nihongo wo benkyou shitai

日本語：	[verb (base 2)] そうです
日本語：	[adjective] そうです
English:	Looks like...

Today we'll look at a grammar point that is very similar to one we've looked at previously. Similar in both it's English meaning and Japanese conjugation. Today we'll look at そうです. Don't confuse it with it's other usage.

When used after the correct verb conjugation そうです allows us to say that looks like something will (or will not) occur. After the correct adjective conjugations it allows us to say something looks like it has some attribute.

To modify verbs, simply move them into base 2. With い and な adjectives, drop the final い and な respectively.

例文

English:	It looks like it'll rain soon.
Jenglish:	[soon][rain][fall + looks like]
日本語：	すぐ雨が降りそうです。

English:	That cake looks tasty
Jenglish:	[kono][cake][tasty + looks]
日本語：	そのケーキは美味しそうです。

English:	Her face looks kind.
Jenglish:	[her][face][kind + looks]
日本語：	彼女の顔が親切そうです。

Although not part of the requirements for JLPT3, it's worth knowing that そうです can also be used after negative-form verbs and adjectives. In this case, the ーない becomes ーなさ.

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (short)] はずです
日本語：	[adjective] はずです
日本語：	[noun] のはずです
English:	Supposed to be, ought to be...

Today we shall look at another useful conjugation that allows us not to be definite when stating some fact. Very, very handy. It's a pretty straightforward conjugation too, so let's take a look at はず!

In essence, はず covers a number of English equivalents: supposed to be, ought to be, should, ought, expected to and so on. We can refer to past events and events that should/ought not to occur. So when used after base 7 verbs we get 'were supposed to', after base 1 we get 'not supposed to'. はず can even be used after nouns and adjectives: After nouns, use のはず and after な adjectives keep the な.

例文

English:	It's supposed to rain tomorrow.
Jenglish:	[tomorrow][rain][fall + supposed]
日本語:	明日雨が降るはずです。

English:	I was supposed to go to London tomorrow, but the meeting was cancelled.
Jenglish:	[tomorrow][I][London][go + supposed][but][meeting][cancelled]
日本語:	明日私はロンドンに行くはずでしたが会議は取り消しました。

English:	She is supposed to be very pretty.
Jenglish:	[she][pretty + supposed to be]
日本語:	彼女はきれいなはずです。

One thing I have found it that some Japanese translations seem to conjugate the です rather than the verb or adjective, so instead of 昨日雨が降ったはずです, we would get 昨日雨が降るはずでした. To be honest, I don't know if both are equally allowed.

The Japanese also use わけ to indicate that some action is supposed to happen or is likely. I think it's JLPT2 grammar so I'm not going to cover it yet, but in essence わけ is used when you want to show more certainty that some event is likely to happen.

まてね。。。

日本語：	[verb (base 7)] まま
日本語：	[adjective] まま
日本語：	[noun] のまま
English:	Leave as is, Some state remains unchanged...

Today's grammar point has surprised me in that it is a deceptively handy one to know. Previously I didn't think it would be something used very often, but after some research, it seems to crop up a lot. Today's grammar point is まま and it is used to indicate that some state has not changed.

The JLPT3 specification requires us to only know of まま when used after verbs in base 7, but as I found out, when used after adjectives and nouns it can be very useful, so we'll cover them too.

Essentially, there are two components to a sentence containing まま - the clause that comes before and the clause that comes after. The clause that comes before is used to indicate that state that has not changed. For example:

English: I left the lights on when I left the room.

Much better if we put this into Jenglish:

Jenglish: [lights][on][unchanged state][room][left]

The unchanged state is that the lights were on before I left and they were still on after I left. Examples I've found in text books and on the web all follow this basic theme; another common example being "I slept with the window open".

Now, while it is not part of the JLPT3 specification, it is worth looking at まま when used with adjectives and nouns. Just as when following a verb, まま after an adjective or noun indicates that the state has not changed. For example:

English: As cold as it is, I'll wear a T-shirt.

or in Jenglish:

Jenglish: [cold][unchanged state][t-shirt][wear]

A example with nouns:

English: I left the car as it was and went to phone the police.

Or again in Jenglish:

[car][unchanged state][police][phone + went]

A couple of things worth noting. まま acts as a noun and as such follows the same grammatical rules. If used with nouns, you need the possessive particle の and with な adjectives, keep the な.

