>>15
The auxiliary verb masu can be dropped without any additional word. Even in this case, it should be needed to conjugate the preceding word.
Probably the auxiliary verb desu cannot be left out without to add da or other; in some cases, that alternative word is unnecessary. I can't give an explantion of that pattern properly because of complexity.
Roughly speaking, if the preceding word is a noun, a pronoun or other substantive, da or something appropriate should be put, or the sentence gets irregular. Otherwise, if that word is an adjective or a main verb with/without the particle no, desu can be taken away instead of replacing. I can't explain any further...
For example :
お言葉ですが、お兄様 : The original sentence. The preceding word is a noun.
お言葉が、お兄様 : Strange. This means: "A word is my dear brother."
お言葉だが、お兄様 : OK. This means: "With all due respect, my dear brother."
かわいいネコちゃんですね : A noun and its suffix.
かわいいネコちゃんね : Maybe this is ok; lol, you might be called gay. This is the women's language!
かわいいネコちゃんだね : Right.
かわいいネコちゃん : This is sometimes ok but not enough.
ネコちゃんはかわいいです : An adjective.
ネコちゃんはかわいい : Correct.
ネコちゃんはかわいいのだ : Right, too. In such case, the particle no is needed besides da.
我々天狗は、幻想郷をずっと見守って来たのです : A verb.
我々天狗は、幻想郷をずっと見守って来たの : This is also the women's language and not complete.
我々天狗は、幻想郷をずっと見守って来たのだ : Good.
心の種が生まれそうです : An auxiliary verb.
心の種が生まれそう : Also ok but this is not perfect.
心の種が生まれそうだ : Correct.
いけない子なのです : An auxiliary verb and the particle no.
いけない子なの :This should be ok; Unless you are a woman nor.... This is the women's language too and not enough.
いけない子なのだ : Right.
こうですか？分かりません＞＜ : An adverb.
こうか？分からない＞＜ : Correct.
こうなのか？分からない＞＜ : Also ok.
By the way, Suiseiseki speaks desu too much and her usage is pretty odd like her eyes.
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Anonymous2011-04-12 12:08
[quote="Lenguas"][quote]It's not that Spanish isn't rich in literature, it's the stuff that I'd want to read has a highly specialized vocabulary that I've yet to learn[/quote]
I can already read books about linguistics, computers, and fitness in Spanish almost as well as I can in English, and your Spanish is probably more advanced than mine, so I'm sure you won't have any problems.[/quote]
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Anonymous2011-04-12 15:05
>>16
wait wait wait. Ending a sentence with only の is considered feminine? What about in the case of using it in place of か for a sentence?
>>16
Sorry I made an oversight.
If there is a main verb with the particle no just before desu, no can be deleted together with desu.
This sentence is also okay : 我々天狗は、幻想郷をずっと見守って来た
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Anonymous2011-04-13 1:21
>>18-20
People wouldn't regard you as a gay unless your Japanese is very fluent though.
>>24
床に踏んで looks incomprehensible. It reads like "Kick the door down onto the floor and trample it".
Did you try to write such a phrase as "step out"? If so, Japanese won't use 床 and 踏む.
"Step out of the floor (of the house) and .." : 家から(足を)踏み出して
= "Leave the house and .." : 家を出て
"Step into the floor (of the building) and .." : 建物に足を踏み入れて
= "Enter the building and .." : 建物に入って
"Step in the floor (of the road) and.." : 道路に(足を)踏み出して[踏み入れて]
= "Go to the road and .." : 道路に行って
Anyway, both 踏み出す and 踏み入れる are kind of grandiose.
>>28
"Drive (somebody) out!" or "What (you) want to say is: drive (somebody) out."
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Anonymous2011-04-14 20:16
>>29
More like: ”You said to throw/toss (it) out, right?”
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Anonymous2011-04-15 0:19
>>30
Thanks, that is probably it based on the context.
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Anonymous2011-04-15 9:17
How do you express 'about' in an interrogative sentence? For example, "What are you talking about?" or "What are you two arguing about?". In declarative sentences one of course uses について, に対して, or に関する, but these don't "feel" right with questions. Thank you.
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Japanese2011-04-15 10:45
>>28
Can't you hear me telling you to drive (someone) out?
