verb. To change to volitional-form,
replace る (ru) with よう (you) and you will get たべよう (tabeyou).

Let's use another example to show the change. This group 2 verb ねる (neru) means go to bed.
Change る (ru) to よう (you) and you will get ねよう (neyou).

Group 3 Verbs

Group 3 verbs are irregular verbs. You just have to memorize them. The volitional-form of くる
(kuru) is こよう (koyou) and the volitional-form of する (suru) is しよう (shiyou).

In summary, the following diagram shows the rules when changing dictionary-form to volitional-
form for Japanese verbs.
Examples

Let's make some sentences to express your intention of doing something using this Japanese
grammar (volitional-form). See how each verb was changed to its volitional-form.

1. (私は)泳ごうと思っています。
watashi wa oyogou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to swim.
2. 本を読もうと思っています。
hon wo yomou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to read a book.
3. 友達と遊ぼうと思っています。
tomodachi to asobou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to play with my friend.
4. 日本料理を食べようと思っています。
nihon ryouri wo tabeyou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to eat Japanese dish.
5. 十時に寝ようと思っています。
juuji ni neyou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to bed at 10pm.
6. コートを着ようと思っています。
ko-to wo kiyou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to wear a coat.
7. 六時に起きようと思っています。
rokuji ni okiyou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to get up at 6am.
8. 勉強しようと思っています。
benkyou shiyou to omotte imasu
Meaning: I am thinking of going to study.

Be Careful on Question Using the Japanese Grammar for Intention

If you want to ask someone if he or she intends to go to Japan in this summer holiday, it's natural
that you will say this...

 夏休みに日本へ行くつもりですか。
natsu yasumi ni nihon e iku tsumori desu ka
or
 夏休みに日本へ行こうと思っていますか。
natsu yasumi ni nihon e ikou to omotte imasu ka

However, it's definitely not a good idea to ask questions on what other people intending to do in
these ways. Because these questions contain meanings like "What are you up to?" or "I know what
you are going to do something. How dare you do do such a thing?". It's more like questioning other
people intention rather than your original meaning of "if he or she intends to go to Japan".
It's considered rude to ask questions in these ways. Therefore please refrain from asking questions
using the Japanese grammar for intention. If you really want to ask someone's intention, ask the
question using the present tense like...

 夏休みに日本へ行きますか。
natsu yasumi ni nihon e ikimasu ka

Meaning: Are you going to Japan in this summer holiday?.

And if that someone has the intention to go to Japan, he or she can answer you using つもりです
(tsumori desu) or volitional-form.
 Japanese Expression for Hearsay -
Intermediate Lessons: 10
The Japanese expression そうです (sou desu) that you will be learning in this lesson is used to convey
the message that you obtained from another information source, either you have heard from
someone or you have read it somewhere.

The sentence pattern for this grammar is quite simple...

～Plain-form そうです
～Plain-form sou desu
Meaning: I heard that ~.

Note: Plain-form means the word before "sou desu" can be verb, i-adjective, na-adjective or
noun, all in plain-form.

In this Japanese expression, take note that your own opinion is not included in the information that
you are conveying.

Let's use an example to show how this expression works using the following situation. In the office...

 田中さんは言います。「京都はとてもきれいです。」
tanaka san wa iimasu. "kyouto wa totemo kirei desu."

Meaning: Ms Tanaka says: "Kyoto is very beautiful."

Suppose that you heard what Ms Tanaka has just said. Later on, Ms Tanaka left the office. A while
later Mr Suzuki comes to your desk and you tell him the following...

 田中さんは京都はとてもきれいだと言っていました。
tanaka san wa kyouto wa totemo kirei da to itte imashita

Meaning: Ms Tanaka said that Kyoto is very beautiful.

～と言っていました (~to itte imashita) is using the quotation that you have learned in lesson 27 of the
basic lesson, except that in this situation, the speaker who you are quoting from is absent and you
are quoting what she has said in the past.

You can also convey the same message by using the Japanese expression そうです (sou desu)...

 京都はとてもきれいだそうです。
kyouto wa totemo kirei da sou desu
 Meaning: I heard that Kyoto is very beautiful.

However in this situation Mr Suzuki doesn't know where is the source of this information. If you want
to give Mr Suzuki on the information source, you can say this...

 田中さんによると京都はとてもきれいだそうです。
tanaka san ni yoru to kyouto wa totemo kirei da sou desu

Meaning: According to Ms Tanaka, Kyoto is very beautiful.

So you can change the above sentence pattern into the following...

Information source によると ～Plain-form そうです

Information source ni yoru to ～Plain-form sou desu

Meaning: According to Information source, I heard that ~.

The difference between ～と言っていました (~to itte imashita) and そうです (sou desu) is that the
former is used to quote what another people had said. Whereas the latter is mostly used when the
information source is unclear and you are just stating what you have heard or read.

You are also not sure whether what you have heard or read is true or not.

More Examples

1. Source: 天気予報, Information: 明日は雨が降ります

天気予報によると明日は雨が降るそうです。
tenkiyohou ni yoru to ashita wa ame ga furu sou desu

Meaning: According to weather forecast, it's going to rain tomorrow.

2. Source: 雑誌, Information: スペインの夏は暑いです

雑誌によるとスペインの夏は暑いそうです。
zasshi ni yoru to supein no natsu wa atsui desu

Meaning: According to magazine, the summer of Spain is hot.

3. Source: 鈴木さん, Information: 山田さんは昨日元気ではありませんでした

鈴木さんによると山田さんは昨日元気ではなかったそうです。
suzuki san ni yoru to yamada-san wa kinou genki dewanakatta sou desu

Meaning: According to Mr Suzuki, Mr Yamada was not feeling well yesterday.

 4. Source: ニュース, Information: 2012年にロンドンでオリンピックがあります

ニュースによると2012年にロンドンでオリンピックがあるそうです。
nyu-su ni yoru to 2012 nen ni rondon de orinpikku ga aru sou desu

Meaning: According to the news, Olympics will be held at London in 2012.

5. Source: 新聞, Information: 来年日本で大きい地震があるでしょう

新聞によると来年日本で大きい地震がある でしょう そうです。

shinbun ni yoru to rainen nihon de ookii jishin ga aru sou desu

Meaning: According to the Newspaper, there might be a big earthquake in Japan next year.

Note: In this example, you need to remove the でしょう (deshou) in front of そうです (sou
desu). You cannot put words like でしょう (deshou), らしい (rashii) or ようだ (youda) in front
of sou desu.

Some Examples Without the Information Source

1. Information: マイクさんは子供の時、アメリカに住んでいました
マイクさんは子供の時、アメリカに住んでいたそうです。
maiku san wa kodomo no toki, amerika ni sundeita sou desu

Meaning: I heard that Mike lived in America when he was a child.

2. Information: チンさんは明日北海道へ行きます
チンさんは明日北海道へ行くそうです。
chin san wa ashita hokkaidou e iku sou desu

Meaning: I heard that Mr Chin is going to Hokkaido tomorrow.

Sometimes, the Japanese expression そうです (sou desu) you have learned in this lesson is called
耳の"そう" (mimi no "sou") since the information is something you have heard or read from another
source.
I will introduce another expression 目の"そう" (me no "sou") in future lesson which is used when you
are guessing from something you have seen.
 Japanese Expressions for Guessing -
Intermediate Lessons: 11
In this lesson two Japanese expressions, でしょう (deshou) and かもしれません (kamoshiremasen) will
be introduced. They are both used to indicate that the speaker is making a judgement or guess
about what may possibly happen.

However there are also differences between the two of them. Let's go through them one by one.

でしょう deshou

でしょう (deshou) is normally used to express the speaker's inference or guess from some
information he or she has. The sentence patterns are as follow...

Verb plain-form でしょう

い-adjective plain-form でしょう

な-adjective plain-form (～だ) でしょう

Noun plain-form (～だ) でしょう

Note: For な-adjective & noun, remove the ending だ before でしょう

For example, after looking at the dark sky, you think that it's going to rain. You can say this...

 空がとても暗いですから、雨が降るでしょう。
sora ga totemo kurai desu kara, ame ga furu deshou

Meaning: The sky is very dark, it will probably rain.

In fact, でしょう (deshou) is always used in the weather forecast in Japan. When you are listening to
the Japanese news next time, take note of whether the Japanese weathercaster has used this
Japanese expression.
More Examples

1. あのレストランの前にはいつも大勢人がいますから、有名 だ でしょう。
ano resutoran no mae niwa itsumo oozei hito ga imasu kara, yuumei da deshou

Meaning: There are always many people crowded in front of that restaurant. (Therefore) it
might be famous.
2. マイクさんは十年日本に住んでいましたから、たぶん奥さんは日本人 だ でしょう。
maiku san wa juunen nihon ni sunde imashita kara, tabun okusan wa nihonjin dadeshou

Meaning: Mike had lived in Japan for ten years. (Therefore) his wife might probably be a
Japanese.

Some Points to Note

1. The adverb たぶん (tabun), which means "probably", is used quite often with でしょう (deshou),
just like in example 2 above.

2. Sometimes だろう (darou) is used instead of でしょう (deshou), especially for man. And だろう
(darou) is also the plain-form of でしょう (deshou).

3. When you are reading the above examples, the intonation for でしょう (deshou) is going down.
However, if the intonation is going up, it becomes a question to someone and you are seeking his or
her agreement. For example...

 あの人は田中さんでしょう。 ↘(intonation going down)

ano hito wa tanaka san deshou

Meaning: I guess that person is Ms Tanaka.

 あの人は田中さんでしょう。 ↗(intonation going up)
ano hito wa tanaka san deshou

Meaning: I guess that person is Ms Tanaka. Is my guess correct?

(You are guessing that person is Ms Tanaka. But you want to confirm that your guess is
correct)

かもしれません kamoshiremasen

かもしれません (kamoshiremasen) is also used to express the speaker's inference or guess about
what may possibly happen, though he or she cannot be absolutely certain.

When the speaker says かもしれません (kamoshiremasen), he or she is also aware that the opposite
could be true. The degree of certainty is much lower than that of でしょう (deshou) in this case.
Both Japanese expressions share the same sentence patterns. So following that of でしょう (deshou),
the sentence patterns of かもしれません (kamoshiremasen) are...

Verb plain-form かもしれません

い-adjective plain-form かもしれません

な-adjective plain-form (～だ) かもしれません

Noun plain-form (～だ) かもしれません

Note: For な-adjective & noun, remove the ending だ before かもしれません

Examples

1. 約束の時間に間に合わないかもしれません。
yakusoku no jikan ni maniawanai kamoshiremasen

Meaning: We might not be in time for the appointment.

2. 東京は今日寒いかもしれません。
toukyou wa kyou samui kamoshiremasen

Meaning: It might be cold in Tokyo today.

3. 山田さんは田中さんが好き だ かも知れません。
yamada san wa tanaka san ga suki da kamoshiremasen

Meaning: There is a possibility that Mr Yamada likes Ms Tanaka.

4. 鈴木さんの部屋は電気がついていません。もう部屋にいないかもしれません。
suzuki san no heya wa denki ga tsuite imasen. mou heya ni inai kamoshiremasen

Meaning: The light in Mr Suzuki's room is off. He might have left his room already.
5. もしかしたら3月に卒業できないかもしれません。
moshikashitara san gatsu ni sotsugyou dekinai kamoshiremasen

Meaning: There is a possibility that I might be unable to graduate in March.

6. 大きい地震があるかもしれませんから、旅行の前に保険に入ろうと思っています。
ookii jishin ga aru kamoshiremasen kara, ryokou no mae ni hoken ni hairou to omotte imasu

Meaning: There is a possibility of a big earthquake, therefore I am thinking of getting the

insurance before my trip.
Some Points to Note

1. In example 6, if I were to say 大きい地震があるでしょうから (ookii jishin ga aru deshou kara), it will
sound very weird. It's like I am predicting and are 90% sure that there will be a big earthquake
happening and therefore I have to get the insurance.

Although we can't really predict whether an earthquake is going to happen, there is still a possibility
that it may happen. However the possibility is very much lower (may be 1% or lower). In this case,
かもしれません (kamoshiremasen) is more appropriate.

2. The adverb もしかしたら (moshikashitara), which means "perhaps", is used quite often with
かもしれません (kamoshiremasen), just like in example 5 above.

3. かもしれない (kamoshirenai) is the plain-form of かもしれません (kamoshiremasen).

Differences Between The Two Japanese Expressions

1. Degree of Certainty

Although both Japanese expressions でしょう and かもしれません are guesses, the degrees of
certainty are different. For でしょう, the speaker is more certain about the guess (80% to 90%).
Whereas for かもしれません, the certainty is much lower. Maybe 50%, 20%, 10% or even 1%.

As such, the weathercaster in Japanese news will only use でしょう when forecasting weather. If the
weathercaster uses かもしれません, no one will believe the forecast.

2. Prediction of Speaker's Volitional Action

でしょう cannot be used when predicting the speaker's volitional action. かもしれません, on the other
hand can be used when referring to the speaker's own action or action of other people. For
example...

 私は来年結婚するでしょう。 X
watashi wa rainen kekkon suru deshou X
私は来年結婚するかもしれません。 O
watashi wa rainen kekkon suru kamoshiremasen O

Meaning: I guess I will marry next year.

3. Prediction of Future Event

でしょう is often used for prediction of future event.

Summary

In summary, depending on the situation that you are in, learn to use these two Japanese expressions
でしょう and かもしれません correctly.

Some Grammars using Japanese Verb te-

form -
Intermediate Lessons: 12
In this lesson, you will learn some new grammars making use of Japanese verb te-form. You have
already learned how to change verbs from dictionary-form to te-form in the basic lessons and how
te-form is used in some grammars.

Japanese Verb (て-form) みます

This first grammar is about using te-form to express the action you are trying to do.

The sentence pattern of this new grammar is very simple...

Verb (て-form) みます

Verb (te-form) mimasu

It emphasizes that the action denoted by the verb is a trial. Let's use some examples so that you can
see how to use it.

1. 私はいつもシャツを買う前に着てみます。
watashi wa itsumo shatsu wo kau mae ni kite mimasu

Meaning: I always try out the shirt before I buy it.

2. 新しいペンを買う前に書いてみました。
atarashii pen wo kau mae ni kaite mimashita

Meaning: I tried out the new pen before I bought it.

3. もう一度考えてみます。
mou ichido kangaete mimasu

Meaning: I will (try to) think it over again.

4. この靴を履いてみてもいいですか。
kono kutsu wo haite mitemo ii desu ka
 Meaning: May I try on this pair of shoes?

Note

For Verb (て-form) みます: I try, I will try (present tense or future tense)
For Verb (て-form) みました: I tried (past tense)

Japanese Verb (て-form) みたいです

Another common use is to use the たい-form (tai-form) to express something you want to try. The
sentence pattern is...

Verb (て-form) みたいです

Verb (te-form) mitai desu

It is used for something you have not done before and you want to try to do it. For example...

1. 世界旅行をしてみたいです。
sekai ryokou wo shite mitai desu

Meaning: I would like to experience a world tour.

2. 富士山に登ってみたいです。
fujisan ni nobotte mitai desu

Meaning: I would like to experience climbing Mount Fuji.

3. 宇宙から地球を見てみたいです。
uchuu kara chikyuu wo mite mitai desu

Meaning: I want to see the earth from the space (to know how it looks).

Verb1 (て-form) Verb2 and Verb1 (ない-form)で Verb2

In the next grammar Verb1 is an action or condition which accompanies the action denoted by
Verb2. Take note that the second Japanese verb (Verb2) is the main action in the sentence.

Let's look at the sentence patterns...

Verb1 (て-form) Verb2

Verb (te-form) Verb2
 Verb1 (ない-form)で Verb2
Verb (nai-form)de Verb2

For example...

 眼鏡をかけて本を読みます。
megane wo kakete hon wo yomimasu

Meaning: I read book with my glasses on.

眼鏡をかけます (megane wo kakemasu) - to wear glasses. And with this condition remained (i.e. with
my glasses on), I read book (doing another action).

 眼鏡をかけないで本を読みます。
megane wo kakenaide hon wo yomimasu

Meaning: I read book without my glasses on.

眼鏡をかけない (megane wo kakenai) - not to wear glasses. And with this condition remained (i.e.
without my glasses on), I read book (doing another action).

Look at the above two examples, whether the glasses is put on or not when the action 読みます takes
place is stated. Verb1 and Verb2 are actions done by the same person.

More Examples

1. ネクタイをして会社へ行きます。
nekutai wo shite kaisha e ikimasu

Meaning: I go to the office with my tie on.

2. ネクタイをしないで会社へ行きます。
nekutai wo shinaide kaisha e ikimasu

Meaning: I go to the office without my tie on.

3. 電気を消して寝ます。
denki wo keshite nemasu

Meaning: I go to bed with the light off.

4. 電気を消さないで寝ます。
denki wo kesanaide nemasu

Meaning: I go to bed without the light off.

5. 砂糖を入れてコーヒーを飲みます。
satou wo irete ko-hi- wo nomimasu
 Meaning: I drink the coffee with sugar.
6. 砂糖を入れないでコーヒーを飲みます。
satou wo irenaide ko-hi- wo nomimasu

Meaning: I drink the coffee without sugar.

What is the Difference Between This Pattern and ～ながら (nagara)?

Let's use the 眼鏡 (megane) example to show the difference...

1. 眼鏡をかけて本を読みます。
megane wo kakete hon wo yomimasu
2. 眼鏡をかけながら本を読みます。
megane wo kakenagara hon wo yomimasu

In example 1, after putting on glasses, (with this state remained) you continue to read book.
Whereas in example 2, you are putting on glasses and reading book at the same time.

Another Sentence Pattern for Verb1 (ない-form)で Verb2

There is another meaning for the same sentence pattern Verb1 (ない-form)で Verb2. This pattern is
used when the speaker indicates a course of action taken out of two alternative possibilities
presented. This is different from the previous pattern where the speaker remains under the condition
of the first action and performs the second action. For example...

 来週の日曜日はどこも行かないで、うちでゆっくり休みます。
raishuu no nichi youbi wa dokomo ikanaide uchi de yukkuri yasumimasu

Meaning: Next Sunday I won't go anywhere. I will rest at home instead.

In this example, the speaker chooses to do one of the two actions (go somewhere and rest at home).

More Examples

1. バスに乗らないで駅まで自転車で行きます。
basu ni noranaide eki made jitensha de ikimasu

Meaning: I go to the station without taking the bus. I ride the bicycle instead.
2. ケーキは買わないで自分で作ります。
ke-ki wa kawanaide jibunde tsukurimasu

Meaning: I don't buy the cake. I will make it myself instead.

 Using toki in Japanese -
Intermediate Lessons: 13
In this lesson, you will learn to use toki in Japanese (時 - とき) to express the time when some states
or actions exist or occur.

とき (toki) connects two sentences and expresses the time when the state or action described in the
main sentence takes place.

Let's take a look at the sentence patterns first...

Verb dict-form とき Main sentence

Verb ない-form とき Main sentence

Verb た-form とき Main sentence

い-adjective とき Main sentence

な-adjective + な とき Main sentence

Noun + の とき Main sentence

As shown above, the different forms of Verbs, い-adjectives, な-adjectives and Nouns that are
connected to とき are the same as the forms when nouns are modified.

Let's use some examples to show how to form sentences using toki in Japanese...
 1. 図書館で本を借りる とき、カードが要ります。
toshokan de hon wo kariru toki, ka-do ga irimasu

Meaning: When you borrow books from the library, you need a card.
2. 使い方が分からない とき、田中さんに聞いてください。
tsukaikata ga wakaranai toki, tanaka san ni kiite kudasai

Meaning: When you don't know how to use it, ask Ms Tanaka.
3. 体の調子が悪い とき、医者へ行きます。
karada no choushi ga warui toki, isha e ikimasu

Meaning: When I am not feeling well, I visit the doctor.

4. 暇な とき、テレビを見ます。
hima na toki, terebi wo mimasu

Meaning: I watch TV when I am free.

5. 母が病気の とき、会社を休みます。
haha ga byouki no toki, kaisha wo yasumimasu

Meaning: When my mother is sick, I take a day off work.

6. 学生の とき、あまり勉強しませんでした。
gakusei no toki, amari benkyoushimasen deshita

Meaning: When I was a student, I did not study much.

7. 子供の とき、よく海で泳ぎました。
kodomo no toki, yoku umi de oyogimashita

Meaning: I used to swim in the sea when I was a child.

Tense Does Not Matter in Adjective & Noun Sentences

The tense of adjective sentences and noun sentences which modify とき is not affected by the tense
of the main sentence.
In example 6 above, the English translation is "When I was a student, I did not study much". You
used past tense for both the first sentence and second (main) sentence. However in Japanese, you
don't need past tense for the noun sentence in front of とき (学生のとき - gakusei no toki). Tense
does not matter here.

In example 4 above, the English translation is "I watch TV when I am free". You can also say
暇なとき、テレビを見ました (hima na toki, terebi wo mimashita), which translated to "I used towatch
TV when I was free". In both cases, it's still 暇なとき (hima na toki). The tense of the な-adjective
sentences in front of とき is not affected by the tense of the main sentences.

Let's use another two examples for toki in Japanese with adjective and noun sentences.

1. 母は若い とき、きれいでした。
haha wa wakai toki, kirei deshita

Meaning: My mother was beautiful when she was young.

2. 鈴木さんは二十五歳の とき、結婚しました。
suzuki san wa nijuugo sai no toki, kekkon shimashita

Meaning: Mr Suzuki got married when he was 25 years old.

As you can see, both examples are talking about past events but the tense of the adjective and noun
sentences are not affected by the main sentences (in Japanese).

toki in Japanese has Different Meanings for Verbs in Present or Past Tense

With verbs, it helps to keep in mind that non-past form indicates an action that happens "all the
time" or is "not yet completed". The past form is used when the action is "over and finished".

Let's check out some examples...

1. 日本へ行く とき、カメラを買いました。
nihon e iku toki, kamera wo kaimashita

Meaning: I bought a camera when I was on my way to Japan.

(before reaching Japan, on the way there)
2. 日本へ行った とき、カメラを買いました。
nihon e itta toki, kamera wo kaimashita

Meaning: I bought a camera when I went to Japan.

(arrived in Japan and bought a camera there)

In example 1 above, 行く (iku) indicates that the action had not been completed. The speaker bought
a camera somewhere on his/her way to Japan. (the camera could be bought in his/her own country).
In example 2 above, 行った (itta) indicates that the action had been completed and the speaker
bought a camera after arriving in Japan.

More Examples for toki in Japanese with Verbs

 寝る とき、「おやすみなさい」と言います。
neru toki, "oyasuminasai" to iimasu

Meaning: I say "Good Night" before going to bed.

In this case you cannot use 寝たとき (neta toki) because it will mean that you are saying "Good Night"
while you are sleeping.

 部屋に入る とき、「失礼します」と言います。
heya ni hairu toki, "shitsurei shimasu" to iimasu

Meaning: I say "Excuse Me" before entering the room.

In this case you cannot use 部屋に入ったとき (heya ni haitta toki) because it will mean that you are
saying "Excuse Me" after you have entered the room. It's considered rude if you do this to your boss.

 今朝友達に会った とき、「おはようございます」と言いました。
kesa tomodachi ni atta toki, "ohayou gozaimasu" to iimashita

Meaning: I said "Good Morning" when I met my friend this morning.

In this case you cannot use 今朝友達に会うとき (kesa tomodachi ni au toki) because it will mean that
you were saying "Good Morning" before you met your friend. You would be talking to no one if you
did that.