例文

English:	I left the lights on when I left the room.
Jenglish:	[lights][on][unchanged state][room][left]
日本語：	明かりをつけたまま部屋を出ました。

English:	As cold as it is, I'll wear a T-shirt.
Jenglish:	[cold][unchanged state][t-shirt][wear]
日本語：	寒いままTシャツを着ます。

English:	I left the car as it was and went to phone the police.
Jenglish:	[car][unchanged state][police][phone + went]
日本語：	車のまま警察を電話しに行きました。

One final point, まま is frequently used directly after この and その. In such cases the meaning is 'just like this' or 'as it is'. For example:

English:	As it is, I'm not going to London.
日本語：	このままロンドンに行きません。

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (base 6)] おく
English:	Leave [A] where it is, leave [A] in it's present state
English:	To do [A] in advance of

Today's grammar point is one I've avoided for ages, despite being something I learnt back in my second year of study. The reason? The reason is I'm not sure I actually understand it's use. However, it is on the JLPT3 grammar list so here goes...

The ーておく conjugation of a verb has a dual meaning. The meaning I have come across in the past is to indicate some action performed in advance of, or in preparation for some event. Of course, just using 前に could indicate this as well, but ーておく shows a definite connection between the two.

The other use of ーておく is to indicate that something is left as it is, or in other words, it's state does not change. As such, ーておくcan be seen alongside まま, a grammatical construction used to indicate that some state of existence has not changed.

例文

English:	Before I cook dinner, I will go to the supermarket.
Jenglish:	[dinner][cook][before][supermarket][go + in advance of]
日本語：	夕飯を料理する前にスーポーに行っておきます。

English:	When the plane has lands, please stay seated.
Jenglish:	[plane][lands][when][seated + leave as is + please]
日本語：	飛行機を着陸させる時、座っておいてください。

English:	As I am getting up at 5AM tomorrow and driving to York, I will go to bed early.
Jenglish:	[tomorrow][5AM][get up][to York][driving][as][early][sleep + in preparation for]
日本語：	明日５時に起きてヨロクに運転するので、早く寝ておきます。

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (short)] らしい
日本語：	[adjective] らしい
日本語：	[noun] らしい
English:	It seems, It appears, I heard...

Today we'll check out the final of our JLPT 3 options for communicating presumed information. らしい is a more casual equivalent of そうです and therefore is used when conveying information gained from a third party. It can be used after verbs in bases 1, 3 and 7, adjectives and nouns. If after な adjectives, drop the な. With nouns, it is used directly after the noun with です omitted.

例文

English:	It appears that it is becoming cooler in Japan.
Jenglish:	[in Japan][cool][become + appear]
日本語：	日本に涼しくになるらしい。

English:	It looks as if this film is popular.
Jenglish:	[this film][popular + looks as if]
日本語：	この映画は人気らしい。

English:	I hear that he didn't resign. He was sacked.
Jenglish:	[he][resign + not + hear that].[he][sacked]
日本語：	彼を辞めなかったらしい。彼は首になりました。

We have now looked at three closely related conjugations: らしい, そうです and ようです. Each of the three allow us to construct 'I hear that' sentences, but they differ in politeness and the veracity of the information being communicated. To convey presumed information gained from an external source, use either そうです or らしい. らしい is a more casual way of communicating this and as such frequently used without です. To convey presumed information derived from your own senses or reasoning, use ようです.

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (short)]ようです
日本語：	[い adjective]ようです
日本語：	[な adjective]なようです
日本語：	[noun]のようです
English:	It seems...

Since we've just looked at the use of そうです, it seems sensible to look at a closely related conjugation. ようです allows us to construct sentences that convey some presumed infomation. However, where そうです communicated information gained from some third party, ようです allows us to communicate a presumption based on our own observations and evidence.

ようです can be used with verbs in bases 1,3 and 7, nouns and adjectives. Note that with な adjectives, you do not drop the な. Nouns should be followed by　の.

例文

English:	It looks like it will start raining soon.
Jenglish:	[soon][rain][fall + start + looks like]
日本語：	もう雨が降り始めるようです。

English:	From the trailer, the film doesn't look very good.
Jenglish:	[trailer][from][film][not very][good + look]
日本語：	予告編から映画はあまり良くないようです。

English:	After tasting his cooking, he seems to be a good cook.
Jenglish:	[his][cooking][tasting][after][he][good][cook + seems]
日本語：	彼の料理のあじを見た後に彼はいい料理が上手なようです。

There are two closely related conjugations:そうです and らしい. Each of the three allow us to construct 'I hear that' sentences, but they differ in politeness and the veracity of the information being communicated. To convey presumed information gained from an external source, use either そうです or らしい. らしい is a more casual way of communicating this and as such frequently used without です. To convey presumed information derived from your own senses or reasoning, use ようです.

