NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Introduction to Japanese Grammar Japanese sentences are very different from familiar languages like English and Spanish. Incidentally, Spanish is very similar to English grammar-wise. Japanese, on the other hand, uses small words called "particles" that mark what a word is supposed to "be" to the sentence. More on particles later. On the upside though, once you learn Japanese grammar (it doesn't take as long as you might think) you can sit back and relax, because Japanese grammar is very logical and has almost no exceptions. Japanese Sentence Structure Here's a typical Japanese sentence: Kore wa mind desu.
This (subject marker) water is. If you " ve seen Star Wars (and who hasn't), think back to the way Yoda spoke. That's what Japanese would sound like if you translated it literally. "Your father is. "An abode of evil it is. "In you must go. " Japanese is also a bit vague, or can seem that way. Things are often left out if they can be assumed. Japanese is definitely not redundant! In particular, pronouns (I, you, he) aren't used much.
In English - "I go to the store" In Japanese - "mise e in"mise e in" literally translates, "to the store, [I] go" mise - store e - particle meaning "toward" or "to" in - to go Particles wa - subject marker - think "as for" when translating. ga - subject marker /emphasis no - possessive - works like 's na - use with adjectives o - The preceding word answers WHAT or WHO (direct object) e - towards, to ka - basically, a spoken question mark. ne - used at the end of sentences, kind of like "huh?" or "right?" yo - A spoken exclamation point. To put it simply, after every word in the sentence, you have a particle telling what the word "was" to the sentence.
Matt wa sensei desu. Matt (as for) teacher is. After the word "Matt", the "wa" tells us that Matt is the subject of the sentence - the sentence will be about Matt. Let's add something to the sentence.
Let's modify what kind of teacher he is: Matt wa anti no sensei desu. Matt (as for) you ('s) teacher is. Cleaned up, it would be translated "Matt is your teacher." You could make the sentence a bit more emphatic by adding a 'yo': Matt wa anti no sensei desu yo! We could turn it into a question as well: Matt wa anti no sensei desu ka?
Is Matt your teacher? Desu means "to be." In English, we have to conjugate that verb to the following forms: is, are, was, were, will be In Japanese, there is just present and past tense. There is no future tense. Present tense - Desu Past tense - Despite (pronounced DESH ta) Desu is a bit unusual, but rest assured - there are only 3 unusual verbs in Japanese. The other hundreds of verbs follow a strict, logical pattern that is easy to follow!
English - Japanese is - desu are - desu was - despite were - despite will be - desu Learning new vocabulary! You will begin learning many Japanese words. Just like in English, some words are more popular than others. We will start with the more popular words and progress toward less frequently used words. Saying the following words are popular would be an understatement. "Essential" or "Used Every Day" would be more accurate!
Interrogatives: do - where nani - what dare - who irkutsk - how many Nouns: heya - room kami - god hon - book atom - head his - person uta - song tanaka - (a) fight inu - dog neko - cat ai - love Verbs: hashish - to run aruba - to walk hands - to speak tavern - to eat kors - to kill more - to see Pronouns: kare - he kanji - she arts - he, she (informal) kits - same as arts books - I (said by males) atari - I (said by females) one - you (said to inferiors) anti - you (always appropriate) Adjectives: akai - red aoi - blue kurt - black shirt - white midori - green os - slow hawaii - fast Effective methods to learn new words Making Lists You take a piece of paper, and write the Japanese word on one side, and its English meaning on the other. You write from 5 - 25 words on a page. Look at your list as often as possible. The more you look at it, the sooner you will learn the words. Flashcards Take some index cards (cut in half if you like) and write the Japanese word on one side, and the English meaning on the other. Look at the flashcards when you get time.
You can practice in two different ways - - Look at the Japanese word and try to guess the English meaning - Look at the English meaning and try to guess the Japanese word A combination of the two would be best. Lists and flashcards are an effective method of learning words for most people. Some people learn visually, others have to hear something in order to learn it. You can adapt a technique (like flashcards, for example) to fit your personal learning style. If you " re a visual learner, you have to see something to learn it. If you fall into this category, no use wasting time with oral vocabulary drills.
Learning things by sound isn't your strong suit, so you should take advantage of your visual strengths. LOOK at your flashcards. Picture the words in your head. If you have to hear something before you learn it, read the flashcards aloud. (or have someone else read them, if you have a study partner) Tips to get the most out of your study time! (These apply to flash cards as well as word lists - however for the sake of simplicity I am going to use word lists as an example) Don't let lists go stale Make sure you have a new list every few days. When you have the same list for more...
Free research essays on topics related to: matt, lists, one side, past tense, tense
Research essay sample on Introduction To Japanese Grammar And Learning New Vocabulary