Common Mistake While Using toki in Japanese

There is one common mistake that many people make when they using toki in Japanese. とき (toki) is
a time expression. Therefore if there is already a time expression in a sentence, you don't add in
とき after that time expression.

For example, 朝 (asa - morning) is already a time expression, so you cannot combine it with とき and
say 朝のとき (asa no toki). If you use a term that is not a time expression like 眠い (nemui - sleepy),
then you can combine it with とき and say 眠いとき (nemui toki). For example...

1. 朝の とき、コーヒーを飲みます。 X
asa no toki, ko-hi- wo nomimasu X

朝コーヒーを飲みます。 O
 asa ko-hi- wo nomimasu O

Meaning: I drink coffee in the morning.

2. 眠い とき、コーヒーを飲みます。 O
nemui toki, ko-hi- wo nomimasu O

Meaning: I drink coffee when I am sleepy.

Using Verb て-form いる with toki in Japanese

You can also use Verb て-form いるとき to express the time in the middle of action, while you are
doing something. For example, ご飯を食べているとき (gohan wo tabete iru toki) means in the midst
of eating.

 ご飯を食べる とき
gohan wo taberu toki
Meaning: before eating meal
 ご飯を食べている とき
gohan wo tabete iru toki
Meaning: in the midst of eating meal
 ご飯を食べた とき
gohan wo tabeta toki
Meaning: finished eating meal

Let's use some examples to show this...

 ご飯を食べている とき、山田さんがうちへ来ました。
gohan wo tabete iru toki, yamada san ga uchi e kimashita

Meaning: While I was eating, Mr Yamada came to my house.

 ゆうべ寝ている とき、地震がありました。
yuube nete iru toki, jishin ga arimashita

Meaning: While I was sleeping last night, there was an earthquake.

 Japanese Particle ga (が) for Introduction -
Intermediate Lessons: 14
There are many meanings for Japanese particle ga (が) and one of the common meanings is "but"
which is used as a connector of 2 sentences.

In the following example, it is used to connect a positive-meaning phrase and a negative-meaning

word into one sentence.

 あのレストランの料理はおいしいです が、高いです。
ano resutoran no ryouri wa oishii desu ga, takai desu

Meaning: The food of that restaurant is delicious but expensive.

In this lesson, you will see that the particle ga can be used as an introduction in the first sentence
without the meaning of "but". Sometimes it's also known as "Introduction のが".

Let's see the sentence pattern on how to use が in this case...

(Introduction) Sentence1 が Sentence2

In this sentence pattern, Sentence2 is always what you want to bring out. Sentence1 is just a kind of
introduction.
For example...

 すみません が、トイレはどこですか。
sumimasen ga, toire wa doko desu ka

Meaning: Excuse me, where is the toilet?

When you are asking a question to someone, normally you will say "excuse me" first, then you ask
the question. In Japanese, you will normally put すみませんが (sumimasen ga) as some kind of
introduction before you ask the actual question.

Another example...

 すみません が、これはいくらですか。
sumimasen ga, kore wa ikura desu ka

Meaning: Excuse me, how much is this?

Similarly, you want to ask "how much is this?" to the shop assistance, but you will first say
すみませんが (sumimasen ga) as some kind of introduction before you ask the actual question.

More examples on Japanese particle ga が for Introduction

1. ゆうべすしを食べました が、とてもおいしかったです。
yuube sushi wo tabamashita ga, totemo oishikatta desu

Meaning: I ate sushi last night, it was very delicious.

2. 先生、ここが分からないのです が、教えてください。
sensei, koko ga wakaranai no desu ga, oshiete kudasai

Meaning: Teacher, I don't understand the portion here, please teach me.
3. もしもし、田中です が、山田さんはいますか。
moshimoshi, tanaka desu ga, yamada san wa imasu ka

Meaning: Hello, this is Tanaka speaking, is Mr Yamada around? (May I speak to Mr Yamada?)
4. あそこに高いビルが見えます が、あれは何ですか。
asoko ni takai biru ga miemasu ga, are wa nan desu ka

Meaning: We can see a tall building over there, what is that building?

In example 1, you want to say the sushi you have eaten was very delicious. Before that, you started
the sentence by saying you ate the sushi last night - ゆうべすしを食べましたが (yuube sushi wo
tabamashita ga). It's kind of an introduction sentence before you bring out the theme that the sushi
was very delicious.

In example 2, your main aim is to ask your teacher to teach you something. Before that, you started
with an introduction sentence that you don't understand about a portion - ここが分からないのですが
(koko ga wakaranai no desu ga), and then continue to ask your teacher to teach you.

You will use this sentence pattern of Japanese particle ga frequently over the phone. In example 3,
when talking over the phone, you first introduce yourself before asking for the person you want to
talk to. In this example, you will say your name is Tanaka (for example) - 田中ですが (tanaka desu
ga), then you ask for Mr Yamada - 山田さんはいますか (yamada san wa imasu ka).

In example 4, your want to know "what is that tall building?" - あれは何ですか (are wa nan desu ka).
But before you make the question, you describe what building you are talking about ending with the
particle ga - あそこに高いビルが見えますが (asoko ni takai biru ga miemasu ga). It works as an
introduction before you ask the actual question.

Summary

In summary, the particle ga が here works as an introduction before you bring out the actual thing
you want to say. The native Japanese used this very frequently in their daily dialogues.
 Japanese Grammar for
Permission/Prohibition -
Intermediate Lessons: 15
The Japanese grammar you will learn in this lesson is about permission and prohibition. You will
learn how to ask for permission, how to grant permission, and also how to express prohibition to do
something.

Let's take a look at the sentence patterns...

Verb (て-form) もいいです Permission 許可 (kyoka)

Verb (te-form) mo ii desu You may do ~

Verb (て-form) はいけません Prohibition 禁止 (kinshi)

Verb (te-form) wa ikemasen You must not do ~

As you can see, the two grammars are formed by using て-form (te-form). Let's take a look at some
examples...
1. このレストランでたばこを吸ってはいけません。
kono resutoran de tabako wo suttewa ikemasen
Meaning: You must not smoke in this restaurant.

うちでたばこを吸ってもいいです。
uchi de tabako wo suttemo ii desu
Meaning: You may smoke in your house.
2. ここに車を止めてはいけません。
koko ni kuruma wo tometewa ikemasen
Meaning: You must not park the car here.

ここに車を止めてもいいです。
koko ni kuruma wo tometemo ii desu
Meaning: You may park the car here.
3. 教室でサッカーをしてはいけません。
kyoushitsu de sakka- wo shitewa ikemasen
Meaning: You must not play soccer in the classroom.

公園でサッカーをしてもいいです。
kouen de sakka- wo shitemo ii desu
Meaning: You may play soccer at the park.
4. ここで写真を撮ってはいけません。
koko de shashin wo tottewa ikemasen
Meaning: You must not take photo here.

ここで写真を撮ってもいいです。
koko de shashin wo tottemo ii desu
Meaning: You may take photo here.
5. この部屋に入ってはいけません。
kono heya ni haittewa ikemasen
 Meaning: You must not enter this room.

この部屋に入ってもいいです。
kono heya ni haittemo ii desu
Meaning: You may enter this room.

Questions and Answers in Japanese Grammar for Permission

How do you ask for permission to do something? How do you answer when someone asked you for
permission to do something? Again, let's check out the sentence patterns first...

Question: Verb (て-form) もいいですか May I do something?

Answer Yes: はい、Verb (て-form) もいいです Yes you may...

Answer No: いいえ、Verb (て-form) はいけません No you must not...

It's simple to ask for permission to do something. You just need to add the question word か (ka) to
the "Verb (て-form) もいいです" sentence. Since this is a Yes/No question, the answer should begin
with はい (hai) or いいえ (iie).

Let's take a look at the smoking example...

Question: ここでたばこを吸ってもいいですか。

koko de tabako wo suttemo ii desu ka

Meaning: May I smoke here?

Answer Yes: はい、（ここでたばこを）吸ってもいいです。

hai, (koko de tabako wo) suttemo ii desu

Meaning: Yes, you may smoke (here).

Answer No: いいえ、（ここではたばこを）吸ってはいけません。

iie, (koko dewa tabako wo) suttewa ikemasen

 Meaning: No, you must not smoke (here).

Note: Those inside the brackets can be omitted in the answers.

When Answering to Superiors/Customers

In the previous example, the tone is quite strong when granting or denying permission - "You may
do something", "You must not do something". It's normally used by parents to children or teachers
to students. If you are answering to your superiors, boss or customers, it sounds too strong and
rude.

Therefore when answering to your superiors, boss or customers, you will normally use the Japanese
grammar in request form like "はい、どうぞ Verb (て-form) ください" or "いいえ、Verb (ない-
form)でください" to be more polite. For example...

Answer Yes: はい、どうぞ 吸ってください。

hai, douzo sutte kudasai

Meaning: Yes, please smoke.

Answer No: いいえ、吸わないでください。

iie, suwanaide kudasai

Meaning: No, please don't smoke.

Negative Answers in a Conversation

However, in a conversation, native Japanese don't like to say いいえ (iie) directly when they are
denying something. They will likely say the following...

Answer No: すみません。

sumimasen

Meaning: I am sorry. (Implied that you may not do so)

 Answer No: ここではちょっと...。

koko dewa chotto...

Meaning: It's not convenient...here

Asking Negative Questions with Japanese Grammar for Prohibition

You can also ask negative questions with the Japanese grammar "Verb (て-form) はいけません". In
this case, you are asking for a permission to do something that you think it's likely to be prohibited.

"Verb (て-form) はいけません" means "You must not do something". Turning it into a question will
become "Verb (て-form) はいけませんか" which means "Mustn't I do something?"

Question: Verb (て-form) はいけませんか Mustn't I do something?

Answer No: はい、Verb (て-form) はいけません No, you mustn't...

Answer Yes: いいえ、Verb (て-form) もいいです Yes, you may...

Note: There are differences in the Japanese answers and the English translations.

はい (hai) in Japanese actually means "I agree with what you said" and not simply a direct translation
of "Yes" in English. Similarly, いいえ (iie) means "I disagree with what you said" and not directly
translated to "No" in English. Therefore there are differences in the Japanese answers and the English
translations when you answer "Yes" or "No" to a negative question.

Let's use the same smoking example to show how to ask and answer a negative question...

Question: ここでたばこを吸ってはいけませんか。

koko de tabako wo suttewa ikemasen ka

Meaning: Mustn't I smoke here?

Answer No: はい、（ここではたばこを）吸ってはいけません。

hai, (koko dewa tabako wo) suttewa ikemasen

 Meaning: No, you must not smoke (here).

Answer Yes: いいえ、（ここでたばこを）吸ってもいいです。

iie, (koko de tabako wo) suttemo ii desu

Meaning: Yes, you may smoke (here).

Note: Those inside the brackets can be omitted in the answers.

In the above example, the situation might be that you are about to smoke in a restaurant. As soon as
you take out a cigarette, everyone is staring at you. That makes you think that perhaps it's
prohibited to smoke in the restaurant. In this case, you can ask the negative question as above to
confirm your thoughts.

In Japanese grammar, the question form for permission "Verb (て-form) もいいですか" is very
important because it's a kind of respect that you show for others, especially in the Japanese society
where the people emphasize a lot on courtesy and politeness.

Japanese Grammar for Obligation -

Intermediate Lessons: 16
In the previous lesson, you have learned the Japanese grammar on permission (you may do
something) and prohibition (you must not do something). In this lesson, you will learn grammar
on obligation (you must do something) and no obligation (you don't have to do something).

It's always much easier to understand the grammar with the sentence patterns than to explain in
plain words.

Verb (ない-form ない) なくてもいいです No Obligation

You don't have to do ~/

Verb (nai-form nai) nakutemo ii desu
You need not do ~

Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけません Obligation 義務 (gimu)

Verb (nai-form nai) nakereba ikemasen You have to do ~/You must do ~

The two grammars are formed by using ない-form (nai-form).

Although the grammar Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけません is in negative form (～ません), its
meaning is positive (you have to do ~).

On the contrary, though the grammar Verb (ない-form ない) なくてもいいです is in positive form
(～です), its meaning is negative (you don't have to do ~).

Let's take a look at some examples...

1. 早くおきなければいけません。
hayaku okinakereba ikemasen
Meaning: You have to get up early.

早く起きなくてもいいです。
hayaku okinakutemo ii desu
Meaning: You don't have to get up early.
2. 学校へ行かなければいけません。
gakkou e ikanakereba ikemasen
Meaning: You have to go to school.

学校へ行かなくてもいいです。
gakkou e ikanakutemo ii desu
Meaning: You don't need to go to shcool.
3. 宿題をしなければいけません。
shukudai wo shinakereba ikemasen
Meaning: You have to do homework.

宿題をしなくてもいいです。
shukudai wo shinakutemo ii desu
Meaning: You don't have to do homework.
4. 朝薬を飲まなければいけません。
asa kusuri wo nomanakereba ikemasen
Meaning: You have to take the medicine in the morning.

夜薬を飲まなくてもいいです。
 yoru kusuri wo nomanakutemo ii desu
Meaning: You don't need to take the medicine in the evening.

Questions and Answers in Japanese Grammar for Obligation

How do you ask a question whether you need to do something? And how do you answer the
question? I think you should have known the answer. It's easy, right? Just add the question word か
(ka) to the Japanese grammar. Since this is a Yes/No question, the answer should begin with はい
(hai) or いいえ (iie).

For positive meaning,

Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけません - I have to do something.
Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけませんか - Do I have to do something?

The sentence patterns for positive questions and answers will be...

Question: Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけませんか

Do I have to do something?

Answer Yes: はい、Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけません

Yes you have to do...

Answer No: いいえ、Verb (ない-form ない) なくてもいいです

No you don't have to do...

For negative meaning,

Verb (ない-form ない) なくてもいいです - I don't have to do something.
Verb (ない-form ない) なくてもいいですか - Don't I have to do something?

The sentence patterns for negative questions and answers will be...

Question: Verb (ない-form ない) なくてもいいですか

Don't I have to do something?

Answer No: はい、Verb (ない-form ない) なくてもいいです

 No you don't have to do...

Answer Yes: いいえ、Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけません

Yes you have to do...

Note: There are differences in the Japanese answers and the English translations.

As mentioned in the last lesson, "はい (hai)" in Japanese actually means "I agree with what you said"
and not simply a direct translation of "Yes" in English. Similarly, "いいえ (iie)" means "I disagree with
what you said" and not directly translated to "No" in English. Therefore there are differences in the
Japanese answers and the English translations when you answer "Yes" or "No" to a negative question.

Examples for Questions and Answers in Japanese Grammar for Obligation

Let's use an example to explain both the positive and negative questions and answers for this
Japanese grammar.

For positive questions and answers...

Question: 漢字で書かなければいけませんか。

kanji de kakanakereba ikemasen ka

Meaning: Do I have to write in Kanji?

Answer Yes: はい、漢字で書かなければいけません。

hai, kanji de kakanakereba ikemasen

Meaning: Yes, you have to write in Kanji.

Answer No: いいえ、漢字で書かなくてもいいです。

iie, kanji de kakanakutemo ii desu

Meaning: No, you don't have to write in Kanji.

For negative questions and answers...

 Question: 漢字で書かなくてもいいですか。

kanji de kakanakutemo ii desu ka

Meaning: Don't I have to write in Kanji?

Answer No: はい、漢字で書かなくてもいいです。

hai, kanji de kakanakutemo ii desu

Meaning: No, you don't have to write in Kanji.

Answer Yes: いいえ、漢字で書かなければいけません。

iie, kanji de kakanakereba ikemasen

Meaning: Yes, you have to write in Kanji.

When Answering to Superiors/Customers

The tone is too strong when you are answering with Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけません - "You
have to do something / You must do something". It's normally used by parents to children or
teachers to students. If you are answering to your superiors, boss or customers, it sounds too rude.

Therefore when answering to your superiors, boss or customers, you will normally use the Japanese
grammar in request form "Verb (て-form) ください" to be more polite. In the previous example, use
書いてください (kaite kudasai) to replace 書かなければいけません (kakanakereba ikemasen) to make it
more polite.

When to ask Positive Question or Negative Question?

Both positive question and negative question will be used depending on situation.

For example, in a test, everyone is using pencil to write one's answers except you, who want to use
pen. In this situation, what would you ask your teacher?

1. Positive: 鉛筆で書かなければいけませんか。 (enpitsu de kakanakereba ikemasen ka)

Meaning: Do I have to write in pencil?

OR
 2. Negative: 鉛筆で書かなくてもいいですか。 (enpitsu de kakanakutemo ii desu ka)
Meaning: Don't I have to write in pencil?

In this situation, it seems like you have to use pencil since everyone is using pencil. Therefore you
should ask the positive question "鉛筆で書かなければいけませんか。 - Do I have to write in pencil?"

After the test, when you submit your paper to your teacher, you saw that no one has written his/her
name on the test paper except you. Everyone only wrote down his/her serial number. You are
surprised. You thought you must write your name and serial number on the test paper. In this
situation, what should you ask your teacher?

1. Positive: 名前を書かなければいけませんか。 (namae wo kakanakereba ikemasen ka)

Meaning: Do I have to write my name?

OR

2. Negative: 名前を書かなくてもいいですか。 (namae wo kakanakutemo ii desu ka)

Meaning: Don't I have to write my name?

In this situation, it seems like it's not required to write your name on the test paper since everyone
only wrote his/her serial number. Therefore you should ask the negative question
"名前を書かなくてもいいですか。 - Don't I have to write my name?"

Difference between なければいけません and なければなりません

Verb (ない-form ない) なければいけません Obligation 義務 (gimu)

Verb (nai-form nai) nakereba ikemasen You have to do ~/You must do ~

Verb (ない-form ない) なければなりません Obligation 義務 (gimu)

Verb (nai-form nai) nakereba narimasen You have to do ~/You must do ~

In general, you can use either of the Japanese grammars as both of them have the same meaning.
However, native Japanese use them with slight difference.

For ～なければいけません (~nakereba ikemasen) - you want to do something and you think that you
have to do it.

For ～なければなりません (~nakereba narimasen) - you don't want to do something but you have no
choice and have to do it. So normally, this is used when you want to make excuses.
For example, your friend invites you to go for dinner with him/her. You can say the following...

 すみません。明日は試験だから、今晩勉強しなければなりません。
sumimasen. ashita wa shiken da kara, konban benkyou shinakereba narimasen

Meaning: I am sorry. There is an exam tomorrow, therefore I have to study tonight.

In fact, the Japanese grammar ～なければなりません (~nakereba narimasen) is more commonly used
by native Japanese than ～なければいけません (~nakereba ikemasen).

Japanese Sentence Emphasize Structure -

Intermediate Lessons: 17
In this lesson, you will learn to form Japanese sentence that makes use of the emphasize structure or
強調構文 (kyouchou koubun - emphatic sentence construction). What is emphasize structure? It is a
structure that indicates new, important information by placing it between のは (nowa) and です
(desu).

Let's take a look at the sentence patterns...

Verb plain-form のは ～です

い-adj plain-form のは ～です

な-adj plain-form(～だ → ～な) のは ～です

Noun plain-form(～だ → ～な) のは ～です

This pattern is used when a noun representing a thing, a person, a place, a time, etc, is replaced with
の (no) and then taken up as the topic of the sentence. Sometimes it can be a reason instead of a
noun that put between のは (nowa) and です (desu). You will see that in the examples later.

Let's use an example to show how the emphasize structure works in a normal Japanese sentence.

 田中さんは来年日本へ行きます。
tanaka san wa rainen nihon e ikimasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka will go to Japan next year.

This is the fact that you know - Ms Tanaka will go to japan next year. Let's say your friend knows
that someone is going to Japan next year but doesn't know who is the person. He will ask the
following question...

 誰が来年日本へ行きますか。
dare ga rainen nihon e ikimasu ka

Meaning: Who will go to Japan next year?

From what you have learned so far, you will probably answer with the following...

 田中さんが来年日本へ行きます。
tanaka san ga rainen nihon e ikimasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka will go to Japan next year.

There is nothing wrong with the above answer. However, your friend already knows that someone is
going to Japan next year. He only wants to know who the person is. In conversation, you can simply
answer 田中さんです (tanaka san desu - It is Ms Tanaka).

Who?

Alternatively, you can use the emphasize structure to stress on the person that your friend would
like to know.
  来年日本へ行くのは田中さんです。
rainen nihon e iku nowa tanaka san desu

Meaning: It is Ms Tanaka who will go to Japan next year.

In this Japanese sentence, you want to emphasize what your friend wanted to know most - 誰？
(dare? - who?). Therefore this information "田中さん" is placed after のは (nowa). All other information
is placed before のは (nowa).

When?

Assuming that now your friend wants to know when Ms Tanaka is going to Japan, he will ask...

 いつ田中さんは日本へ行きますか。
itsu tanaka san wa nihon e ikimasu ka

Meaning: When will Ms Tanaka go to Japan?.

For short answer (conversation), you can simply answer 来年です (rainen desu - It is next year). If you
make full sentence emphasizing the information that your friend wanted to know most, you can
say...

 田中さん は が日本へ行くのは来年です。
tanaka san wa ga nihon e iku nowa rainen desu

Meaning: It is next year that Ms Tanaka is going to Japan.

The information your friend wanted to know most "来年" is placed after のは (nowa) and all other
information is placed before のは (nowa). Note that since one sentence cannot have two topics,
田中さんは (tanaka san wa) has to be changed to 田中さんが (tanaka san ga).

Where?

Assuming that now your friend wants to know where Ms Tanaka is going to next year, he will ask...

 田中さんは来年どこへ行きますか。
tanaka san wa rainen doko e ikimasu ka

Meaning: Where will Ms Tanaka go to next year?.

For short answer (conversation), you can simply answer 日本です (nihon desu - It is Japan). If you
make full sentence emphasizing the information that your friend wanted to know most, you can
say...
  田中さん が 来年行くのは日本です。
tanaka san ga rainen iku nowa nihon desu

Meaning: It is Japan that Ms Tanaka is going next year.

In this Japanese sentence, the information that your friend wanted to know most "日本" is placed
after のは (nowa) and all other information is placed before のは (nowa).

More Examples on Japanese Sentence with Emphasize Structure

Let's practise how to use emphasize structure on the following examples.

1. マイクさんは日本語が上手です。
maiku san wa nihongo ga jouzu desu
Meaning: Mike is good at Japanese.

 Question A: 誰？ (dare? - who?)

日本語が上手 だ なのはマイクさんです。
nihongo ga jouzu da na nowa maiku san desu
Meaning: It is Mike who is good at Japanese.

 Question B: 何？ (nani? - what?)

マイクさんが上手 だ なのは日本語です。
maiku san ga jouzu da na nowa nihongo desu
Meaning: It is Japanese that Mike is good at.

2. お腹が痛かったから、昨日学校を休みました。
onaka ga itakatta kara, kinou gakkou wo yasumimashita
Meaning: I had a stomach-ache, therefore I was absent from school yesterday.

 Question: どうして？ (doushite? - why?)

昨日学校を休んだのはお腹が痛かったです。 X
昨日学校を休んだのはお腹が痛かったからです。 O
kinou gakkou wo yasunda nowa onaka ga itakatta kara desu
Meaning: It was because I had a stomach-ache therefore I was absent from school yesterday.

In the above example, you were asked about the reason why you were absent from school yesterday.
In this case it's the reason that you want to emphasize. Take note that when emphasizing reason,
you cannot omit から (kara), otherwise you cannot show that this is a reason.