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (short)] そうです
日本語：	[adjective (short)] そうです
日本語：	[noun] そうです
English:	I hear that

Today's post is essentially a rewrite of a post I did a while ago. Looking back, that post isn't really complete and didn't cater for what the JLPT requires. So, if some of today's post seems familiar, now you know...

Simply put, そうです allows us to communicate secondhand information, such as information gleaned from the TV or newspaper or from a friend. The veracity of the information communicated by そうです is more than a simple guess, but is not as high as something you have determined yourself.

そうです can be applied to verbs in bases 1, 3 and 7, adjectives and nouns. With ーな adjectives, the ーな becomes だ. With nouns, the です becomes だ.

例文

English:	I hear that it will rain tomorrow
Jenglish:	[tomorrow][rain][fall + hear]
日本語：	明日雨が降るそうです。

English:	I heard he failed the exam.
Jenglish:	[he][exam][failed + hear]
日本語：	彼は試験に落ちたそうです。

English:	According to a magazine I read, eBay is very popular in Europe.
Jenglish:	[read][magazine][according to][eBay][Europe][in][very][popular + hear]
日本語：	私が読んだ雑誌によるとeBayはヨーロッパにとても人気だそうです。

There are two closely related conjugations:ようです and らしい. Between them, the three allow us to construct 'I hear that' sentences, but they differ in politeness and the veracity of the information being communicated. To convey presumed information gained from an external source, use either そうです or らしい. らしい is a more casual way of communicating this and as such frequently used without です. To convey presumed information derived from your own senses or reasoning, use ようです.

A final note: It is pretty important to note that this use of そうです should not be confused with another, similar use. Here, そうです means 'I hear that'. However, in a slightly different conjugation, it can mean 'It seems'. They sound VERY similar, but they are not!

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (base 6)] もかまわない。
English:	It doesn't matter if...

Today's grammar point is one I've never heard of before and even a search on the Internet didn't reveal anything so I don't really know if it is used that much. However, it is part of the JLPT3 specification, you just never know when it'll come up in the exam.

例文

English:	It doesn't matter if you sit here.
Jenglish:	[here][sit + doesn't matter]
日本語：	ここで座ってもかまわない。

English:	It doesn't matter if rains tomorrow.
Jenglish:	[tomorrow][rain][fall + doesn't matter]
日本語：	明日雨が降ってもかまわない。

The following is not guaranteed to be correct. Actually none of my examples are guarnateed to be correct, but this one almost certainly isn't. I'm hoping someone will take pity on me and correct it :-)

English:	It doesn't matter if you run to the station, you will still be late.
Jenglish:	[you][station][run + doesn't matter][still][late]
日本語：	あなたは駅に走ってもかまわない、まだ遅いですよ。

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (base 3)] ようになる。
English:	Come to..., reached the point where, learnt to...

Today we'll have a look at a useful construction that allows us to create sentences in which an action is in a state of change. Often used with ability verbs, it has the meaning of 'become able to do something', although in English it may sound more natural to say 'learnt to do something' or 'reached the point where...'.

This construction is used with verbs. For nouns and adjectives, we use a slightly different construction. We'll cover that tomorrow!

例文

English:	Recently, he has learnt how to play the piano.
Jenglish:	[recently][he][piano][play + can + come to]
日本語：	最近、彼はピアノを弾けるようになりました。

English:	I've reached the point where I can read a newspaper without a dictionary.
Jenglish:	[dictionary][using][without][newspaper][read + reached the point]
日本語：	辞書を使わずに新聞を読めるようになりました。

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (base 1)] ずに
English:	without doing...

Another nice and easy one today. Back back in March I looked at a handy conjugation we learnt in class that allowed us to say that something is done without doing something else. At the time we used the ないで conjugation, but trawling through the comments for that post show that there is another option that means the same thing: ずに. Well, it appears that ないで is not part of the JLPT specification and ずに is, so guess which one I'm going to remember from now on.

例文

English:	I went to bed without watching the end of film on TV.
Jenglish:	[TV film][end][watching][without][I][went to bed]
日本語：	テレビの映画を最後まで見ずに寝ました。

English:	I read a newspaper without using a dictionary.
Jenglish:	[dictionary][using][without][I][newspaper][read]
日本語：	辞書を使わずに新聞を読みました。

English:	I went to Japan during the summer without dying.
Jenglish:	[dying][without][summer][during][Japan][went]
日本語：	死なずに夏中日本に行きました。

またね。。。

日本語：	[A] と [B] と、どちらが [question]
English:	Which is some attribute, A or B?

The past two blog entries have looked at comparison statements allowing us to describe which of two entities have more or less of some quality. Today we'll turn the tables and see how we can put this into question form.

As you can see from the above, most of the Japanese structure is pretty easy.

