That kinda works, but what if we have ichidan verbs disguised as godan verbs? For example, we have 切る which is an godan and 着る which is an ichidan. Are all of these correct verbs negations?
着ぬ 着ん 切らぬ 切らん.
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Anonymous2012-05-28 11:29
>>362
They're correct. Verb conjugation is regular except for the repeat offenders, する せぬ and 来る 来ぬ(きぬ). I'm actually not sure if there are alternative conjugations/readings for that last one, it's a bother looking up stuff on the phone.
It's the difference between to watch and to see. You can see something without watching it.
I'm seeing a bird: The bird is withing your field of vision.
I'm watching a bird: You're actively following the bird with your eyes.
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Anonymous2012-05-28 18:05
I just saw this sentence:
通りすがりの転入生.
A transer student passing by.
I can understand the meaning easily enough, but how does the すがり part work gramatically? I can guess that it's some kind of conjugation of 過ぎる, but how does it differ?
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Anonymous2012-05-28 19:03
>>367
>I can guess that it's some kind of conjugation of 過ぎる, but how does it differ?
It's not. すがり comes from すがる. It's best to think of 通りすがり as a single word.
Actually, looking it up a little more, I can't find direct evidence that it comes from that verb, even though it makes logical sense. Nevertheless, it's still best learned as its own word (like 通りがかり).
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Anonymous2012-05-29 0:03
What word do you use to describe the relationship between senior executives and lower-level employees? ____ 関係
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Anonymous2012-05-29 0:27
>>370
上下関係 is the first thing that comes to my mind, although that isn't workplace-specific. Is this a test question or something?
が早いか (perhaps you have already looked it up) just means "the instant that", "as soon as", etc. だす when added to a verb stem indicates doing something in an "outward" direction or beginning an action. In this case it is the latter.
"As soon as (he/they/etc) got to the restaurant, (he/they/etc) began eating."
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Anonymous2012-05-29 9:10
>>376
Also, the grammar seems a little off. が早いか takes a verb in dictionary form. A better way of phrasing it would be レストランに着くが早いか (as soon as they arrived at the restaurant).
"Note that both 'といいですね' and 'といいんですが' mean that you are hoping that something nice *happens*. This means that these patterns cannot be used in cases where you hope to do soemthing nice, which is under your control."
Do they specifically mean that I can't use them if I, the speaker, am wishing for something nice that is under my control, or do they mean the subject? For example, could I use this pattern to say that I hope someone else gets into university, even though I can't use it for myself in the same situation?
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Anonymous2012-05-29 9:22
>>380
Using it for yourself getting into university is fine. You don't have explicit control over that. Saying you hope you yourself apply to university doesn't make sense (it doesn't in English either).
I had assumed it was more about meeting the offer. Sure, you do have control over the grades you get, I've heard plenty of "I hope I get so-and-so" regarding scores/grades.
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Anonymous2012-05-29 9:35
>>382
It's less "hope" and more "that'd be nice if, etc"
There's still an element that isn't fully under your control. Your instructor is the one who decides the final grade.
You can say 来年日本に行けるといいですね but not 来年日本に行くといいですね (talking about yourself). The only time you CAN say 行くといいですね is if there is something beyond your control involved (i.e., the very act of 'going' is beyond your control, such as being placed there on work).
Ok, say I were planning on going to Japan as long as I had enough money, but getting the money depended on something that wasn't in my control, such as someone deciding to lend it to me. Would I still use 来年日本に行けるといいですね?
Also, what kind of message would you be giving across using 来年日本に行くといいですね if you were being placed there on work? Is it something like "I've got no choice in the matter, but I'm not too bothered", or "I've wanted to, but now I couldn't say no even if I changed my mind", or what? Can't see what you'd be trying to get across, as opposed to just stating that you had to go there without the といいですね.
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Anonymous2012-05-29 11:16
>>385
Yes, because that's about being able to go, which is out of your control. Going itself is not.
>"I've got no choice in the matter, but I'm not too bothered"
Huh? Why would it be anything like this? In this situation 行くといいですね would mean "I hope I go (get placed) in Japan". Another situation this could be used is if there's a group of people deciding where to go for a trip, and one person wants to go to Japan, so he says to his friend (before they have finished deciding) 日本に行くといいですね "I hope (the group decides to) to go to Japan".
None of this is about being forced, I don't know why you'd assume that. It's about hoping for a good outcome.
Just to clarify, in the "being placed there on work" thing, the speaker hasn't actually been placed anywhere yet. He just knows he will be sent overseas/away. It wouldn't make any sense to say that if you already knew you were going to Japan.
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Anonymous2012-05-29 16:56
Are there any sites where I can learn Japanese phonology. I mean instructions how to really make the sounds with the position of tongue and everything. Not those "pronounce a bit like word cheese"
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Anonymous2012-05-29 22:25
I've only seen つまらない used as adjective, but what does it mean as a verb as in something like それをつまらない?
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Anonymous2012-05-30 0:05
>>389
Where have you seen that? That's not proper Japanese. You will potentially see つまらない (詰まらない) in the sense of "doesn't get clogged", but that has nothing to do with the idiomatic meaning of "boring" or "bored".
And anyway, that wouldn't take を anyway (intransitive).
It's likely you saw something like this (random google result):結果を受け止めたイチローは、それを「つまらない」という、やや荒っぽい言葉で表した。
This つまらない doesn't go with the を, it's part of a noun phrase (つまらないというやや荒っぽい言葉). それを goes with 表した.
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Anonymous2012-05-30 6:14
>>391
Hmm... that cleared up somewhat. The original sentence follows それをつまらない with a って particle but つまらない was not clearly put in square brackets or quotation marks or any of the kind so I'm not too sure.
Posting context like that helps with explanation. You should never assume that something is unrelated or unimportant if you're asking about a grammar pattern or word.
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Anonymous2012-05-30 20:23
Can someone explain the ~など grammar for me? Or link me to a site that does so.
It can be used at the end of a noun as a suffix or, rarely, on its own.
It's more so a written word, but it can be used sometimes in speeches or formal speaking.
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Anonymous2012-05-30 21:00
Which is the go-to word for "Twilight" or "Sunset"?
I've got Higure, Hakumei, Tasogare. Which one would I most likely use?
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Anonymous2012-05-30 21:27
>>397
日暮れ is more often used for temporal evening, literally when it gets dark out. We call that "twilight" too but obviously there's a big difference between the two. 黄昏 is more "twilight", in the poetic and temporal sense, and shares the verb 黄昏れる, which means both to become twilight (in terms of day) and to wade or decline, as in interest, health, life, etc.
I've rarely seen 薄命 used, except maybe once or twice in novels.
夕日（ゆうひ） is often used for the actual sunset (the setting sun) itself as well.
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Anonymous2012-05-31 19:06
Can you recommend any texts to read for practicing Japanese? I'm kinda running out of material. I'm at about 1200 Kanji and should not have any problems with grammar. Even if the texts are not meant for practicing Japanese. Maybe something like easier Visual Novels or Light Novels.