So for どうして (doushite - why) question, the sentence pattern is...

plain-form のは plain-form から です

Another Example on Japanese Sentence with Emphasize Structure

私は英語が下手ですから、「Berlitz」で英語を勉強しています。
watashi wa eigo ga heta desu kara, "Berlitz" de eigo wo benkyoushite imasu
Meaning: I am poor in English, therefore I am studying English at "Berlitz".

 Question A: あなたはBerlitzで 何を 勉強していますか。 - What?

私がBerlitzで勉強しているのは英語です。
watashi ga Berlitz de benkyoushite iru nowa eigo desu
Meaning: It is English that I am studying at Berlitz.

 Question B: あなたは どこで 英語を勉強していますか。 - Where?

私が英語を勉強しているのはBerlitzです。
watashi ga eigo wo benkyoushite iru nowa Berlitz desu
Meaning: It is Berlitz where I am studying English.

 Question C: どうして あなたはBerlitzで英語を勉強していますか。 - Why?

私がBerlitzで英語を勉強しているのは英語が下手だからです。
watashi ga Berlitz de benkyoushite iru nowa eigo ga heta da kara desu
Meaning: It is because I am poor in English therefore I am studying English at Berlitz.
 Learning more about Japanese Particle de
(で) -
Intermediate Lessons: 18
You have already learned some functions of Japanese particle de (で) in basic lesson 16. This lesson
will introduce more functions of it.

The first one will be to use particle de (で) to ask if something is alright. The sentence pattern is as
follow...

Noun で いいですか Is Noun alright for you?

Noun de ii desu ka

Lets's look at some examples on how the Japanese particle de (で) works in this situation.
1. Assuming that you are invited to a party tomorrow. You are not sure what is the required attire.
You can ask the host the following...

 明日のパーティーはジーンズ で いいですか。
ashita no pa-ti- wa ji-nzu de ii desu ka

Meaning: Is wearing of jeans alright for the party tomorrow?

2. Your colleague lost his wallet on the way to the office. When he meet you at the office he asks you
for help to lend him some money. You are not sure how much you should lend him and ask him...

 50ドル で いいですか。
50 doru de ii desu ka

Meaning: Is 50 dollars alright for you?

3. Your friend came to your house to visit you. You want to serve him drink but are not sure what is
suitable for him. You can ask him the following...

 飲み物はコーヒー で いいですか。
nomimono wa ko-hi- de ii desu ka

Meaning: Is coffee alright for you?

In all the above 3 examples, Japanese particle de (で) is being used because you are not sure what
the party host, your colleague and your friend wants. You use で to make your tone soft and not
sound so pushy.

Mistake of using Japanese particle ga (が) instead of de (で)

Some students might have used particle ga (が) in the above 3 examples. However, using が (ga) in
this case has a different meaning.

Noun が いいです (Noun ga ii desu) means you prefer Noun. For example...

 私はこのペン が いいです。
watashi wa kono pen ga ii desu
 Meaning: I prefer this pen.
 私はあのテーブル が いいです。
watashi wa ano te-buru ga ii desu

I prefer that table. (in a restaurant)

In using particle ga (が), you are choosing the best choice among some options. If you use が (ga)
instead of で (de) in the previous 3 examples, the meanings are different.

1. You ask the party host about the attire.

 明日のパーティーはジーンズ が いいですか。
ashita no pa-ti- wa ji-nzu ga ii desu ka

Meaning: Do you prefer me to wear jeans for the party tomorrow?

(Kind of pushy to the host. "I prefer jeans! Please say 'yes'!")

When you use で (de), the tone is much softer. "If jeans is not ok, I can change."

2. Your colleague wants to borrow money from you.

 50ドル が いいですか。
50 doru ga ii desu ka

Meaning: 50 dollars is your best choice! Do you want 50 dollars?

(Sounds like you are pushing your colleague to accept your suggestion.)

When you use で (de), the tone turns softer. "Is 50 dollars enough for you? If it's not enough,
I can lend you more.")

3. You want to serve drink to your friend.

 飲み物はコーヒー が いいですか。
nomimono wa ko-hi- ga ii desu ka

Meaning: You like to have coffee! Don't you?

(Sounds like you are forcing your friend to accept only coffee.)

When you use で (de), you soften your tone. "If coffee is ok for you? If not, you can have other
choices.")
How to answer the question with Japanese particle de (で)?

How do you answer when you were asked the same questions in the above examples? In example 3,
let's say it's you who were asked if you are alright with coffee. How do you answer?

 飲み物はコーヒー で いいですか。
nomimono wa ko-hi- de ii desu ka

Meaning: Is coffee alright for you?

 はい、コーヒー で いいです。
hai, ko-hi- de ii desu

Meaning: Yes, coffee is ok for me.

(Be careful. If you answer using で (de), it will sound like coffee is not the best choice for me.
I want to have other drinks. But coffee is sort of ok for me although it's not my preference)

Of course in conversation, you can simply answer "はい、いいです (hai, ii desu)". But in a full
sentence, if you want to answer politely and properly, you should answer...

 はい、コーヒー が いいです。
hai, ko-hi- ga ii desu

Meaning: Yes, coffee is best for me.

Using Japanese Particle de (で) to indicate the age when something

happened

You can also use particle de (で) to mention something happened when you were at certain age. The
sentence pattern is simple...

Age で At the age of ~

For example, you can use で (de) to indicate what happened to Mr Yamada in his whole life.

 山田さんは18歳 で 大学に入りました。
yamada san wa 18 sai de daigaku ni hairimashita

Meaning: Mr Yamada entered the university at the age of 18.

 山田さんは22歳 で 大学を卒業しました。
yamada san wa 22 sai de daigaku wo sotsugyou shimashita
 Meaning: Mr Yamada graduated from the university at the age of 22.
 山田さんは28歳 で 結婚しました。
yamada san wa 28 sai de kekkon shimashita

Meaning: Mr Yamada got married at the age of 28.

 山田さんは45歳 で 社長になりました。
yamada san wa 45 sai de shachou ni narimashita

Meaning: Mr Yamada became the company President at the age of 45.

 山田さんは65歳 で 死にました。
yamada san wa 65 sai de shinimashita

Meaning: Mr Yamada died at the age of 65.

It's not limited to the past events. Japanese Particle de (で) can also be used for things which will
happen in the future. For example, if you intend to get married at the age of 27, you can say the
following...

 私は27歳 で 結婚します。
watashi wa 27 sai de kekkon shimasu

Meaning: I am going to get married at the age of 27.

Japanese Expression sou desu 目の"そう" -

Intermediate Lessons: 19
In this lesson, you are going to learn another Japanese expression そうです (sou desu), also known as
目の"そう" (me no "sou"). This is different from the other expression sou desu, or known as 耳の"そう"
(mimi no "sou") you have learned in lesson 10.

そうです (sou desu) in 耳の"そう" (mimi no "sou") is used to convey the message that you obtained
from another information source, either you have heard from someone or you have read it
somewhere.

Whereas for そうです (sou desu) in 目の"そう" (me no "sou"), it means "It looks like ~"or "It seems ~".
When the look of a thing leads you to make a guess, you can state your guesss using this Japanese
expression. You make the guess after looking at the appearance of a thing although it has not
confirmed for a fact. The "thing" here can also be a person, a place, a scene, etc.

Let's check out the sentence patterns...

Verb (stem of ます form) そうです

い-adj (～い) そうです (present/affirmative)

い-adj (～い) くなさそうです (present/negative)

な-adj そうです (present/affirmative)

な-adj ではなさそうです (present/negative)

Note: this そうです cannot be used with a noun.

Exception: いい → よさ ない → なさ

I will discuss about そうです with verbs later. For now, let's concentrate on the そうです with
adjectives.

Examples for Adjective Present Affirmative Sentences

For example, you saw a fat lady walking across the street. She looks like a kind person judging from
her appearance. How do you describe her using the above sentence patterns?

 あの女の人は親切そうです。 / あの女の人は優しいそうです。
ano onna no hito wa shinsetsu sou desu / ano onna no hito wa yasashi sou desu

Meaning: That lady looks like a kind person.

You don't know about that fat lady and you are just describing her from her appearance. Therefore
you can use this Japanese expression sou desu to describe her. However, if that lady is someone
whom you know very well and she has a kind heart, you have to say

 あの女の人は親切です。 / あの女の人は優しいです。
ano onna no hito wa shinsetsu desu / ano onna no hito wa yasashii desu

Meaning: That lady is a kind person.

How about her body size? In this case, you cannot say something like ふとっていそうです (futottei
sou desu) which means she looks fat literally. Why? Because she is (obviously) fat from her
appearance. That's a fact, not a guess. Therefore you cannot use the Japanese expression sou
desu sentence pattern here.

Examples for Adjective Present Negative Sentences

For example, a new teacher came to your school today. She looks very fierce from her appearance.
How do you use the Japanese expression sou desu to describe the new teacher?

 新しい先生は親切ではなさそうです。 / 新しい先生は優しくなさそうです。
atarashii sensei wa shinsetsu dewa nasa sou desu / atarashii sensei wa yasashiku nasa sou
desu

Meaning: The new teacher looks like an unkind (strict) person.

Examples for Describing the Weather

Assuming that you are looking at the news on the television. The news shows that Hokkaido is
currently covered with heavy snow. It looks really cold there. On the other hand, the news also shows
that people are swimming at the beach under the hot sun at Okinawa. It looks very hot there. How
do you describe these two scenes?

 北海道は寒そうです。
hokkaidou wa samu sou desu

Meaning: It seems cold in Hokkaido.

 沖縄は暑そうです。
okinawa wa atsu sou desu

Meaning: It seems hot in Okinawa.

Unless you have been to the two places personally and know the weather there, you can only use
Japanese expression sou desu sentence pattern.
Examples for Describing a Place

Assuming that you are looking at the pictures of 2 different towns. Town A looks very quiet and
Town B looks very crowded and lively. How do you describe them?

 町 A は静かそうです。
machi A wa shizuka sou desu

Meaning: Town A looks like a quiet town.

 町 B は賑やかそうです。
machi B wa nigiyaka sou desu

Meaning: Town B looks like a lively town.

Examples using the Exceptions

There are 2 exceptions where いい has to change to よさそうです and ない has to change to
なさそうです.

You have seen in the earlier examples on how to use なさそうです (nasa sou desu). Let's see some
examples using よさそうです (yosa sou desu).

Assuming that you have looked at the cover of a book and read some description on the cover. It
looks like a good book. How do you describe it?

 この本はよさそうです。
kono hon wa yosa sou desu

Meaning: This looks like a good book.

Assuming that you are looking at a guy who looks very smart from his appearance and the way he is
talking. How do you describe him?

 あの人は頭がよさそうです。
ano hito wa atama ga yosa sou desu

Meaning: That person looks like a smart guy.

Describing Other Person's Emotional Feelings

When you are describing your own emotional feelings, you can use adjectives like:

嬉しい ureshii Happy

悲しい kanashii Sad

楽しい tanoshii Enjoyable

寂しい sabishii Lonely

心配 shinpai Worry

怖い kowai Scary

幸せ shiawase Happy/Blessed

つまらない tsumaranai Boring

However, in Japanese, when come to describing other person's emotional feelings, you definitely
have to describe using the Japanese expression sou desu. The reason is that you can never know
how the other person feels, even if the person tells you how he/she feels (he/she may be lying to
you). You can only guess judging from his/her expression.

For example when you are describing your friend's emotional feelings using the above adjectives,
you may say:

彼は嬉しそうです kare wa ureshi sou desu He looks happy

彼は悲しそうです kare wa kanashi sou desu He looks sad

彼は楽しそうです kare wa tanoshi sou desu He looks like he's enjoying

彼は寂しそうです kare wa sabishi sou desu He looks lonely

彼は心配そうです kare wa shinpai sou desu He looks worried

彼は怖そうです kare wa kowa sou desu He looks scared

彼は幸せそうです kare wa shiawase sou desu He looks blessed

彼はつまらなそうです kare wa tsumarana sou desu He looks bored

Be careful not to confuse the meaning of 彼はつまらなそうです (kare wa tsumarana sou desu) and the
meaning of 彼はつまらないです (kare wa tsumaranai desu). The former means that you are guessing
that he feels bored by looking at his expression. The latter means that he is a boring person.

Moreover, つまらない (tsumaranai) is an い-adj (i-adj), not a ない-form of a verb. Therefore you
cannot say something like 彼はつまらなさそうです (kare wa tsumaranasa sou desu).

Japanese Expression そうです (sou desu) with Verbs

For Japanese expression そうです (sou desu) with Verbs, you are guessing what is going to happen
soon from what you see. The sentence patterns are as shown below...

Verb (stem of ます form) そうです (present/affirmative)

Verb (stem of ます form) そうもありません (present/negative)

For example, if the sky is full of dark clouds and is getting darker, you guess what is going to
happen soon by saying...

 もうすぐ雨が降りそうです。
mousugu ame ga furi sou desu

Meaning: It looks like it's going to rain soon.

What if there is no cloud in the sky and is sunny. There is no sign of raining. How do you guess the
weather?

 雨が降りそうもありません。
ame ga furi soumo arimasen

Meaning: It looks like it's not going to rain.

If the rain is getting smaller and the sky is getting clearer. You can say...

 雨が止みそうです。
ame ga yami sou desu

Meaning: It looks like the rain is going to stop.

But if it's a heavy downpour and there's no sign of the rain stopping, you can then say...
  雨が止みそうもありません。
ame ga yami soumo arimasen

Meaning: It looks like the rain is not going to stop.

More Examples

 あの荷物は落ちそうです。
ano nimotsu wa ochi sou desu

Meaning: It looks like that luggage is going to fall down.

 鞄の紐が切れそうです。
kaban no himo ga kire sou desu

Meaning: It looks like the strap of my bag is going to break off.

 シャンプーが無くなりそうです。
shanpu- ga nakunari sou desu

Meaning: It looks like the shampoo is going to run out.

 もうすぐ桜が咲きそうです。
mousugu sakura ga saki sou desu

Meaning: The cherry blossom may soon be in the bloom.

 これから寒くなりそうです。
korekara samukunari sou desu

Meaning: It seems like it will be getting colder from now on.

Summary

In summary, this Japanese expression そうです (sou desu) can be used if you are making a guess
from the appearance of the "thing" you are describing. But if you have already known it to be a fact,
it cannot be used.
Japanese Grammar for Cause and Reason -
Intermediate Lessons: 20
In this lesson, I will introduce another Japanese grammar for cause and reason - ので (node). It is
similar to the other grammar から (kara) and both of them can be interchangeable in many
occasions. However, they are not exactly the same. There are some differences between these two
grammars that you have to take note. In some situations it's better to use one over the other.

In the Learn Japanese FAQ Page, I have answered a question on how to use kara in Japanese for
reason.

Like から (kara), ので (node) indicates cause or reason. While から (kara) subjectively presents a cause
or a reason, ので (node) highlights a cause-and-effect relationship as a natural course of events. As
the use of ので (node) softens the view of the speaker and sounds more polite, it's often used when
you are gently expressing a reason, when asking for permission or when making an excuse.

Let's see the sentence patterns of Japanese grammar ので (node)...

Verb plain-form ので

い-adj plain-form ので

な-adj plain-form(～だ → ～な) ので

Noun plain-form(～だ → ～な) ので

The sentence patterns are quite similar to から (kara) except that for な-adj and Noun sentences, you
need to replace だ (da) with な (na).

Examples of Japanese Grammar ので (node) and から (kara)

Let's use some examples to show when it's good to use ので (node) and when it's better to use から
(kara) in a sentence.

Example 1

 暑いので窓を開けてください。
atsui node mado wo akete kudasai
暑いから窓を開けてください。
atsui kara mado wo akete kudasai

Meaning: Please open the window since it's hot.

In the above example, since you are making a request, ので (node) is the better choice. However,
grammatically there is nothing wrong if you use から (kara). Only that it's best to use ので (node) in
the example.

Example 2

 あの人はとてもきれいなのでモデルになれるでしょう。
ano hito wa totemo kirei na node moderu ni nareru deshou
あの人はとてもきれいだからモデルになれるでしょう。
ano hito wa totemo kirei da kara moderu ni nareru deshou

Meaning: The person may become a model since she is very pretty.

In the above example, から (kara) is the better choice because you are just saying what you are
thinking and making a guess. There is no need to be polite in the the sentence.

Example 3

 昨日はいい天気だったので公園へ散歩に行きました。
kinou wa ii tenki datta node kouen e sanpo ni ikimashita
昨日はいい天気だったから公園へ散歩に行きました。
kinou wa ii tenki datta kara kouen e sanpo ni ikimashita

Meaning: The weather was good yesterday, therefore I went for a walk at the park.

Again, in this example, you are talking about what you did yesterday. There is no need to be polite
and hence から (kara) is the better choice.

Example 4

 電車が止まったので授業に遅れました。
densha ga tomatta node jugyou ni okuremashita
電車が止まったから授業に遅れました。
densha ga tomatta kara jugyou ni okuremashita

Meaning: I was late for the lesson since the train was suspended.

In this case, it's better to use ので (node) because you are explaining to your teacher why you were
late for the lesson. And you need to be polite while explaining your reason.

Example 5

 ここは駐車禁止なので車を止めてはいけません。
koko wa chuushakinshi na node kuruma wo tomete ikemasen
 ここは駐車禁止だから車を止めてはいけません。
koko wa chuushakinshi da kara kuruma wo tomete ikemasen

Meaning: You cannot park the car because parking is prohibited here.

This is an order sentence and it need not to be polite. Therefore から (kara) is the better choice here.

Example 6

 財布を忘れてしまったのでお金を貸してください。
saifu wo wasurete shimatta node okane wo kashite kudasai
財布を忘れてしまったからお金を貸してください。
saifu wo wasurete shimatta kara okane wo kashite kudasai

Meaning: Please lend me some money as I forgot my wallet.

In this example, you are borrowing money from someone so you have to be polite. ので (node) will
be a better choice here.

Example 7

 ここはレストランなのでたばこを吸わないでください。
koko wa resutoran na node tabako wo suwanaide kudasai
ここはレストランだからたばこを吸わないでください。
koko wa resutoran da kara tabako wo suwanaide kudasai

Meaning: Please don't smoke here since this is a restaurant.

You are making a request for not to smoke in the restaurant, so it's best to ask politely. Therefore
ので (node) is a better choice here.

Example 8

 もう遅いので早く寝なさい。
mou osoi node hayaku nenasai
もう遅いから早く寝なさい。
mou osoi kara hayaku nenasai

Meaning: Go to bed early because it's getting late.

This is normally an order which parents want their children to follow. There's no need to be polite.
Therefore から (kara) is the better choice here.
Using Japanese Grammar ので node) with Polite-form

Although normally Japanese grammar ので (node) is used with Plain-form, it's not unusual to use it
with Polite-form. But most of the time it's used when you are talking or writing to customers and
need to be very courteous. For example you may see this kind of notice in a shop...

 今週の金曜日は休業させて頂きますのでご注意ください。
konshuu no kinyoubi wa kyuugyou sasete itadakimasu node go chuui kudasai

Meaning: As we will be closing on this Friday, please take note .

Japanese Expressions for Comparison -

Intermediate Lessons: 21
You will learn what Japanese expressions to use when comparing two items in this lesson. The items
being compared can be people, things, places, time, etc.

The first expression is to ask the comparing question. Let's see the sentence pattern...

NounA と NounB と どちらが Adjective ですか

Meaning: Which is more Adjective? NounA or NounB?

To answer this question, you can use the following Japanese expression (sentence pattern)...

(NounA より) NounB (or NounA) のほうが Adjective です

Meaning: NounB (or NounA) is more Adjective.

The one in the bracket (NounA より) can be omitted.

Both the question and answer look simple, aren't they? Let's practise with some examples...

 北海道と大阪とどちらが暑いですか。
hokkaidou to oosaka to dochira ga atsui desu ka

Meaning: Which place is hotter? Hokkaido or Osaka?

 大阪のほうが暑いです。
oosaka no hou ga atsui desu

Meaning: Osaka is hotter.

 新幹線と電車とどちらが高いですか。
shinkansen to densha to dochira ga takai desu ka

Meaning: Which one is more expensive? Bullet Train or Train?

 新幹線のほうが高いです。
shinkansen no hou ga takai desu

Meaning: Bullet Train is more expensive.

 鈴木さんの鞄と山田さんの鞄とどちらが重いですか。
suzuki san no kaban to yamada san no kaban to dochira ga omoi desu ka

Meaning: Whose bag is heavier? Mr Suzuki's bag or Mr Yamada's bag?

  鈴木さんの鞄のほうが重いです。
suzuki san no kaban no hou ga omoi desu

Meaning: Mr Suzuki's bag is heavier.

 アメリカと日本とどちらが大きいですか。
amerika to nihon to dochira ga ookii desu ka

Meaning: Which country is bigger? America or Japan?

 アメリカのほうが大きいです。
amerika no houga ookii desu

Meaning: America is bigger.

 田中さんと高松さんとどちらが背が高いですか。
tanaka san to takamatsu san to dochira ga se ga takai desu ka

Meaning: Who is taller? Ms Tanaka or Ms Takamatsu?

 高松さんのほうが背が高いです。
takamatsu san no hou ga takai desu

Meaning: Ms Takamatsu is taller.

 ジョンさんとマイクさんとどちらがテニスが上手ですか。
jon san to maiku san to dochira ga tenisu ga jouzu desu ka

Meaning: Who is better at tennis? John or Mike?

 マイクさんのほうがテニスが上手です。
maiku san no hou ga tenisu ga jouzu desu

Meaning: Mike is better at tennis.

 肉と魚とどちらが好きですか。
niku to sakana to dochira ga suki desu ka

Meaning: Which one do you prefer? Meat or Fish?

 肉のほうが好きです。
niku no hou ga suki desu

Meaning: I prefer meat.

Another Japanese Expression on Comparison

There is one more Japanese expression which you can use to compare two items. The sentence
pattern is as follow...

NounA は NounB より Adjective です

 Meaning: NounA is more Adjective than NounB.

より (yori) here has the meaning of "than" or "as compared to". Therefore you can say "As compared
to NounB, NounA is more Adjective".

For example...

 日本はアメリカより小さいです。
nihon wa amerika yori chiisai desu

Meaning: Japan is smaller than America.

 山田さんの鞄は鈴木さんの鞄より軽いです。
yamada san no kaban wa suzuki san no kaban yori karui desu

Meaning: Mr Yamada's bag is lighter than Mr Suzuki's bag.

 電車は新幹線より安いです。
densha wa shinkansen yori yasui desu

Meaning: Train is cheaper than Bullet Train.

 北海道は大阪より寒いです。
hokkaidou wa oosaka yori samui desu

Meaning: Hokkaido is colder than Osaka.

 田中さんは高松さんより背が低いです。
tanaka san wa takamatsu san yori se ga hikui desu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka is shorter than Ms Takamatsu.

 ジョンさんはマイクさんよりテニスが下手です。
jon san wa maiku yori tenisu ga heta desu

Meaning: John's tennis skill is poor as compared to Mike.

All the above Japanese expressions are commonly used in comparing two items.
 Japanese Grammar shite imasu:
Another Meaning -
Intermediate Lessons: 22
Japanese grammar shite imasu (しています) has various functions and you have already learned some
of them in the basic lessons. For example, you have learned about Progress Action, Habitual Action
and Occupation in basic lesson 22. You also learned about State Continuation in basic lesson 29.

In this lesson, you will learn another function of the shite imasu (しています). In this case, shite imasu
has a totally different meaning and it's mostly used to emphasize the description of appearance or
shape.
Let's first look at the sentence pattern...