>>32
What are you talking about?
［何について／何のことを］話しているんですか？
何の話をしているんですか？
What are you two arguing about?
［何について／何で／何のことで／どうして］もめているんですか？
「この機会を与えてくださってありがとうございます」
”Thank you for giving me this oppurtunity"
「学生達は気を散らすものを見かけたら、授業はすぐに大混乱になる傾向があります」
”When the students see something distracting, the class has the tendency to fall into disorder"
「転職することは自分勝手な決断なんですけど、将来にとって必要なことだと思います」
”This change of occupation is certainly a selfish decision but I think its necessary for my future."
「彼の夢が実現したけど、その夢の結果が社会に悪影響を及ぼすことに気が付きませんでした。」
”His dream had been realized but he was not aware that the results of that dream would have ill-effects on society"
I'll get right into it. I'm trying to translate a song, some lines are giving me grief. This is what I've got.
何度となく別れる別れないを繰り返して
Time and time again, we’ve broke-up and got back together
今度こそは最後 本当にお別れなんですね
This time is the last; it’s truly over now isn’t it?
「行かないで」
“Don’t go”
いつものように泣いてすがったなら
It always seemed like I would turn to crying
「もういいよ」って髪撫でてくれると思った
You would pat me on the head and tell me “It’s okay”
(何を話しても)伝わらなかった
(No matter what I said) I wasn’t able to tell you
(あなたの意志は)固かった 揺るがなかった
Your will was so strong, it never wavered
私の手をさっと振り払って
You quickly shook my hand off
虚しい悲鳴が激しく鳴り響いた
泣いているよあなたが恋しくてずっと
この手を離したらもう二度と会えないよ
Don’t let go of this hand, because we won’t meet again
「愛してる」だけではもう繋ぎ止めることはできない
(これが本当に) 最後のI Love You
(This is truly) the last “I Love You”
それでも仕事には行かなくちゃ 悲しみは隠さなきゃ
どうしようもなくなって一人になれるところを探した
家に帰ると返された合鍵寂しそうにぽつりと
まだ涙が止まらない
The tears won’t stop flowing
(あなたがいないよ)時間をもて余してる
(When you’re not here) I don’t know what to do with my time
(私たちの数年)こんなに簡単に消えちゃうなんて
(Our time together) it’s so easy to forget it
信じたくない やっぱり納得できない ah
I don’t believe it, and still I can’t comprehend it
このまま諦めたくない
I’m don’t’ want to give up like this
諦める訳ない I need to be your girl
I can’t give up - I need to be your girl
泣いているよあなたが恋しくてずっと
この手を離したらもう二度と会えないよ
Don’t let go of this hand, because we won’t meet again
「愛してる」だけではもう繋ぎ止めることはできない
(これが本当に) 最後のI Love You
(This is truly) the last “I Love You”
愛してるってもっと言えばよかったのに
It would have been great if I said “I love you” more often
もっとあなたの気持ち考えればよかったのに
It would have been great if I considered your feelings more
あの時あなたを引き止めればよかったの
It would have been great if I stopped you from leaving
愛した日々に戻りたい
I want to go back to the days you still loved me
本当にI need you
Truly, “I need you”
泣いているよあなたが恋しくてずっと
この手を離したらもう二度と会えないよ
Don’t let go of this hand, because we won’t meet again
「愛してる」だけではもう繋ぎ止めることはできない
(これが本当に) 最後のI Love You
(This is truly) the last “I Love You”
泣いているよあなたが恋しくてずっと
この手を離したらもう二度と会えないよ
Don’t let go of this hand, because we won’t meet again
「愛してる」だけではもう繋ぎ止めることはできない
(これが本当に) 最後のI Love You
(This is truly) the last “I Love You”
Work in progress.
(cont)
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WK2011-04-23 5:05
Hey all. First time poster here.
I'll get right into it. I'm trying to translate a song, some lines are giving me grief. This is what I've got.
泣いているよあなたが恋しくてずっと
is it "I am crying, but I will always love you"?
家に帰ると返された合鍵寂しそうにぽつりと
don't know where to start with this.
