●Notes

1. あげる is one of a set of giving and receiving verbs; the meaning is 'give'. However, あげる cannot be used when the indirect object is the first person (i.e., I or we) or a person with whom the speaker empathizes (usually a member of the speaker's in-group). Thus, (1a) and (1b) are ungrammatical.

(1)
• a. *花子は私に本をあげた。
• Hanako gave me a book.
• b. ＊花子は私のむすこ に本をあげた。
• Hanako gave my son a book.

The reason for this is as follows: あげる requires the giver's point of view or a neutral point of view when describing an event. When an event involves the first person or a person the speaker empathizes with, however, the event is normally described from that person's point of view. Therefore, if the first person or a person the speaker empathizes with is a recipient in a あげる sentences, a viewpoint conflict arises, making the sentences ungrammatical. The grammatical sentences for (1a) and (1b) are (2a) and (2b), respectively.

(⇨ くれる1)

(2)
• a. 花子は私に本をくれた。
• Hanako gave me a book.
• b. 花子は私のむすこに本をくれた。
• Hanako gave my son a book.

2. The humble polite version of あげる is 差し上げる. Example:

(3)
• 私は先生に本をさしあげました。
• I gave my teacher a book.

The degree of politeness expressed in 差し上げる is higher than that of 下さる and it いただく, which are the polite versions of くれる and もらう, respectively.

(⇨ くれる1, Related expression II)

3. When the giver is in a higher position than the recipient or the recipient is a person very close to the speaker, やる is used instead of あげる. Examples:

(4)
• a . 私は弟に本をやった。
• I gave my little brother a book.
• b. ひろしは猫にミルクをやった。
• Hiroshi gave milk to the cat.
• c. Tom is the speaker's intimate friend.
• 私はトムにケーキをやりました。
• I gave a cake to Tom.

●Key Sentences

●Notes

1. あげる is used as an auxiliary verb with the て form of verbs. The meaning of Verb-てあげる is 'do something for someone' or 'do someone a favour by doing something'. The restriction which applies to あげる1 also applies to あげる2. Namely, sentences with Verb-てあげる are descriptions from the viewpoint of the benefactor (i.e., the person in subject position); therefore, the indirect object must not be the first person or a person the speaker empathizes with. (⇨ ㊦ あげる (1)1, Note 1) Thus, (1a) and (1b) are ungrammatical.

(1)
• a. *花子は私に日本語を教えてあげた。
• Hanako taught me Japanese.
• b. *メアリーは私のむすめにペンを買ってあげた。
• Mary bought a pen for my daughter.

The grammatical sentences for (1a) and (1b) are (2a) and (2b), respectively. (⇨ ㊦ 呉れる・くれる (2))

(2)
• a. 花子は私に日本語を教えてくれた。

• b. メアリーは私のむすめにペンを買ってくれた。

As in KS (B), if the person receiving the benefit is the direct object of the sentence, the indirect object is omitted. Therefore, (3a) and (3b) are ungrammatical.

(3)
• a. *僕は春子さんに春子さんをなぐさめてあげた。
• b. *僕は春子さんになぐさめてあげた。

When the main verb is intransitive, あげる is not used along with に.

The following sentence is ungrammatical:

(4)
• *私達はジョンに働いてあげた。
• We worked for John.

In this case, の為に 'for the sake of' is used, as in (5). (⇨ ㊦ 為(に)・ため(に))

(5)
• 私達はジョンのために働いた。
• We worked for John's sake.

4. The humble polite version of Verb-てあげる is Verb-てさしあげる. Example：

(6)
• 私は先生にピアノをひいてさしあげました。
• I played the piano for my teacher.

The degree of politeness expressed in Verb-てさしあげる is higher than that of Verb-てくださる and Verb-ていただく, which are the polite versions of Verb-てくれる and Verb-てもらう, respectively, (⇨ ㊦ 呉れる・くれる (1))

5. When the benefactor is in a higher position than the recipient or is of equal status and his relationship to the recipient is close, Verb-てやる is used instead of Verb-てあげる. Examples:

(7)
• a. 私は妹にレコードを買ってやった。
• I bought my little sister a record.
• b. じゅんは猫に魚を焼いてやった。
• Jun roasted fish for his cat.
• [John is the speaker's close iriend.]
• c. 私はジョンにラジオを貸してやりました。
• I lent John my radio.

●Notes

1. The adverb あまり usually occurs in negative sentences, meaning 'not very (much)'. あまり is one of a group of adverbs which co-occur with negative predicates. They include:

(1)
• 全然 '(not) at all'; 滅多に 'rarely, seldom'; 決して 'never, by no means'; さっぱり '(not) at all; 少しも '(not) a bit'; ちっとも '(not) a bit'.

2. あんまり is a phonological variant of あまり and usually used in conversation.

3. In limited situations, あまり can be used in affirmative sentences, too. In this case, it means 'very; too' with a negative implication. Examples:

(2)
• a. スコットがあまリ失礼なことを言うのでサリーは怒って帰ってしまった。
• Since Scott was very rude (literally: said very rude tilings), Sally got mad and went home.
• b. 井上さんはあまリ酒を飲んだので病気になった。
• Mr. Inoue drank too much and became ill.
• c. それはあんまリです。
• You're (literally: That's) too cruel.

●Notes

1. ある expresses the existence of or the possession of inanimate things including abstract things such as events and problems. Thus, (1) is ungrammatical.

(1)
• *この町には日本人がある。
• There are Japanese in this town.

For animate things, いる1 is used.

2. The negative informal form of ある is not あらない but ない.

3. Two sentence patterns can be used with ある. The Key Sentence (A) pattern is used when a location is presented as a topic. In this case, what exists is under focus. In this pattern, the location marker に can optionally drop. The Key Sentence (B) pattern is used when something which exists is presented as a topic. In this case, where it exists is under focus. Compare the two patterns in (2).

(2)
• A: 早稲田大学はどこにありますか 。
• Where is Waseda University?
• B: 早稲田大学は東京にあります 。
• Waseda University is in Tokyo.
• A: 東京には早稲田大学しかありませんか 。
• Literally: Are there no universities in Tokyo but Waseda University? (= Is Waseda University the only university in Tokyo?)
• B: いいえ，東京には大学がたくさんあります 。
• No, there are many universities in Tokyo.

4. A thing (whether animate or inanimate) can also occur in the location position of Key Sentence (A). In this case, the sentence expresses possession rather than existence. Examples:

(3)
• a. この車(に)はカー・ステレオ がある。
• Literally: There is a car stereo in this car.(= This car has a car stereo.)
• b. 私(に)は車がある。
• Literally: There is a car with me.(= I have a car.)

Note that even if ある expresses the idea of possession, possessed things are marked not by を but by が. This is because ある essentially indicates existence.

5. When ある is used to express the idea of having and the object is animate, that object must be someone who maintains a very close relationship with the possessor, such as a family member, a relative or a friend. Thus, (4) is acceptable, but (5) is odd.

(4)
• 私(に)は子供が三人ある。
• I have three children.

(5)
• ??私(に)は運転手がある。
• I have a chauffeur.

Since ある in this usage is a possessive expression, it cannot be used in situations where the idea indicates existence. Thus,(6) is unacceptable.

(6)
• *私(に)は母がもうありません。
• I don't have my mother now.

In this case, いる must be used.

6. When ある is used for events such as parties and concerts, the particle marking locations must be で as in(7).

(⇨ で1; に6)

(7)
• 今日サムのうちで/*にパーティがある。
• There is a party at Sam's today.

【Related Expressions】

I. There is another possessive expression, 持っている, which is the てform of 持つ 'hold' followed by the auxiliary verb いる. However, 持っている is used only when the possessor is animate and the possessed thing is inanimate. Thus, [1] is acceptable, but [2] and [3] are not.

[1]

• ジョンはいい車を持っている。
• John has a good car.

[2]

• *ジョ ンは妹を持っている。
• John has a younger sister.

