第1課 文法

N₁　は　N₂　です

1. N₁　は　N₂　です

1) Particle は

The particle は indicates that the word before it (N₁) is the topic of the sentence (see Topic and Subject article). The speaker forms a sentence by adding は to what he or she wants to talk about and then makes statements about it.

①　私は雫です。　I’m Shizuku.

[Note] The particle は is read as わ.

2) です

Nouns used with です work as predicates. Besides indicating judgement or assertion, です also shows politeness towards the listener. です inflects when the sentence is negative (see 2. below) or in the past tense (see Lesson 12).

②　私は会社員です。I’m a company employee.

N₁　は　N₂　じゃ（では）ありません

2. N₁　は　N₂　じゃ（では）ありません

じゃ（では）ありません Is the negative form of です. じゃあり ません is often used in everyday conversation, while ではありません is used in formal speech and writing.

③　サントスさんは学生じゃありません。　Mr. Santos is not a student. （では）

　　　　　　　　　　

[Note] は in では is read わ.

N₁　は　N₂　ですか　(question)

3. N₁　は　N₂　ですか　(question)

1) Particle か

The particle か is used to express uncertainty, doubt, etc. A question can be formed simply by adding か to the end of the sentence. A question ends with a rising intonation.

2) Questions asking whether a statement is correct or not

This type of question is formed simply by adding か to the end of the statement, leaving the word order the same. The reply begins with はい if the statement is agreed with, and いいえ if it is disagreed with.

④　ミラーさんはアメリカ人ですか。　Is Mr. Miller an American?

······はい、アメリカ人です。　···Yes, he is [an American].

⑤　ミラーさんは先生ですか。　Is Mr. Miller a teacher?

······いいえ、先生じゃありません。　···No, he isn’t [a teacher].

3) Questions with interrogatives

An interrogative replaces the part of a sentence that states what the speaker wants to ask about. The word order does not change, and か is added to the end.

➅　あの方はどなたですか。　Who is that [person]?

······［あの方は］ミラーさんです。　···That’s Mr. Miller.

N　も

4. N　も

「も」 is used when the same thing applies as was stated previously.

⑦　ミラーさんは会社員です。グプタさんも会社員です。　　Mr. Miller is a company employee. Mr. Gupta is also a company employee.

N₁　の　N₂

5. N₁　の　N₂

When a noun N₁ modifies the following noun N₂, の is used to connect the two nouns. In lesson 1, N₁ represents an organization or some kind of group to which N₂ belongs.

⑧　ミラーさんはIMCの社員です。　Mr. Miller is an IMC employee.

～さん

6. ～さん

さん is added to the given name or family name of the listener or a third person to show the speaker’s respect to that person. It should never be used with the speaker’s own name. ちゃん is added to small children’s names instead of さん to indicate familiarity.

⑨　あの方はミラーさんです。　That’s Mr. Miller.

When referring directly to the listener, the word あなた (you) is not generally if the speaker knows the listener’s name. The listener’s given name or family name followed by さん is usually used.

⑩　鈴木：　ミラーさんは学生ですか。

ミラー：　いいえ、会社員です。

Suzuki：　Are you a student?

Miller：　No, I'm a company employee.

[Note} あなた is used to address someone with whom one is very familiar, such as one’s husband, wife, romantic partner, etc. Be careful about using it in other situations, as it can sound impolite.