"The key to your house which i returned will seem to be lonely"
Bah. Might pour myself a cup of tea before looking at this again
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Anonymous2011-04-23 12:05
>>46-47
I'd begun to write this reply carelessly before I read all yours.
I see that lyrics as a story like this:
A woman has been dumped a short time ago. She had thought they were able to make peace but they didn't go well. She got home; want to make it up with him and is upset and repenting.
泣いているよあなたが恋しくてずっと is it "I am crying, but I will always love you"?
"I'm crying all the time because I miss you"
I think that 'ずっと' doesn't mention the future.
家に帰ると返された合鍵寂しそうにぽつりと don't know where to start with this.
家に帰ったとき、貴方に返された合鍵が寂しそうに見えた。その合鍵はぽつりとあった。 "The key to your house which i returned will seem to be lonely"
"When I got home, the duplicate key which you had returned seemed to be lonely and alone"
Bah. Might pour myself a cup of tea before looking at this again
Lol take it easy.
----
いつものように泣いてすがったなら It always seemed like I would turn to crying 「もういいよ」って髪撫でてくれると思った You would pat me on the head and tell me “It’s okay”
I'm sorry it is possible that I don't get yours properly though. I understand that like this:
"I thought if I turned to crying and clung to you as usual,
You would pat me on the head and tell me “It’s okay”"
虚しい悲鳴が激しく鳴り響いた
"My fruitless crying echoed bitterly"
Probably that means she really cried but he has gone.
「愛してる」だけではもう繋ぎ止めることはできない
"I can no longer bond you by simply saying "I Love You""
それでも仕事には行かなくちゃ 悲しみは隠さなきゃ
"Despite that, I must go to work and hide grief"
どうしようもなくなって一人になれるところを探した
"There was no way and I looked for where I can be alone"
(あなたがいないよ)時間をもて余してる (When you’re not here) I don’t know what to do with my time
" (I lost you)"
>(私たちの数年)こんなに簡単に消えちゃうなんて
>(Our time together) it’s so easy to forget it
"it’s so easy to lose it"
I think that represents she can't spend the time with him as well as before.
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WK2011-04-23 13:23
Your clarity is amazing.
How long have you been studying/speaking Japanese? I hope that someday I'll be able to translate as logically as you.
Props.
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WK2011-04-23 14:22
>それでも仕事には行かなくちゃ 悲しみは隠さなきゃ
I got: "And yet, I must go to work, I gotta hide my sadness"
I feel that she's saying "I have to work to keep busy, and I have to hide my sadness while doing it"
>いつものように泣いてすがったなら
>It always seemed like I would turn to crying
>「もういいよ」って髪撫でてくれると思った
>**and** You would pat me on the head and tell me “It’s okay”
These lines obviously run on into each other. What is the purpose of "なら" at the end of the first line? My translation ignored it but I think it's something I shouldn't have done (haha, my bad). I can definitely see now that your interpretation is correct.
>「愛してる」だけではもう繋ぎ止めることはできない
I checked tangorin and it suggest "to hold onto" for 繋ぎ止める. I'm very unsure of the meaning of this sentence because of the string of [だけではもう]
>(何を話しても)伝わらなかった
>(あなたの意志は)固かった 揺るがなかった
>私の手をさっと振り払って
>虚しい悲鳴が激しく鳴り響いた
I got: I wailed an empty cry which echoed
From the lines before, it seems the guy has already left and she's crying as a result.
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Anonymous2011-04-24 0:34
I'm attempting to read Harry Potter in Japanese and need an elegant way to translate という and というのが both in the context of the two sentences provided and in a general sense. These concepts are very elusive to me. Thank you.
それどころか、ダーズリー夫人は妹などいないというふりをしていた。
どこを探したってこんなにできのいい子はいやしない、というのが二人の親バカの意見だった。
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Anonymous2011-04-24 10:39
>>49-50
When I was born, I heard Japanese because I came to this great stage of japs. Haha, my English is not good enough yet so I feel similarly. I'm sure that your translation is more polished.
>それでも仕事には行かなくちゃ 悲しみは隠さなきゃ
Do you mean her thought is "I'm able to hide my sadness by keeping busy"? That sounds good.
I feel she thinks "I have to work even though I'm rather sad". In other words, perhaps her purpose is working and hiding the sadness is necessary for doing it.