[3]

• *この車はクーラを持っている。
• This car has an air-conditioner.

Groups and organizations of people such as political parties, countries, institutions and companies can also be possessors in sentences with 持っている, as in [4].

[4]

• この大学はいい図書館を持っている。
• This university has a good library.

II. いる1 is also used to express existence. However, いる1 is used only for animate objects. (See Note 1.)

●Notes

1. ある is used with Verbて as an auxiliary verb. Two points are indicated by the Verbてある expression:

(A)
• Someone did something to X. (Thus, Verbて is usually a transitive verb.)

(B)
• X is still in that state.

X is most frequently marked by the topic marker は or the subject marker が; occasionally it is marked by the direct object marker を.

2. The agent is usually omitted because he is unimportant, unknown or obvious.

【Related Expressions】

There are expressions similar to Verbてある, namely, Verbている and Verbておく. Let us compare [1] and [2] with Example (b).

[1]

• 窓が開いている。
• The window is open.

[2]

• 私は窓を開けておく。
• I open/ will open the window (in advance).

[1] simply means that the window is open. It doesn't imply that someone opened it. 開いて, the てform of 開く 'open', is an intransitive verb. As seen in [2], Verbておく means "do something in advance for future convenience'". An important difference between Verbてある and Verbておく is that the former expresses a state, while the latter expresses an action. Note that in Verbておく sentences, the agent is not omitted unless it is known.

●Notes

The particle で may be omitted in informal speech.

【Related Expressions】

Vinformal past あとで is crucially different from Verbてから in two respects: Verbてから is very awkward if the main clause expresses something beyond the control of the subject or the speaker of the sentence. Verb informal past あとで is free from such restriction.

[1]

• 私がうちへ帰ったあとで/???帰ってから雨が降った。
• It rained after I came home.

Secondly, Verbてから indicates 'the space of time following after', but Verb informal past あとで indicates 'any space of time after'. Thus,

[2]

• 日本へ来てから/*来たあとで何年になりますか 。
• How many years have passed since you came to Japan?

(⇨ から2)

II. Verb informal past あとで can be replaced by Verb informal pastら when the latter is used with a purely temporal meaning (i.e. 'after', 'when'). Thus, Example (a), (b) and (c) can be rephrased as [3a], [3b] and [3c], respectively.

[3]

• a. ご飯を食べたらすぐ勉強しました。
• b. 山田さんはビールを飲んだら寝てしまった。
• c. 戦争が終わったら東京にもどりました 。

However, if Verb informal pastら has a non-temporal meaning(i.e., 'if'), it cannot be replaced by Verb informal past あとで, as illustrated by [4].

[4]

• a. 日本へ行ったら/*行ったあとでいいでし ょう。
• Literally: It would be nice if you go to Japan.(= You should go to Japan.)
• b. これを読んだら/*読んだあとでどうですか。
• Literally: How would it be if you read this.(= Why don't you read this?)

(⇨ たら)

●Notes

1. "Sentence1ばSentence2" basically expresses a general conditional relationship between the two propositions represented by Sentence1 and Sentence2. Sentence1 represents a condition and Sentence2 a proposition which holds or will hold true under the condition. (ば is, in fact, the origin of the topic marker は.)

2. Sentence2 can be a statement of the speaker's volition or hope, as in Examples (c) and (d).

(⇨ と4)

3. Sentence2 can be a command, a request or a suggestion, as in Examples (e) and (f). In this case, however, Sentence1 cannot be an action. Thus, in (1) and (2) ば is ungrammatical.

(⇨ なら; たら)

(1)
• 山本さんが来たら/*来れば知らせてください。
• If Mr. Yamamoto comes in, please let me know.

(2)
• シカゴへ行く(の)なら/*行けばバスで行ったらどうですか。
• If you go to Chicago, why don't you go by bus?

4. Sentence1 can express both factual and counterfactual conditions. Thus, Examples (c) and (d) can be either factual or counterfactual statements.

(⇨ ばよかった)

5. Sentence1 can be a state or an event in the past if it is counterfactual or habitual. Examples:

(3)
• もっと安ければ買いました 。
• I would have bought it if it had been much cheaper.

(4)
• 雨が降ればよく家で本を読んだものだ 。
• When it rained, I often read at home.

However, Sentence1 cannot be a single factual event in the past even if it represents a condition, as seen in (5).

(⇨ たら)

(5)
• 日本へ行ったら/*行けば日本語が上手になった。
• I became good at Japanese when I went to Japan.

6."Senetnce1ばSentence2" does not mean more than a conditional relationship; therefore, this construction cannot be used when the speaker wants to suggest something by a conditional sentence. For example, (6) does not suggest that one should not approach the cage. It is acceptable only when it means, as a mere conditional statement, which one is in danger under the condition that one gets close to the cage.

(6)
• そのおりに近づけばあぶないですよ。
• It is dangerous if you get close to the cage.

In order to suggest that one should not approach the cage, 近づくと or 近づいたら is used instead of 近づけば.

7. There are some idiomatic expressions which utilize the "Sentence1ばSentence2" construction.

(⇨ ばよかった; なければならない; と言えば)

●Notes

1. The basic idea which ばかり expresses is that there is nothing except what is stated. When Verb infornmal nonpast precedes ばかり, the whole expression means there is nothing left to do (to complete something) but what is stated by the verb. In some contexts, Verb informal nonpast ばかり means that someone does nothing but what is stated. Example:

(1)
• 彼は笑うばかりで何も説明してくれない。
• He just laughs and doesn't explain anything to me.

2. When Verb informal past precedes ばかり, the whole expression means that there has been almost no time for anything to happen since what is stated took place. That is, something has just happened, or someone has just done something.

3. When ばかり follows "Nounが" or "Nounを", が or を drops. The directional へ and に may be either deleted or retained. Other case particles do not drop when they are followed by ばかり.

4. ばかり in classical Japanese expressed the speakers conjecture and this usage is still seen in the "Quantifier ばかり" pattern, where ばかり means 'about'.

●Notes

1. Verb conditionalばよかった is an idiomatic expression which means 'I wish ~ had done something.' It consists of a conditional clause with ば and よかった 'was good' and literally means 'It would have been good if ~ had done something.'

2. When there is no subject in a ば cause sentence, the first person is the implicit subject.

3. This expression is often used with exclamatory words such as ああ 'oh' and the sentence-final particle of exclamation なあ, as in Example (c).

4. "Someone (other than the first person) wishes ~ had done something" is expressed using this phrase and the verb 思う 'think', as in (1).

(⇨ いる2, Note 4; と3)

(1)
• ビルは日本へ行けばよかったと思っている。
• Literally: Bill thinks that it would have been good if he had gone to Japan. (= Bill wishes he had gone to Japan.)

【Related Expression】

In "Verb conditionalばよかった", Verb conditionalば expresses a counterfactual action or state in the past. In a similar expression "Verbてよかった", Verbて expresses a factual action or state in the past. Compare [1] with Example (a).

[1]

• あの本を読んでよかった。
• Literally: It was good that I read that book. (= I'm glad I read that book.)

●Notes

1. だい can also be used with declarative sentences for emphasis in boys' speech, as in (1)

(1)
• a. これは僕のだい。
• This is mine.
• b. 僕も行くんだい。
• I will go, too.

2. When だい is used with interrogative sentences, the sentences must be interrogative word questions. Thus, the following sentences are ungrammatical.

(2)
• a. *あの人は先生だい。
• Is that person a teacher?
• b. *村田さんも行くんだい。
• Is Mr. Murata going，too?

For yes-no questions, かい is used.

(⇨ かい)

3. Questions with だい, as in Key Sentence (A), and those with んだい, as in Key Sentence (B), correspond to questions without のです and those with のです in formal speech, respectively.

(⇨ のだ)

4. だい actually consists of the copula だ and the particle い. Thus, it can follow only な type adjective stems, nouns and noun equivalents. The following sentences are ungrammatical because だい follows a verb or an い type adjective.