例文

English:	Which is cheaper: the German beer or the Belgian?
Jenglish:	[German beer][Belgian][which][cheaper]?
日本語：	ドイツのビールとベルギーのビールとどちらが安いですか。

English:	Which is more expensive: sushi or sashimi?
Jenglish:	[sushi][sashimi][which][more expensive]?
日本語：	寿司と刺身とどちらが高いですか。

It's worth noting that you can also simply say どちらがいいですか which means 'which is better?'

またね。。。

日本語：	[A] は [B] ほど [adjective (negative tense)]。
English:	A is not as adjective as B

After yesterday's look at comparitives, we're staying on that theme tonight and looking at how to say that something does not have as much of some attribute as something else.　As you can see above, the construct is pretty straightforward, but remember that the adjective used is in it negative form, so make sure you stick a ません or ない on there!

例文

English:	This mustard is not a hot as that wasabi.
Jenglish:	[this mustard][that wasabi][hot + not]
日本語：	このマスタードはその山葵ほど辛くないです。

English:	The American version of The Ring is not a scary as the Japanese version.
Jenglish:	[American][version][The Ring][Japanese][version][scary + not]
日本語：	アメリカン版の「リング」は日本版ほど怖くないです。

またね。。。

日本語：	[X] は [Y] より [adjective] です。
日本語：	[X] の方が [Y] より [adjective] です。
English:	X is more adjective than Y.

Again, I have looked at comparisons before, but I've since learnt a new construction and so I thought now would be a good time to cover them again.

One useful construct is to be able to say item A is more something than item B. The basic construct for this is [X] は [Y] より {adjective} です. Here, より can be translated as 'than' and it follows the item which is the lesser of the two being compared.

例文

English:	Japanese summers are more humid than English summers.
Jenglish:	[Japanese summer][English summer][than][humid]
日本語：	日本の夏はイギリスの夏より蒸し暑いです。

English:	London is bigger than Basingstoke.
Jenglish:	[London][Basingstoke][than][big]
日本語：	ロンドンはベージングストークより大きいです。

Things can get a little confusing due to the ability of the Japanese language to move things around. For example the sentences:

ロンドンはベージングストークより大きいです。
ベージングストークよりロンドンは大きいです。

are the same.

Just as in English, you can shorten comparitive statements if the two things being compared are already understood.

日本の夏もイギリスの夏も好きです。でも、日本の夏はイギリスの夏より蒸し暑いです。
"I like both Japanese summers and English summers. But Japanese summers are more humid than English summers."

This is a perfectly acceptable sentence, but it feels a little 'odd'. We already know what Japanese summers are more humid than, so why state it? Just as English allows us simply to say "Japanese summers are more humid", Japanese have an equivalent.

日本の夏の方が蒸し暑いです。
"Japanese summers are more humid."

We've omitted the より part of the sentence and used の方が to mark the primary attribute, however you don't have to. 方が sentences can still contain より components. Also, in the examples above, I've been comparing nouns, but these could equally have been adjectives or verb clauses. Use the following conjugation chart.

[verb (short)] 方が [verb (base 1/3)] より [adjective] です。

English:	Giving is better than receiving.
Jenglish:	[giving][receiving][than][better]
日本語：	あげる方がくれるよりいいです。

[adjective (short)] 方が [adjective (non-past)] より [adjective] です。

English:	Being clean is better than being messy.
Jenglish:	[being clean][being messy][than][better]
日本語：	きれいな方が目茶目茶なよりいいです。

See JapanesePod101's Beginner's Lesson 75 for more examples and information!

またね。。。

日本語：	[verb (base 1)] なければなりません。
日本語：	[verb (base 1)] なければいけません。
English:	Must do, have to do...

OK, so I covered this grammatical point way back here, but I wanted to do it again for two simple reasons: (1) it's good practice for me and (2) I prefer the new blog format :-)

If you want to convey the fact that some action must be taken, there are a couple of options at the JLPT3 level: なければなりません and なければいけません.

Whilst I can't seem to find any documented information on this, I believe that なければなりません is used when the action is performed due to some outside instruction, such as being told by a person or a sign. If you are instructing yourself to act, use なければいけません.

例文

English:	I must clean my car this weekend.
Jenglish:	[this weekend][car][clean + must]
日本語：	私は車をきれいにしなければいけません。

English:	Before next week's lesson, you must read chapter 6
Jenglish:	[next week][lesson][before][chapter 6][read + must]
日本語：	来週の授業の前に第６章を読まなければなりません。

English:	I have to call my boss.
Jenglish:	[boss][call + must]
日本語：	経営者を電話しなければなけません。

またね。。。