| So, you want to ask your friend if you can meet | | | | noun and it indicates that the noun is the object |
| back up in two hours. Easy in English, right? What | | | | of the sentence. We use o with transitive verbs. |
| about in Japanese? Maybe you want to talk about | | | | Please note that we can use Japanese sentences |
| a meeting that happens every Monday. Do you | | | | ending with - masu verbs for habitual or future |
| have the Japanese skills to do it? Talking about | | | | actions. So, watashi wa o-soba o tabemasu can |
| the time and actions are just a natural part of | | | | either mean "I eat buckwheat noodles" or "I'm |
| conversation. Will your Japanese help you talk | | | | going to eat buckwheat noodles." |
| about time or will you be wasting it? | | | | Sentence Patterns |
| Read this Newbie Japanese article to learn about | | | | Affirmative Sentences |
| time. It will help you understand intervals of time | | | | |
| such as ni-jikan ("two hours"), and how to tell | | | | 1. Subject / Wa / object / o / verb Watashi / |
| people about actions you plan to take such as | | | | wa / asa-gohan / o / tabemasu. Shizuka-san / |
| kutsu o kaimasu ("I'm going to buy shoes"). You | | | | wa / o-soba / o / tabemasu. Watashi / wa / |
| need this article to take your Japanese to the | | | | katsudon to sashimi / o / tabemasu. |
| next level! | | | | *Note: Asa-gohan means "breakfast." |
| Vocabulary: In this article, you'll learn the following | | | | Negative Sentences A negative form of a masu |
| words and phrases:mina-san - "everyone" | | | | verb form: SEE Newbie Article 22 for more |
| Matsumoto-joo - "Matsumoto castle"han - "half" | | | | details. |
| (when used with time half past)jiyuu-jikan - "free | | | | |
| time"gogo - "afternoon, P.M."ringo-en - "apple | | | | 1. Subject / Wa / object / o / verb Watashi / |
| farm"ima - "now"ni-jikan - "two hours"tabemasu - | | | | wa / asa-gohan / o / tabemasen. Mizuki-san / wa |
| "to eat" (masu form) | | | | / o-soba / o / tabemasen. |
| (o)soba - "buckwheat noodle" | | | | Question Sentences The sentence-ending particle |
| Grammar: In this article, you'll learn the following | | | | ka makes the sentence a question. SEE Newbie |
| words and phrases: | | | | Article 22 for more details. |
| Useful Vocabulary and Phrasesjuuni-ji han "half | | | | |
| past twelve, 12:30" | | | | 1. Subject / Wa / object / o / verb / ka? (Anata |
| Han means "half." When we use it with a time, it | | | | / wa) / asa-gohan / o / tabemasu / ka? Lorii-san |
| means "half past (30 minutes)." However, the | | | | / wa / o-soba / o / tabemasu / ka? |
| word order is different from English. | | | | Answers: |
| Correct: juuni-ji han | | | | |
| Incorrect: han juuni-ji | | | | 1. Yes- Hai, tabemasu. No- Iie, kikimasen. |
| Japanese / "English"ichi-ji / "1:00"ichi-ji han / | | | | |
| "1:30"ni-ji / "2:00"ni-ji han / "2:30"san-ji / "3:00"san-ji | | | | 1. Subject / wa / nani ("what") / o / verb / ka? |
| han / "3:30"gogo "afternoon, P.M."gozen "A.M." | | | | (Anata / wa) / nani / o / tabemasu / ka? |
| In English, P.M. and A.M. come after the time, | | | | Lor-san / wa / nani / o / tabemasu / ka? |
| whereas gogo (P.M.) and gozen (A.M.) come | | | | Note that the anata example is very direct, and |
| before the time in Japanese. | | | | thus considered somewhat rude. So, it is advisable |
| For example: | | | | to avoid using it unless necessary. |
| | | | Examples with other verbs |
| 1. 8:00 P.M. Correct: gogo, hachi-ji Incorrect: hachi-ji | | | | |
| gogo | | | | 1. kikimasu "to listen, to hear" Japanesepod101 o |
| 2. 8:00 A.M. Correct: gozen, hachi-ji Incorrect: | | | | kikimasu. "I'm going to listen to Japanesepod101." |
| hachi-ji gozenni-jikan "2 hours" | | | | or "I listen to Japanesepod101." |
| Jikan is a counter for hours. | | | | 2. kaimasu "to buy" Kutsu o kaimasu. "I'm going to |
| "English" / Japanese | | | | buy shoes." or "I buy shoes." |
| "for an hour" / ichi-jikan | | | | 3. tabemasu "to eat" Niku o tabemasen. "I'm not |
| "for two hours" / ni-jikan | | | | going to eat meat." or "I don't eat meat." |
| "for three hours" / san-jikan | | | | 4. mimasu "to see" Terebi o mimasu ka? "Will you |
| "for four hours" / yo-jikan | | | | watch TV?" |
| "for five hours" / go-jikan | | | | 5. nomimasu "to drink" Nani o nomimasu ka? |
| "for six hours" / roku-jikan | | | | "What are you going to drink?" or "What do you |
| "for seven hours" / nana-jikan or shichi-jikan | | | | drink?" |
| "for eight hours" / hachi-jikan | | | | 6. shimasu "to do" Nichi yoobi nani o shimasu ka? |
| "for nine hours" / ku-jikan | | | | "What are you going to do on Sunday?" or "What |
| "for ten hours" / juu -jikan | | | | do you (usually) do on Sundays?" |
| "How many hours?" / nan-jikan? | | | | Practice: |
| "an hour and a half" / ichi-jikan han | | | | Answer the following questions. |
| Today's Target Phrase | | | | |
| (Watashi wa) o-soba o tabemasu. | | | | 1. Ongaku o kikimasu ka? (* ongaku means |
| "I'm going to eat buckwheat noodles." | | | | "music") |
| Japanese / "English" | | | | 2. Eiga o mimasu ka? (* eiga means "movies") |
| Watashi / "I, me"wa / "topic-marking | | | | 3. Furansu no eiga o mimasu ka?) |
| particle"osoba / "buckwheat noodle"o / | | | | 4. O-sake o nomimasu ka? (* o-sake means |
| "object-marking particle"tabemasu / "to eat" | | | | "alcohol") |
| (masu form) | | | | 5. Nichi yoobi nani o shimasu ka? |
| We place the object-marking particle o after a | | | | |