Topic は Adjective Noun をしています

Note: The Noun here refers to names, shapes, colors, etc, of our body parts.

Normally when we want to describe body parts or somebody's ability, we'll use the sentence pattern:

 Topic は Noun が Adjective です。

For example, you can say...

 田中さんは顔が丸いです。
tanaka san wa kao ga marui desu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka's face is round.

However, you can also describe the same thing by using the Japanese grammar shite imasu.

 田中さんは丸い顔をしています。
tanaka san wa marui kao wo shite imasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka has got a round face.

In the above example, the shite imasu (しています) means "has got" or "possess".

Using this sentence pattern you can describe appearance of other people, the shapes, colors, etc of
their body parts.

Examples of Japanese grammar shite imasu

1. 象は長い鼻をしています。
zou wa nagai hana wo shite imasu

Meaning: Elephant has got long nose.

2. 猿は赤いお尻をしています。
saru wa akai oshiri wo shite imasu

Meaning: Monkey has got red buttock.

3. 山田さんは短い足をしています。
yamada san wa mijikai ashi wo shite imasu

Meaning: Mr Yamada has got short legs.

 4. 鈴木さんは長い足をしています。
suzuki san wa nagai ashi wo shite imasu

Meaning: Mr Suzuki has got long legs.

5. 田中さんは長い髪をしています。
tananka san wa nagai kami wo shite imasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka has got long hair.

6. 田中さんは黒い髪をしています。
tanaka san wa kuroi kami wo shite imasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka has got black hair

7. 田中さんの髪は黒い色をしています。
tanaka san no kami wa kuroi iro wo shite imasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka's hair is black. (literally means "has got black color")
8. 田中さんは大きい目をしています。
tanaka san wa ookii me wo shite imasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka has got big eyes.

9. 田中さんは大きい口をしています。
tanaka san wa ookii kuchi wo shite imasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka has got a big mouth.

10. 田中さんは赤い頬をしています。
tanaka san wa akai hoho wo shite imasu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka has got red cheeks.

Beside describing the appearance of people, this shite imasu (しています) can also be used to
describe appearance of animals.

Japanese Expression you desu (ようです) -

Intermediate Lessons: 23
In this lesson, you will get to learn another Japanese expression - ようです (you desu). Some people
may mixed up this expression with そうです (sou desu), or 目の"そう" (me no "sou"), which you have
learned in lesson 19. However, they are two different expressions.

Japanese expression ようです (you desu) conveys the speaker's subjective conjecture, which is based
on the information obtained through his or her sensory organs.
As usual, let's check out the sentence patterns first...

Verb plain-form ようです

い-adj plain-form ようです

な-adj plain-form(～だ → ～な) ようです

Noun plain-form(～だ → ～の) ようです

Let's see how to use ようです (you desu) with an example...

 交差点に人が大勢集まっていますね。事故のようです。
kousaten ni hito ga oozei atsumatte imasu ne. jiko no you desu

Meaning: There is a big crowd at the cross junction. It looks like there's an accident.

Based on the big crowd that you saw at the cross junction, you deduced that there's been an
accident.

Sometimes you might want to begin your ようです (you desu) sentence with the adverb どうも
(doumo) which suggests you cannot be certain if what you are saying is a fact. For example...

 咳も出るし、頭も痛いです。どうも風邪をひいたようです。
seki mo deru shi, atama mo itai desu. doumo kaze wo hiita you desu

Meaning: I have a cough and a headache. It seems like I have caught a cold.

More Examples on Japanese Expression ようです (you desu)

1. 道が濡れています。雨が降ったようです。
michi ga nurete imasu. ame ga futta you desu

Meaning: The street is wet. It seems like there was a rain.

2. アランさんはずっと勉強していますね。宿題がたくさんあるようです。
aran san wa zutto benkyoushite imasu ne. shukudai ga takusan aru you desu

Meaning: Alan has been studying for a long time. It seems like he has a lot of homework.
3. あのレストランはいつも込んでいます。料理はおいしいようです。
ano resutoran wa itsumo konde imasu. ryouri wa oishii you desu
 Meaning: That restaurant is always so crowded. It seems like the food there is delicious.
4. 事務所の電気が消えています。誰もいないようです。
jimusho no denki ga kiete imasu. daremo inai you desu

Meaning: The office light is off. It looks like no one is there.

5. 田中さんは魚を食べません。嫌いなようです。
tanaka san wa sakana wo tabemasen. kirai na you desu

Meaning: Ms Tanaka doesn't eat fish. It looks like she doesn't like fish.
6. 時計が今朝から動きません。故障のようです。
tokei ga kesa kara ugokimasen. koshou no you desu

Meaning: The clock is not moving since this morning. It seems like it's out of order.
7. 山田さんは病院に行きました。病気のようです。
yamada san wa byouin ni ikimashita. byouki no you desu

Meaning: Mr Yamada went to the hospital. It looks like he is sick.

Difference Between そうです (sou desu) and ようです (you desu)

It's common that people get confused between そうです (sou desu) and ようです (you desu). Let's use
an example to differentiate this two Japanese expressions.

1. 先生は忙しそうです。
sensei wa isogashi sou desu

Meaning: Teacher seems to be busy.

2. 先生は忙しいようです。
sensei wa isogashii you desu

Meaning: It seems that teacher is busy.

In example 1, it indicates an intuitive judgement based on what you have seen of your teacher's
condition or behaviour. In example 2, it indicates your judgement based on what you have read,
heard or been told about your teacher.

Another Function for Japanese Expression Noun のようです

Sometimes you can use Noun のようです (Noun no you desu) to describe something by using thing
similar to it. It's often used in the following sentence pattern...

Topic は Noun のようです

For example, if you want to describe a hotel you saw in the newspaper, you can say..

 このホテルはピラミッドのようです。
kono hoteru wa piramiddo no you desu

Meaning: This hotel is similar to pyramid.

It will be difficult to describe the shape of the hotel. But if you describe it as similar to the pyramid, it
becomes easy to understand. Let's see one more example...

 あの人の髪はライオンのようです。
ano hito no kami wa raion no you desu

Meaning: That person's hair is similar to that of a lion.

Again, it's not easy to describe a person's hair. But if you say it looks similar to that of a lion,
immediately people can imagine the image of that person's hair and understand your description.

More Examples for Topic は Noun のようです

1. この帽子はサンタクロースのようです。
kono boushi wa santakuro-su no you desu

Meaning: This hat is similar to that of the Santa Claus.

2. 赤ちゃんの頬はりんごのようです。
akachan no hoho wa ringo no you desu

Meaning: The baby's cheek looks like an apple.

3. 山田さんの髪の色はトマトのようです。
yamada san no kami no iro wa tomato no you desu

Meaning: Mr Yamada's hair color is similar to the color of a tomato.

Japanese Expressions Noun のような and Noun のように

In addition to Noun のようです (Noun no you desu), it can also be modified to get the noun-adjective
phrase - Noun のような (Noun no you na) and the adverbial phrase - Noun のように (Noun no you ni).
The sentence patterns are as follow...

Noun のような Noun

Noun のように Verb/Adjective

When you want to describe one particular noun, you can use Noun のような Noun (Noun no you na
Noun). Using the previous examples...

1. このホテルはピラミッドのような形をしています。
kono hoteru wa piramiddo no you na katachi wo shite imasu

Meaning: This hotel has got the shape of the pyramid.

2. あの男の子はサンタクロースのような帽子をかぶっています。
ano otoko no ko wa santakuro-su no you na boushi wo kabutte imasu

Meaning: That boy is wearing a hat which is similar to that of the Santa Claus.
3. あの人はライオンのような髪をしています。
ano hito wa raion no you na kami wo shite imasu

Meaning: That person has hair which is similar to that of a lion.

4. 赤ちゃんはりんごのような頬をしています。
akachan wa ringo no you na hoho wo shite imasu

Meaning: The baby has apple-like cheeks.

5. 山田さんの髪はトマトのような色をしています。
yamada san no kami wa tomato no you na iro wo shite imasu

Meaning: Mr Yamada's hair has the color similar to that of a tomato.

When you want to describe somebody's action or describe the adjective, use this Japanese
expression Noun のように Verb/Adjective (Noun no you ni Verb/Adjective).

For example, if you want to describe how good a man is at swimming, you can say this...

 あの男の人は魚のように泳いでいます。
ano otoko no hito wa sakana no you ni oyoide imasu

Meaning: That man swims like a fish.

You can describe in many ways how good or how fast the man can swim. But the best way to
describe is he swims like a fish. People will then know how good he is at swimming.

Similarly, you can describe in many ways how cold the water is. But the best way to describe is that
the coldness is similar to that of the ice. Then people can get the idea of how cold it is.
  この水は氷のように冷たいです。
kono mizu wa koori no you ni tsumetai desu

Meaning: This water is as cold as ice.

More Examples on Japanese Expression Noun のように

1. この教室は図書館のように静かです。
kono kyoushitsu wa toshokan no you ni shizuka desu

Meaning: This classroom is as quiet as the library.

2. 私は日本人のように日本語を上手に話したいです。
watashi wa nihonjin no you ni nihongo wo jouzu ni hanashitai desu

Meaning: I want to speak Japanese as well as the native Japanese.

3. 弟は猿のように上手に木に登れます。
otouto wa saru no you ni jouzu ni ki ni noboremasu

Meaning: My younger brother can climb the tree skillfully, just like a monkey.
4. 私は鳥のように空を飛びたいです。
watashi wa tori no you ni sora wo tobitai desu

Meaning: I want to fly in the sky like the bird.

 Japanese Conditional Form -
Part 1. ~と (~to) Sentence -
Intermediate Lessons: 24
In this lesson and the following few lessons, you will get to learn the Japanese conditional form,
which is considered to be one of the most difficult topic in Japanese language.

In English, you can normally use the pair of words "if~ then~" for almost all conditional sentences -
"If something happens, then something happens".

However, in Japanese you need to change to different conditional forms depending on the situation.
These Japanese conditional forms include と (to), ても (temo), ば (ba), なら (nara) and たら (tara)
sentences. They are all different, though they all translate to "if" in English.

In order to understand how to use all of them, the most important thing is to remember which
conditional form to use during each specific situation. In this way, you won't be confused about
using the wrong conditional form.

Let's get started with the first conditional form と (to) sentence and study the sentence patterns...

Sentence 1 (Plain-form) と、 Sentence 2

Affirmative
Verb (Dictionary-form) と、 Sentence 2

い-Adj (～い) と、 Sentence 2

な-Adj だ と、 Sentence 2

Noun だ と、 Sentence 2
Negative
Verb (ない-form) と、 Sentence 2

い-Adj (～い) くない と、 Sentence 2

な-Adj でない と、 Sentence 2

Noun でない と、 Sentence 2

 Note 1: For と sentence, sentence structure is always in present tense. That means Sentence 1
and Sentence 2 are always in present tense, no past tense.

Note 2: For negative な-Adj and Noun sentence, use でない (denai) instead of ではない (dewanai).

In the above sentence patterns, the left hand sides are the conditions, the right hand sides are what
happen next when the conditions are fulfilled.

Let's check out some examples (Affirmative) to see how to use the Japanese conditional form と
sentence...

1. 電気をつけると、明るくなります。
denki wo tsukeru to, akaruku narimasu

Meaning: If you turn on the light, it will become brighter.

2. 春になると、桜が咲きます。
haru ni naru to, sakura ga sakimasu

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

3. ２と３を足すと、５になります。
ni to san wo tasu to, go ni narimasu

Meaning: If you add 3 to 2, it will become 5.

4. 暑いと、喉が渇きます。
atsui to, nodo ga kawakimasu

Meaning: If the weather is hot, you will get thirsty.

5. 静かだと、よく眠れます。
shizuka da to, yoku nemuremasu

Meaning: If it's quiet, you can sleep well.

6. ２０歳以上だと、日本ではお酒が飲めます。
hatachi ijou da to, nihon dewa osake ga nomemasu

Meaning: If you are above 20 years old, you can drink alcohol in Japan.

Let's take a look at some examples which make use of Negative forms...

1. 夜電気をつけないと、暗いです。
yoru denki wo tsukenai to, kurai desu

Meaning: If you don't turn on the light in the night, it's dark here.
2. 雪が降らないと、スキーができません。
yuki ga furanai to, suki- ga dekimasen
 Meaning: If there is no snow, you cannot ski.
3. 何も食べないと、痩せます。
nanimo tabenai to, yasemasu

Meaning: If you don't eat anything, you will become thin.

4. 背が高くないと、モデルになれません。
se ga takakunai to, moderu ni naremasen

Meaning: If you're not tall, you cannot become a model.

5. 静かでないと、よく眠れません。
shizuka denai to, yoku nemuremasen

Meaning: If it's not quiet, you cannot sleep well.

6. いい天気でないと、遠くの山が見えません。
ii tenki denai to, tooku no yama ga miemasen

Meaning: If the weather is not good, you cannot see the mountain far away.

Rules of Using the Japanese Conditional Form と (to) Sentence

From the above examples, you will notice that...

と (to) sentence expresses Sentence 2 inevitably as a result of Sentence 1. It means whenever the
condition in Sentence 1 is set, result in Sentence 2 will always happen. Therefore expressions
used in Sentence 2 are natural and predictable events/states or unavoidable facts.

Based on the above 'rules', と (to) sentence is mainly used in the following 3 types of sentences...

1. Nature-related Fact
2. Use of Machine
3. Give Direction

Note: Expressions of one's will, hope, judgement, permission, order, invitation or request, etc cannot
be used in Sentence 2.

1. Nature-related Fact

In one of the above examples...

 春になると、桜が咲きます。
haru ni naru to, sakura ga sakimasu

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

...it's a nature-related fact we know that "If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom". The cherry
blossom will not bloom in Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Another example on nature-related fact...

 祖父は眼鏡をかけないと、新聞が読めません。
sofu wa megane wo kakenai to, shinbun ga yomemasen

Meaning: If my grandfather does not wear glasses, he can't read the newspaper.

2. Use of Machine

When you use the train ticketing machine, if you press the button of the 200 yen ticket after
inserting the money, the 200 yen ticket will be dispensed. The 180 yen ticket or 220 yen ticket will
not be dispensed if you press the 200 yen ticket's button. You can use Japanese conditional form と
sentence for this kind of situation (using of machine).

 このボタンを押すと、２００円の切符が出ます。
kono botan wo osu to, 200 yen no kippu ga demasu

Meaning: If you press this button, 200 yen ticket will come out.

Another machine example...

 このノブを回すと、音が大きくなります。
kono nobu wo mawasu to, oto ga ookiku narimasu

Meaning: If you turn this knob, volume will go up.

3. Give Direction

The locations of buildings, places, etc do not change. Unless a building was demolished and
relocated to another place, you will always find the same building at the same location. Therefore
Japanese conditional form と sentence can be used when giving direction to places. For example...

 まっすぐ行くと、右に病院があります。
massugu iku to, migi ni byouin ga arimasu

Meaning: If you go straight, you will find the hospital on the right.

Another example...

 あの交差点を左に曲がると、郵便局があります。
ano kousaten wo hidari ni magaru to, yuubinkyoku ga arimasu
 Meaning: If you turn left at that crossroad, you will find the post office.

Example of Wrong Use of と Sentence

It's stated that expressions of one's will, hope, judgement, permission, order, invitation or request,
etc cannot be used in Sentence 2 of Japanese conditional form と Sentence.

If you say 春になると、日本へ行きます。 (haru ni naru to, nihon e ikimasu), it means "If Spring comes,
I will go to Japan". The second sentence here is a personal will, which cannot be used in the Japanese
conditional form と sentence according to the rules. Therefore this sentence is incorrect in Japanese
context.

This is a common mistake. Probably the speaker wants to say "When Spring comes, I am going to
Japan". It sounds perfect for English. But remember that for と sentence, whenever condition in
Sentence 1 is set, the result in Sentence 2 will always happen. In this example, "going to Japan" is a
one-time event. It doesn't happen for every Spring. Therefore と sentence cannot be used in this
situation.

Exception

However, if the event of "going to Japan" is a habitual action, that means you go to Japan every year
(without fail) when Spring comes, then you can use と sentence. You have to put 毎年 (maitoshi)
which means every year to make the action habitual.

 毎年春になると、日本へ行きます。
maitoshi haru ni naru to, nihon e ikimasu

Meaning: Every year when Spring comes, I go to Japan.

In the next few intermediate lessons, the rest of the Japanese conditional forms will be discussed.
 Japanese Conditional Form -
Part 2. ~ても (~temo) Sentence -
Intermediate Lessons: 25
In this lesson, you'll learn the next Japanese conditional form - ても (temo) Sentence. By definition, it
simply translates to "Even if ~" in English.

ても (temo) Sentence is used to indicate a reverse condition. It's used when an action which is
expected to be taken or an event which is expected to happen naturally under the given
circumstances does not materialize or a thing turns out in a way opposite to a socially accepted idea.

Let's check out the sentence patterns for ても (temo) sentence...

Sentence 1 (て-form) も、 Sentence 2

Affirmative

Verb (て-form) も、 Sentence 2

い-Adj (～い) くて も、 Sentence 2

な-Adj で も、 Sentence 2

Noun で も、 Sentence 2

Negative

Verb ない-form (～ない) なくて も、 Sentence 2

い-Adj (～い) くなくて も、 Sentence 2

な-Adj でなくて も、 Sentence 2

Noun でなくて も、 Sentence 2

We called this conditional form ても (temo) sentence because it means て-form + も (te-form + mo).
However, it doesn't mean it's always ても (temo), sometimes it can be でも (demo), sometimes it can
be っても (ttemo), depending on what is the て-form (te-form) in Sentence 1of the sentence
structures.

Example

Let's look at an example to see how this sentence works...

Imagine you have been taking a lot of food recently. Beside the normal 3 meals, you took plenty of
snacks in between meals, and ate a lot of junk foods for supper. If you continue doing this for
weeks, normally it's natural that you'll put on weight. In this case, you can use the と (to) sentence to
describe the situation.

 たくさん食べると、太ります。
takusan taberu to, futorimasu

Meaning: If I take a lot of food, I will put on weight.

However, if the opposite result happens, you should use ても (temo) sentence to describe the
situation. That means you don't gain weight even if you eat a lot of food. For ても (temo) sentence,
what happens is opposite to what people normally expected.

 たくさん食べても、太りません。
takusan tabetemo, futorimasen

Meaning: Even if I take a lot of food, I don't put on weight.

In summary...

たくさん食べます -> 太ります <- naturally happen use と sentence

たくさん食べます -> 太りません <- opposite result happen use ても sentence

Another Example

Normally, when the surrounding is noisy, you won't be able to sleep easily. However, if you can sleep
under such noisy environment, you can then use ても (temo) sentence to describe the situation.

 うるさくても、寝られます。 (opposite)
urusakutemo, neraremasu
Meaning: Even if it's noisy, I can sleep.

うるさいと、寝られません。 (normal)
urusaito, neraremasen
Meaning: If it's noisy, I cannot sleep.

うるさい -> 寝られません <- normal use と sentence

うるさい -> 寝られます <- opposite use ても sentence

More Examples of Japanese Conditional form ても (temo) Sentence

1. 一時間しか寝なくても、元気です。 (opposite)
ichi jikan shika nenakutemo, genki desu
Meaning: Even if I sleep for only one hour, I feel energetic.

一時間しか寝ないと、眠いです。 (normal)
ichi jikan shika nenaito, nemui desu
Meaning: If I sleep for only one hour, I feel sleepy.
 2. 静かでなくても、勉強できます。 (opposite)
shizuka denakutemo, benkyou dekimasu
Meaning: Even if it's not quiet, I can study.

静かでないと、勉強できません。 (normal)
shizuka denaito, benkyou dekimasen
Meaning: If it's not quiet, I cannot study.
3. いい天気でなくても、洗濯します。 (opposite)
ii tenki denakutemo, sentaku shimasu
Meaning: Even if the weather is not good, I'll do the laundry.

いい天気でないと、洗濯物が乾きません。 (normal)
ii tenki denaito, sentaku mono ga kawakimasen
Meaning: If the weather is not good, the laundry cannot get dried.

No Rule or Regulation for Japanese Conditional form ても (temo) Sentence

From the last example, you'll notice that the second sentence 洗濯します (sentaku shimasu) is a
personal will. This is allowed in ても (temo) sentence.

In fact, as compared to と (to) sentence, this Japanese conditional form is much simpler because
there is no restriction in Sentence 2. You can have one's will, hope, judgement, permission, order,
invitation or request, etc in Sentence 2. For example...

 明日雨が降っても、サッカーします。
ashita ame ga futtemo, sakka- shimasu

Meaning: Even if it rains tomorrow, I'll play soccer.

The second sentence サッカーします (sakka- shimasu) - "to play soccer" is a personal will, but it's
allowed in ても (temo) sentence.

 授業がなくても、学校へ来てください。
jugyou ga nakutemo, gakkou e kite kudasai

Meaning: Even if you have no class, please come to school.

Even if there is no class, your teacher will still ask you to come to school. The second sentence in
this example is a request form, but it's allowed here.
 Japanese Conditional Form -
Part 3. ~ば (~ba)/~なら (~nara) Sentence -
Intermediate Lessons: 26
This lesson will continue to discuss the next Japanese conditional form - ば (ba) / なら (nara)
Sentence. ば (ba) sentence is used for Verb and い-Adjective while なら (nara) sentence is used for
な-Adjective and Noun.

Let's study the sentence patterns...

Sentence 1 ば/なら、 Sentence 2

(Requirement)

Affirmative

Verb (Change the last う sound

ば、 Sentence 2
in dict-form to え sound)

い-Adj (～い) けれ ば、 Sentence 2

な-Adj なら、 Sentence 2

Noun なら、 Sentence 2

Negative

Verb ない-form (～ない) なければ、 Sentence 2

い-Adj (～い) く なければ、 Sentence 2

な-Adj で なければ、 Sentence 2

Noun で なければ、 Sentence 2

Note: ば and なら have the same meaning. ば is used for Verb and い-adj. なら is used for な-adj
and Noun. For negative, all are the same, ～なければ.

Most of the above are quite straight forward except for changing the verb in Affirmative sentence.
We'll call this Japanese conditional form ば-form (ba-form).

Rules for Changing Dictionary-form to ば-form for Verbs

The following are the rules for the 3 groups of Japanese verbs.

Group 1 Verbs

Group 1 verbs always end up with words containing u-sound. To change group 1 verbs to ば-form,
change the u-sound to e-sound in the last word. After that append ば (ba) to the changed words and
you will get the ば-form of the verb.

For example, this group 1 verb かく (kaku) ends up with く (ku). If you change the u-sound to e-
sound, く (ku) becomes け (ke). Adding ば (ba) at the end, you will get かけば (kakeba).

This group 1 verb あそぶ (asobu) ends up with ぶ (bu). If you change the u-sound to e-sound, ぶ (bu)
becomes べ (be). Adding ば (ba) at the end, you will get あそべば (asobeba).

かう -> かえば

まつ -> まてば
 はじまる -> はじまれば

よむ -> よめば

はなす -> はなせば

およぐ -> およげば

Group 2 Verbs

All group 2 verbs end up with る (ru). To change to ば-form, simply replace る (ru) with れば (reba)
and you will get the ば-form of the verb.

For example, this Japanese verb たべる (taberu) is a group 2 verb. To change to ば-form, replace る
(ru) with れば (reba) and you will get たべれば (tabereba).

This group 2 verb ねる (neru) means go to bed. Change る (ru) to れば (reba) and you will get ねれば
(nereba).

