JPNS102 Japanese Notes

Te-form Conjugation and Usage

Dictionary Form to Te-form

• U-verbs Group I: Conjugation of verbs ending with u varies with verbs ending in different sounds.

  • Examples:

    • あう (to meet) → あって

    • つくる (to make) → つくって

    • のむ (to drink) → のんで

    • あそぶ (to play) → あそんで

    • しぬ (to die) → しんで

    • いく (to go) → いって

• Ru-verbs Group II: Generally simpler, drop the る and add て.

  • Examples:

    • たべる (to eat) → たべて

    • おきる (to wake up) → おきて

• Irregular Verbs Group III: Very few, special rules apply.

  • Examples:

    • する (to do) → して

    • くる (to come) → きて

Te-form Expressions for Beginners

• Making Requests: 〜てください (e.g., Please do ...)

• Asking for Permission: 〜てもいいです (e.g., May I ...?)

• Present Continuous Tense: 〜ています (I am ...ing)

• Stating Prohibition: 〜てはいけません (You must not ...)

Importance of Te-forms

• Fundamental aspect of Japanese grammar used for various functions including requests, permissions, and ongoing actions.

Family Vocabulary

Talking about Family Members

• Vocabulary related to counting people in the family:

  • 1 person: ひとり

  • 2 people: ふたり

  • 3 people: さんにん

  • 4 people: よにん

Describing Family Members

• Structure: S + は + body part + が + adjective (e.g., S has a ...)

Adjective Conjugation

Affirmative and Negative Forms

• Changing い Adjectives: Replace the final い with くて to connect adjectives.

• ナ Adjectives and Nouns: Add で to connect.

Connecting Adjectives

• Only connect if both adjectives share the same positive/negative quality. Otherwise, use が (formal) or けど (casual).

Negative Form and Short Form

Present Negative Conjugations

• ナ Adjectives and Nouns: Replace です with だ.

• る Verbs: Replace with ない.

• う Verbs: Replace with あない (with exceptions).

• Irregular Verbs: しる → しない, くる → こない, exceptions for ある → ない.

Expressing Thoughts and Requests

Forming Sentences

• Use short form with 思います (to think) to express beliefs.

• Example: (I) think that ... : (Sentence) と思います.

• Negative Form: I don't think that ...: (Sentence) と思います (with negation).

Making Requests

• To request someone not to do something use 〜verb neg short form + でください.

Examples and Practical Applications

Converting Verbs and Nouns

• Convert verb to noun: Verb (non-past short form) + の.

• Convert noun to verb: Noun + する.

Negative Constructs with 何

• Positive Statement: 何か (something).

• Question: 何か + affirmative statement or question.

• Negative sentence: 何も + negative (not anything).

Actions Not Completed

Present Perfect Constructs

• Example Constructs:

• もう〜ました = 'have already done'.

• まだ〜ていません = 'have not ~ yet'.

Causal Constructs with から

• Usage: 〜から means 'because' or 'therefore'.

• Example Sentences:

  • けさおそくおきました。だから新聞を読みませんでした。

    • 'I got up late this morning, therefore I did not read the newspaper.'

  • けさ新聞を読みませんでした。おそくおきたからです。

    • 'I did not read the newspaper because I got up late.'

  • きのう雨がふったから、かいものに行きませんでした。

    • 'It rained yesterday, so I did not go shopping.'