Vocabulary

ナイフ(na i fu)

knife

フォーク(fo o ku)

fork

ステーキ(su te e ki)

steak

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

本(ほん)

book

雑誌(ざっ・し)

magazine

葉書(はがき)

postcard

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

友達(とも・だち)

friend

話す(はな・す) u-verb

to speak

先生(せん・せい)

teacher

会う(あ・う) u-verb

to meet

The と particle is similar to the も particle in that it contains a meaning of inclusion. It can combine two or more nouns together to mean “and”.

1. ナイフ(na i fu)とフォーク(fo o ku)でステーキ(su te e ki)を食べた(た・べた)。
   Ate steak by means of knife and fork.

2. 本(ほん)と雑誌(ざっ・し)と葉書(はがき)を買った(か・った)。
   Bought book, magazine, and post card.

Another similar use of the と particle is to show an action that was done together with someone or something else.

1. 友達(とも・だち)と話した(はな・した)。
   Talked with friend.

2. 先生(せん・せい)と会った。
   Met with teacher.

Vocabulary

飲み物(の・み・もの)

beverage

カップ(ka p pu)

cup

ナプキン(na pu ki n)

napkin

いる u-verb

to need

靴(くつ)

shoes

シャツ(shya tsu)

shirt

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

The や particle, just like the と particle, is used to list one or more nouns except that it is much more vague than the と particle. It implies that there may be other things that are unlisted and that not all items in the list may apply. In English, you might think of this as an “and/or, etc.” type of listing.

1. 飲み物(の・み・もの)やカップ(ka p pu)やナプキン(na pu ki n)は、いらない？
   You don’t need (things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc.?

2. 靴(くつ)やシャツ(shya tsu)を買う(か・う)。
   Buy (things like) shoes and shirt, etc…

とか also has the same meaning as や but is a slightly more colloquial expression.

1. 飲み物(の・み・もの)とかカップ(ka p pu)とかナプキン(na pu ki n)は、いらない？
   You don’t need (things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc.?

2. 靴(くつ)とかシャツ(shya tsu)を買う(か・う)。
   Buy (things like) shoes and shirt, etc…

Vocabulary

本(ほん)

book

アメリカ(a me ri ka)

America

大学(だい・がく)

college

学生(がく・せい)

student

それ

that

その

abbreviation of それの

シャツ(shya tsu)

shirt

誰(だれ)

who

これ

this

この

abbreviation of これの

あれ

that (over there)

あの

abbreviation of あれの

白い(し・ろい) i-adj

white

かわいい i-adj

cute

授業(じゅ・ぎょう)

class

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

忘れる(わす・れる) ru-verb

to forget

こと

event, matter

毎日(まい・にち)

every day

勉強(べん・きょう)

study

する exception

to do

大変(たい・へん) na-adj

tough, hard time

同じ(おな・じ)

same

物(もの)

object

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

面白い(おも・し・ろい) i-adj

interesting

静か(しず・か) na-adj

quiet

部屋(へ・や)

room

人(ひと)

person

学校(がっ・こう)

school

The の particle has many uses and it is a very powerful particle. It is introduced here because like the と and や particle, it can be used to connect one or more nouns. Let’s look at a few examples.

1. ボブの本。
   Book of Bob.

2. 本のボブ。
   Bob of book.

The first sentence essentially means, “Bob’s book.” (not a lost bible chapter). The second sentence means, “Book’s Bob” which is probably a mistake. I’ve translated the first example as “book of Bob” because the の particle doesn’t always imply possession as the next example shows.

1. ボブは、アメリカの大学の学生だ。 Bob is student of college of America.

In normal English, this would translate to, “Bob is a student of an American college.” The order of modification is backwards so Bob is a student of a college that is American. 学生の大学のアメリカ means “America of college of student” which is probably an error and makes little sense. (America of student’s college?)

The noun that is being modified can be omitted if the context clearly indicates what is being omitted. The following highlighted redundant words can be omitted.

1. そのシャツは誰のシャツ？
   Whose shirt is that shirt?

2. ボブのシャツだ。
   It is shirt of Bob.

to become:

1. そのシャツは誰の？
   Whose shirt is that?

2. ボブのだ。
   It is of Bob.

The の particle in this usage essentially replaces the noun and takes over the role as a noun itself. We can essentially treat adjectives and verbs just like nouns by adding the の particle to it. The particle then becomes a generic noun, which we can treat just like a regular noun.

1. 白いのは、かわいい。
   Thing that is white is cute.

2. 授業に行くのを忘れた。
   Forgot the event of going to class.

Now we can use the direct object, topic, and identifier particle with verbs and adjectives. We don’t necessarily have to use the の particle here. We can use the noun 物, which is a generic object or こと for a generic event. For example, we can also say:

1. 白い物は、かわいい。
   Thing that is white is cute.

2. 授業に行くことを忘れた。
   Forgot the thing of going to class.

However, the の particle is very useful in that you don’t have to specify a particular noun. In the next examples, the の particle is not replacing any particular noun, it just allows us to modify verb and adjective clauses like noun clauses. The relative clauses are highlighted.

1. 毎日勉強するのは大変。
   The thing of studying every day is tough.

2. 毎日同じ物を食べるのは、面白くない。
   It’s not interesting to eat same thing every day.

Even when substituting の for a noun, you still need the な to modify the noun when a na-adjective is being used.

