japanese/genki-lesson-10
tags
Comparison Between Two Items
- Adjectives don’t change form in comparative sentences, there is no process to transform a word from something like great → greater
- The idea of a comparison of two items can be expressed as the following
- Aの==ほうが==B1==より== (Property) → A is more (Property) than B
中国のほうが日本より大きいです
China is larger than Japan.
- To ask a question comparing two items, the following can be said:
- AとBと どちらのほう・2どっちのほう が (Property)
[!example] A: 日本とカナダとどちらのほうが寒いですか B: カナダのほうが寒いです
A: Which is colder, Japan or Canada? B: Canada is colder
Comparison Among Three or More Items
- When comparing three or more items, the degree qualifier 一番（いちばん）is used. $$ \left{ \begin{array}{l} \text{A と B と C} \ \text{Category X} \end{array} \right} \underline{の中で} A が 一番 \text{ (property)}。 $$
A is the most (property) among [items]
Example 1:
A: カナダとフランスと日本の中で、どこがいちばん寒いですか B: カナダがいちばん寒いと思います
A: Among Canada, France, and Japan, which country is the coldest? B: Canada is the coldest, I think
Example 2:
A: 季節の中でいつが一番好きですか B: 秋が一番好きです
A: What season do you like the best? B: I like fall the most
Note that のほう and どっち are not used in statements comparing three more items. Normal question words are used instead 3, such as:
だれ、どれ、何、いつ、どこ
どれ vs 何
[!example] りんごとみかんとさくらんぼの中で、==どれ==がいちばん好きですか Which do you like best apples, oranges, or cherries?
果物の中で、何が一番好きですか What fruit do you like best?
Adjective/Noun + の
- When a noun follows an adjective, and it is clear what you’re referring to, the noun can be replaced with the indefinite noun: の, or “one,” to avoid repetition. の usually stands for things, not people.
- If you want to refer to a person indefinitely, you can use 人 in place of の, as in 頭がいい人.
- The use of の to indicate people is largely limited to sentences such as あそこで歌っているのは田中さんです
- Describing a person with 〜のは first, and then naming them with 〜です
$$ \left{ \begin{array}{l} \text{い-adjective} \ \text{な-adjective} \end{array} \right}
- \underline{\text{noun}} \quad \rightarrow \quad \left{ \begin{array}{l} \text{い-adjective} \ \text{な-adjective} \end{array} \right}
- \underline{\text{の}} $$
Example 1:
私は黒いセーターを持っています。赤いのも持っています
I have a black sweater. I have a red one, too.
Example 2
ケーキがたくさんあります。好きなの持っていてください。 We have a lot of cakes. Take the ones you like.
- の can also be used in the sense of “mine,” and “yours,” and so on. Referring to things owned by a person, or characterized by a place name
Example 1
A: これはソラさんのかばんですか B: いいえ、それはメアリーさんのです
A: Is this Sora’s bag? B: No, that’s Mary’s
Example 2
アメリカの車のほうが日本のより大きいです American cars are larger than Japanese ones.
〜つもりだ
- つもり follows verbs in the present short form to describe future intent of a person. You can also use a negative verb + つもり to describe what you are planning not to do, or what you do not intend to do
verb (short, present) + つもりだ → (I) intend to do…
Example 1
（私は）週末にたけしさんとテニスをするつもりです
I intend to play tennis with Takeshi this weekend
Example 2
山下先生は明日大学に来ないつもりです
Professor Yamashita does not intend to come to school tomorrow
- The past tense can be used to talk about original intentions, which never materialized.
お寺を見に行くつもりでしたが、天気がよくなかったから、行きませんでした
We were planning to visit a temple, but we didn’t because the weather was not good
Adjective + なる
- なる means “to become,” indicating a change. なる follows nouns and both types of adjectives.
- い-adjectives
- 暖かい → 暖かくなる to become warm
- With い-adjectives, the final い is dropped and く is added, just like with negative conjugations
- になる does not work for い-adjectives ❌
- な-adjectives
- 静か（な）→ 静かになる to become quiet
- Nouns
- 会社員 → 会社員になる to become a company employee
Example 1
日本語の勉強が楽しくなりました。
Studying Japanese became fun.
Example 2
日本語の勉強が好きになりました。
I have grown to like studying Japanese more.
Combining Comparisons with なる
- Using an adjective with なる you can describe an absolute change (“It has become warm”) or relative change(“It has become warmer than before”). If you want to make clear that you are speaking in relative terms, you can use the comparison pattern together with なる.
メアリーさんは前より日本語が上手になりました。
Mary has become better at Japanese than before
どこかに・どこにも
- As with 何か and 何も, other expressions for “some” and “any” in Japanese follow this pattern
- Something → 何か_
- Someone → だれか_
- Somewhere → どこか_
- As with the opposites
- Not anything → 何_も
- Not anyone → だれ_も
- Not anywhere → どこ_も
- You do not need the particles は, が, or を with these words. Directionality and locality particles are needed in the places of the underlines above.
Example 1
A: どこかへ行きましたか。 B: いいえ、どこへも行きませんでした。
A: Did you go anywhere? B: No, I didn’t go anywhere.
Example 2
A: だれかに会いました B: いいえ、だれにも会いまっせんでした。
A: Did you see anyone? B: No, I didn’t see anyone.
Example 3
A: 何かしましたか B: いいえ、何もしませんでした
A: Did you do anything? B: No, I didn’t do anything.
で
- The で particle can be used with nouns that describe the means of transportation and instruments you use.
- When going by foot, 歩いて does not require a following で, so to go by bus is ==バスで行きます== but to go by foot is ==歩いて行きます==
With
はしでご飯を食べます
We eat our meals with chopsticks
In
日本語で話しましょう
Let’s talk in Japanese
By
バスで駅に行きました
I went to the station by bus
On
テレビで映画を見ました
I saw a movie on TV
Footnotes
-
In practice, it’s common to see variations of where Aのほうが and Bより may appear throughout the sentences. Think of のほうが as a strengthener and より as a weakener. So regardless of the position, item A(attached to のほうが) will always be more
property xthan item B (attached to より). ↩ -
In place of どちらのほう and どっちのほう, you can simply use どちら and どっち. どっち and どっちのほう are a bit more colloquial than the どちら forms, but all can be used equally. ↩
-
It’s common to use どれ when a list of items is presented, and to use 何 when a collective group is referenced. ↩