やめる -> やめれば

きえる -> きえれば

Group 3 Verbs

Group 3 verbs are irregular verbs. You just have to memorize them. The ば-form of くる (kuru) is
くれば (kureba) and the ば-form of する (suru) is すれば (sureba).

くる -> くれば

する -> すれば
Examples of Japanese Conditional Form ば (ba) / なら (nara) Sentence

1. タクシーで行けば、６時の電車に乗れるでしょう。
takushi- de ikeba, 6 ji no densha ni noreru deshou

Meaning: I guess if you go by taxi, you can catch the 6 o'clock train.
2. 部屋が暗ければ、電気をつけてください。
heya ga kurakereba, denki wo tsukete kudasai

Meaning: Please switch on the light if the room is dark.

3. 暇なら、手伝ってください。
hima nara, tetsudatte kudasai

Meaning: Please help me if you are free.

4. 明日雨なら、行きません。
ashita ame nara, ikimasen

Meaning: I won't go if it rains tomorrow.

5. 少ししか食べなければ、痩せます。
sukoshi shika tabenakereba, yasemasu

Meaning: You will lose weight if you only eat a little.

6. 忙しくなければ、明日パーティーへ行きます。
isogashikunakereba, ashita pa-ti- e ikimasu

Meaning: I will go to party tomorrow if I am not busy.

7. 好きでなければ、食べなくてもいいです。
suki denakereba, tabenakutemo ii desu

Meaning: You don't need to eat if you don't like it.

8. 明日いい天気でなければ、サッカーしません。
ashita ii tenki denakereba, sakka- shimasen

Meaning: I won't play soccer if it's not a good weather tomorrow.

Comparing と (to) and ば (ba) / なら (nara) Sentences

Actually among all the Japanese conditional forms, と (to) sentence is the most difficult to construct
as it has many restrictions. Grammatically と (to) sentence can all be changed to ば (ba) / なら (nara)
sentence. For example...

1. 春になると、桜が咲きます。
haru ni naru to, sakura ga sakimasu

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

2. 春になれば、桜が咲きます。
haru ni nareba, sakura ga sakimasu

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

The second example above that used ば-form is also correct.

As you know, と (to) sentence has many regulations in Sentence 2. You cannot have expressions of
one's will, hope, judgement, permission, order, invitation or request, etc. However, you can use
these expressions if you use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence. For example...

1. お金があると、日本へ行きたいです。 X
okane ga aru to, nihon e ikitai desu X

Meaning: If I have money, I want to go to Japan.

2. お金があれば、日本へ行きたいです。 O
okane ga areba, nihon e ikitai desu O
 Meaning: If I have money, I want to go to Japan.

Example 1 above which used と (to) sentence is incorrect because Sentence 2 is speaker's hope. The
sentence becomes correct if you use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence as in example 2.

From the above examples, you'll notice that you can use ば (ba) / なら (nara) to connect to sentence
where you could not connect using と (to). In that case, since all と (to) sentence can be changed to
ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence grammatically, then you probably think why do we learn と (to)
sentence in the first place.

We are now only focusing on the grammatical point of view. So it may seem that there's no point of
learning と (to) sentence. But there are other aspects and reasons (which I'll explain in next lesson)
that why different types of Japanese conditional forms are available.

Japanese Conditional Form ば (ba) / なら (nara) Sentence Regulation

Although ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence is less strict than と (to) sentence, there's still one regulation
that you need to take care of.

When the subject of Sentence 1 is the same as that of Sentence 2...

Sentence 1 Sentence 2

Cannot have expressions of speaker's will, hope,

-Action Verb order, judgement, request, invitation, permission,
prohibition, etc

-State Verb/Adj/Noun No regulation

Note: Subject of sentence - the person who takes action.

Action Verb is verb that requires some action of the speaker. For example: 食べる (taberu), 飲む
(nomu), 走る (hashiru), 行く (iku), 見る (miru), 遊ぶ (asobu), 出る (deru), 出掛ける (dekakeru), etc.

State Verb is verb that requires no action. It's a state. For example: ある (aru) and いる (iru) are
existence, no action required. A potential verb is also considered as a state verb.

Let's use an example to explain the above sentence regulation...

1. 東京に行くと、東京スカイツリーを見たいです。 X
toukyou ni iku to, toukyou sukaitsuri- wo mitai desu X
 Meaning: If I go to Tokyo, I want to see Tokyo Skytree.
2. 東京に行けば、東京スカイツリーを見たいです。 X
toukyou ni ikeba, toukyou sukaitsuri- wo mitai desu X

Meaning: If I go to Tokyo, I want to see Tokyo Skytree.

3. 東京に行ったら、東京スカイツリーを見たいです。 O
toukyou ni ittara, toukyou sukaitsuri- wo mitai desu O

Meaning: If I go to Tokyo, I want to see Tokyo Skytree.

Example 1 is obviously incorrect because you cannot have one's hope in Sentence 2 for と (to)
sentence.

In Example 2 above, who is going to Tokyo? -> "I" (Sentence 1's subject). Who want to see Tokyo
Skytree? -> "I" (Sentence 2's subject). Since the subjects of both sentences are the same ("I"), and the
verb in Sentence 1 is an action verb - 行く (iku), you cannot have speaker's hope 見たい (mitai)
in Sentence 2. Therefore Example 2 is also incorrect because it did not fulfill the regulation for ば
(ba) / なら (nara) sentence.

So the correct answer is to use たら (tara) sentence for the above example. たら (tara) sentence
(which you'll learn in next lesson) has less regulations as compared to と (to) and ば (ba) / なら (nara)
sentences, Grammatically it can replace all と (to) and ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentences. However, there
are reasons why we use と (to) sentence and why we use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence. I'll get into
that in next lesson.

Check the Examples Against the Sentence Regulation

Let's re-look at the 8 examples of Japanese conditional form ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence above and
check them against the sentence regulation.

1. タクシーで行けば、６時の電車に乗れるでしょう。

Both Sentence 1 and Sentence 2 have the same subject of "You", and Sentence 1 has action
verb - 行く (iku). But 乗れる (noreru) in Sentence 2 is a potential verb. It's not one's hope,
will, request, etc. So this sentence is correct.
2. 部屋が暗ければ、電気をつけてください。

暗い (kurai) is an adjective. So this sentence is correct because there's no regulation for

adjective in Sentence 1.
3. 暇なら、手伝ってください。

暇 (hima) is also an adjective. So this sentence is also correct.

 4. 明日雨なら、行きません。

雨 (ame) is a noun. Similar to adjective, there's no regulation for noun in Sentence 1. So this
sentence is correct.
5. 少ししか食べなければ、痩せます。

Both Sentence 1 and Sentence 2 have the same subject of "You", and Sentence 1 has action
verb - 食べる (taberu). But 痩せます (yasemasu) is not one's hope, will, order, order, request,
etc. It's a state. Therefore this sentence is correct.
6. 忙しくなければ、明日パーティーへ行きます。

忙しい (isogashii) is an adjective. So this sentence is correct.

7. 好きでなければ、食べなくてもいいです。

好き (suki) is an adjective. So this sentence is correct.

8. 明日いい天気でなければ、サッカーしません。

天気 (tenki) is a noun. So this sentence is correct.

Practices on Japanese Conditional Form ば (ba) / なら (nara) Sentence

Let's check if you can tell whether the following 2 examples are correct for the Japanese conditional
form ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence. Try to solve them yourself before looking at the answers below.

1. 父がいいと言えば、犬を飼いたいです。
chichi ga ii to ieba, inu wo kaitai desu

Meaning: If my father agrees, I want to keep a dog.

2. お酒を飲めば、運転してはいけません。
osake wo nomeba, untenshitewa ikemasen

Meaning: You must not drive if you drink alcohol.

Answers

1. 言う (iu) in Sentence 1 is an action verb. The subject of Sentence 1 is 父 (chichi) - "My father",
while the subject in Sentence 2 is 私 (watashi) - "I". Since the subjects ofSentence
1 and Sentence 2 are different, the regulation does not apply. Therefore this sentence
is correct.
2. The subject of Sentence 1 is あなた (anata) - "You", and the subject of Sentence 2 is also
あなた (anata) - "You". 飲む (nomu) in Sentence 1 is an action verb, so you cannot have
expression of one's hope, wish, request, permission, prohibition, etc in Sentence 2. Since
運転してはいけません (untenshitewa ikemasen) is a prohibition, this sentence isincorrect.
Have you got your answers right?
 Japanese Conditional Form -
Part 4. ~たら (~tara) Sentence -
Intermediate Lessons: 27
In this lesson, you'll get to learn the last Japanese conditional form - たら (tara) sentence.

As you've already learned in the past few lessons, there're many restrictions to use と (to) sentence.
There're also many regulations which you need to fulfill for ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence if you want
to express your will, hope, judgement, permission, prohibition, order, invitation or request, etc.

If you want to state these expressions which involve your intentional actions in the conditional form,
you need to use たら (tara) sentence.

So let's check out the sentence patterns of たら (tara) sentence...

Sentence 1 たら、 Sentence 2

Affirmative

Verb た-form ら、 Sentence 2

い-Adj (～い) かった ら、 Sentence 2

な-Adj だった ら、 Sentence 2

Noun だった ら、 Sentence 2

Negative

Verb ない-form (～ない) なかったら、 Sentence 2

い-Adj (～い) く なかったら、 Sentence 2

な-Adj で なかったら、 Sentence 2

Noun で なかったら、 Sentence 2

There is another shorter and simple way to show the sentence pattern...

Sentence 1 たら、 Sentence 2

Affirmative/Negative

Plain-form Past ら、 Sentence 2

Note: For な-Adj and Noun Negative

な-Adj/Noun で は なかったら

Examples of Japanese Conditional Form たら (tara) Sentence

1. 安かったら、たくさん買います。
yasukattara, takusan kaimasu

Meaning: If it's cheap, I'll buy a lot.

2. コートを着たら、寒くありません。
ko-to wo kitara, samukuarimasen

Meaning: If you wear coat, you won't feel cold.

3. 明日元気だったら、２０km走ります。
ashita genki dattara, 20km hashirimasu

Meaning: If I feel energetic tomorrow, I'll run 20km.

4. 雨だったら、出かけません。
ame dattara, dekakemasen

Meaning: If it rains, I won't go out.

5. 時間がなかったら、映画を見ません。
jikan ga nakattara, eiga wo mimasen

Meaning: If I don't have time, I won't watch the movie.

6. 寒くなかったら、T-シャツを着ます。
samukunakattara, T-shatsu wo kimasu

Meaning: If it's not cold, I'll wear T-shirt.

 7. 静かでなかったら、寝られません。
shizuka denakattara, neraremasen

Meaning: If it's not quiet, I cannot sleep.

8. いい天気でながったら、うちでテレビを見ます。
ii tenki denakattara, uchi de terebi wo mimasu

Meaning: If the weather is not good, I'll watch TV at home.

Grammatical Reason to Use Japanese Conditional Form たら (tara) Sentence

As explained in the previous lesson, from the grammatical point of view, there are situations that
you have to use たら (tara) sentence because of the regulation in Sentence 2. For example...

1. お酒を飲むと、運転してはいけません。 X
osake wo nomu to, untenshitewa ikemasen X

Meaning: You must not drive if you drink alcohol.

2. お酒を飲めば、運転してはいけません。 X
osake wo nomeba, untenshitewa ikemasen X

Meaning: You must not drive if you drink alcohol.

3. お酒を飲んだら、運転してはいけません。 O
osake wo nondara, untenshitewa ikemasen O

Meaning: You must not drive if you drink alcohol.

Example 1 above is incorrect because you cannot have expression of prohibition in Sentence 2 for と
(to) sentence.

In Example 2 the subjects of both Sentence 1 and Sentence 2 are the same - あなた (anata - You).
The verb 飲む (nomu - drink) in Sentence 1 is an action verb, so you cannot have expression of one's
hope, wish, request, permission, prohibition, etc in Sentence 2. Since 運転してはいけません
(untenshitewa ikemasen) is a prohibition, this sentence is also incorrectusing ば (ba) / なら (nara)
sentence.

In this case, you can only use たら (tara) sentence for the conditional sentence.

Situations When All 3 Japanese Conditional Forms Can Be Used

However, there're situations when you can use all the conditional forms - と (to) sentence, ば (ba) /
なら (nara) sentence and たら (tara) sentence. For example...
 1. 春になると、桜が咲きます。 O
haru ni naru to, sakura ga sakimasu O

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

2. 春になれば、桜が咲きます。 O
haru ni nareba, sakura ga sakimasu O

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

3. 春になったら、桜が咲きます。 O
haru ni nattara, sakura ga sakimasu O

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

In Example 1 above, 桜が咲きます (sakura ga sakimasu) in Sentence 2 is not a personal intention, so

と (to) sentence can be used.

In Example 2, 春になる (haru ni naru) in Sentence 1 is not an action verb. Hence, the regulation does
not apply here. Therefore ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence is also correct.

And obviously since たら (tara) sentence has no regulation, it's also correct to use it as in Example 3.

Since all the 3 Japanese conditional forms can be used here, it's natural that you'll ask how to decide
which one to use? What is the situation that you should use と (to) sentence? What is the situation
that you should use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence? And what is the situation that you should use たら
(tara) sentence?

When to Use と, ば / なら and たら Sentences?

When you are constructing a sentence using Japanese conditional form, there are 2 aspects that you
need to look into.

Firstly, you must look from the grammatical point of view, which means checking the sentence
against the rules/regulations. If the sentence doesn't fulfill the regulations like the above example
on お酒 (osake) and 運転 (unten), automatically there is no other choice but to use たら (tara)
sentence.

However, for a sentence like the above example on 春 (haru) and 桜 (sakura) where you can use all
the 3 Japanese conditional forms, which one do you use? In this case, you have to look into the
second aspect - the conversational point of view. It means that depending on the type of sentence
and the meaning of each sentence, you have to choose the appropriate Japanese conditional form.
It may seem difficult to select based on the conversational aspect, but once you know the
requirements, it's quite simple. In fact, you have already learned the requirements to use と (to)
sentence previously.

と (to) Sentence

You should remember that in the lesson on Japanese conditional form for と (to) sentence, it's mainly
used in the following 4 types of sentences...

1. Nature-related Fact
2. Use of Machine
3. Give Direction
4. Somebody's Habitual Actions (Exception)

Although there are many regulations for using と (to) sentence, it's basically used in the above 4
special cases when you want to emphasize them.

ば (ba) / なら (nara) Sentence

From the conversational point of view, there are basically 2 types of sentences that require you to
use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence...

1. When Making 2 Opposite Suppositions

2. To Show Requirement

1. When Making 2 Opposite Suppositions

Let's say your friend ask you the following question...

 明日何をしますか。
ashita nani wo shimasu ka

Meaning: What will you do tomorrow?

Suppose you are not sure about how is the weather tomorrow, so you give your friend 2 suppositions
- "if it rains" and "if it doesn't rain". In this case, you can use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence.

 明日雨なら、うちでテレビを見ます。
ashita ame nara, uchi de terebi wo mimasu

Meaning: If it rains tomorrow, I'll watch TV at home.

 雨でなければ、テニスをします。
ame denakereba, tenisu wo shimasu
 Meaning: If it doesn't rain, I'll play tennis.

Since both situations are possible, you are giving 2 opposite suppositions in your answer using ば
(ba) / なら (nara) sentence.

Let's look at another example. Suppose you are living in Los Angeles. You are asking your father
what is the vacation plan for this coming summer.

 今度の夏休み、どこへ旅行に行きますか。
kondo no natsu yasumi, doko e ryokou ni ikimasu ka

Meaning: Where are we going for vacation this summer?

You father gives you 2 opposite suppositions - "if he has money" and "if he doesn't have money".

 お金があれば、ヨーロッパに行きます。
okane ga areba, yo-roppa ni ikimasu

Meaning: If I have money, we'll go to Europe.

 お金がなければ、ディズニーランドに行きます。
oakane ga nakereba, dizuni-rando ni ikimasu

Meaning: If I don't have money, we'll go to Disneyland.

Since these 2 opposite suppositions are both possible, you can use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence. If
there's only one supposition, you should use たら (tara) sentence.

2. To Show Requirement

For this type of sentence, it normally starts with a question. For example, if you want to improve
your Japanese and ask your teacher what is the requirement to do that...

 先生、どうすれば日本語が上手になりますか。
sensei, dou sureba nihongo ga jouzu ni narimasu ka

Meaning: Teacher, what is required (what should I do) to improve my Japanese?

どうすれば (dou sureba) in the question is asking "What is required?".

To answer this question, your teacher will most probably reply you the following sentence with the
requirement...

 毎日話せば日本語が上手になりますよ。
mainichi hanaseba nihongo ga jouzu ni narimasu yo
 Meaning: If you speak Japanese every day, it will be improved.

Therefore to show requirement, you can use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence.

Let's see another example. Suppose you ask your teacher about Spring...

 春はどんな季節ですか。
haru wa donna kisetsu desu ka

Meaning: What kind of season is Spring?

If your teacher wants to tell you the fact about Spring in Japan, she will probably answer you in the
following way...

 春になると、桜が咲きますよ。
haru ni naru to, sakura ga sakimasu yo

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

But if you change your question and ask about what is the requirement for cherry blossom to bloom
with the following question...

 先生、桜はいつ咲きますか。
sensei, sakura wa itsu sakimasu ka

Meaning: Teacher, when will cherry blossom bloom?

OR

 私は桜が見たいです。どうすれば桜が咲きますか。
watashi wa sukura ga mitai desu. dou sureba sakura ga sakimasu ka

Meaning: I want to see cherry blossom. What is required for cherry blossom to bloom?

Then your teacher will most likely answer both questions with the following...

 春になれば、桜が咲きますよ。
haru ni nareba, sakura ga sakimasu yo

Meaning: If Spring comes, the cherry blossom will bloom.

In this case, your teacher wants to emphasize the requirement for cherry blossom to bloom, that's
why she is using the ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence.
たら (tara) Sentence

From the conversational point of view, if the sentence is not the 4 types of と (to) sentence and not
the 2 types of ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence as explained in the above sections, you can use たら
(tara) sentence.

So you have to consider the 2 aspects when constructing a conditional sentence -

grammatical and conversational. If grammatically the sentence is correct for all 3 conditional forms
と (to), ば (ba) / なら (nara) and たら (tara) sentences, then you have to look from the conversational
point of view and choose the most appropriate type of sentence to use.

One Exception for たら (tara) Sentence

While there is no regulation for たら (tara) sentence grammatically, there is one exception that you
need to take note.

For all the 3 Japanese conditional forms you have learned so far, と (to), ば (ba) / なら (nara) and たら
(tara) sentences, they all have one common point. It's always the case that after the condition
in Sentence 1 is set, then the result in Sentence 2 happens. Time flow is always from Sentence
1 to Sentence 2.

For example, in this sentence 春になると、桜が咲きます。 (haru ni naru to sakura ga sakimasu),

Spring has to come first then cherry blossom bloom. In this sentence
コートを着たら、寒くありません。 (ko-to wo kitara, samukuarimasen), it's only after you wore the
coat then you are not feeling cold.

However, this is not always the case. Sometimes you may want to let the result in Sentence 2to
happen first before the condition in Sentence 1 is set. For example, if you are telling your friend "If
you come to my house tomorrow, please call me before coming."

 明日うちへ来ます。（来る前に）電話をしてください。
ashita uchi e kimasu. (kuru mae ni) denwa wo shite kudasai

For this example, "電話をする (denwa wo suru)" happens before "coming to my house". In this case,
you cannot use たら (tara) sentence. You have to use the following new form...

Verb Dict-form なら、 Sentence 2

Note: This なら (nara) is different from the なら (nara) that you have learned in ば (ba) / なら (nara)
sentence. The one you have learned can only be used for な-adj or Noun sentence. This new
form "Dict-form なら" is used when you want to show that the result in Sentence 2happens
before Sentence 1.

Therefore using the new form "Dict-form なら", the previous example should be...

 明日うちへ来るなら、電話をしてください。 O
ashita uchi e kuru nara, denwa wo shite kudasai O

Meaning: If you come to my house tomorrow, please call me before coming.

If you were to use たら (tara) sentence in the above example...

 明日うちへ来たら、電話をしてください。 (grammatically correct, but meaning is wrong)

ashita uchi e kitara, denwa wo shite kudasai

Meaning: If you come to my house tomorrow, please call me (at my house).

The above sentence looks weird, isn't it? You friend should call you before coming to your house. But
if you use たら (tara) sentence, you are asking him to call you after he has reached your house.

Practices on Japanese Conditional Form たら and Dict-form なら Sentences

Let's check if you can tell where the speaker will like to study Japanese in the following examples
using たら (tara) and Dict-form なら (Dict-form nara) sentences...

1. 日本へ行ったら、日本語を勉強しようと思います。
nihon e ittara, nihongo wo benkyou shiyou to omoimasu
2. 日本へ行くなら、日本語を勉強しようと思います。
nihon e iku nara, nihongo wo benkyou shiyou to omoimasu
Answers

Have you got the correct answers?

1. In Example 1 above, the speaker is going to study Japanese when he/she is in Japan because
たら (tara) sentence is used. Sentence 1 in たら (tara) sentence always happen
before Sentence 2.
2. In Example 2, the speaker is going to study Japanese before he/she is in Japan because Dict-
form なら (Dict-form nara) sentence is used. That means the speaker is going to study
Japanese in his/her own country before he/she goes to Japan.

Depends on the sentence you make, the meaning can be different.

 Special Case For たら tara Sentence -
Intermediate Lessons: 28
In the previous lesson, you have learned that grammatically たら tara sentence has no regulation. But
you need to choose the appropriate Japanese conditional form based on the conversational aspect if
all 3 conditional forms: と (to), ば (ba) / なら (nara) and たら (tara) sentences are grammatically
correct.

In this lesson, we'll look at 2 special cases when constructing conditional sentences where you
definitely have to use たら tara sentence.

For such sentences, you'll notice that they can also be constructed using ば (ba) / なら (nara)
sentence grammatically. But for reasons that I'll discuss later, たら tara sentence has to be used
invariably.

The sentence pattern for たら tara sentence is the same as the last lesson...

Sentence 1 たら、 Sentence 2

The 2 special cases when たら tara sentence has to be used are:

1. When the Condition is Different from the Reality

2. When the Condition is Definitely Going to Happen in the Future

1. When the Condition is Different from the Reality

Let's look at an example. Suppose your sister says the following...

 私は男だったら、ラグビーがしたいです。 O
watashi wa otoko dattara, ragubi- ga shitai desu O

Meaning: If I were a man, I want to play rugby.

According to the rules, you cannot use と (to) sentence because you cannot have expression of
personal's hope ～したい (~shitai) in Sentence 2 for と (to) sentence.
But ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence can be used in this case because there's no regulation forSentence
2 if Sentence 1 is a noun sentence. That means grammatically your sister can say...

 私は男なら、ラグビーがしたいです。 X
watashi wa otoko nara, ragubi- ga shitai desu X

Meaning: If I were a man, I want to play rugby.

For ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence, there are always 2 possibilities: either "if it happens" or "if it
doesn't happen", either "if it rains" or "if it doesn't rain". Both possibilities can happen. If your sister
says 私は男なら、ラグビーがしたいです。 (watashi wa otoko nara, ragubi- ga shitai desu), it means
she has the possibility of becoming a man. However, in reality your sister can never be a man. It's
certain that this cannot happen and therefore you cannot use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence here. You
have to use たら tara sentence.

