Nagoya Day 40: Solving a Thorny Grammar Issue

The perennial problem behind「が」and 「は」

Not many people can explain these two particles very well and the only decent looking answer can be found online at Lang-8 right here. There were too many difficult words so I gave up trying to understand it. In any case, I was about to ask my teacher in class today when she gave out a handout on the difference between が and は and it finally cleared up any doubts I had about them.

Indeed, there are 4 rules governing their usage:

First: When there is new information or a new focus being presented

For 「は」the new information / focus is before the particle, and for 「が」the new information / focus is after the particle.

For example:
これは私の好きな本です
“私の好きな本” is the new information because ”これ” is already known to people and you’re making a statement as to what it is.

男の人が来ました。その男の人は眼鏡をかけていました。
”男の人” is the new information because “来ました” is known and it is most likely linked to the question “誰が来ました？”
”眼鏡をかけていました” is a new information that complements the man.

The second rule: When describing contrast (This is pretty clear-cut so I’ll keep it short)
{ Aは〜。でも、Bは〜] or [Aは〜が、B〜]

土曜日は忙しいです。でも、日曜日は暇です。
Saturday is busy, but Sunday is free.

The third rule: 目や耳に入ってきた時の「が」: [が] is used when you’re giving a neutral description, based on your senses

空が青いです。
The sky is blue.

店の前に女の人が立っています。
The woman is standing in front of the shop.

雨が降っています。
The rain is falling.

And the last rule: When the subject is part of the main clause, use は, when the subject is part of the subordinate clause, use が.

友達が来るので (subordinate)、私は部屋を掃除しなくちゃ行けません (main)。
Because my friend is here, I have to clean up the house.

母が作る (subordinate)ケーキはいつもおいしいです (main)。

ルームメートが帰ってきてから、(私を)ご飯を食べます。
If I am the person eating, then my roommate who has come back is considered a subordinate clause.
ルームメートは帰ってきてから、(ルームメートを) ご飯を食べます。
If my friend is the one eating, him coming back becomes the main clause and is given the は particle.

Now that’s quite a lot of description for just two particles, but I shall keep working on them to make sure I get them right all the time.

Meanwhile, in class, our teacher played the track of “Let it go” from Frozen, and it was pretty fun to see it translated to Japanese. I spent some time trying to decipher the words and of course the grammar. I’m going to compile the notes soon.

ありのままで：Let It Go

Righto! Gotta start revising for a test this Thursday and Friday. There’s lots to prepare for, so time to go on full gear. Yaaarrrrr.

 

 

 

Nagoya Day 29: Conversations (Part 1)

At the Japan Plaza, I met Ikue and Nao again, where we made these wooden rubber band guns for a small tanabata festival (タナ祭) that is going to be held next week. So these are called 割り箸デップ（わりばし: disposable wooden chopsticks). There are going to be small games and prizes to be won, but it ultimately seems to be a day of hope. That’s my first impression; let’s see how it goes.

割り箸デップ

Meanwhile, this post will be about small conversations, and of course a few words learned along the way. So I was asking about how to give a present to someone, because in Japan, there are many ways of speaking before giving that present. For example, I tried to create the question first and asked her to confirm:

つまらないものけど、とってください。
This literally means: Even though this is a boring thing, please take it.

It wasn’t polite enough and I knew it, so she corrected me and this is how it goes:

つまらないものですが、おわせになってので、うけとってください。
This is a boring thing, but because I’m shifting my responsibility to you, please receive it.

Pretty interesting I must say, and really long just to give a gift. Gotta say it quickly to avoid awkwardness.

I also found out how to complement people, a very important thing especially when you really mean it. Like for example, when you want to say the person is well-dressed, or smart, or splendid. Here you go:

立派（りっぱ – rippa）: Splendid, Excellent, Good

お洒落（おしゃれ – oshare）: Trendy and Fashionable. (Used for streets, objects, appearance)

賢い（かしこい – kashikoi）: Smart; Intelligent (Also: 頭がいい)

And if you want to know what that person thinks about something, use this phrase:

どう思っている (dou omotteiru)
For example (例えば):
ジャパンプラザについて、他の日本人がどう思っている？
Regarding the Japan Plaza, what do other people think about it?

Two days ago

Two days ago, I went for a night out with Ryoji, and he always takes the time to teach me stuff. That day, he taught me a few adverbs that seem really important:

ほとんど：mostly, nearly.
ほとんど人がポップコーンを食べながら、映画を見ています。
Almost all people eat popcorn while watching a movie.

たまに：Occasionally
私はたまに映画を見ます。
I occasionally watch movies.

しかし：But
電車にのりおくれた、しかし授業が遅刻しなかった。
I missed the train, but I was not late for class.

つまり：That is to say; in other words
(insert sentence before), つまり (reinterpret sentence)

なぜ：Another way of saying “Why”. Other ways include どうして、何で, but なぜ is the most polite way of doing so.

I’d love to go on, but breakfast and a quick revision for a test later beckons. Maybe I’ll have a conversations part 2, because there are have been lots so far.

Nagoya Day 27: The「と」Particle, Charades and Haikus

Today I’m gonna recap a little of the lessons I learnt today, starting with the most interesting thing: Haikus.