>「愛してる」だけではもう繋ぎ止めることはできない
「愛している」と言うだけでは、もう以前のように、貴方を私のもとに繋ぎ止めておくことはできない
The object of that '繋ぎ止める' must be 'you'(the guy). In this case, probably the meaning of the verb is like 'tie' or 'keep'. That should express keeping him in love with her.
>虚しい悲鳴が激しく鳴り響いた
I see your interpretation is pretty reasonable. She wouldn't able to talk over with him after she began to cry.
>>51
That seems difficult. In your case, each という/というのが makes the previous words a clause. As for というのが, maybe it is the combination of という and the particle の and the case particle が.
I found JK's original sentences. That is not a literal translation though.
それどころか、ダーズリー夫人は妹などいないというふりをしていた。
"In fact, Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, .."
'THAT' between 'pretended' and 'she' is left out. という corresponds to this 'THAT'.
どこを探したってこんなにできのいい子はいやしない、というのが二人の親バカの意見だった。
"..and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere."
My literal retranslation of that Japanese sentence: "The opinion of two doting parents WAS THAT no matter where anybody sought, there was no kid as fine as him(=Dudley).
というのが is equivalent to this 'WAS THAT'.
In this examples, "A という B" means like "B that is A".
未来から来たという女: The woman WHO came from the future
$10,000以上の価値があるという株: The stock WHICH is worth $10,000 or more
彼が上司に辞表を出すという決断: The decision THAT he will hand in his resignation to the boss
生きるということは戦うということ: TO live is TO fight
煙草を吸うというのが彼の悪癖だ: His bad habit IS TO smoke a cigarette
In this examples, "A という B" means like "B CALLED/NAMED A".
日本という国: The country NAMED Japan
愛という狂気: The madness CALLED love
変態という名の紳士: Gentlemen NAMED hentai (=Gentlemen whose names ARE hentai)
『欲望という名の電車』: "A Streetcar NAMED Desire"
今日という特別な日: The special day CALLED today
When a setence ends with という, the word means like 'say', 'tell', 'hear' or so on. It is often ignorable.
私ははっきりという: I say clearly
命に別状はないという: It is not life-threatening (=I heard it was not life-threatening)
彼女は既に結婚しているという: She has already been married (=I heard that...)
Are there any firefox addons which convert the writing system to romaji? I'm mainly having trouble with kanji and hirigana, and I've been trying to find something simple that lets me highlight anything I don't know and convert it to romaji. I suppose I could just keep a tab up with a converter though.
I don't recommended studying Japanese with romaji. Force yourself to use kana until you know it. Flash cards too. It's not very difficult and should only take a week or two.
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Anonymous2011-04-24 18:42
How would one say: "Do you like being punished?"
My idea: 「（あなたは）罰せられるのが好きですか？」
What a phenomenal explanation. It seems from your explanation that という is essentially another way Japanese circumvents not having relative pronouns. Would you say that is a fair interpretation? Thank you once again.
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Anonymous2011-04-24 20:48
挙法の体さばきはにんな感じなんですけど
Can someone translate this? It is supposedly poetic I think, not sure.
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WK2011-04-25 7:32
Yeah, studying Japanese with romaji's bad because you're never going to use it anyway after you learn the kana. It's like wasted effort.
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Anonymous2011-04-25 7:56
>>55
Your idea could come across though. Is that said to ask if the hearer is a masochist?
If so, good ways are:「（あなたは）虐められるのが好きですか？」, 「（あなたは）いたぶられるのが好きですか？」, but these are probably too polite for that sort of situation.
During such a training: 「（お前は）虐められるのが好きか？」, 「（お前は）いたぶられるのが好きか？」
>>57
"The tai sabaki of kung-fu is like this/that though/but."
That is not poetic but colloquial. That にんな感じ is mistaken for こんな感じ. けど is similar to "though". The word is originally a conjunction; some Japanese, especially youth, finish sentences with it. That way is not good though.
"Tai sabaki" cannot be easily translated. It's written on Wikipedia for some reason, so please read that article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_sabaki
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WK2011-04-25 18:52
Japanese anon, if it's possible, could you give me a quick rundown of obsolete speech used by old dudes? Or better yet link me to a Japanese page which explains it?