The meaning behind the above example is that your sister is not a man, therefore she cannot play
rugby 私は男ではないから、ラグビーができません。 (watashi wa otoko dewanai kara, rugubi- ga
dekimasen). But if she is a man, she wants to play rugby. For this kind of assumption which is
different from the reality, you have to use たら tara sentence.

Another Example

 私は鳥だったら、日本へ飛んで行きたいです。 O
watashi wa tori dattara, nihon e tonde ikitai desu O

Meaning: If I were a bird, I want to fly to Japan.

If you use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence which is correct grammatically...

 私は鳥なら、日本へ飛んで行きたいです。 X
watashi wa tori nara, nihon e tonde ikitai desu X

Meaning: If I were a bird, I want to fly to Japan.

The above example means you have the possibility to become a bird, which is impossible in reality.
Therefore you can only use たら tara sentence.

One More Example

 私は百万ドルがあったら、世界旅行をします。 O
watashi wa hyakuman doru ga attara, sekai ryokou wo shimasu O

Meaning: If I have one million dollar, I'll tour around the world.
Grammatically you can use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence and say the following...

 私は百万ドルがあれば、世界旅行をします。 X
watashi wa hyakuman doru ga areba, sekai ryokou wo shimasu X

Meaning: If I have one million dollars, I'll tour around the world.

But in reality, it's quite impossible for you to have a million dollars. You are just dreaming. While
there's a possibility that you'll have a million dollars in the future, it's impossible (at least) for the
moment when you are saying the sentence. Again, the correct way here is to use たら tara sentence.

2. When the Condition is Definitely Going to Happen in the Future

If the condition is definitely going to happen in the future, it's not a conditional sentence anymore.

In the previous lesson you have learned a similar example like the following...

 雨が降れば、うちにいます。
ame ga fureba, uchi ni imasu

Meaning: If it rains, I'll stay at home.

 雨が降らなければ、サッカーをします。
ame ga furanakereba, sakka- wo shimasu

Meaning: If it doesn't rain, I'll play soccer.

You don't know whether it's going to rain. So you use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence to make 2
opposite suppositions - "if it rains" and "if it doesn't rain". These are conditional sentences where
both situations are possible to happen. You can also use たら tara sentence for the same example...

 雨が降ったら、うちにいます。
ame ga futtara, uchi ni imasu

Meaning: If it rains, I'll stay at home.

 雨が降らなかったら、サッカーをします。
ame ga furanakattara, sakka- wo shimasu

Meaning: If it doesn't rain, I'll play soccer.

But if you know that the condition is definitely going to happen in the future, it's not a conditional
sentence anymore. In this case, you have to use たら tara sentence. For example, if you are a student
and say the following sentence...

 夏休みが来たら、大阪へ行きます。
natsu yasumi ga kitara, oosaka e ikimasu
 Meaning: When summer vacations comes, I will go to Osaka.

All students have summer vacation, so it's definitely coming. In this case it becomes "Whensummer
vacation comes", not "If summer vacation comes".

If you were to use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence for the above example,
夏休みが来れば、大阪へ行きます。 (natsu yasumi ga kureba, oosaka e ikimasu). This sounds like you
are not sure whether summer vacation is coming. If it comes, you will go to Osaka. If it doesn't
come, you will do something else. This sounds weird because summer vacation is definitely coming
for every student.

Another Example

Let's look at another example. Suppose the time now is 9pm and you are going to bed at 11pm.

 １１時になったら、寝ます。
juuichi ji ni nattara, nemasu

Meaning: When it's 11pm, I will go to bed.

Time is always moving and you know that 11pm is definitely coming in 2 hours' time. So this is not a
condition anymore and therefore you have to use たら tara sentence. If you say
１１時になれば、寝ます。 (juuichi ji ni nareba, nemasu), you don't know if 11pm is coming, which
means there is a possiblity that 11pm is not coming.
One More Example

Imagine you are 19 years old now and the minimum age in your country that you need to reach in
order to get a driving license is 20 years old. You want to get your license once you reach the
qualified age.

 二十歳になったら、免許を取ります。
hatachi ni nattara, menkyo wo torimasu

Meaning: When I reach 20 years old, I will get the driving license.

You know that we all become older every year and nobody can avoid this. In the above example, you
are definitely going to reach 20 years old in the future. Therefore you have to use たら tara sentence.
If you try to use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence and say 二十歳になれば、免許を取ります。 (hatachi ni
nareba, menkyo wo torimasu), you are not sure whether you will reach 20 years old. That sounds
weird and incorrect.

Conclusion

In all the above examples, although you can also use ば (ba) / なら (nara) sentence and they are all
grammatically correct, the meanings are totally different. Therefore, when the condition is different
from the reality and when the condition is definitely going to happen in the future, you have to use
たら tara sentence.
 すぎる sugiru Too Much in Japanese -
Intermediate Lessons: 29
In Japanese, we often use すぎる sugiru or すぎます sugimasu to indicate that the degree of an action or
a state is excessive. In this lesson, you'll get to learn how to use this Japanese grammar to show that
something (action or state) is too much.

It's often not so good to overdo something. Therefore, すぎる sugiru is usually used in reference to
undesirable states.

Let's look at the sentence patterns of this grammar...

Verb (Stem of ます-form) すぎます

い-Adj (～い) すぎます

な-Adj すぎます

Exception: いい -> よすぎます、 ない -> なさすぎます

Note that after converting to すぎる sugiru, the result becomes a Group 2 verb and therefore
conjugates in the same way. For example, 食べ過ぎる (tabesugiru)、食べ過ぎない
(tabesuginai)、食べ過ぎた (tabesugita), etc.

Examples of すぎる sugiru using Verbs

1. 田中さんはハンバーガーを十個食べたから、気持ちが悪いです。彼は食べ過ぎました。
tanaka san wa hanba-ga- wo jukko tabeta kara, kimochi ga warui desu. kare
watabesugimashita

Meaning: Mr Tanaka is feeling bad because he ate 10 hamburgers. He ate too much.
2. 山田さんはワインを５本飲んだから、もう立てません。彼は飲みすぎました。
yamada san wa wain wo gohon nonda kara, mou tatemasen. kare wanomisugimashita

Meaning: Mr Yamada cannot stand up anymore because he drank 5 bottles of wine. He drank
too much.
3. 鈴木さんはカラオケ屋で６時間歌を歌ったから、喉が痛いです。彼は歌いすぎました。
suzuki san wa karaoke ya de roku jikan uta wo utatta kara, nodo ga itai desu. kare
 wautaisugimashita

Meaning: Mr Suzuki's throat is painful because he sang for 6 hours at the karaoke lounge. He
sang too much.

The above examples using すぎます sugimasu all deliver the speaker's negative feeling. But it really
depends on the speaker's personal feeling. He or she will use すぎます sugimasu only if he or she has
a negative feeling.

In Example 1, if you ate the same amount of hamburgers and you're feeling OK, you can say
沢山食べました (takusan tabemashita - ate a lot). However, if you feel like vomiting or if you're feeling
bad after eating, you're definitely eating too much. Then it's better to express your negative feeling
using 食べ過ぎました (tabesugimashita).

In Example 2, if you drank the same amount of wine and you're feeling fine, you can say
沢山飲みました (takusan nomimashita - drank a lot). However, if you cannot stand up anymore and
somebody has to bring you home after drinking so many bottles of wine, you're drinking too much.
To express the negative feeling, you can say 飲みすぎました (nomisugimashita).

Similarly, in Example 3, if you sang for the same length of time and still felt alright, you can say
沢山歌いました (takusan utaimashita - sang a lot). However, if you cannot speak and talk the next
day after singing for so long, you're singing too much. Hence, to express the negative feeling, you
should say 歌いすぎました (utaisugimashita).

Examples of すぎる sugiru using Adjectives

1. このズボンは長すぎます。
kono zubon wa nagasugimasu

Meaning: This pair of trousers is too long.

 2. このシャツは大きすぎます。
kono shatsu wa ookisugimasu

Meaning: This shirt is too big.

3. この車は高すぎるから、買えません。
kono kuruma wa takasugiru kara, kaemasen

Meaning: I cannot buy this car because it's too expensive.

4. この本は複雑すぎるから、読めません。
kono hon wa fukuzatsusugiru kara, yomemasen

Meaning: I cannot read this book because it's too complicated.

5. このゲームは簡単すぎるから、面白くないです。
kono ge-mu wa kantansugiru kara, omoshirokunai desu

Meaning: This game is not interesting because it's too easy.

Similar to the examples using verbs, the above examples (using adjectives) also express the
speaker's negative feeling. For example, the pair of trousers is long but if you still can wear it, you
just say このズボンは長いです (kono zubon wa nagai desu - this pair of trousers is long). However, if
it's too long that you cannot wear it unless you make some alteration, then you should say
このズボンは長すぎます (kono zubon wa nagasugimasu) to express your negative feeling.

Noun for すぎる sugiru

You can convert すぎる sugiru to nouns but that's only for verbs.

Verb (Stem of ます-form) すぎ -> Noun

Normally when you want to convert a Japanese verb into a noun, you add こと (koto) after the
dictionary-form. For example...

 たばこを吸いすぎること
tabako wo suisugiru koto

But with the above sentence pattern, you can say...

 たばこの吸いすぎ
tabako no suisugi
Examples for Noun using すぎ sugi

1. たばこの吸いすぎは体によくありません。
tabako no suisugi wa karada ni yokuarimasen

Meaning: Smoking too much is bad for your body (health).

2. お酒の飲みすぎは体によくありません。
osake no nomisugi wa karada ni yokuarimasen

Meaning: Drinking too much is bad for your body (health).

3. 運動のしすぎは体によくありません。
undou no shisugi wa karada ni yokuarimasen

Meaning: Exercise too much is bad for your body (health).

Conclusion

It really depends on the speaker's personal feeling to use すぎる sugiru.

If there're 2 persons A さん and B さん. A さん is poor and B さん is very rich. Suppose both of them
have $500 in their wallet today. For A さん, he will probably say 今日はお金を沢山持っています。 (kyou
wa okane wo takusan motte imasu - I have plenty of money today).

However, for B さん, he usually carries more than $5000 in his wallet. So $500 to him is too little.
Therefore B さん will probably say 今日はお金がなさすぎます。 (kyou wa okane ga nasasugimasu - I
have too little money today).
 Japanese Expression for Suggestion &
Advice -
Intermediate Lessons: 30
In this lesson, you'll learn using a Japanese expression to make suggestions or to give advice.
Generally, this expression ends with ～ほうがいいです (~hou ga ii desu). The english equivalent is "It's
better to ~" or "You had better ~".

Depending on the situation, this expression may sound like you are imposing your opinion on the
listener. Therefore, consider the context of the conversation carefully before using it.

Let's check out the sentence patterns...

Verb (た-form) ほうがいいです -> It's better to ...

Verb (ない-form) ほうがいいです -> It's better not to ...

If you want to suggest something or give advice in a positive way, use the first sentence pattern
"Verb (た-form) ほうがいいです". If you want to suggest or advise in a negative way (i.e. against doing
something), use the second sentence pattern "Verb (ない-form) ほうがいいです".

Examples of Japanese Expression using ほうがいいです

You'll normally use this Japanese expression when you're replying someone in a conversation. Let's
look at some examples...

1. A: 頭が痛いです。
atama ga itai desu
Meaning: I have a headache.

B: 薬を飲んだほうがいいですよ。
kusuri wo nonda hou ga ii desu yo
Meaning: You had better take some medicine.
 2. A: 来週日本へ旅行に行きます。
raishuu nihon e ryokou ni ikimasu
Meaning: I am going to Japan for tour next week.

B: 行く前に保険に入ったほうがいいですよ。
iku mae ni hoken ni haitta hou ga ii desu yo
Meaning: It's better to buy (travel) insurance before going.
3. A: 明日試験を受けます。
ashita shiken wo ukemasu
Meaning: I am taking a test tomorrow.

B: 今晩テレビを見ないほうがいいですよ。
konban terebi wo minai hou ga ii desu yo
Meaning: You had better not watch TV tonight.

More Examples

1. ご飯の後で歯を磨いたほうがいいです。
gohan no ato de ha wo migaita hou ga ii desu

Meaning: It's better to brush your teeth after meal.

2. 暗いから、電気をつけたほうがいいです。
kurai kara, denki wo tsuketa hou gaii desu

Meaning: Since it's dark, it's better to switch on the light.

3. 熱があるときはゆっくり休んだほうがいいです。
netsu ga aru toki wa yukkuri yasunda hou ga ii desu

Meaning: It's better to take your time and rest when you have a fever.
 4. 分からないときは先生に聞いたほうがいいです。
wakaranai toki wa sensei ni kiita hou ga ii desu

Meaning: It's better to ask teacher when you don't understand.

5. 暗い部屋で本を読まないほうがいいです。
kurai heya de hon wo yomanai hou ga ii desu

Meaning: It's better not to read book in a dark room.

6. もう夜遅いから、電話をかけないほうがいいです。
mou yoru osoi kara, denwa wo kakenai hou ga ii desu

Meaning: Since it's already late at night, it's better not to make a phone call.
7. 彼はもう大人です。あまり心配しないほうがいいです。
kare wa mou otona desu. amari shinpaishinai hou ga ii desu

Meaning: He is already an adult. You had better not worry too much.

Suggestions using Japanese Conditional Form たら (tara)

You can also make suggestions by using たら (tara) sentence. For example...

 A: 日本のアニメと漫画が見たいんですが。。。
nihon no anime to manga ga mitain desu ga...
Meaning: I would like to see Japanese anime and manga...

B1: 秋葉原へいったらいいですよ。
akihabara e ittara ii desu yo
Meaning: It would be a good idea if you go to Akihabara.

B2: 秋葉原へいったらどうですか。
akihabara e ittara dou desu ka
Meaning: How about going to Akihabara?

The above example illustrates a situation in which a simple suggestion is given. In such cases たら
(tara) sentence is used. "Verb (た-form) ほうがいいです" implies a comparison and a choice between
two things even if it's not expressed in words.

Like I've mentioned before, be careful when you're using this Japanese expression when giving
suggesions or advice as depending on situation, it may sound like you are imposing your opinion on
the listener. Therefore, consider the context of the conversation carefully before using it.
 Japanese Grammar: Make Action with
~くします/~にします -
Intermediate Lessons: 31
In this lesson, you'll learn a new Japanese grammar using くします (ku shimasu) or にします (ni
shimasu).

As you have already known, する (suru) or します (shimasu) means "to do (something)". It's normally
connected with a noun to form a Group 3 verb. For example, 勉強します (benkyou shimasu) means
"to study", 洗濯します (sentaku shimasu) means "to do laundry".

It can also be combined with い-Adj, な-Adj or Noun to have another meaning which is what you are
going to learn in this lesson. Let's see what are the sentence patterns...

い-Adj ～い) く します

な-Adj に します

Noun に します

This grammar indicates that someone "turns" or "makes" something into a certain condition or state.

For い-Adjective, you first change it into its adverbial form by replacing the い (i) with く (ku), and
then connect it to します (shimasu). Whereas for な-Adj and Noun, append the particle に (ni) and
then connect to します (shimasu).
Examples

1. 音を 大きくします。
oto wo ookiku shimasu

Meaning: I will increase the volume.

2. 部屋を きれいにします。
heya wo kirei ni shimasu

Meaning: I will clean the room.

3. 砂糖の量を 半分にしました。
satou no ryou wo hanbun ni shimashita

Meaning: I reduced the amount of sugar by half.

4. このボタンを押して、字を 二倍にします。
kono botan wo oshite, ji wo nibai ni shimasu

Meaning: Press this button to double the word size.

5. ズボンが長すぎますから、短くしたほうがいいですよ。
zubon ga nagasugimasu kara, mijikaku shita hou ga ii desu yo

Meaning: The trousers is too long, therefore it's better to shorten it.
6. 赤ちゃんが寝ていますので、テレビの音を 小さくしてください。
akachan ga nete imasu node, terebi no oto wo chiisaku shite kudasai

Meaning: Since the baby is sleeping, please lower the volume of the TV.
7. 冷房をつけて、部屋を 涼しくしましょう。
reibou wo tsukete, heya wo suzushiku shimashou

Meaning: Let's turn on the air-con and make the room cool.
8. テープを聞いて、発音を よくしたいと思います。
te-pu wo kiite, hatsuon wo yoku shitai to omoimasu
 Meaning: I want to make my pronunciation perfect by listening to the tape.
9. 値段はちょっと高いです。少し 安くしてください。
nedan wa chotto takai desu. sukoshi yasuku shite kudasai

Meaning: The price is a bit high. Please lower the price a little.

Differences between ～くします/～にします and ～くなります/～になります

い-Adj ～い) く なります

な-Adj に なります

Noun に なります

Many people get confused about this Japanese grammar ～くします/～にします with another similar
grammar ～くなります/～になります. While ～くします/～にします indicates that someone"turns" or
"makes" something into a certain condition or state, ～くなります/～になります indicates that
something "becomes" a certain condition or state.

The main difference is that ～くします/～にします involves a person who make the action, whereas
～くなります/～になります just describes the change in condition or state.

Let's use some examples to explain the differences between these two Japanese grammars.

1. 洗濯をしました。ズボン が 短くなりました。
sentaku wo shimashita. zubon ga mijikaku narimashita

Meaning: I did the washing. The trousers becomes shorter.

2. 長すぎましたから、ズボン を 短くしました。
nagasugimashita kara, zubon wo mijikaku shimashita

Meaning: The trousers was too long, therefore I shortened it.

In example 1, I didn't physically do anything to shorten the trousers. It becomes shorter naturally
after the washing. ～くなります is describing the state of the trousers.

In example 2, the state of the trousers is the same - becomes shorter. However, this change is made
by me on purpose. I made the trousers shorter because it was too long.

Another difference to take note of is the particle used in the two Japanese grammars. For the first
example, it just describes the state of something with くなります, therefore the particle が (ga) is
used. But when a person is involved for the change of state in the second example with くします, the
particle を (wo) is used.

Another Example

Let say that you visit your friend's house and are having dinner with the family. Your friend's mother
serves you a big bowl of rice. You want to reduce the amount of rice as you know you cannot eat that
much. How do you make the request?

The correct way to say it should be...

 食べられませんので、ご飯を 少なくしてください。 O
taberaremasen node, gohan wo sukunaku shite kudasai O

Meaning: As I cannot eat that much, please reduce the amount of rice.

If you were to use くなります, like the following...

 食べられませんので、ご飯を 少なくなってください。 X
taberaremasen node, gohan wo sukunaku natte kudasai X

...this is totally wrong. You are thinking somehow like magic, the rice will become less by itself.

Selection/Decision: Noun に します

There is another meaning for the Japanese grammar Noun に します (Noun ni shimasu). It can also
express a selection and/or decision.

Let's look at some examples...

1. 会議は水曜日にします。
kaigi wa suiyoubi ni shimasu

Meaning: I will set the meeting on Wednesday.

2. 旅行の目的地は北海道にしました。
ryokou no mokutekichi wa hokkaidou ni shimashita

Meaning: I have decided Hokkaido to be our tour destination.

3. 部屋はツインにしましょう。
heya wa tsuin ni shimashou

Meaning: Let's select the twin room.

4. 飲み物はコーヒーにしますか、お茶にしますか。
nomimono wa ko-hi- ni shimasu ka, ocha ni shimasu ka
 Meaning: Would you like coffee or tea for drink?
5. A: ドレスはどんな色が好きですか。
doresu wa donna iro wo ga suki desu ka
Meaning: What kind of color do you like for the dress?

B: 黄色にします。
kiiro ni shimasu
Meaning: I will select Yellow.

Japanese Demonstrative Expression そ and

あ-
Intermediate Lessons: 32
You will learn about the Japanese Demonstrative Expression using そ (so) and あ (a) in this lesson.

If you can still remember, Japanese demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives were
introduced in basic lesson 4 where you learned about これ (kore) それ (sore) あれ (are) / この (kono)
その (sono) あの (ano) / ここ (koko) そこ (soko) あそこ (asoko).

In daily conversations, we often refer to something we have mentioned in our previous sentences.
Depending on situations, you'll use either そ (so) or あ (a) to refer to that "something".

When to use Japanese Demonstrative Expression with そ (so)

When only the speaker or the listener knows about the topic, "そ"-series of words 「それ (sore) その
(sono) そこ (soko), etc」 are used to point out that topic. For example...

 A: 昨日浅草へ行きました。
kinou asakusa e ikimashita
Meaning: I went to Asakusa yesterday.

B: そこはどんな所ですか。
soko wa donna tokoro desu ka
Meaning: What kind of place is that?
In the above example, B doesn't know what or where the place 浅草 Asakusa (where A went to
yesterday) is. Therefore B uses the "そ"-series word そこ (soko) to refer to that place.

 A: 私は昨夜一風堂で晩御飯を食べました。
watashi wa yuube ippuudou de bangohan wo tabemashita
Meaning: I ate my dinner at Ippudo yesterday night.

B: そこは日本のレストランですか。
soko wa nihon no resutoran desu ka
Meaning: Is that place a Japanese restaurant?

Similarly in the above example, although B knows that 一風堂 Ippudo is a place for eating, he doesn't
know what or where the place is. Therefore B uses そこ (soko) to refer to that place.

 A: 土曜日に鈴木さんに会う予定です。
doyoubi ni suzuki san ni au yotei desu
Meaning: I am going to meet Ms Suzuki on Saturday.

B: その人はあなたの同僚ですか。
sono hito wa anata no douryou desu ka
Meaning: Is that person your colleague?

B doesn't know Ms Suzuki, whom A is going to meet on Saturday. Therefore B uses the "そ"-series
word その (sono) to refer to that person.

 A: 東京でうなじゅうを食べました。
toukyou de unajuu wo tabemashita
Meaning: I ate unaju in Tokyo.

B: それはどんな食べ物ですか。
sore wa donna tabemono desu ka
Meaning: What kind of food is that?

Although B knows that うなじゅう (unajuu) is a type of food, he doesn't know exactly what kind of
food it is. Therefore B uses the "そ"-series word それ (sore) to point out the food in his question to A.

When to use Japanese Demonstrative Expression with あ (a)

On the other hand, "あ"-series of words 「あれ (are) あの (ano) あそこ (asoko), etc」 are used to refer
to something/someone/somewhere that both the speaker and the listener have knowledge of.

Let's use the same four examples above so that you can see the difference between using そ (so) and
あ (a).
  A: 昨日浅草へ行きました。
kinou asakusa e ikimashita
Meaning: I went to Asakusa yesterday.

B: あそこに行ったことがあります。
asoko ni itta koto ga arimasu
Meaning: I have been to that place.

In this case, B also knows the place 浅草 Asakusa and says that he has been there before. Therefore
he can use the "あ"-series of word あそこ (asoko) to refer to that place.

 A: 私は昨夜一風堂で晩御飯を食べました。
watashi wa yuube ippuudou de bangohan wo tabemashita
Meaning: I ate my dinner at Ippudo yesterday night.

B: あそこはいいレストランですね。私もよく行きます。
asoko wa ii resutoran desu ne. watashi mo yoku ikimasu
Meaning: That place is a nice restaurant. I often go there too.

Similarly, in the above example, B also knows the restaurant 一風堂 Ippudo and says that he often go
there too. Therefore he uses あそこ (asoko) to refer to the restaurant.

 A: 土曜日に鈴木さんに会う予定です。
doyoubi ni suzuki san ni au yotei desu
 Meaning: I am going to meet Ms Suzuki on Saturday.

B: あの人はきれいですね。
ano hito wa kirei desu ne
Meaning: That person is beautiful.