(3)
• a. *だれが行くだい。
• Who is going?
• b. *どれがおもしろいだい。
• Which one is interesting?

んだい can follow verbs and い type adjectives, as in Key Sentence (B) and Example (c), because ん is a nominalizer (the colloquial form of の3) and it changes the preceding sentence into a noun equivalent.

5. In informal male speech, questions as in (3) are expressed as in (4)，with rising intonation.

(4)
• a. だれが行く？
• Who is going?
• b. どれがおもしろい？
• Which one is interesting?

6. The past form of だい is だったい, but it is not frequently used. The more frequently used past form of だい is だった with rising intonation, as seen in (5).

(5)
• a. 新しい仕事はどうだった？
• How was your new job?
• b. どこが静かだった？
• What place was quiet?

【Related Expression】

In informal speech, the question marker か (i.e., か2) is not usually used.

The following chart summarizes the endings for informal questions.

Formal	Male, informal	Female, informal	Note
yes-no question	Sentence informalかい	Sentence informal	だ after Adjectiveな stem and ん drops
yes-no question with のです	Sentence informalのかい	Sentence informalの	だ after Adjectiveな stem and ん changes to な
Interrogative word question	Sentence informal; {Adjectiveなstem/Noun}だい	Sentence informal	だ after Adjectiveな stem and ん drops
Interrogative word question with のです	Sentence informalんだい	Sentence informalの	だ after Adjectiveな stem and ん changes to な

Sentence informalか is used in very informal speech or in vulgar speech. Female informal endings can also be used by male speakers.

●Notes

1. When だけ modifies a preceding noun, as in Examples (a), (b), (c), and (d), the particle that is used with the noun can be positioned before or after だけ, except for the particles が, を and は, which can be optionally used only after だけ.

2. The optional positionings of the particles other than が, を and は create a subtle semantic difference. Distinctive emphasis is placed on the particle, yielding a meaning of exclusiveness in the case of Noun+Particle+だけ. No meaning of exclusiveness is implied in the case of Noun+だけ+Particle.

3. If だけ is used in:

~

⎧{Verb/Adjectiveい} informal     ⎫ ⎩{Adjectiveな stem {な/だった}⎭

+だけ{だ/です}

as illustrated by Key Sentence (C), (D) and (E), だけ modifies the entire preceding part and means '~, that's all.'

Compare (1a) and (1b) below:

(1)
• a. 魚だけ(を)食べた。
• I ate only fish.
• b. 魚を食べただけだ。
• I ate fish, that's all.

In (1a) だけ modifies only the preceding noun 魚 'fish', while in (1b) だけ modifies the entire preceding part of the sentence 魚を食べた 'I ate fish.'

4. Verb (Potential)+だけ as in Example (j) means 'as much as one can ~'.

(2)
• a. 食べられるだけ食べたい。
• I'd like to eat as much as I can (eat).
• b. 踊れるだけ踊ろう。
• Let's dance as much as we can (dance).

●Notes

In "Noun ~だけで(は)なく Noun~ も", the two nouns can be followed by various particles.

[1]

• 手紙は友達(から)だけではなく先生からも来ました。
• Letters came not only from my friends but also from my teachers.

[2]

• 手紙は友達(に)だけではなく先生にも書きました。
• I wrote letters not only to my friends, but also to my teachers.

【Related Expression】

In the majority of cases だけ can be replaced by ばかり. When one needs to define limitation in a rigid way, however, だけ is preferable. For example:

[1] [Teacher to his student.]
• あしたまでに十課だけ/??ばかりでなく十一課も勉強しておきなさい。
• Study not only Lesson 10 but also Lesson 11 by tomorrow.

(⇨ だけ)

●Notes

1. だろう is originally the informal conjecture form of the copula だ, but it is used as an auxiliary of conjecture. The formal version is でしょう.

2. Probability adverbs such as 多分, おそらく and きっと are sometimes used with だろう or でしょう. The speaker's conjecture sounds more certain with 多分 or おそらく, and even more certain with きっと. Examples:

(1)
• アンダーソンさんは多分日本へ行くだろう。
• Mr. Anderson will most probably go to Japan.

(2)
• アンダーソンさんはきっと日本へ行くだろう。
• I'm almost certain that Mr. Anderson will go to Japan.

3. だろう/でしょう with the question marker か makes questions softer or less direct. Compare (3) and (4).

(3)
• 大じようぶですか。
• Is it all right?

(4)
• 大じようぶでしょうか。
• I wonder if it's all right.

4. Sentence だろう/でしょう with rising intonation asks for the hearers agreement.

(5)
• a. 君も行くだろう？
• You will go too, (am I) right?
• b. これ，きれいでしょう？
• Isn't this pretty?

The sentence-final particle ね also asks for the hearer's agreement, but Sentence だろう/でしょう with rising intonation is softer or less direct. (⇨ ね)

Compare (5a) with (6).

(6)
• 君も行くね。
• You will go too, won't you?

●Notes

1. 出す in Verbます+出す is used as an auxiliary verb. When it is used as a full verb, it means 'cause something to become visible'.

2. Verbます+出す is normally ambiguous; one meaning is '~ out' and the other is 'begin to ~'. Thus, 作り出す means 'turn out' or 'begin to make'.

3. Verbます+出す conjugates as a Group 1 verb.

	⎧なさい	informal, negative, nonpast
	⎪します	formal, nonpast
話し出	⎪す	informal, nonpast
	⎨せば	conditional
食べ出	⎪そう	volitional
	⎪して	て form
	⎩した	informal, past

4. Verbます+終わる 'finish ~ing' is an antonym of Verbます+出す/始める.

【Related Expression】

出す in the sense of 'begin to ~' is different from 始める in that the former indicates a non-volitional and abrupt beginning while the latter is more broadly used. Thus,

[1]

• そろそろ歩き始めましょう/*歩き出しましょうか。
• It's getting late. Shall we begin to walk?

[2]

• 私達が歩き始めた/歩き出した時山田逹が来た。
• When we started to walk, Yamada and his company came.

[3]

• どうしてか分からなかったが、男は急におこり出した/??おこリ始めた。
• I don't know why, but the man suddenly started to get angry.

●Notes

で1 cannot be used to indicate location of existence. (⇨ に6) However, if the existential verb ある '(inanimate things) exist' occurs with an event, で is used, as in (1).

(1)
• a. 今晚ジムの家で/*にパーティーがあります。
• There's a party at Jim's tonight.
• b. きのうこの部屋で/*にプライス先生の講演があった。
• We had Prof. Price's lecture in this room yesterday.

●Notes

1. In general, で2 indicates something which is used when someone or something does something. Typically, it indicates means and instruments as in Key Sentence and Exsamples (a) ~ (c).

2. Since で also indicates reason and cause, the phrase 何で, which consists of なん 'what' and で, is ambiguous: One meaning is 'by means of what (= how)' and the other is 'for what reason (= why)'. Thus, (1) can be interpreted in two ways.

(1)
• 本田さんは何で大阪へ行くんですか。
• How/Why is Mr. Honda going to Osaka?

【Related Expression】

で2 can be used instead of the phrase を使って 'by using ~', except the preceding noun refers to a human being. Examples:

[1]

• 私達はタクシーを使って/で来ました。
• We came by taxi.

[2]

• 私は子供を使って/*で家具を動かした。
• Literally: I moved the furniture using my children.

●Notes

1. Some of the uses of で3 (such as Key Sentence and Example (a)) are very close to the て form of です. For example, Key Sentence can be paraphrased into two sentences (1a) and (1b):

(1)
• a. 山口さんは病気でした。
• Mr. Yamaguchi was ill.
• b. 山口さんは学校を休みました。
• Mr. Yamaguchi was absent from school.

And Key Sentence can be considered to be the result of combining the two sentences using the て form of です which basically means 'be ~and'.