Like washi from watashi
da to ja
ne to na/nou
te iru -> te oru
Wait. Genki stated that 誰か is not to be used together with は、が、も particles(lessons 8,10). However after seeing >>43 post I googled and looks like it's used:
"映画『誰かが私にキスをした』公式サイト".
Tae Kim's guide uses 誰かが too (http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/question)
So what does it mean? Have I been trolled by genki? Or ga/ha/wo can be omitted optionally?
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Anonymous2011-04-26 11:25
>>61
誰か can be used with が in cases where it is necessary to show that the "someone" of the sentence is the subject and performs the action therein. In cases where it would be used with は and も, the particle is omitted. However, it is often used with directional sentences as with に and から.
「外出する間に誰か｛が｝留守番電話にメッセージを入れました」
"Someone left a message on the answering machine while we were out"
「誰か｛Ｘ｝最後の１個のピザ欲しいですか？」
"Does someone want the last piece of pizza?"
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Anonymous2011-04-26 12:05
>>61
In addition to >>62 , the COMBINATION of the word 誰 and the particle か is used with that particles.
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Anonymous2011-04-28 3:50
Is there ever a situation where a compound word ends and after it immediately a new word starts, without any hiragana between the two words? I'd imagine that is very likely possible but since I haven't read anything 'more advanced' text, I don't know. In that situation I'd just need to know where the word ends and a new one starts?
Sounds fucking hard with words like 自動販売機 to know where they end.
>>64
Yes it happens all the time actually. just think of it as nouns acting as adjectives for other nouns.
In your example you use all only On-yomi. so じどうはんばいき
another example is "International education center" 国際教育センター
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Anonymous2011-04-29 14:47
>>66
And now I realized I answered your question wrong.
Just gotta memorize words...
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Anonymous2011-05-01 16:01
This is a MUCH more noobish question then everyone elses, but I'm looking over my japanese review and am for some reason totally spacing out on this one.
It's a correction question, where the first sentence is wrong and needs to be corrected.
First sentence:
きのう、デパートで何も買いました。
Second sentence:
きのう、デパートで何も買いませんでした。
My derp question is, what is the form of かう in the second sentence?
And why must it be changed to that form?
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Anonymous2011-05-01 18:44
>>68 what is the form of かう in the second sentence?
It is i form and ません makes negative forms.
And why must it be changed to that form?
Do you not use 何も as "nothing"? It means like "anything".
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Anonymous2011-05-01 19:20
I could use some help understanding the last part of this section:
「砂漠に咲く一輪の花」……
そう呼ばれた時期もあった……
ということにしておいてくれ
First of all, this is a young lady saying this line to another young lady if that adds any context. I believe the first two lines mean, "'The lone flower that blooms in the desert' is what I was once called..." However, I'm unsure of the last line. If someone could help break down the usage of "にして", "おいて", and "くれ" and how they fit together, that would be very helpful.
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Anonymous2011-05-01 21:57
>>70
>ということにしておいてくれ
>And I'd prefer you leave it that way
Literally, ということ (that which was just said), にしておく (to leave as is), くれる (after the te-form, to do for one's benefit, though the use of the imperative form indicates a command)
A little less time on Precure, a little more time studying.
"買いました" implies you bought something already, this contradicts the "何も".
Let's look at a similar statement, you should be able to recognize the logic afterward.
"I haven't done it yet"
＞まだしなかった。
＞まだしてない。
The second one is correct. Why? The action was not performed, as opposed to the first statement where the action was performed. Just remember negation is necessary in all parts of the sentence for the logic to flow for Japanese.
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Anonymous2011-05-02 10:51
何も can only be used in negative sentences.
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Anonymous2011-05-02 18:51
>>71
It's not from Precure. It's from Busou Shinki. But thanks anyway.
vos debes ser un peruano indocumentado en estados unidos
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Anonymous2011-05-04 21:05
What is the difference between saying:
最近、彼女は変になる。
and
最近、彼女は変になってきた。
I would guess that the first case means, "Lately, she is becoming strange," and the second one means, "Lately, she has become strange." "ってきた" means that something has happened, right?