B also knows about the person (Ms Suzuki), whom A is going to meet on Saturday. Therefore he can
use the "あ"-series of word あの (ano) to comment on that same person.

 A: 東京でうなじゅうを食べました。
toukyou de unajuu wo tabemashita
Meaning: I ate unaju in Tokyo.

B: 羨ましい。あれは本当に美味しいですね。
urayamashii. are wa hontou ni oishii desu ne
Meaning: I am so envious of you. That is really delicious.

B also knows the food うなじゅう (unajuu) which A has eaten in Tokyo. Therefore he can use the
"あ"-series of word あれ (are) to refer to the food.
[鰻重 (unajuu) is a Japanese dish consists of steamed white rice topped with eel or 鰻 (unagi) grilled
with sweet Teriyaki sauce, and served in a lacquered food box called 重箱 (juubako)]

In summary, the Japanese demonstrative expression using そ (so) is used when only one party
(speaker or listener) knows the topic. When both the speaker and listener have knowledge of the
topic, the Japanese demonstrative expression using あ (a) is used instead.
 たら tara Sentence for Discovery -
Intermediate Lessons: 33
You have already learned たら tara sentence in lesson 27 and 28. In those two lessons, with the
following sentence pattern...

Sentence 1 たら、 Sentence 2

...basically you learned about:

1. Conditional Sentence

明日雨が降ったら、うちでテレビを見ます。
ashita ame ga futtara, uchi de terebi wo mimasu

Meaning: If it rains tomorrow, I will watch TV at home.

2. When (where the moment is definitely happening in the future)

二十歳になったら、車の免許を取りたいです。
hatachi ni nattara, kuruma no menkyo wo toritai desu

Meaning: When I become 20 years old, I want to get a driving license.

In this lesson, you will be learning yet another function of たら tara sentence - Discovery. The
sentence pattern is similar, except that Sentence 2 is always in past tense.

Sentence 1 たら、 Sentence 2 (Past tense) - Express fact in the past

The conjugation for Sentence 1 is the same as before, only with the difference that Sentence 2 is in
the past tense. You might recall that Sentence 2 is always in present tense in lesson 27 and 28.

This expression indicates that Sentence 2 is realized or noticed when Sentence 1 is realized.Sentence
1 is always an action and Sentence 2 must be a state. Sentence 2 cannot be an action.

Basically you'll use the above sentence pattern in two cases.

First Case to use たら tara Sentence for Discovery

Through the action in Sentence 1, Sentence 2 (what had already occurred or happened) was
discovered (surprisingly).

Sentence 2 often ends with "～て-form いた" or "～て-form いました".

Let's look at one example...

 カーテンを開けたら、雨が降っていました。
ka-ten wo aketara, ame ga futte imashita
 Meaning: When I opened the curtain, I discovered that it was raining.

In the above example, both events have already happened.

In the past, I opened the curtain and discovered that it was raining

 ドアを開けたら、大きい犬がいました。
doa wo aketara, ookii inu ga imashita

Meaning: When I opened the door, I discovered that there was a big dog.

The dog has already been in front of the door before I opened it. But only when I opened the door,
then I discovered that the big dog was there.

 デパートへ行ったら、休みでした。
depa-to e ittara, yasumi deshita

Meaning: When I went to the department store, I discovered that it was closed.
The department store was closed today. But I didn't know about that. Only when I went there, then I
found out that it was closed.

 学校に着いたら、授業が始まっていました。
gakkou ni tsuitara, jugyou ga hajimatte imashita

Meaning: When I arrived at school, lesson had already started.

The lesson had started before I arrived at school. I only discovered that when I reached there.

 郵便受けを開けたら、友達からの手紙が来ていました。
yuubinuke wo aketara, tomodachi kara no tegami ga kite imashiata

Meaning: When I opened my letter box, I discovered that the letter from my friend had
already arrived.

The letter from my friend arrived before I opened the letter box.

Second Case to use たら tara Sentence for Discovery

Sentence 2 occurred as a result of some action in Sentence 1 (unexpectedly).

 アイスクリームを食べたら、お腹が痛くなりました。
aisukuri-mu wo tabetara, onaka ga itakunarimashita

Meaning: I ate ice-cream, then I had a stomach-ache. (As a result of eating ice-cream, I had
a stomach-ache)
Both events had already happened in the past. That means, in the past, I ate ice-cream, then I had a
stomach-ache. If I didn't eat ice-cream, I wouldn't have a stomach-ache.

Similarly, for the rest of examples, something happened unexpectedly as a result of the actions
in Sentence 1.

 コーヒーを飲んだら、寝られませんでした。
ko-hi- wo nondara, neraremasendeshita

Meaning: I drank coffee, and I couldn't sleep. (As a result of drinking coffee, I couldn't sleep)

 宝くじを買ったら、８００ドル当たりました。
takarakuji wo kattara, happyaku doru atarimashita

Meaning: I bought lottery, and I won $800. (As a result of buying lottery, I won $800)

 ジムに行ったら、田中さんに会いました。
jimu ni ittara, tanaka san ni aimashita

Meaning: I went to the Gym, and I met Ms Tanaka there. (As a result of going to the Gym, I
met Ms Tanaka)

Summary

In the first case of たら tara Sentence for Discovery, it normally delivers a surprise feeling. You
discovered something and become surprised. In the second case, what happened next (as a result of
the first action) was unexpected.

In either case, the most difficult part is the regulation you need to take note of when using this
sentence pattern.

Regulation - when using たら tara Sentence for Discovery

Intentional acts by the speaker cannot be used in Sentence 2

This regulation is quite self-explanatory because if you have speaker's intentional action inSentence
2, it's no longer a discovery, nor it's a surprised or unexpected event.

Let's see an example...

 去年日本へ行きました。ホテルに泊まりました。
kyonen nihon e ikimashita. hoteru ni tomarimashita

Meaning: I went to Japan last year. I stayed in a hotel.

Both events in the above example are facts in the past. I went to Japan last year and I stayed in a
hotel. However, you cannot connect the two sentences with たら tara sentence. Because the action of
staying in hotel was an intentional act decided by you. You chose to stay in a hotel. This is not a
surprised or unexpected event.

You cannot say...

 去年日本へ行ったら、ホテルに泊まりました。 X
kyonen nihon e ittara, hoteru ni tomarimashita X

But you can say...

 去年日本へ行って、ホテルに泊まりました。
kyonen nihon e itte, hoteru ni tomarimashita

Meaning: I went to Japan last year and stayed in a hotel.

The above example was just two actions in order of occurrence using て-form. First I went to Japan,
then I stayed in a hotel.

Therefore, for たら tara Sentence for Discovery, no intentional acts by the speaker inSentence 2.
 Japanese Particle de (で) for Cause or
Reason -
Intermediate Lessons: 34
In this lesson, I am going to introduce another function of Japanese particle de (で). You know that
most Japanese particles have multiple functions. Depending on situations, the same particle can
represent different meanings in a sentence.

To recall what you have learned in the previous lessons about the particle de (で), check outbasic
lesson 16 and intermediate lesson 18.

Japanese particle de (で) sometimes indicates a cause or a reason. But there's a regulation that you
need to take note of. Let's see what's the sentence pattern like...

Noun で Result

(Casue/Reason)

Note: Expressions containing volition are not used as predicates

The "Noun" that is often used with this particle de (で) as a cause is a noun which indicates a
particular kind of event, such as 事故 (jiko - accident), 火事 (kaji - fire), 大雨 (ooame - heavy rain),
大雪 (ooyuki - heavy snow), 地震 (jishin - earthquake), 津波 (tsunami - tidal wave), 病気 (byouki -
sickness), 仕事 (shigoto - work), etc.

As you can see, these events are mostly natural phenomena, disasters, happenings, events, etc. Let's
use some examples to show how to use this function of Japanese particle de (で)...
1. 事故 で 電車が止まりました。
jiko de densha ga tomarimashita

Meaning: The train was stopped due to accident.

2. 台風 で 家が壊れました。
taifuu de ie ga kowaremashita

Meaning: The house was destroyed due to typhoon.

3. 大雨 で 木が倒れました。
ooame de ki ga taoremashita

Meaning: The tree fell down due to heavy rain.

4. 地震 で 屋根が崩れました。
jishin de yane ga kuzuremashita

Meaning: The roof of the house collapsed due to earthquake.

5. 火事 で 怪我をしました。
kaji de kega wo shimashita

Meaning: I got injured due to fire.

6. 病気 で 会社へ行けませんでした。
byouki de kaisha e ikemasendeshita
 Meaning: I couldn't go to the office due to illness.

Regulation for using Japanese Particle de (で) as a Cause/Reason

You cannot have expression containing speaker's volitional action in the Result sentence. Therefore
this particle is used in the following way:

-> Due to a cause/reason, an uncontrollable event happened.

Let's use some examples to show what it means in the regulation...

1. 病気 で 学校を休むつもりです。 X
byouki de gakkou wo yasumu tsumori desu X
2. 病気 で 学校を休みたいです。 X
byouki de gakkou wo yasumitai desu X
3. 病気 で 学校を休みました。 O
byouki de gakkou wo yasumimashita O

Based on the regulation, only example 3 is correct because the other two examples show the
speaker's volitional actions in the Result sentences.

In example 1, you are thinking of being absent from school. You have a choice of going or not going
to school. But you are thinking of not going to school because of your illness. This is a volitional
action and thus failed to meet the regulation.

In example 2, you want to be absent from school. It's your desire since たい-form is being used. As
this's also a volitional action, it failed to meet the regulation.

For example 3, the Result sentence 学校を休みました (gakkou wo yasumimashita) can be a volitional
action by itself. However, because it's used together with the particle de (で) in the sentence, it's no
more a volitional action. You couldn't go to school due to your illness and you have no choice but to
stay at home.

For example 2 and 3, you have to use から (kara) or ので (node) to make the sentences correct.

1. 病気だ から 学校を休むつもりです。 O
byouki da kara gakkou wo yasumu tsumori desu O

Meaning: I am sick, therefore I am thinking of not going to school.

2. 病気な ので 学校を休みたいです。 O
byouki na node gakkou wo yasumitai desu O
 Meaning: I am sick, therefore I want to be absent from school.

Summary

Therefore, for Noun で Result, the Result has to be:

1. an uncontrollable event or result.

2. an action which you are obliged to do. Volitional actions like つもりです (tsumori desu),
intention or desire cannot be used here.

Practice on using Japanese Particle de (で) as a Cause/Reason

Let's do some practice to check if you understand when to use Japanese particle de (で) as a
cause/reason correctly. Connect the two sentences in the following examples. The first sentence is
the reason and the second sentence is the result. Use the particle de (で) if you think it can be used.
Use から (kara) if you think otherwise.

1. 来週は夏休みです。日本へ遊びに行きます。
raishuu wa natsu yasumi desu. nihon e asobi ni ikimasu
2. 台風です。外へ出られません。
taifuu desu. soto e deraremasen
3. 病気です。学校を休もうと思います。
byouki desu. gakkou wo yasumou to omoimasu
4. 病気です。病院へ行きました。
byouki desu. byouin e ikimashita
5. いい天気です。散歩をします。
ii tenki desu. sanpo wo shimasu

Answers

1. 来週は夏休みだ から、日本へ遊びに行きます。
raishuu wa natsu yasumi da kara, nihon e asobi ni ikimasu
Meaning: Next week my summer vacation begins, therefore I am going to Japan to have fun.

Going to Japan for vacation is not an obligation. You can choose to go or not to go. So it's a
controllable event. Therefore you cannot use particle de (で). Instead you have to use から
(kara) here.
2. 台風 で 外へ出られません。
taifuu de soto e deraremasen
Meaning: I cannot go outside due to typhoon.
 This is an uncontrollable event. You have no choice but to stay at home because of the
typhoon. Therefore you can use particle de (で) here.
3. 病気だ から、学校を休もうと思います。
byouki da kara, gakkou wo yasumou to omoimasu
Meaning: I am sick, therefore I am thinking of being absent from school.

休もうと思います (yasumou to omoimasu) is the same as 休むつもりです (yasumi tsumori

desu). Both are your intentions. You can decide if you are going to school or being absent
from school. So it's a controllable event. Therefore you have to use から (kara) here.
4. 病気 で 病院へ行きました。
byouki de byouin e ikimashita
Meaning: I went to the hospital due to sickness.

You went to the hospital due your sickness which was an uncontrollable event. You have no
choice. Therefore you can use particle de (で) here.
5. いい天気だ から、散歩をします。
ii tenki da kara, sanpo wo shimasu
Meaning: The weather is good, therefore I am going for a walk.

You can decide to go for a walk or do other things that you like. So it's a controllable event.
Therefore you have to use から (kara) here.

How well have you done? Have you got all your answers right?
 te-form (て-form) for Cause or Reason -
Intermediate Lessons: 35
In this lesson, you are going to learn using te-form (て-form) of Verbs or Adjectives as the cause or
reason that produces a consequence. This is similar to the previous lesson, where Noun with the
particle de (で) is used as the cause or reason.

Let's first study the sentence patterns which use this grammar...

Sentence 1 (Cause/Reason) Sentence 2 (Result)

---------------------- ----------------

Verb (て-form) Result

Verb (ない-form ない) なくて Result

い-adj (～い) くて Result

な-adj で Result

い-adj (～い) くなくて Result

な-adj でなくて Result

Result can be:

1. Verbs or Adjectives to express feeling
2. Potential Verbs or Verbs to express state

In each sentence pattern, Sentence 1 presents a cause (or reason) and Sentence 2 presents the
consequence produced by the cause.
Let's look at some examples...

1. 天気が悪いから、富士山が見えません。
tenki ga warui kara, fujisan ga miemasen

Meaning: Mount Fuji cannot be seen because the weather is bad.

2. お金がないから、買えません。
okane ga nai kara, kaemasen

Meaning: I cannot buy because I don't have money.

The two examples above are grammatically correct. However, native Japanese don't speak in this
way. If the Result or Sentence 2 is a verb or an adjective that expresses feeling, or if it's a potential
verb or a verb to express a state, then the cause or reason sentence will have to change to te-form
(て-form).

Note that the verbs that express different states are verbs like ある (aru), いる (iru), なる (naru), etc.

This is just how native Japanese speak naturally, there's no particular reason why they speak in this
way. So since 見えません (miemasen) is kind of potential verb and 買えません (kaemasen) is a
potential verb, the above two examples have to be changed to the following to sound more natural...

1. 天気が悪くて、富士山が見えません。
tenki ga warukute, fujisan ga miemasen

Meaning: Mount Fuji cannot be seen because the weather is bad.

2. お金がなくて、買えません。
okane ga nakute, kaemasen

Meaning: I cannot buy because I don't have money.

Constraints of using te-form for Cause or Reason

Similar to the particle de (で) in the last lesson, this sentence pattern has many constraints or
regulations over its usage.

As the cause or reason has to be changed to te-form (て-form), it leads to the first constraint for
using this sentence pattern.

1. The words which come in the Result or Sentence 2 are limited to those words which do not
contain volition or intention.
1.1 Verbs and Adjectives that express Feelings

I have included some commonly used verbs and adjectives that describe emotional feeling in the
following two lists...

Verb Hiragana Romaji Meaning

1. 困る こまる komaru troubled

2. 怒る おこる okoru get angry

3. 疲れる つかれる tsukareru get tired

4. 驚く おどろく odoroku surprised

5. びっくりする びっくりする bikkuri suru surprised

6. 安心する あんしんする anshin suru relief

7. 心配する しんぱいする shinpai suru worried

Adjective Hiragana Romaji Meaning

1. 嬉しい うれしい ureshii glad

2. 悲しい かなしい kanashii sad

3. 寂しい さびしい sabishii lonely

4. 楽しい たのしい tanoshii enjoy

5. 恥ずかしい はずかしい hazukashii embarrass

6. つまらない つまらない tsumaranai boring

7. 複雑 ふくざつ fukuzatsu complicated

8. 残念 ざんねん zannen regret

The below three examples are not Verbs nor Adjectives but they are also used to express emotional
feeling.

Hiragana Romaji Meaning

1. すみません すみません sumimasen sorry

2. ごめんなさい ごめんなさい gomennasai sorry

3. 有り難う ありがとう arigatou Thank you

Here are some examples that show how these verbs and adjectives can be used with te-form for a
cause or reason...

1. ニュースを聞いて、びっくりしました。
nyu-su wo kiite, bikkurishimashita

Meaning: I was surprised to hear the news.

2. 恋人に会えなくて、寂しいです。
koibito ni aenakute, sabishii desu

Meaning: I feel lonely as I can't meet my lover.

3. プレゼントをもらって、嬉しいです。
purezento wo moratte, ureshii desu

Meaning: I am very glad to receive the present.

4. 一生懸命勉強して、疲れました。
isshoukenmei benkyoushite, tsukaremashita
 Meaning: I was tired because I studied very hard.
5. 友達の怪我がよくなって、安心しました。
tomodachi no kega ga yokunatte, anshinshimashita

Meaning: I was relieved as my friend recovered from his injury.

6. 約束の時間に遅れて、すみません。
yakusoku no jikan ni okurete, sumimasen

Meaning: I am sorry for being late.

7. 質問に答えられなくて、恥ずかしかったです。
shitsumon ni kotaerarenakute, hazukashikatta desu

Meaning: I was embarrassed because I couldn't answer the question.

1.2 Potential Verbs and Verbs that express States

Potential verbs can also be used to express states which do not contain volition or intention. Below
are some examples...

1. 月曜日は都合が悪くて、会議に出席できません。
getsuyoubi wa tsugou ga warukute, kaigi ni shusseki dekimasen

Meaning: I am not able to attend the meeting because I am not free on Monday.
2. 話が複雑で、よく分かりませんでした。
hanashi ga fukuzatsu de, yoku wakarimasendeshita

Meaning: I could not understand the story well because it was complicated.
3. 眼鏡がなくて、小さい字が読めません。
megane ga nakute, chiisai ji ga yomemasen

Meaning: I can't read the small words because I don't have my glasses.
4. 明日の試験が心配で、寝られません。
ashita no shiken ga shinpai de, neraremasen

Meaning: I can't sleep because I am worried about tomorrow's test.

5. 毎日忙しくて、勉強する時間がありません。
mainichi isogashikute, benkyousuru jikan ga arimasen

Meaning: I don't have time to study because I am busy every day.

1.3 Situations in the Past

Events that happened in the past can also be used in Sentence 2...
 1. 事故があって、電車が遅れてしまいました。
jiko ga atte, densha ga okurete shimaimashita

Meaning: The train was delayed due to the accident.

2. 仕事に遅れて、上司に叱られました。
shigoto ni okurete, joushi ni shikararemashita

Meaning: I was scolded by my boss for being late for work.

2. Expressions containing volition/intention (will, order, invitation, request, permission, prohibition,

etc) are not used in Sentence 2. When it contains volition/intention, the phrase with te-form (て-
form) cannot be used and instead the phrase with から (kara) is used.

1. 危なくて、機械に触らないでください。 X
abunakute, kikai ni sawaranaide kudasai X

Meaning: It's dangerous, so please don't touch the machine.

2. 危ないから、機械に触らないでください。 O
abunai kara, kikai ni sawaranaide kudasai O

Meaning: It's dangerous, so please don't touch the machine.

te-form kudasai (て-form ください) is a request which contains intention and thus you cannot use
this sentence pattern here. Therefore, example 1 above is incorrect.

3. In this sentence pattern, Sentence 1 and Sentence 2 are sequential events. In other
words, Sentence 1 takes place first and Sentence 2 takes place after that.

1. 明日試験があって、今日準備しなければなりません。 X
ashita shiken ga atte, kyou junbishinakereba narimasen X

Meaning: There is a test tomorrow, so I have to prepare for it today.

2. 明日試験があるから、今日準備しなければなりません。 O
ashita shiken ga aru kara, kyou junbishinakereba narimasen O

Meaning: There is a test tomorrow, so I have to prepare for it today.

Since preparing for test happens before the actual test tomorrow, they are not sequential events.
Therefore, you cannot use te-form (て-form) but have to use から (kara) here instead.
 Japanese Grammar noni のに -
Intermediate Lessons: 36
のに noni is used when what is stated in the second sentence runs against to what is expected from
the first sentence. The second sentence carries the implication
ofunexpectedness or dissatisfaction and it's often used for complaint.

Let's check out the sentence patterns of this grammar のに (noni). Just like ので (node), のに (noni)
follows verbs, adjectives or nouns.

Sentence 1 のに Sentence 2 (Contrary Result)

---------- ----------------------------

Verb plain-form のに Contrary Result

い-adj plain-form のに Contrary Result

な-adj plain-form(～だ → ～な) のに Contrary Result

Noun plain-form(～だ → ～な) のに Contrary Result

Note: Non-factual sentence like an intention, an order, a request, a permission or a suggestion

cannot be used in the second sentence.

Let's look at some examples...

1. 約束をしたのに、彼女は来ませんでした。
yakusoku wo shita noni, kanojo wa kimasendeshita

Meaning: She did not come, even though she promised.

 2. 今日は祝日なのに、働かなければなりません。
kyou wa shukujitsu na noni, hatarakanakereba narimasen

Meaning: Even though today is holiday, I have to work.

In example 1, the speaker expects that the woman will come because she promised to do so. So he
naturally feels disappointed that she did not come. In example 2, Holiday is normally a rest day, yet
the speaker has to work so he feels dissatisfied. The second sentence implies feelings
of unexpectedness or dissatisfaction.

Difference between ～ので and ～のに

ので (node) indicates the cause or reason of certain event while のに (noni) shows the contrary result.
Let's use some examples to show how the result changed using either ので (node) or のに (noni).

1. 今日は暑いので、T-シャツを着ています。
kyou wa atsui node, T-shatsu wo kiteimasu
Meaning: It is hot today, therefore I am wearing a T-Shirt.

今日は暑いのに、セーターを着ています。
kyou wa atsui noni, se-ta- wo kiteimasu
Meaning: Even though it is hot today, I am wearing a sweater.
2. 昨日は休みだったので、一日中寝ました。
kinou wa yasumi datta node, ichinichijuu nemashita
Meaning: Yesterday was my rest day, therefore I slept the whole day.

昨日は休みだったのに、仕事をしました。
 kinou wa yasumi datta noni, shigoto wo shimashita
Meaning: Even though yesterday was my rest day, I went to work.
3. 来週テストがあるので、弟は一生懸命勉強しています。
raishuu tesuto ga aru node, otouto wa isshoukenmei benkyou shite imasu
Meaning: There is a test on next week, therefore my younger brother is studying very hard.

来週テストがあるのに、弟は遊んでいます。
raishuu tesuto ga aru noni, otouto wa asonde imasu
Meaning: Even though there is a test on next week, my younger brother is playing.
4. ダイエットをしたので、痩せました。
daietto wo shita node, yasemashita
Meaning: I lost weight since I went through a diet.

ダイエットをしたのに、太りました。
daietto wo shita noni, futorimashita
Meaning: Even though I went through a diet, I put on weight.
5. 日本語を十年勉強したので、日本語が上手です。
nihongo wo juunen benkyoushita node, nihongo ga jouzu desu
Meaning: I have studied Japanese for ten years, therefore I am good at Japanese.

日本語を十年勉強したのに、日本語が下手です。
nihongo wo juunen benkyoushita noni, nihongo ga heta desu
Meaning: Even though I have studied Japanese for ten years, I am still bad at Japanese.

In example 1, normally when it's hot, you'll wear something thin like a T-shirt. But for のに's case,
you wear something thick like a sweater, showing unexpected contrary result.

