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Expressing a sequence of states (nouns + adjectives)

nouns + na-adjectives = de, i-adjecties i -> kute, ii -> yo+kute

  • 私の部屋は、きれいで、静かで、とても好き。

    • (Watashi no heya wa, kirei de, shizuka de, totemo suki.)
    • My room is clean, quiet, and I like it a lot.

  • 彼女は、学生じゃなくて、先生だ。

    • (Kanojo wa, gakusei janakute, sensei da.)
    • She is not a student, she is a teacher.

  • 田中さんは、お金持ちで、かっこよくて、魅力的ですね。

    • (Tanaka-san wa, okanemochi de, kakkoyokute, miryokuteki desu ne.)
    • Tanaka-san is rich, handsome, and charming, isn’t he?

Expressing a sequence of verbs with the te-form

In a similar fashion, you can express multiple actions. It is usually interpreted as a sequence of event. (I did [X], then I did [Y], then I finally did [Z].) There are two forms: positive and negative. The tense of all the actions is determined by the tense of the last verb.

!NOTE: The tense of all the actions is determined by the tense of the last verb.

  • 食堂に行って、昼ご飯を食べて、昼寝をする。
    • (Shokudou ni itte, hirugohan o tabete, hirune o suru.)
    • I will go to cafeteria, eat lunch, and take a nap.
  • 食堂に行って、昼ご飯を食べて、昼寝をした。
    • (Shokudou ni itte, hirugohan o tabete, hirune o shita.)
    • I went to cafeteria, ate lunch, and took a nap.
  • 時間がありまして、映画を見ました。
    • (Jikan ga arimashite, eiga o mimashita.)
    • There was time and I watched a movie.

Expressing reason or causation using 「から」 and 「ので」

KARA

[reason] から [result]

NOTE: When the reason is a non-conjugated noun or na-adjective, you must add 「だ」 to explicitly declare the reason in the form of 「(noun/na-adjective)だから」

  • 時間がなかったからパーティーに行きませんでした。
    • (Jikan ga nakatta kara paatii ni ikimasen deshita.)
    • There was no time so didn’t go to the party.
  • 友達からプレゼントが来た。
    • (Tomodachi kara purezento ga kita.)
    • Present came from a friend.
  • 友達だからプレゼントが来た。
    • (Tomodachi dakara purezento ga kita.)
    • Present came because (the person is) a friend. (This sentence sounds a bit odd.)

Node

ちょっと忙しい[isogashii]ので、そろそろ失礼します[shitsureimasu]。 Because I’m a little busy, I’ll be making my leave soon.

DO NOT FORGET TO USE na node in case of nouns and na-adj

  • 私は学生なので、お金がないんです。
    • (Watashi wa gakusei na no de, okane ga nain desu.)
    • Because I’m a student, I have no money (lit: there is no money).
  • ここは静かなので、とても穏やかです。
    • (Koko wa shizuka na no de, totemo odayaka desu.)
    • It is very calm here because it is quiet.
  • なので、友達に会う時間がない。
    • (Na no de, tomodachi ni au jikan ga nai.)
    • That’s why there’s no time to meet a friend.

na no de -> na nde ...

  • 時間がなかったんでパーティーに行かなかった。
    • (Jikan ga nakattan de paatii ni ikanakatta.)
    • Didn’t go to the party because there was no time.
  • ここは静かなんで、とても穏やかです。
    • (Koko wa shizuka nan de, totemo odayaka desu.)
    • It is very calm here because it is quiet.
  • なんで、友達に会う時間がない。
    • (Nan de, tomodachi ni au jikan ga nai.)
    • That’s why there’s no time to meet a friend.

Using 「のに」 to mean “despite”

Grammatically, 「のに」 is used exactly the same way as 「ので」.

When used to combine two simple sentences together, it means “[Sentence 1] despite the fact that [Sentence 2].” However the order is reversed: [Sentence 2]のに[Sentence 1].