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Anonymous2011-05-05 2:46
>最近、彼女は変になる
常態。
>最近、彼女は変になってきた。
予兆。
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Anonymous2011-05-05 4:06
>>77
First: "Lately, she (sometimes) becomes strange."
Second: "Lately, she has (gradually) become strange." "ってきた" means something has already happened; in many cases, it also means the thing is still running.
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Anonymous2011-05-06 5:28
Could someone translate this for me please?
It's about a resin kit,so " kito" in the sentence refers to the resin kit.
I only understand " thank you very much"
ありがとうございます！！次回はキットに出来ないくらいのモノにしようとおもっちょります！
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Anonymous2011-05-06 11:21
>>80
"Thank you very much!! I think next time I will create a work which will look unable to be made as a kit."
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Anonymous2011-05-07 0:36
I already finished 250 pages of genki and still don't feel that I grasp anything harder than "それは猫です。猫はかわいいですね。私はかわいい猫が好きです。"
Genki has grammar in lessons, but they use grammar from previous lessons so rarely, that I already forgot most of it. Short dialogs do not help either.
Am I doing something wrong?
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Anonymous2011-05-07 2:54
What's the best place to find Japanese subtitles for movies? Opensubtitles has some but are there any other?
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Anonymous2011-05-07 9:03
fuck off subfag
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Anonymous2011-05-08 7:38
>>83
Generally, you don't. Try downloading the DVD versions from Perfect Dark, they'll often have subtitles (though often not word-for-word). All in all, if a piece of Japanese media doesn't have subtitles, it's probably better to play it by ear anyway (pause or slow down the movie if necessary/possible).
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Anonymous2011-05-08 14:42
>>85
Isn't here anyone making subs for illegally downloaded English movies? In my country almost every new movie gets an amateur made translation released in the internet.
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Anonymous2011-05-09 2:52
What's the best way to start learning for an absolute, 0-knowledge beginner? I've tried to start learning before, but I could never get any sort of progress, since I couldn't find any sort of structured plan for how to learn in any online resource.
Not to mention most of the resources I could find were of dubious quality...
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Anonymous2011-05-09 5:56
Hey, if anyone could help me with a couple things, I'd really appreciate it.
Basically, there's just a few grammar points that I'm getting hung up on. Currently, I'm trying to translate the following:
"I want to study abroad in Canada next year, but I don’t like the English professor, so I can’t go. I can’t get him to write a letter of recommendation."
Right now, I have:
Rainen Canada ni benkyoushi ni ikitai, ga eigo no sensei ga kirai desu kara, ikemasen. Watashi ni suisenjo o kaite kureraremasen.
I think I have the gist of the first sentence down, but if you see any fatal flaws please fix them. As for the second sentence, I'm pretty stumped. I know that I have to work in 'ndesu' form in there somehow, but I'm not sure how. As for the garbled mess at the end, I translated writing a letter of recommendation as "suisenjo o kaite kureraremasen" (te form and kureru because it's a favor, and then I attempted potential form to make it kurerareru, which I don't even think is right).
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Anonymous2011-05-09 6:17
>>88
I'm not sure exactly what you want, but I'll give at it what I can.
For the first sentence, "ga" shouldn't by itself. "ikitaindesuga" would work better. Saying straight out "kirai" seems a bit harsh to me, but instead of "desu kara", "nanode" might be better. But I don't really like how it's "eigo no sensei", but at your level, I'm sure it's fine. Not sure about the need for the second comma though.
Seond sentence, I'd add "Sensei ha" to clarify, and "ni" should be "no". Something like "Sensei ha watashi no suisenjo wo kaite kuremasen".
Again, I'm not exactly sure of your situation, but I hope it won't be written in romaji
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Anonymous2011-05-09 6:31
>>89
Yeah, I'm a first year student so some of my constructs will definitely sound harsh, given the tools I have available.
For the second sentence, I just feel like kuremasen would imply something like "He didn't write a letter of recommendation" as opposed to something like "I can't get him to write one." Is that wrong? We just learned potential form so I feel like he's trying to stuff it in as much as possible.
And since that's explaining why the speaker can't go, would that not need ndesu?
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Anonymous2011-05-09 7:06
>>90
Actually, I think what I wrote should be "Sensei ga". Anyway, it's more like "He won't write my recommendation". I know it's not exactly the same, but I"m having trouble coming up with a way to rephrase the sentence.