2. A noun that precedes で3 expresses something that is beyond human control (such as illness, flood, accident, rain, and fire). It is also to be noted that で3 co-occurs with any noun, if a predicate expresses something that is beyond human control. If the co-occurring predicate expresses something that is controllable, the particle で is no longer で3; it is で2 of means. (⇨ で2) Compare (2a) and (2b) below:

(2)
• a. 卵でアレルギーになる。
• Literally: Eggs cause me allergy. (= I'm allergic to eggs.)
• b. 卵でオムレツを作る。
• I make an omelette with eggs.

(2a) and (2b) contain a noncontrollable predicate アレルギーになる 'become allergic' and a controllable predicate オムレツを作る 'make an omelette', respectively. Therefore, で in (2a) and (2b) are で3 and で2, respectively.

【Related Expression】

The particle で3 is a very loose marker of cause due to its origin; in contrast, から3 and ので are clear subordinate conjunctions of cause/reason.

(⇨ から3; ので)

●Notes

1. In general, Xで4 indicates that something lasts for a period of time up to X.

2. When X in Xで refers to a duration of time, as in (1), it is the で of means rather than the で of termination time.

(⇨ で2)

(1)
• 山田さんは一週間でそのレポートを書いた。
• Mr. Yamada wrote the report in a week (literally: using a week).

【Related Expression】

に1 can be used in place of で4 in Key Sentence and Examples (a) and (b), as in [1].

[1]

• 春学期は五月十日で/に終わる。
• The spring term ends on May 10.

When で is used, the nuance is that the spring term lasts up to May 10. When に is used, however, the sentence simply indicates the time when the spring term ends.

★Semantic derivations of で

		→[Instrument]で2: ジョンは車でシカゴへ行った。 John when to Chicago by car.
で 'using'―		→[Means]で2: 私達は英語で話した。 We talked in English.
			⤷[Cause]で3: その家は台風で壊れた。 That house collapsed due to the typhoon.
				⤷[Reason]で3: 僕は試験で行けなかった。 I couldn't go (there) because of the exam.
		→[Material]で2 私は毛糸で靴下を編んだ。 I knit socks with wool.
		→[Place]で1 道子はいつも図書館で勉強する。 Michiko usually studies at the library.
		→[Required time]で2: 木村さんは三日でこのレポートを書いた。 Mr. Kimura wrote this report in three days.
			⤷[Time]で4: 仕事は五時で終わります。 My work ends at five o'clock.
		→[Required cost]で2 私はこの本を十ドルで買った。 I bought this book for ten dollars.

●Notes

1. Interrogative word+でも yields the following meaning depending on which Interrogative word is used.

誰でも	no matter who it is; anyone
何でも	no matter what it is; anything
いつでも	no matter when; any time
どこでも	no matter where it is; any place
どれでも	no matter which it is

(1)
• あの図書館は誰でも入れます。
• Anyone can enter that library.

(2)
• いつでもかまいませんよ。
• Any time will be fine.

2. The particle でも should not be confused with the particle combination で+も as in (1) below where で is a particle of location (=で1), and in (2) where で is a particle of means (=で2).

(1)
• 日本でもインフレが大きな問題になっている。
• In Japan, too, inflation is a big problem.

(2)
• そこはパスでも行けますか。
• Can you also get there by bus?

(⇨ で1; で2)

●Notes

1. The polite version of どう is いかが. In very informal speech ですか is omitted after どう or いかが.

2. どう and いかが are also used to offer or suggest something, as in Examples (b) and (c). In this case, どう or いかが are asking about the state of the hearer's mind regarding the offer or suggestion rather than about the state of what is being offered or suggested.

3. どう is also used to ask the way of doing something. In this case, いかが is usually not used. Example:

(1)
• この言葉はどう読みますか。
• How do you read this word?

4. The idiomatic expression どうして 'literally: doing what' is used to ask manners, reasons or causes. Examples:

(2)
• どうして日本語を勉強しているんですか。
• How (= In what way) are you studying Japanese?/Why are you studying Japanese?

(3)
• この木はどうして枯れたんですか。
• Why did this tree die?

As seen in (2), unless the context is clear, どうして is sometimes ambiguous. (The interrogative adverb なぜ 'why' is unambiguous but less colloquial than どうして.)

●Notes

【Related Expressions】

I. The particles へ, まで, and に7 focus on direction, course (up to ~), and point of contact, respectively. Thus,

[1]

• はるばる東京まで/?に/?へ来た。
• I came all the way to Tokyo.

[2]

• 東京に/へ/*まで十二時に着いた。
• I arrived in Tokyo at 12:00 o'clock.

[3]

• ニューヨークへ/まで/*にの便はもうありません。
• There isn't any flight to/as far as New York any more.

[4]

• ここまで/*へ/*にの道は悪かったでしょう。
• Your way here must have been rough.

In actuality, native speakers use へ and に7 (of point of contact) almost interchangeably except in the case of [3] (i.e., に cannot be followed by の).

II. Even the に4 of direct contact meaning 'into; onto' can be replaced by へ as in:

[5]

• お風呂に/へ入った。
• Literally: I entered into a bath. (= I took a bath.)

[6]

• 机の上に/へ乗った。
• I got onto the table.

[7]

• 黒板に/へ漢字を書いた。
• I wrote kanji on the blackboard.

●Notes

1. が marks the subject of a sentence when the information expressed by the subject is first introduced in a discourse. When the subject is presented as the topic (that is, the information has already been introduced into the discourse), however, the topic marker は replaces が. (⇨ は1) Consider the following discourse, a typical opening in folktales, which illustrates the different uses of が and は.

(1)
• 昔々一人のおじいさんが住んでいました。おじいさんはとても貧乏で した。
• Once upon a time there lived an old man. He (literally: the old man) was very poor.

In the first sentence, おじいさん 'old man' appears for the first time in the discourse; おじいさん is the subject but not the topic in this sentence. Therefore, it is marked by が. The second sentence tells something about the old man introduced in the first sentence. おじいさん is now the topic; therefore, it is marked by は rather than が. Note the parallelism here between が and は in Japanese and 'a' and 'the' in English.

2. が is also replaced by は if the subject is in contrast with another element. For example, in Example (c), B could also say:

(2)
• ステーキは美味しいです。
• Steak is good (but other food is not)./(I don't know about other food but at least) Steak is good.

Here, ステーキ 'steak' is newly introduced in the discourse and is not the topic; yet it is marked by は. This is because ステーキ, in this case, is being contrasted with other food.

3. Since Interrogative words like 何 'what', 誰 'who' and どこ 'what place' can never be topics, they are never marked by は, as in (3).

(3)
• 今晩誰が/*は来ますか。
• Who is coming tonight?

4. The subject in subordinate clauses is marked by が unless it is a contrasted element, as seen in (4).

(4)
• a. 私はデビーが/*はフランスへ行くことを知らなかった。
• I didn't know that Debbie was going to France.
• b. ジーンは僕が/*はアパートを出た時まだ寝ていた。
• Gene was still in bed when I left my apartment.
• c. 私が/*はきのう見た映画はドイツの映画だった。
• The movie I saw yesterday was a German film.

Note that topics are not presented in subordinate clauses.

3. In relative clauses, the subject may be marked by の, as in (5).

(⇨ Relative Clause, Note 3)

(5)
• 私のきのう見た映画はドイツの映画だった。
• The movie I saw yesterday was a German film.

6. In some expressions, elements which are considered to be direct objects are presented as subjects and are marked by が.

(⇨ は~が)

(6)
• a.僕はスポーツカーが欲しい。
• I want a sports car. (Literally: To me, a sports car is desirable.)
• b.春子はスペイン語が分かる。
• Haruko understands Spanish. (Literally: To Haruko, Spanish is understandable.)