  • 毎日運動したのに、全然痩せなかった。
    • (Mainichi undou shita noni, zenzen yasenakatta.)
    • Despite exercising every day, I didn’t get thinner.
  • 学生なのに、彼女は勉強しない。
    • (Gakusei nanoni, kanojo wa benkyou shinai.)
    • Despite being a student, she does not study.

Expressing contradiction using 「が」 and 「けど」

Used in the same manner as 「から」 and 「ので」, 「が」 and 「けど」 also connect two sentences together but this time to express a contradiction. Just like 「から」 the declarative 「だ」 is required for nouns and na-adjectives. And just like 「から」 and 「ので」, either part of the contradiction can be left out.

  • デパートに行きましたが、何も欲しくなかったです。
    • (Depaato ni ikimashita ga, nanimo hoshikunakatta desu.)
    • I went to the department store but there was nothing I wanted.
  • 友達に聞いたけど、知らなかった。
    • (Tomodachi ni kiita kedo, shiranakatta.)
    • I asked (or heard from) a friend but he (or I) didn’t know.
  • 今日は暇だけど、明日は忙しい。
    • (Kyou wa hima dakedo, ashita wa isogashii.)
    • I’m free today but I will be busy tomorrow.
  • だけど、彼がまだ好きなの。
    • (Dakedo, kare ga mada suki na no.)
    • That may be so, but it is that I still like him. [explanation, feminine tone]

Also

デパートに行きましたが、いい物がたくさんありました。 I went to the department store and there was a lot of good stuff.
マトリックスを見たけど、面白かった。 I watched the “Matrix” and it was interesting.

Expressing multiple reasons using 「し」

When you want to list reasons for multiple states or actions you can do so by adding 「し」 to the end of each relative clause. It is very similar to the 「や」 particle except that it lists reasons for verbs and state-of-being. Again, for states of being, 「だ」 must be used to explicitly declare the state-of-being for any non-conjugated noun or na-adjective. Let’s look at some examples.

Example 1

Ａ：どうして友達じゃないんですか？ A: Why isn’t (he/she) friend [seeking explanation]? Ｂ：先生だし、年上だし・・・。 B: Well, he’s/she’s the teacher, and older… Example 2

Ａ：どうして彼が好きなの？ A: Why (do you) like him? Ｂ：優しいし[yasashii]、かっこいいし、面白いから[omoshiroi]。 B: Because he’s kind, attractive, and interesting (among other things). Notice that 「優しくて、かっこよくて、面白いから。」 could also have worked but much like the difference between the 「と」 and 「や」 particle, 「し」 implies that there may be other reasons.

Expressing multiple actions or states using 「～たりする」

This is the verb version of the 「や」 particle. You can make an example list of verbs among a possible larger list by conjugating each verb into the past tense and adding 「り」. At the end, you need to attach the verb 「する」. Just like the 「や」 particle, the tense is determined by the last verb, which in this case will always be 「する」 (since you have to attach it at the end). You can also use this with the state-of-being to say that you are a number of things at various random times among a larger list. Similar to regular verbs, you just take the noun or adjective for each state-of-being and conjugate it to the past state-of-being and then attach 「り」. Then finally, attach 「する」 at the end.

  • 映画を見たり、本を読んだり、昼寝したりする。 -(Eiga o mitari, hon o yondari, hirune shitari suru.)
    • I do things like (among other things) watch movies, read books, and take naps.
  • この大学の授業は簡単だったり、難しかったりする。 -(Kono daigaku no jugyou wa kantan dattari, muzukashikattari suru.)
    • Classes at this college are sometimes easy, sometimes difficult (and other times something else maybe).

Also

  • 映画を見たり、本を読んだりした。
    • (Eiga o mitari, hon o yondari shita.)
    • I did things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books.
  • 映画を見たり、本を読んだりしない。
    • (Eiga o mitari, hon o yondari shinai.)
    • I don’t do things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books.
  • 映画を見たり、本を読んだりしなかった。
    • (Eiga o mitari, hon o yondari shinakatta.)
    • I didn’t do things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books.