Beginning Japanese for Professionals: Book 2

70 ippai いっぱい a lot toru とる 撮る take 文法 Grammar Notes 8-2-1 Plain Form + n desu How to form it : This pattern is made to add /~ n desu / or /~ no desu / (more formal) to the plain form of an adjective, noun, or verb. Note that for a noun sentence, you need to insert na before n desu. Adjective: Takai n desu . It’s expensive. (That’s why.) Verb: Kaeru n desu . I’m going home. (That’s why.) Noun: Ame na n desu . It’s raining. (That’s why.) To make an informal style sentence, change /~ n desu / to / no /. Adjective: Takai no . It’s expensive. (That’s why.) Verb: Kaeru no . I’m going home. (That’s why.) Noun: Ame na no . It’s raining. (That’s why.) The ~ n desu can be added to the Negative forms and Past forms as well. (These forms of verbs will be introduced later.) Non-past Negative Past Affirmative Past Negative Takaku nai n desu Takakatta n desu Takaku nakatta n desu Ame ja nai n desu Ame datta n desu Ame ja nakatta n desu The meaning : The / n / in the / ~n desu / pattern refers to the situation, circumstance, or case, namely how thing are. So, this pattern is often translated as ‘It’s that...’, ‘ It’s the case that…’ or ‘The thing is ….’ It provides an explanation or background information regarding the situation or to present a new interpretation or explanation of that situation. In the dialogue above, the project leader sees Emily getting ready to leave. She wants to confirm that Emily is in fact going home by saying Kaeru no ? She asks to validate her interpretation of what she sees. In response, Emily corrects the leader’s interpretation by using the /~ n desu / . Emily further explains that it’s her first time to see Sumo . Without the ~ n desu pattern, this conversation would lack mutual empathy, and might sound mechanical or distant. How to use it : For a learner of Japanese, the biggest challenge posed by this pattern is probably to figure out when to use it and when NOT to use it. You cannot decide this on the basis of when the English equivalent of this pattern is used or is not used in spoken English. In English you probably do not always say, “It’s that…” when you give an explanation, as seen below. A: Let’s go out tonight. B: Sorry. I have homework.