7. To sum up the important rules concerning が,

• (A)    が marks the subject when it is newly introduced in a discourse.
• (B)    は replaces が when the subject is a topic or a contrasted element.
• (C)    Interrogative words are always marked by が when they are the subject of a sentence.
• (D)    The subject in subordinate clauses is marked by が unless it is a contrasted element.
• (E)    When predicates are transitive adjectives or stative transitive verbs, the elements which correspond to the direct object in English are marked by が.

【Related Expression】

The topic marker は is often mistaken for a subject marker. It appears to be a subject marker because it often replaces が.

(⇨ は1)

●Notes

1. が2, like 'but' in English, combines two sentences which express contrastive ideas. However, が is much weaker than 'but' in that it is sometimes used simply to combine two sentences for stylistic reasons even if those two sentences do not represent contrastive ideas. For example, the が in (1) is used simply as a transition word to connect two sentences.

(1)
• a. パーティーをしますが来ませんか。
• We'll have a party. Wouldn't you like to come?
• b. 田中さんは私のうちにも時々来ますがおもしろい人ですね。
• Mr. Tanaka sometimes comes to my place, too. He is an interesting person, isn't he?

2. が2 makes a sentence unit with the preceding sentence, not with the following sentence. Thus, it is wrong to place a comma before が or to start a sentence with が, as in (2) and (3).

(2)
• *ジョンは来た，がメアリーは来なかった。
• John came, but Mary didn't come.

(3)
• *ジョンは来た。がメアリーは来なかった。
• John came. But Mary didn't come.

3. Sentence1 and Sentence2 in "Sentence1がSentence2" must be in the same form whether formal or informal, because they are both independent clauses. (4) and (5) are stylistically awkward.

(⇨ けれども)

(4)
• ??太郎は泳ぎましたが次郎は泳がなかった。
• Taro swam but Jiro didn't (swim).

(5)
• ??太郎は泳いだが次郎は泳ぎませんでした。
• Taro swam but Jiro didn't (swim).

4. Sentence2 in "Sentence1がSentence2" is often omitted when it is understandable from the context and/or the situation, or when the speaker doesn't want to continue for some reason (e.g., the sentence is too direct, impolite, embarrassing，etc.). Examples:

(6)
• 大じょうぶだと思いますが。
• I think it's all right but...

(7)
• トムはよく勉強するんですが。
• Tom studies hard but...

5. When "Sentence1がSentence2" expresses contrastive ideas, the contrastive は typically appears in Sentence1 and Sentence2 as in Key Sentence and Example (a).

(⇨ は1)

【Related Expressions】

だが, だけど, でも, しかし and けれども express the same idea as が. However, the first four cannot make compound sentences like が does; they must occur at the beginning of a sentence, as in [1].

(See Note 2.)

[1]

• a. Sentence1がSentence2.
• b. *Sentence1だが/だけど/でも/しかしSentence2.
• c. Sentence1。だが/だけど/でも/しかしSentence2.

けれども differs from が in that けれども is a subordinate conjunction meaning 'although'. That is, in "Sentence1けれどもSentence2", Sentence1けれども is a subordinate clause and Sentence2 is a main clause. In "Sentence1がSentence2", on the other hand, both Sentence1 and Sentence2 are independent clauses.

●Notes

1. There is a group of adjectives which, in the present tense, usually requires the first person (or a person with whom the speaker can empathize) as subject. If the subject of a sentence in which these adjectives occur is not the first person (or one with whom the speaker can empathize), then がる is attached to the adjective. Observe the accompanying change of particles from が into を.

(1)
• a. 僕は犬がこわい。
• Literally: To me dogs are scary, (= I am scared of dogs.)
• b.深田さんは犬をこわがっている。
• Mr, Fukada fears dogs.

(2)
• a. 僕はスポーツカーが欲しい。
• I want a sports car.
• b. 一男はスポーツカーを欲しがっている。
• Kazuo wants a sports car.

If an adjective appears in an embedded clause (except a nominalized clause), the がる attachment is unnecessary even if the tense is nonpast and the subject is a person with whom the speaker cannot empathize. Thus,

(3)
• a. 深田さんは犬がこわいと言った。
• Mr. Fukada said that he is scared of dogs.
• b.—男はスポーツカーが欲しいそうだ。
• I heard that Kazuo wants a sports car.

(⇨ 欲しい, Note 3)

がる conjugates as a Group 1 verb. Thus,

	⎧らない	informal, negative, nonpast
	⎢ります	formal, nonpast
	⎢る	informal, nonpast
欲しが	⎨れば	conditional
	⎢ろう	volitional
	⎢って	て form
	⎩ った	informal, past

3. The following psychological and physiological adjectives are commonly used with がる.

	Psychology
	Adjectiveい
欲しい	want	欲しがる
嬉しい	happy	嬉しがる
淋しい	lonely	淋しがる
たい	want to	たがる
怖い	scary	怖がる
羨ましい	envious	羨ましがる
面白い	amusing	面白がる
	Physiology
	Adjectiveい
痛い	painful	痛がる
苦しい	painful	苦しがる
かゆい	itchy	かゆがる
寒い	cold	寒がる
暑い	hot	暑がる
だるい	languid	だるがる
くすぐったい	ticklish	くすぐったがる
	Adjectiveな
迷惑だ	troublesome	迷惑がる
いやだ	dislike	いやがる

4. A limited number of がる forms have derived noun forms. The form is がり(屋), meaning 'a person who shows signs of being ~'.

(⇨ や)

• 淋しがり屋
• a person who always feels lonely
• こわがり屋
• a person who is easily frightened
• 寒がり屋
• a person who is sensitive to cold
• 暑がり屋
• a person who is sensitive to heat

●Notes

1. ごろ is used with a specific point of time. Thus, the following sentence is unacceptable.

(1)
• *夜ごろテレビを見ていました。
• *I was watching TV about at night.

2. Depending on the speaker's perspective, time expressions other than exact time expressions can be perceived as points in time. Thus, in Example (a), the month of June is a point in time from the speaker's viewpoint. In these cases, ごろ seems easier to use grammatically if there is some distance between the time of the event and the time of speech, as seen in the following examples.

(2)
• ??来年の夏ごろ山中さんに会います。
• *I will see Mr. Yamanaka around next summer.

(3)
• 再来年の夏ごろ山中さんに会います。
• I will see Mr. Yamanaka in the summer in a couple of years.

(4)
• ??去年の夏ごろ山中さんに会いました。
• *I met Mr. Yamanaka around the summer of last year.

(5)
• おととしの夏ごろ山中さんに会いました。
• I met Mr. Yamanaka sometime during the summer of the year before last.

【Related Expression】

ごろ is different from くらい/ぐらい 'about' in that the latter is used with specific quantity expressions. Thus,

[1]

• 僕は三時ごろに寝ました。
• I went to sleep at about 3 o'clock.

[2]

• 僕は三時間ぐらい寝ました。
• I slept about three hours.

●Notes

【Related Expression】

おきに indicates that something is repeated at certain intervals. Although its usage is comparable to ごとに, note the distinct difference in meanings in examples [1a] and [1b].

[1]

• a. この電車はニ駅おきに止まる。
• This train stops at every third station.
• b. この電車はニ駅ごとに止まる。
• This train stops at every other station.

When a time expression precedes おきに or ごとに, there is no difference in meaning, if an event takes place at one point in time as in [2a]. But there is difference in meaning, if an event takes place within a certain period of time as in [2b].

[2]

• a. 電車は五分おきに/ごとに出る。
• The train leaves every five minutes.
• b. 私は二日おきに/ごとに花子と会っている。
• I'm seeing Hanako every third day/every other day.

●Notes

1. Verbます始める conjugates exactly like the Group 2 Verb 始める.

	ない	informal, negative, nonpast
	ます	formal, nonpast
話しはじめ	る	informal, nonpast
食べはじめ	れば	conditional
	よう	volitional
	た	て form
	た	informal, past

2. For the sentence (1) below, there are two honorific versions, depending on which part of Verbます始める is changed into an honorific form; if the Verbます is changed into an honorific form, it will become (2a) and if the entire Verbます始める is changed into an honorific form, it will become (2b).