• 静かな部屋が、アリスの部屋だ。
  Quiet room is room of Alice.

becomes:

• 静かなのが、アリスの部屋だ。
  Quiet one is room of Alice.

Vocabulary

今(いま)

now

忙しい(いそが・しい) i-adj

busy

学生(がく・せい)

student

飲む(のむ)

to drink

どこ

where

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

授業(じゅ・ぎょう)

class

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

ううん

casual word for “no” (nah, uh-uh)

その

that （abbr. of それの）

人(ひと)

person

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

先生(せん・せい)

teacher

朝ご飯(あさ・ご・はん)

breakfast

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

どうして

why

The の particle attached at the end of the last clause of a sentence can also convey an explanatory tone to your sentence. For example, if someone asked you if you have time, you might respond, “The thing is I’m kind of busy right now.” The abstract generic noun of “the thing is…” can also be expressed with the の particle. This type of sentence has an embedded meaning that explains the reason(s) for something else.

The sentence would be expressed like so:

• 今(いま)は忙しい(いそが・しい)の。
  The thing is that (I’m) busy now.

This sounds very soft and feminine. In fact, adult males will almost always add a declarative だ unless they want to sound cute for some reason.

• 今(いま)は忙しい(いそが・しい)のだ。
  The thing is that (I’m) busy now.

However, since the declarative だ cannot be used in a question, the same の in questions do not carry a feminine tone at all and is used by both males and females.

• 今(いま)は忙しい(いそが・しい)の？
  Is it that (you) are busy now? (gender-neutral)

To express state-of-being, when the の particle is used to convey this explanatory tone, we need to add な to distinguish it from the の particle that simply means “of”.

1. ジムのだ。
   It is of Jim. (It is Jim’s.)

2. ジムなのだ。
   It is Jim (with explanatory tone).

Besides this one case, everything else remains the same as before.

In actuality, while this type of explanatory tone is used all the time, のだ is usually substituted by んだ. This is probably due to the fact that んだ is easier to say than のだ. This grammar can have what seems like many different meanings because not only can it be used with all forms of adjectives, nouns, and verbs it itself can also be conjugated just like the state-of-being. A conjugation chart will show you what this means.

There’s really nothing new here. The first chart is just adding んだ (or “なんだ”) to a conjugated verb, noun, or adjective. The second chart adds んだ (or “なんだ”) to a non-conjugated verb, noun, adjective and then conjugates the だ part of んだ just like a regular state-of-being for nouns and na-adjectives. Just don’t forget to attach the な for nouns as well as na-adjectives.

I would say that the past and past-negative forms for noun/na-adjective in the second chart are almost never used (especially with の) but they are presented for completeness.

The crucial difference between using the explanatory の and not using anything at all is that you are telling the listener, “Look, here’s the reason” as opposed to simply imparting new information. For example, if someone asked you, “Are you busy now?” you can simply answer, 今(いま)は忙しい(いそが・しい). However, if someone asked you, “How come you can’t talk to me?” since you obviously have some explaining to do, you would answer, 今(いま)は忙しい(いそが・しい)の or ""今(いま)は忙しい(いそが・しい)んだ. This grammar is indispensable for seeking explanations in questions. For instance, if you want to ask, “Hey, isn’t it late?” you can’t just ask, ""遅くない？ because that means, “It’s not late?” You need to indicate that you are seeking explanation in the form of 遅いんじゃない？.

Let’s see some examples of the types of situations where this grammar is used. The examples will have literal translation to make it easier to see how the meaning stays the same and carries over into what would be very different types of sentences in normal English. A more natural English translation is provided as well because the literal translations can get a bit convoluted.

Example 1

アリス(a ri su) Alice

どこに行くの？

(lit) Where is it that (you) are going?

Where are you going? (Seeking explanation)

ボブ(bo bu) Bob

授業に行くんだ。

(lit) It is that (I) go to class.

I’m going to class. (Explanatory)

Example 2

アリス(a ri su) Alice

今(いま)、授業があるんじゃない？

(lit) Isn’t it that there is class now?

Don’t you have class now? (Expecting that there is class)

ボブ(bo bu) Bob

今(いま)は、ないんだ。

(lit) Now it is that there is no class.

No, there is no class now. (Explanatory)

Example 3

アリス(a ri su) Alice

今(いま)、授業がないんじゃない？

(lit) Isn’t it that there isn’t class now?

Don’t you not have class now? (Expecting that there is no class)

ボブ(bo bu) Bob

ううん、ある。

(lit) No, there is.

No, I do have class.

Example 4

アリス(a ri su) Alice

その人が買うんじゃなかったの？

(lit) Wasn’t it that that person was the one to buy?

Wasn’t that person going to buy? (Expecting that the person would buy)

ボブ(bo bu) Bob

ううん、先生が買うんだ。

(lit) No, it is that teacher is the one to buy.

No, the teacher is going to. (Explanatory)

Example 5

アリス(a ri su) Alice

朝ご飯を食べるんじゃなかった。

(lit) It is that breakfast wasn’t to eat.

Should not have eaten breakfast, you know. (Explaining that breakfast wasn’t to be eaten)

ボブ(bo bu) Bob

どうして？

(lit) Why?

How come?

Don’t worry if you are thoroughly confused by now, we will see many more examples along the way. Once you get the sense of how everything works, it’s better to forget the English because the double and triple negatives can get quite confusing such as Example 3. However, in Japanese it is a perfectly normal expression, as you will begin to realize once you get accustomed to Japanese.