In example 2, you rest because it's your rest day. But for のに's case, you went to work instead,
showing your unsatisfied feeling.

The rest of the examples also show the unexpected or dissatisfied contrary results in のに's cases.

Difference between ～のに and ～が/～ても

When translating のに (noni) into English, you can simply use the word "but". There are some other
terms which also carry the meaning of "but", like for example, が (ga) and ても (temo). However, they
are being used in different situations.

が (ga): Fact

ても (temo): Possibility (you can have contrary result)

のに (noni): Fact (contrary result with surprising or unsatisfied feeling)

Let's use some examples to show the difference between ～のに and ～が/～ても.

1. 私の部屋は狭いですが、きれいです。
watashi no heya wa semai desu ga, kirei desu

Meaning: My room is small but clean.

2. 明日雨が降っても、出かけます。
ashita ame ga futtemo, dekakemasu

Meaning: Even if it rains tomorrow, I will go out.

が (ga) in example 1 above cannot be substituted with のに (noni) - "狭いのに". This is because が (ga)
simply joins two different evaluations together and the second sentence therein does not represent
an unexpected consequence of what is stated in the first sentence.

Similary, ても (temo) in example 2 cannot be replaced by のに (noni) - "雨が降るのに", the first

sentence suggests a possibility, but のに (noni) can only indicate things that have actually occurred in
reality (fact).

Let's look at another example.

 約束をしたのに、どうして来なかったんですか。
yakusoku wo shita noni, doushite konakattan desu ka

Meaning: You promised to come. Why didn't you come?

In the above example, のに (noni) cannot be substituted with が (ga) or ても (temo) -

"約束をしましたが" / "約束をしても". This is because the second sentence expresses a strong reproach
(dissatifaction).

Practice using が, ても and のに

Let's practise on connecting the following sentences using either が (ga), ても (temo) or のに (noni).
Some of the examples might be able to use more than one of them to connect the two sentences.

1. この部屋は広いです。暗いです。
kono heya wa hiroi desu. kurai desu
2. 明日雨が降ります。サッカーをします。
ashita ame ga furimasu. sakka- wo shimasu
3. 姉は沢山食べます。太りません。
ane wa takusan tabemasu. futorimasen
 4. 昨日うるさかったです。よく寝られました。
kinou urusakatta desu. yoku neraremashita
5. 来年お金がありません。日本へ行きましょう。
rainen okane ga arimasen. nihon e ikimashou
6. すみません。トイレはどこですか。
sumimasen. toire wa doko desu ka

Have you figured out which one (or more) to use to connect the sentences? Below are my answers
and the explanation on why which one was used (or not used).

Example 1

 この部屋は広いですが、暗いです。
kono heya wa hiroi desu ga. kurai desu

Meaning: This room is spacious but dark.

In example 1, we are using が (ga) to join two different evaluations together. There's no relationship
between the two. Only that one is positive meaning (広い) and the other is negative meaning (暗い).
You cannot connect them using ても (temo) or のに (noni) because the second sentence does not
contain contrary result of what is expected.

Example 2

 明日雨が降っても、サッカーをします。
ashita ame ga futtemo, sakka- wo shimasu

Meaning: Even if it rains tomorrow, I will play soccer.

In example 2, it's not a fact but only a possibility which may happen tomorrow. Therefore only ても
(temo) can be used in this case.

Example 3

 姉は沢山食べますが、太りません。
ane wa takusan tabemasu ga, futorimasen
Meaning: My elder sister eats a lot, but she doesn't get fat.

姉は沢山食べても、太りません。
ane wa takusan tabetemo, futorimasen
Meaning: Even if my elder sister eats a lot, she doesn't get fat.

姉は沢山食べるのに、太りません。
 ane wa takusan taberu noni, futorimasen
Meaning: Even though my elder sister eats a lot, she doesn't get fat.

が (ga), ても (temo) and のに (noni) can all be used in example 3. However, there are slight
differences in terms of the meaning of each sentence, especially the feeling of the speaker.

When using が (ga), you are just describing the fact about your elder sister that she eats a lot but
never get fat. There's no personal feeling when you say that.

When ても (temo) is used, you are saying that your elder doesn't usually eat a lot but even if she eats
a lot, she won't get fat. You are talking about the possibility.

If のに (noni) is used instead, you are saying that even though your elder sister eats a lot, she never
get fat (with some dissatisfied feeling). Probably you are jealous with your elder sister since you gain
weight easily even if you eat a little. You are feeling some unfairness.

Example 4

 昨日うるさかったですが、よく寝られました。
kinou urusakatta desu ga, yoku neraremashita
Meaning: It was noisy yesterday, but I could sleep well.

昨日うるさかったのに、よく寝られました。
kinou urusakatta noni, yoku neraremashita
Meaning: Even though it was noisy yesterday, I could sleep well.

Example 4 is a past event on yesterday. Therefore ても (temo) sentence (possibility) cannot be used.
For the sentence using が (ga), you are just describing the fact that you could sleep well although it
was noisy yesterday. There is no personal feeling.

For sentence using のに (noni), there is a surprising feeling. You are amazed that you are not
sensitive to the noise and could sleep well yesterday.

Example 5

 来年お金がなくても、日本へ行きましょう。
rainen okane ga nakutemo, nihon e ikimashou

Meaning: Even if we don't have money next year, let's go to Japan.

The event for example 5 may happen in next year which mean it's only a possibility. Therefore only
ても (temo) sentence can be used.
Example 6

 すみませんが、トイレはどこですか。
sumimasen ga, toire wa doko desu ka

Meaning: Excuse me, where is the toilet?

In example 6, the が (ga) here is introduction no が (ga), which works as an introduction before you
bring out the actual thing you want to say. ても (temo) and のに (noni) cannot be used here.

Giving and Receiving of "Actions" in

Japanese
～てあげる ～てもらう ～てくれる Part 1 -
Intermediate Lessons: 37
You have learned the three Japanese verbs for giving and receiving: あげる (ageru), もらう (morau)
and くれる (kureru) in basic lesson 20. These three verbs can be used further to refer to the giving
and receiving of "actions" (deeds). They indicate who is doing that act for whom, while also
expressing a sense of goodwill or gratitude. In this case, the act is expressed by the て-form.

Let's first recall the sentence patterns of あげる (ageru), もらう (morau) and くれる (kureru).

Giver は Receiver に Object を あげる

Receiver は Giver に Object を もらう

Giver は Receiver に Object を くれる

Note: Giver in もらう sentence cannot be the speaker (i.e. 私) himself/herself

As discussed in basic lesson 20, from a Japanese's point of view, he/she always shows the respect to
other people (third person) first, followed by his/her own family members (even those who are
younger than him/her) and lastly the speaker himself/herself. The picture below depicts this concept
of respect given towards third person, one's family and oneself.

While もらう (morau) sentence focuses on the Receiver (being the subject of the sentence), the focus
is on the Giver (subject of the sentence) for both あげる (ageru) and くれる (kureru) sentences.

Also from basic lesson 20, the table below shows whether to use くれる (kureru) or あげる (ageru),
depending on whoever is the Giver or Receiver. When you have to show respect to ONLY the Giver,
use くれる (kureru). Otherwise you have to use あげる (ageru).

For example, you use くれる (kureru) when someone (third person) gives something to you or to your
family members, OR when your family members gives something to you.

Giver Receiver Use

1. Third Person Third Person あげる

2. Third Person Me/Family Members くれる

3. I/Family Members Third Person あげる

4. Family Members Me くれる

5. I Family Members あげる

Giving and Receiving of "Actions" (Deeds)

Understanding the above basic concept of あげる (ageru), もらう (morau) and くれる (kureru), let's
move on to learn about the giving and receiving of "actions" (deeds). In this case, the Giver is doing
something (action) for the Receiver instead of only giving something (object).

Let's look at the following sentence:

 私は家族に写真を見せました。
watashi wa kazoku ni shashin wo misemashita

Meaning: I showed the photos to my family.

The above sentence is just a fact that you've shown the photos to your family. There's no personal
feeling contained in the sentence. If you want to show that your family (Receiver) is grateful for your
action, change the sentence by using ～てあげる (~te ageru).

 私は家族に写真を見せてあげました。
watashi wa kazoku ni shashin wo misete agemashita

Meaning: I showed the photos to my family.

In the above example, the Giver (action taker) is the speaker (私). The receiver is the family (家族) and
the family feels grateful for what the speaker has done (showed the photos). The meaning of the
sentence is exactly the same as the previous example except that in this example, the speaker thinks
that his/her family will be grateful for his/her action.

Verb て-form あげる

Verb て-form あげる indicates that one does something (by way of doing a favor) for somebody with
a sense of goodwill. When the speaker is the action taker and the listener is the receiver of the act,
this expression could give the impression that the speaker's act of doing a favor is forcing an
unnecessary help upon the beneficiary.

You are, therefore, advised to avoid using this expression directly to someone whom you do not
know very well or who is senior or superior to you. You may use it on someone with whom you have
a very close, friendly relationship.

 木村さんは田中さんに辞書を貸してあげました。
kimura san wa tanaka san ni jisho wo kashite agemashita

Meaning: Mr Kimura lent Mr Tanaka an dictionary.

The subject of the above example is Mr Kimura, which is also the Giver of the act.
Verb て-form もらう

Verb て-form もらう indicates that "Somebody kindly does something for me" or "I have somebody
doing something for me". This expression conveys a sense of gratitude on the part of those who
receive a favor.

 私は山野さんに日本語を教えてもらいました。
watashi wa yamano san ni nihongo wo oshiete moraimashita

Meaning: Ms Yamano taught me Japanese (and I feel grateful).

The subject of the above example is the speaker (私), which is also the Receiver of the act.

Verb て-form くれる

Verb て-form くれる indicates that somebody does a favor for me. This expression also conveys a
sense of gratitude on the part of those who receive a favor.

The difference is that Verb て-form もらう has the Receiver of the act as the subject of the sentence,
while Verb て-form くれる has the Giver as the subject of the sentence, implying the giver (the
subject) voluntarily takes the action. The receiver of the act in the latter case is often the speaker and
"私 (the receiver) に" is often omitted.

 山野さんは[私に]日本語を教えてくれました。
yamano san wa [watashi ni] nihongo wo oshiete kuremashita

Meaning: Ms Yamano taught me Japanese (and I feel grateful).

The subject of the above example is Ms Yamano, which is also the Giver of the act. The "私に" in the
bracket [] is often omitted.

In the next lesson (part 2 of giving and receiving of "actions"), I will demonstrate how to use
～てあげる, ～てもらう and ～てくれる with many different examples. You will also learn what are the
particles used depending on the verbs in the examples.
 Giving and Receiving of Actions in
Japanese
～てあげる ～てもらう ～てくれる Part 2 -
Intermediate Lessons: 38
This lesson is part 2 of the previous lesson. I will show you many different examples on how to use
～てあげる, ～てもらう and ～てくれる for giving and receiving of "actions" (deeds). Depending on the
verbs used for the actions, you will also learn what are the specific particles used in these examples.

Let's check out the sentence patterns for ～てあげる, ～てもらう and ～てくれる

Sentence Pattern of ～てあげる

を/
The person who The person who
は に Noun を/ て-form あげます
gives assistance receives assistance
の Noun を
Note: Used when a person does something beneficial to another person. When "私" is the subject of
the sentence, it may give the impression that the favor is being forcefully imposed. So be careful
when using it.

Sentence Pattern of ～てくれる

を/
The person who The person who
は に Noun を/ て-form くれます
gives assistance receives assistance
の Noun を

Third Person → Me/My Family

My Family → Me

Note: Used when a person feels grateful towards a person who has helped him/her.

Sentence Pattern of ～てもらう

The person who The person who

は/が に て-form もらいます
receives assistance gives assistance

X Me

X Third Person → My Family

Note: Used when a person who has asked for help feels grateful towards the person who helped
him/her.

You will see that for ～てあげる and ～てくれる sentences, the person who receives the assistance can
be marked by particle に, の or を, all depending on the verbs used. This is the most difficult part
when using these sentence patterns as many of you always get confused about which particle to use.

To determine which particle to use, you have got to understand the verb involved in the sentence.
Most verbs are tied to specific particle.

To help you on this, I will show you about 20 verbs together with some examples. Memorize the
formats of all of them if you need to. This will help you determine the correct particle once you see
similar verbs.

On the other hand in ～てもらう sentence, the action taker is always marked by the particle に.
Therefore you will see only the following pattern for ～てもらう sentence...
Action Receiver は Action Taker に て-form もらいます

Note: Action taker cannot be 私, nor My Family if the action receiver is Third Person

20 Verbs with Example Sentences

1. Person に Noun を 見せる

見せる (miseru) means to show. When using this verb, the format is always
"Person に Noun を 見せる". For example,

 私は友達に写真を見せます。
watashi wa tomodachi ni shashin wo misemasu

Meaning: I show the photos to my friend.

Using the above sentence pattern, you just need to change the verb 見せる (miseru) to て-form and
add in あげます. It becomes...

 私は友達に写真を見せてあげます。
watashi wa tomodachi ni shashin wo misete agemasu

Meaning: I show the photos to my friend.

In the above example, the Giver is 私 (the speaker), the Receiver is 友達. Since the Giver is 私, you
cannot use the ～てもらう sentence. Therefore the following example is not accepted, although
grammatically there's no mistake.

 友達は私に写真を見せてもらいます。 X
tomodachi wa watashi ni shashin wo misete moraimasu X

2. Person に Noun を 教える

教える (oshieru) means to teach, to inform, to tell. Similar to the previous example the format is
"Person に Noun を 教える".

With the above sentence patterns, you will see the following examples...
Giver is 先生. Receiver is 私達.

 先生は私達に日本語を教えてくれました。
sensei wa watashitachi ni nihongo wo oshiete kuremashita
 Meaning: Teacher taught us Japanese.
 私達は先生に日本語を教えてもらいました。
watashitachi wa sensei ni nihongo wo oshiete moraimashita

Meaning: Teacher taught us Japanese.

3. Person に Noun を 貸す

貸す (kasu) means to lend.

Format is "Person に Noun を 貸す".

Giver is 兄. Receiver is 弟.

 兄は弟にお金を貸してあげました。
ani wa otouto ni okane wo kashite agemashita

Meaning: My elder brother lent money to my younger brother.

 弟は兄にお金を貸してもらいました。
otouto wa ani ni okane wo kashite moraimashita

Meaning: My elder brother lent money to my younger brother.

4. Person に 席 を 譲る
譲る (yuzuru) means to hand over, to transfer, to relinquish, to give up.
Format is "Person に Noun を 譲る".

Giver is 田中さん. Receiver is お婆さん.

 田中さんはお婆さんに席を譲ってあげました。
tanaka san wa obaasan ni seki wo yuzutte agemashita

Meaning: Mr Tanaka gave up his seat to the old lady.

 お婆さんは田中さんに席を譲ってもらいました。
obaasan wa tanaka san ni seki wo yuzutte moraimashita

Meaning: Mr Tanaka gave up his seat to the old lady.

5. Person に Noun を 作る

作る tsukuru) means to make, to create.

Format is "Person に Noun を 作る".

Giver is 母. Receiver is 私.

 母は私にご飯を作ってくれました。
haha wa watashi ni gohan wo tsukutte kuremashita

Meaning: My mother made a meal for me.

 私は母にご飯を作ってもらいました。
watashi wa haha ni gohan wo tsukutte moraimashita

Meaning: My mother made a meal for me.

6. Person に Noun を 買う

買う (kau) means to buy.

Format is "Person に Noun を 買う".

Giver is 父. Receiver is 妹.

 父は妹にアイスクリームを買ってあげました。
chichi wa imouto ni aisukuri-mu wo katte agemashita

Meaning: My father bought ice-cream for my younger sister.

 妹は父にアイスクリームを買ってもらいました。
imouto wa chichi ni aisukuri-mu wo katte moraimashita
 Meaning: My father bought ice-cream for my younger sister.

7. Person を 迎える

迎える (mukaeru) means to welcome, to greet, to meet, to pick up.

Format is "Person を 迎える".

Giver is 家族. Receiver is 私.

 家族は私を車で迎えてくれました。
kazoku wa watashi wo kuruma de mukaete kuremashita

Meaning: My family picked me up by car.

 私は家族に車で迎えてもらいました。
watashi wa kazoku ni kuruma de mukaete moraimashita

Meaning: My family picked me up by car.

8. Person を 送る

送る (okuru) means to send (a thing), to take (a person somewhere), to see off (a person) .
Format is "Person を 送る".

Giver is 兄. Receiver is 私.

 兄は私を駅まで送ってくれました。
ani wa watashi wo eki made okutte kuremashita

Meaning: My elder brother took me to the train station.

 私は兄に駅まで送ってもらいました。
watashi wa ani ni eki made okutte moraimashita

Meaning: My elder brother took me to the train station.

9. Person を 待つ

待つ (matsu) means to wait.

Format is "Person を 待つ".

Giver is 水野さん. Receiver is 田中さん.

  水野さんは田中さんを待ってあげました。
mizuno san wa tanaka san wo matte agemashita

Meaning: Mr Mizuno waited for Mr Tanaka.

 田中さんは水野さんに待ってもらいました。
tanaka san wa mizuno san ni matte moraimashita

Meaning: Mr Mizuno waited for Mr Tanaka.

10. Person を Noun に 誘う

誘う (sasou) means to invite, to ask.

Format is "Person を Noun に 誘う".

Giver is 山田さん. Receiver is 私.

 山田さんは私をダンスに誘ってくれました。
yamada san wa watashi wo dansu ni sasotte kuremashita

Meaning: Mr Yamada invited me for a dance.

 私は山田さんにダンスに誘ってもらいました。
watashi wa yamada san ni dansu ni sasotte moraimashita

Meaning: Mr Yamada invited me for a dance.

11. Person を Noun に 招待する

招待する (shoutai suru) means to invite, to entertain.

Format is "Person を Noun に 招待する".

Giver is 友達. Receiver is 弟.

 友達は弟を結婚式に招待してくれました。
tomodachi wa otouto wo kekkonshiki ni shoutaishite kuremashita

Meaning: My friend invited my younger brother to the wedding ceremony.

 弟は友達に結婚式に招待してもらいました。
otouto wa tomodachi ni kekkonshiki ni shoutaishite moraimashita

Meaning: My friend invited my younger brother to the wedding ceremony.

12. Person を Place へ 連れて行く

連れて行く (tsurete iku) means to take someone (of lower status) along.
Format is "Person を Noun へ 連れて行く".

Giver is 父. Receiver is 妹.

 父は妹をデパートへ連れて行ってあげました。
chichi wa imouto wo depa-to e tsureteitte agemashita

Meaning: My father took my younger sister to the department store.

 妹は父にデパートへ連れて行ってもらいました。
imouto wa chichi ni depa-to e tsureteitte moraimashita

Meaning: My father took my younger sister to the department store.

13. Person の Noun を 掃除する

掃除する (souji suru) means to clean, to sweep.

Format is "Person の Noun を 掃除する".

Giver is 母. Receiver is 妹.

 母は妹の部屋を掃除してあげました。
haha wa imouto no heya wo soujishite agemashita

Meaning: My mother cleaned my younger sister's room.

 妹は母に部屋を掃除してもらいました。
imouto wa haha ni heya wo soujishite moraimashita

Meaning: My mother cleaned my younger sister's room.

14. Person の Noun を 洗濯する

洗濯する (sentaku suru) means to wash, to clean (laundry).

Format is "Person の Noun を 洗濯する".

Giver is 姉. Receiver is 私.

 姉は私のシャツを洗濯してくれました。
ane wa watashi no shatsu wo sentakushite kuremashita

Meaning: My elder sister washed the shirt for me.

  私は姉にシャツを洗濯してもらいました。
watashi wa ane ni shatsu wo sentakushite moraimashita

Meaning: My elder sister washed the shirt for me.

15. Person の Noun を 撮る

撮る (toru) means to take (a photo).

Format is "Person の Noun を 撮る".

Giver is 木村さん. Receiver is 田中さん.

 木村さんは田中さんの写真を撮ってあげました。
kimura san wa tanaka san no shashin wo totte agemashita

Meaning: Mr Kimura took a picture for Mr Tanaka.

 田中さんは木村さんに写真を撮ってもらいました。
tanaka san wa kimura san ni shashin wo totte moraimashita

Meaning: Mr Kimura took a picture for Mr Tanaka.

16. Person の Noun を 直す

直す (naosu) means to fix, to correct, to repair.

Format is "Person の Noun を 直す".

Giver is 父. Receiver is 山田さん.

 父は山田さんの自転車を直してあげました。
chichi wa yamada san no jitensha wo naoshite agemashita

Meaning: My father repaired the bicycle for Mr Tanaka.

In this example, the Giver is 父 (My family) and the Receiver is 山田さん (Third person). According to
the sentence pattern above, you cannot use the ～てもらう sentence in this situation. Therefore the
following example is not accepted, although grammatically there's no mistake.

 山田さんは父に自転車を直してもらいました。 X
yamada san wa chichi ni jitensha wo naoshite moraimashita X

Meaning: My father repaired the bicycle for Mr Tanaka.

17. Person の Noun を 持つ

持つ (motsu) means to hold, to carry, to possess.

Format is "Person の Noun を 持つ".

Giver is 兄. Receiver is 私.

 兄は私の鞄を持ってくれました。
ani wa watashi no kaban wo motte kuremashita

Meaning: My elder brother carried the bag for me.

 私は兄に鞄を持ってもらいました。
watashi wa ani ni kaban wo motte moraimashita

Meaning: My elder brother carried the bag for me.

18. Person の Noun を 叩く

叩く (tataku) means to hit, to strike, to beat.

Format is "Person の Noun を 叩く".

Giver is 娘. Receiver is 私.

 娘は私の肩を叩いてくれました。
musume wa watashi no kata wo tataite kuremashita

Meaning: My daughter gave me a massage on my shoulder.

 私は娘に肩を叩いてもらいました。
watashi wa musume ni kata wo tataite moraimashita

Meaning: My daughter gave me a massage on my shoulder.

19. Person の Noun を 手伝う

手伝う (tetsudau) means to help, to assist.

Format is "Person の Noun を 手伝う".

Giver is 妹. Receiver is 母.

 妹は母の皿洗いを手伝ってあげました。
imouto wa haha no saraarai wo tetsudatte agemashita

Meaning: My younger sister helped my mother for the dish washing.

  母は妹に皿洗いを手伝ってもらいました。
haha wa imouto ni saraarai wo tetsudatte moraimashita

Meaning: My younger sister helped my mother for the dish washing.

20. Person の Noun を 運ぶ

運ぶ (hakobu) means to transport.

Format is "Person の Noun を 運ぶ".

Giver is 友達. Receiver is 私.

 友達は私の荷物を運んでくれました。
tomodachi wa watashi no nimotsu wo hakonde kuremashita

Meaning: My friend carried (transported) the luggage for me.

 私は友達に荷物を運んでもらいました。
watashi wa tomodachi ni nimotsu wo hakonde moraimashita

Meaning: My friend carried (transported) the luggage for me.

Conclusion

The actual meaning of a sentence with or without ～てあげる / ～てもらう / ～てくれる is the same,
except that the former show that the Action Receiver is grateful for what the Action Taker has done
for him/her.

Another point to note is that for ～てあげる and ～てくれる sentences, the focus is on theAction
Taker. Whereas for ～てもらう sentence, the focus is on the Action Receiver.

For ～てもらう sentence, the Action Taker is always marked by the particle に. However, for
～てあげる and ～てくれる sentences, the Action Receiver can be marked by the particles に, の or を,
depending on the verbs used.