"Sensei (wo) suisenjo wo kaku koto settoku dekimasen"
Would be something like "I can't persuade teacher to write my recommendation"
Sorry if there are any grammatical errors. I only speak in Japanese, so I can only say what "feels" right. I may not be the best person to help you, but it seemed like you needed help quick.
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Anonymous2011-05-09 9:21
>>88
"I want to study abroad in Canada next year, but I don’t like the English professor, so I can’t go. I can’t get him to write a letter of recommendation."
First, using "Canada ni benkyoushi ni ikitai" to designate that you want to study abroad sounds a little stinted. Using 留学する instead flows better (because that's what it actually means). Also, the construction "stem+ni+iku" operates much better in short-term sentences like "going/went to play golf". The result sounds like "I'm going to go to Canada to study (for bit but I'll be back)".
If you're at the college level, 先生 can be exchanged with 教授, though it isn't entirely necessary. You might as well learn it now though.
Saying （人）がきらい of anyone is not only rude but makes you sound slightly childish. （人）があまり好きじゃない puts some distance between you and the person but still manages to communicate that you don't really like them.
If you want to literally say "I can't go" you're right to use 行けない but that leads me to question exactly why. The potential form in and of itself denotes that you are able or unable to perform a task, not that you are not being permitted to do so.
The sentence "I can’t get him to write a letter of recommendation" can be worded in many ways, largely because it's idiomatic in English ("GET someone to do A" meaning "MAKE someone do A"). Though its possible to use causative form here, I opted to again respect the professor in question. 書いてもらう literally means "to receive the writing of" though the "te-form+morau" construction is often translated as "to get someone to etc." Used in conjunction with ことが出来ない, this shows that you are unable to do such. "Watashi ni suisenjo o kaite kurenai" is not wrong grammatically or situationally (though it is written in eye-bleeding romanji) it just says "(The professor) will not write me a letter of recommendation", eschewing the idea that you are unable to provoke him.
Also, learn hiragana now.
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Anonymous2011-05-09 11:34
>>88
In short, a bad relationship with the prof makes you difficult to study abroad, doesn't it? If so, that pair of sentences looks a bit disconnected.
You may as well use "eigo no kyouju to no kankei ga yoku nai node"(the relationship with the English professor is not good, so..) instead of "suki" or "kirai". That clarifies the cause, and is gentler than representing that feeling directly.
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Anonymous2011-05-09 22:09
この板はスパムだらけだよね
この調子では死んでしまう
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Anonymous2011-05-10 9:06
I guess japs hate this pirated edition of 2chan and want to drive out this site. If not, why spams are always written in kanji?
Hello everyone! I have 2 question for you guys.
1) Regarding giving/receiving verbs; i don`t get what this `circle of family` is, i know the main use of ageru, kureru, morau (morau also seems confusing).
2) Anyone care to explain how verbs works? i`m talking about transitive and intransitive + their particles.
Thanks all.
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Anonymous2011-05-11 21:06
I'm wondering how to say "If people keep saying things like that, I might actually start to believe it".
Can someone help explain the meaning of "そんなんで"? Is it a contraction of some sort?
For example, in the phrase "そんなんで大丈夫なんですか？" I think it means, "Is something like that okay?" with "something like that" = "そんなんで".
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Anonymous2011-05-12 4:49
Hello minna! Anyone care to explain me the `dressing` verbs? I know there are like 3-4 different verbs that you use with different clothing pieces. Thanks all
>>102
履く ＝ to wear on lower body (pants, shoes, underwear)
着る ＝ to wear on total body (suit, kimono) or upper body (shirt)
被る ＝ to wear on the head (hat, your ass)
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Anonymous2011-05-13 1:47
Now that I'm done with the first RTK, I'm thinking of doing Tae Kim's Grammar Guide and learning vocab along the way from anki.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed from here on out?
I've heard Byki is pretty good.
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Anonymous2011-05-13 11:08
Does anyone else think its funny that 時,寺,侍,持 can all be read as "ji"?
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Anonymous2011-05-13 22:21
>>106
No. >>105
Kanji damage, news sites, dramas, music, games, TV shows.