Haiku (俳句)

The Haiku is a short poem with 3 constraints. First, and most obviously, are the syllables. The haiku follows a 5,7,5-syllable structure. The next constraint is that it needs to make some reference to the seasons (autumn, winter, spring, summer). and lastly, there needs to be a cutting word to indicate contrast in ideas or a new idea being introduced. For example:

草臥れて                 When worn out
宿かるころや       And seeking an inn:
藤の花                     Wisteria flower

– 松尾芭蕉 (Matsuo Bashō)

In this situation, the wisteria flower serves as a reference to nature. The hardiness of the plant could mean lots of things, possibly as inspiration to the weary traveler, or possibly the attitude the traveler took when seeking the inn.

Some notes on Japanese aesthetics:

According to my teacher, the Japanese like to create words of 4 syllables. For example, たとえば、コンビニ、あつめる、ここのか. As a result, the use of 5 & 7 syllables creates an uneven irregular aural experience for the listener.

In addition, Bashō leaves out just enough information to give us the setting, but not telling us about the real feelings of the traveler. The wisteria flower invokes a deep imagery in our minds, and we’re left to fill in the blanks.

We also had a little debate in class about the famous haiku by Bashō on the frog in an ancient pond:

 

 

 

 

古池や　　　An old pond
蛙飛び込む     Frog jumps into
水の音              The sound of water

The professor translated it this way:

Serene ancient pond
In dives a lonely toad
Sound of the water.

The poem could be translated in so many ways depending on the interpretation of the words. In Japanese, it is ambiguous as to whether something is in plural or singular form, so it is purely up to the reader to decide. Also, the simplicity of the poem is such that it strips away all the complex interpretive qualities that we attach to an event and states it simply as it is. As a result, we start introducing our own conceptions of what the piece means and that makes the piece of art complete.

The 「と」Particle

The と particle, in addition to meaning “and”, can also be used to connect two events in another way. Let’s say “A と B”, then the sentence structure is as follows:

When A happens, B always happens.

The idea is something like an inevitable consequence caused by natural disasters, phenomena, or human made inevitable consequences. Example:

秋になると、天気が寒くなります。
When autumn arrives, the weather gets colder.

本を読むと、眠くなる。
When I read a book, I become sleepy.

An important grammatical point: When B happens to be an いーadjective, the い will be changed to a くなる. For example おいしい　will be conjugated to be おいしくなる. If B is a なーadjective, then a になる will be attached to it. For example, 元気 will be conjugated to 元気になる. Here are more sample sentences:

電気を点けると、明るくなります。
When the light is turned on, it becomes bright

お酒を飲み過ぎると、頭が痛くなります。
When I drink a lot of sake, my head starts to hurt.

The particle と can be used to explain directions too. For example:

ますぐいくと、銀行があります。
When you go straight, there will be a bank.

右行くと、花屋さんがいます。
When you turn right, there will be a florist.

Charades

In grammar class, we played charades! This was so fun. Essentially, the teacher cut out sample sentences, and made us act them out. Then everyone else had to guess the sentence, grammar included. In our guesses, we had to use 「ながら」, which is used when one person does two things at the same time. For example:

キムさんは音楽を開きながら、勉強しています。
While Kim listens to music, she studies as well.

I’m definitely gonna try this out when I get back to Singapore.

For the next post, I’m going to do a quick reflection on life as a student at Nanzan, which should provide a good summary of what I’m really doing here. Also, I’ll write about some challenges I’m facing, particularly in studying, money and time management. Cheerios!

 

Nagoya Day 26: Transitivity Pairs「他動詞と自動詞」

My time here in Japan is about learning Japanese after all, so this post will be on a new grammar point I’m learning.

他動詞：Transitive Verbs – Action done by someone
自動詞：Intransitive Verbs – Action done to the object

What’s important about this?

Transitive verbs describe activities. Intransitive verbs describe changes.

For example: “落とす(otosu): To drop” v.s. “落ちる(ochiru): Something drops”.

When treated with a ~ている, they have different effects. Transitive verbs with a ~ている added to it describe states of action, while intransitive verbs with a ~ている added to it describe states of being. Thus, continuing with the previous example: 落としている would describe something in the process of falling, while 落ちている would describe something that has fallen.

The trouble comes when trying to memorize all the different forms for transitive and intransitive verbs. They don’t really have a clear pattern that is common to all of them. Here’s a list to give you an idea.

TransitiveIntransitive
開ける (akeru)　　　開く(aku)
閉める (shimeru)　　閉まる (shimaru)
沸かす (wakasu) 　　沸く(waku)
点ける (tsukeru) 　　点く(tsuku)
壊す (kowasu) 　　　壊れる (kowareru)
汚す (yogosu)      　　汚れる (yogoreru)
出す (dasu) 　　　　出る (deru)
入れる (ireru) 　　　入る (hairu)
消す (kesu) 　　　　消える (kieru)

Initial Strategy

This will be my initial strategy: As I read out the word, I will act it out. For example, for 開ける(akeru), I will act out opening the door and for 開く(aku), I will act out the door being opened. Iterate a few times, and hopefully it sinks in. The target is to have the word come so naturally that I don’t have to think about it anymore.

To combine my previous strategies, I will also need to create the environment to use these words. Thus, when I see something in a particular state of being, I will try to call it out, for example, in the state of being broken, or in the midst of breaking something.

Righto, got a Kanji test tomorrow. Strategy? I’ve tried writing them down and reciting them as I wrote them. I’m off to bed now, but when I wake up, I’ll use some flash cards to try writing them out in 2 ways. One, when looking at the hiragana, I try to write the kanji, and next, when looking at the kanji, I try to write the hiragana.

The most rewarding thing about studying a language, is when in the end, you find a use for it almost immediately, and you’re able to have someone understand what you’re saying. It’s so addictive!!