(1)
• 先生は本を書きはじめた。
• The teacher began to write a book.

(2)
• a. 先生はご本をお書きになりはじめた。
• b. 先生はご本をお書きはじめになった。

(⇨ お~になる)

3. 始める is normally attached to a non punctual verb (such as 読む 'read', 書く 'write' and 見る 'see'). If the subject is plural, however, the verb can be a punctual verb (such as 着く 'arrive', 来る 'come' and 死ぬ 'die'). Thus,

(3)
• 上田さんは新間を読みはじめました。
• Mr. Ueda began to read a newspaper.

(4)
• 人々/*花子が会場に着きはじめました。
• People/*Hanako began to arrive at the meeting room.

●Notes

1. "Sentenceはず" expresses the speakers expectation, not in the sense of hoping or looking forward to something, but in the sense that the proposition expressed by Sentence should be true or come true. Thus, when the speaker uses はず he is not merely guessing, but stating a proposition based on reliable information or knowledge.

(⇨ だろう; らしい; そうだ2; ようだ)

2. はず is a dependent noun and cannot be used alone. It is always modified by a sentence or a demonstrative such as その 'that' and こんな 'like this'. "Demonstrative はず" is used when a proposition is known to the hearer from the context, as in (1).

(1)
• A: マーサも来ますか。
• Is Martha coming, too?
• B: はい、そのはずです。
• Yes, I expect so.

3. Negative expectations can be expressed in two ways:

(A) Sentence (negative) はずだ

(2)
• クラークさんはパーティーに行かないはずだ。
• Literally: I expect that Mr. Clark is not going to the party.
• (= I don't expect that Mr. Clark is going to the party.)

(B) Sentenceはずは/がない

(3)
• クラークさんはパーティーに行くはずは/がない。
• Literally: I have no expectation that Mr. Clark is going to the party.
• (= It is improbable that Mr. Clark will go to the party.)

The assertion in (3) is stronger than that in (2).

4. "Sentenceはず" can also be used when the speaker has discovered the reason for an event or a state. In this case, はず means "It is natural that ~." or "No wonder ~." and can be paraphrased as "Sentenceわけだ." (⇨ わけだ) Example:

(4)
• 高いはずだ。これは金だ。
• No wonder this is expensive. It's gold.

5. When "Sentenceはず" modifies a noun, that is, when "Sentenceはず" is a relative clause, の follows, as in (5).

(⇨ Relative Clause)

(5)
• 山口さんに出したはずの手紙が床に落ちていた。
• I found the letter I thought I had sent to Mr. Yamaguchi on the floor.

●Notes

1. When ほど is preceded by a noun, the predicate must be negative, as in Key Sentence (A), Examples (a) and (b). The following sentences are ungrammatical.

(1)
• *私は太郎ほど強い。
• I am as strong as Taro.

(2)
• *フットボールほど面白いスポーツはたくさんある。
• There are many sports which are as interesting as football.

If a sentence or a demonstrative modifies ほど, however, the predicate of the main clause can be either affirmative or negative, as in Key Sentence (B), Example (d) and (3).

(3)
• その仕事はそれほどやさしいんですか。
• Is that job that easy (literally: easy to that extent)?

2. When ほど is used with a quantifier, it means 'about'. Example:

(4)
• ビールを三本ほど飲みました。
• I drank about three bottles of beer.

【Related Expressions】

ばかり and くらい also mean 'about' when they are used with a number and a counter. The difference among the three is that ばかり and ほど can be used with an exact number or amount of something, whereas くらい cannot, as seen in [1].

[1]

• そのりんごをニつばかり/ほど/*くらいください。
• Please give me two of those apples.

In the situation in [1] the speaker does not want about two apples but exactly two apples, and, in this case, くらい cannot be used. It is a very common practice in Japanese to avoid asking for exact numbers or amounts, and the practice comes from the idea that being straightforward or direct is impolite. This can be observed in many verbal and nonverbal expressions in Japanese and also in the manners of the Japanese people.

●Notes

1. Verb informal past ほうがいい is an idiomatic expression of the comparative structure and expresses a strong suggestion.

(⇨ ほうが~より)

2. The second person subject in declarative sentences and the first person subject in interrogative sentences are usually omitted. (Key Sentence and Examples (a) and (b)) When the subject is the third person, it is not omitted unless it can be clearly understood from the context. In this case, the speaker is telling the hearer what the speaker suggests for the third person. (Example (c))

3. Verb informal nonpast can be substituted for Verb informal past, as in (1).

(1)
• 日本語の本を読むほうがいい。
• You'd better read Japanese books.

The meaning of Verb informal nonpast ほうがいい is almost the same as that of Verb informal past ほうがいい if it is used in situations of suggestion. However, Verb informal past ほうがいい may express a stronger suggestion than Verb informal nonpast ほうがいい. For instance, in the following example, Verb informal past ほうがいい is more appropriate.

(2)
• お前、このごろ麻薬をやってるそうだな。そんなもの止めた/??止めるほうがいいぜ。
• I heard you are taking drugs these days. You'd better stop such things, I tell you.

4. "Had better not do something" is expressed by Verb negative ないほうがいい. Example:

(3)
• コーヒーを飲まないほうがいい。
• You'd better not drink coffee.

Note that the verb must be in the nonpast negative form in this expression. The following is ungrammatical.

(4)
• *コーヒーを飲まなかったほうがいい。
• You'd better not drink coffee.

●Notes

1. In Japanese there are no comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs. The idea of comparison is expressed by the "XのほうがYより" pattern. Yより may be omitted if it is clear from the context or the situation. Example:

(1)
• A: トムとジョンとどちらが強いですか。
• Who is stronger, Tom or John?
• B: トムのほうが(ジョンより)強いです。
• Tom is stronger (than John).

2. In the "Sentence1ほうがSentence2より" pattern (Key Senetnce (B)), Sentence1 can be either nonpast or past. Sentence2, however, is always nonpast regardless of the tense of Sentence1 and the main clause. There are two cases in which Sentence1 is past. First, Senence1 can be past when the whole sentence is about a present or future action or state. In this case, the sentence sounds rather hypothetical. Example:

(2)
• 私が話したほうが君が話すよりいいでしょう。
• It would probably be better if I talk rather than if you talk.

Sentence1 can also be past if the whole sentence is about a past action or state, in this case the sentence is counterfactual. Example:

(3)
• 私が話したほうが君が話すよりよかった。
• It would have been better if I had talked rather than you.

3. Yより can precede X(の)ほうが, as in (4).

(4)
• あのカメラよりこのカメラのほうが好きです。
• I like this camera better than that camera.

4. Xのほう is a noun phrase; therefore, it can also be a direct object, an indirect object, etc. However, when it is used for something other than the subject, the "YよりXのほう(を, に, etc.)" order is preferable. Examples:

(5)
• a. 私はビールより酒のほうをよく飲む。
• I drink sake more than beer.
• b. 学生は川田先生より木村先生のほうによく質問に行く。
• Students go to Professor Kimura to ask questions more often than to Professor Kawada.

【Related Expression】

The idea of comparison can be expressed by the "XはYより" pattern, too. (⇨ より) However, when this pattern is used, X must have already been established as a topic. Thus, in a context like [1], the "XはYより" pattern cannot be used.

[1]

• A: トムとジョンとどちらが強いですか。
• Who is stronger, Tom or John?
• B: トムのほうが/*トムは(ジョンより)強いです。
• Tom is stronger (than John).

On the other hand, in a context like [2], the "XはYより" pattern is preferable, because X has already been established in the previous sentence.

[2]

• トムはとても強いです。彼は/??彼のほうがジョンより強いです。
• Tom is very strong. He is stronger than John.

●Notes

1. The い type adjective 欲しい expresses a person's desire for some object. Like other stative transitive adjectives, 欲しい takes the は~が construction, where the experiencer is marked by は and the desired object by が. (In subordinate clauses the experiencer is also marked by が.)

(⇨ は~が)

2. Since 欲しい expresses a very personal feelings the experiencer is usually the first person in declarative sentences and the second person in interrogative sentences, as in Key Sentence (A), Examples (a) and (b). The third person's desire is usually expressed by 欲しがっている 'Literally: be showing the sign of wanting (something)', as in Key Sentence (B) and Example (c). (⇨ がる) It is noted that when 欲しがっている is used, the desired object is marked by を.

3. It is, however, acceptable to use 欲しい in connection with the third person experiencer in the following situations:

(1) In the past tense
モーリスはいいステレオがほしかった。 Maurice wanted a good stereo set.

(2) In indirect/semi-direct speech
a. ジョイもほしいと言っている。 Joy says she wants it, too.
b. オスカーもほしいそうだ。 I heard that Oscar wants it, too.

(3) In explanatory situations
パメラはイヤリングがほしいんです。 (The explanation is that) Pamela wants a pair of earrings.

(⇨ のだ)

(4) In conjecture expressions
a. フランシスは腕時計がほしいらしい。 It seems that Francis wants a wrist watch.
b. コニーは人形がほしいようだ。 It appears that Connie wants a doll.

●Notes

1. 欲しい is used as an auxiliary with Verbて to mean 'want (someone) to do (something)'. When the experiencer wants a person X to do something, X is marked by に. 欲しい is not used if X has a higher status than the experiencer. Thus, the following sentence is not appropriate when the speaker is a student of Profesoor Yoshida's. (See Related Expression, [2] for the correct sentence in that situation.)

(1)
• 私は吉田先生に来てほしい。
• I want Professor Yoshida to come.

2. When Verbて欲しい is used, the experiencer is usually the first person in declarative sentences (Key Sentence, Example (a)) and the second person in interrogative sentences (Example (b)). If the experiencer is the third person, Verbてもらいたがっている '(literally) be showing the sign of wanting to receive the favor of doing something from someone' is used, as in (2).

(⇨ もらう2; たい; がる)

(2)
• アダムスさんはフランシスにこの仕事をしてもらいたがっている。
• Mr. Adams wants Francis to do this job.

【Related Expression】

The same idea can also be expressed by Verbてもらいたい (⇨ もらう2; たい) Example:

[1]

• 私はあなたに英語を教えてもらいたい。
• I want you to teach me English.

This pattern can be used when the experiencer wants someone who has higher status to do something. In this case, いただく, the humble version of もらう, is used instead of もらう. Example:

[2]

• 私は吉田先生に来ていただきたい。
• I would like Professor Yoshida to come.

●Notes

一番 cannot be affixed directly to a noun as in *一番先生, meaning 'the best teacher'. It should precede an adjective, as in 一番いい先生. If the meaning is predictable, however, the adverbial form of adjectives, especially よく 'well, frequently', may be omitted, as in Example (b).

●Notes

1. 行く1 is used when someone or something moves in a direction away from the speaker or in a direction away from the speakers viewpoint, which is not necessarily the speaker's position. (⇨ 来る1) For example, in the following situation, 行く is used when the speaker (point C) places his viewpoint near point A.

(1)
• XさんはBに行った。
• Mr. X went to B.

	B
Xさん (^_^)	／	C
	A [うち]

2. When someone goes to his own "home base" (e.g., うち 'home'), うちに行く is ungrammatical. In this case, 帰る 'return' is used as in うちに帰る 'go home'.

3. There are cases where both 来る and 行く can be used with different shades of meaning. Examples:

(2)
• 君のうちに息子が来ませんでした/行きませんでしたか。
• Didn't my son go to your house?

(3) [The speaker lives in San Francisco and is calling his friend in New York who is coming to Los Angeles.]
• スミスさんは来月ロスアンジェルスに来る/行くそうですね。
• Mr. Smith, I was told that you're coming to Los Angeles next month.

In (2), when the speaker uses 来る, he is putting himself psychologically in the addressee's location; when he uses 行く he is not. In (3), 来る is more appropriate than 行く because, in general, a speaker is more empathetic with a location close to his own. The choice of 行く here definitely implies that the speaker is unusually unempathetic with his neighboring location.

●Notes

1. The point in time at which the action starts is the present time in Examples (a) and (b) and the past in Examples (c) and (d), respectively.

2. The following examples use 行く as a full verb meaning 'to go' and are not the usage of 行く2.

(1)
• 毎日会社にバスに乗って行く。
• Literally: I ride a bus every day and go to my company. (= I go to work every day by bus.)

(2)
• あのレストランでコーヒーを飲んで行きましょう。
• Literally: Let's drink coffee at that restaurant and go. (= Let's drink coffee at that restaurant and then continue on our way.)

【Related Expression】

When a change of state is expressed by 行く2, as in Examples (b) and (c), 行く2 can be replaced by 来る2, as in [1a] and [1b] below.

[1]

• a. これからは暖かくなって来ますよ。
• It will grow warmer from now on.
• b. その頃から日本の経済は強くなって来た。
• The Japanese economy grew stronger from that time on.

The 行く2 versions here are more impersonal and objective than the 来る2 versions. The latter versions stress that some change is going to involve or has involved the speaker himself, while the former versions are impersonal statements.

●Notes

1. いる1 expresses existence in terms of animal life. It cannot be used for plant life or inanimate things. Thus, the following sentence is ungrammatical.

(1)
• *このキャンパスには木がたくさんいる。
• There are many trees on this campus.

For plants and inanimate things, ある is used.

(⇨ ㊦ ある (1))

2. Two sentence patterns can be used with いる1. In the Key Sentence (A) pattern, a location is presented as the topic and what exists there is under focus. In this pattern the location marker に can optionally drop. In the Key Sentence (B) pattern, on the other hand, what exists is presented as the topic and where it exists is under focus.

(⇨ ㊦ ある (1), Note 3)

3. An animate thing or a group or organization of animate things such as a football team can also be in the location position, as seen in (2).

(2)
• a. 私(に)は子供が三人いる。
• Literally: There are three children with me. (= I have three children.)
• b. このチーム(に)はいいクオ一ターバックがいる。
• Literally: There is a good quarterback in this team. = This team has a good quarterback.)

●Notes

1. いる is used as an auxiliary verb with Verb-て and expresses the continuation of an action or state. In general, if Verb-て expresses an action which can continue or be repeated, Verb-て expresses the continuation of the action. If Verb-て is a verb indicating a momentary action which cannot be repeated, Verb-て expresses the idea that something happened to X and X maintains the state which was created by that event. Key Sentence and Example (a) are examples of the first usage and Examples (b), (c) and (d) are examples of the second usage. Note in Example (d) that 知る the dictionary form of 知って, means 'to get to know' and 知っている expresses the continuation of the state after the speaker got to know Miss Suzuki, which is expressed by know in English. It is also noted, however, that 'not to know' is not 知っていない but 知らない.

(⇨ ㊦ 知る・しる)

2. Verb-ている also expresses a habitual action, which is a special sort of repeated action. Example:

(1)
• 私は毎日四マイル走っている。
• I run four miles every day.

3. When Verb-て is a motion verb such as 行く 'go', 来る 'come' and 帰る 'return', the meaning of Verb-ている is not 'be ~ing'. For example, 行っている means 'to have gone to some place and to still be there'. The sentences in (2) provide examples.

(2)
• a. 次郎はアメリカに行っている。
• Jiro has gone to America and is there.
• b. ベックさんはもう家に帰っています。
• Mr. Beck has already returned home and is there.

4. The verb 住む 'live' requires the Verb-ている pattern if the sentence expresses a present state. Also, verbs like 言う 'say' and 思う 'think' with a third person subject require the Verb-ている pattern if the sentence expresses a present state. Examples:

(3)
• a. 私は東京に住んでいる/*住む。
• I live in Tokyo.
• b. ウェストさんは日本語はやさしいと思っている/*思う。
• Mr. West thinks that Japanese is easy.

●Notes

1. いる 'need' takes the は～が construction, where the experiencer (that is, the person or thing that needs something) is followed by は and the necessary object by が.

(⇨ ㊦ は～が)

2. いる 'need' is a Group 1 verb; thus, the negative form is いらない, the polite form is いります and the て-form is いって.

3. The experiencer can also take the particle に, as in (1).

(1)
• a. この子にはいい家庭教師がいる。
• This child needs a good tutor. (Literally: For this child, a good tutor is necessary.)
• b.このプロジェクトには人と金がいる。
• This project needs people and money. (Literally: For this project people and money are necessary.)

4. In subordinate clauses, the experiencer is followed by either が or に, as in (2), unless the sentence is contrastive. (In that case, は follows.)

(⇨ ㊦ は (1))

(2)
• この車が/にガソリンがたくさんいることを知っていましたか。
• Did you know that this car needs a lot of gas?

●Notes

1. 自分1 is an empathy marker that normally refers back to the subject of the main clause as in Key Sentence (A), Examples (a), (b) and (c), or to the discourse topic as in Key Sentence (B) and Example (d).

2. When 自分 is an empathy marker, its referent (i.e., the subject of the sentence) is normally a passive experiencer. In other words, the referent is not an agent (i.e., someone who initiates and/or completes an action).

(⇨ 自分2)

3. Example (c) is an ambiguous sentence, because 自分 can refer to either the main subject Michiko or to Kazuo. 自分's reference to Kazuo is not a counter example of 自分's strong tendency to refer to the subject, however, because Kazuo is semantically the subject of the verb 行く 'go'. Also to be noted is that Michiko is an agent of the causative action, but Kazuo is a passive experiencer of the causative action. Indeed，it is easier to look at Kazuo as the object of the speaker's empathy, because he is a passive experiencer. It is very likely that 自分 is not an empathy marker but a contrastive marker when it refers to an agent Michiko. Other similar ambiguous sentences follow:

(1)
• a. 道子は一男に自分の車で行ってもらった。
• Literally: Michiko received from Kazuo a favor of going there in her/his own car. ( = Michiko had Kazuo go there in her/his own car.)
• b. 道子は一男に自分の車で行かれた。
• Literally: Michiko is annoyed by the fact that Kazuo went there by her/his own car. ( = Michiko had Kazuo go there in her/his own car.)

Note that 自分 in (1a, b) is an empathy marker when it refers to Michiko and is a contrastive marker when it refers to Kazuo.

(⇨ 自分2)

4. The referent of 自分 in a complex sentence has to be conscious of the situation expressed in the main clause. Compare (2a) and (2b):

(2)
• a. 友子は自分が死ぬ前に子供が大学に入った。
• Literally: Speaking of Tomoko, before she (Literally: herself) died, her child entered college. (= Before Tomoko died, her child entered college.)
• b. *友子は自分が死んだあとで子供が大学に入った。
• Literally: Speaking of Tomoko, after she (Literally: herself) had died, her child entered college. (= After Tomoko died, her child entered college.)

The sentence (2b) is ungrammatical because one can hardly empathize with a dead person.

●Notes

自分 is a contrastive marker if at least one of the following three conditions is met:

• (1) its referent is an agent (as in Key Sentences (B), (C), Examples (b), (c) and (d)).
• (2) the subject is generic (as in Key Sentences (A) and Example (a)).
• (3) 自分 cannot be replaced by an implicit third person pronoun (Ø) or by an explicit third person pronoun (such as 彼 'he' and 彼女 'her').

Key Sentence (C) satisfies the condition (3), because if 自分 is replaced by Ø or 彼 'he', the meaning of the sentence changes into 'Kazuo encouraged him.'

【Related Expression】

自分 is 自分1 if the referent does not satisfy any of the three conditions given in Note; if it satisfies at least one of them it is 自分2.

●Notes

1. The basic function of か is to mark an alternative. It can mark either nouns or sentences. When it marks nouns, the final か is usually omitted. When it marks sentences, the sentences are subordinate clauses; that is, they must be in the informal form. The topic marker は must not be used.

2. か cannot be used to connect two questions. Thus, the following sentences are ungrammatical.

(1)
• a. *これはあなたのですか。か私のですか。
• Is this yours or mine?
• b. *私と一緒に来ますか。かここにいますか。
• Will you come with me? Or will you stay here?

In this case, それとも is used instead of か.

(⇨ それとも)

【Related Expression】

それとも is also used with alternatives. However, the function of それとも is to connect two alternatives, not to mark an alternative. Thus, それとも appears with か, not in place of か. Examples:

[1]

• 肉が高かったか，それとも一郎が肉がきらいだったかどちらかだ。
• Either meat was expensive or Ichiro didn't like meat.

[2]

• 私と一緒に来ますか。それともここにいますか。
• Will you come with me? Or will you stay here?

それとも is optional in [1], but not in [2].

●Notes

1. The question marker か is a special use of the か which marks an alternative (i.e., か1). For example, Key Sentence (A) came from (1), with the parenthesized part omitted.

(⇨ か1)

(1)
• よし子は大学へ行きますか。（それとも行きませんか。)
• Is Yoshiko going to college? (Or is she not?)

2. Unless it is very informal, an interrogative sentence is marked by か whether it is a yes-no question or an interrogative word question. (⇨ だい; かい) Note that in Japanese interrogative sentences, the word order is the same as that of the corresponding declarative sentence. Also, an interrogative sentence is pronounced with rising intonation whether it is a yes-no question or a interrogative word question.

3. か remains in indirect questions as in Key Sentence (B), Examples (c) and (d).

4. When the informal forms of な type adjectives and the copula precede the question marker か, だ drops. A possible reason is that だ, the informal form of です, expresses a strong assertion and it conflicts with the question marker か, which expresses the speaker's uncertainty about something.

(⇨ かい; かもしれない; かしら)

●Notes

1. When the optional どうか is used, the embedded question has to be a yes-no question. If it is not used，then the question can be either a yes-no question or an interrogative word question.

(1)
• レストランで何を食べたか/*かどうか覚えていますか。
• Do you remember what you ate at the restaurant?

(2)
• その時だれと一緒にいたか/*かどうか覚えていますか。
• Do you remember who you were with at that time?

2. Typical final verbs include, among others, verbs of knowing, examining, understanding, asking, remembering, and deciding.

3. Sentnece informal か(どうか) can be used as a noun phrase that takes particles such as が and を.

(3)
• 仕事をやめるかどうかが問題だった。
• Whether or not to quit the job was the question.

(4)
• 大学院に行くかどうかを今考えています。
• I'm now thinking about whether or not I will go to graduate school.

●Notes

1. Since かい is used in informal speech, preceding sentences must be in the informal form. The following sentences are unacceptable.

(1)
• a. *日本語はおもしろいです(の)かい。
• Is Japanese interesting?
• b. *上野さんはアメリカへ行きます(の)かい。
• Is Mr. Ueno going to America?

2. かい is used only for yes-no questions. Thus, the following sentences are ungrammatical.

(2)
• a. *どこへ行く(の)かい。
• Where are you going?
• b. *あの人はだれ(なの)かい。
• Who is that person?

In these sentences, だい is used. (⇨ だい)

3. Questions in the Key Sentence (A) pattern and those in the Key Sentence (B) pattern correspond to questions without のです and those with のです in formal speech, respectively.

(⇨ のだ)

4. Questions in female informal speech can be formed by dropping かい in male informal questions and using rising intonation. Examples:

(3)
• a.日本語はおもしろい(の)？
• Is Japanese interesting?
• b. 上野さんはアメリカへ行く(の)？
• Is Mr. Ueno going to America?
• c. あの人は先生(なの)？
• Is that person a teacher?

For a summary of the endings for informal questions, see だい, Related Expression.