LearningJapanese

This tutorial makes use of the location words that I uploaded previously (link in description). As you may recall, I have previously taught how to ask where things are: がっこうはどこですか。 Gakkou wa doko desu ka. Where is the school? So far, all I've taught for a reply is "here", "there", and "over there". Now we're going to learn to be a bit more descriptive. The way the sentence is organized is as follows: X は Y の (location word) です。 Where "X" is (location word) "Y". This words for all of the location words I have given except f

This tutorial will cover the verb ru-verb 'iru'. As you may recall from the previous tutorial, 'aru' is used for inanimate or nonliving things. 'Iru', on the other hand, is used for living things. 'Iru' still follows the same rules as 'aru' in regards to particle use with 'ga' and 'ni'. Let's see some examples. そこにりゅうがくせいがいます。 Soko ni ryuugakusei ga imasu. There is an international student there. Notice the difference between the above and the below: ボブさんはりゅうがく

For this tutorial, we'll be covering a few things. Keep in mind that this is just the basics for the following grammar. Today, we will be learning "aru". item+がある item+ga aru We use the 'ga' particle to introduce or present the item before it. (Later on I'll go more in-depth about the differences between 'ga' and 'wa', but for now, remember to just use 'ga'.) "item+ga aru" means "there is/are (item)". The "item" in question must be something inanimate (such as a building, thing, or plant [as confirmed by my old Japanese teacher]) or nonliving. This is important to remember while using "aru"! Let's try out a few sent

In this tutorial, I will be going over inviting someone to join you in something. To make an invitation, you take the present negative form of the verb and add the particle 'ka' at the end. You cannot use the affirmative form to extend an invitation. It would only make a question, not an invitation. Let's try some: ばんごはんをたべませんか。 Bangohan wo tabemasen ka. Would you like to have dinner (with me)? (Or something to that effect.) サッカーをしませんか。 Sakkaa wo shimasen ka. Would you l

For this tutorial, we will be making use of the frequency adverbs that I posted earlier. If you have not looked them over, I suggest you do so now. Frequency adverbs help you better describe how often you do something, be it every day, not at all, or somewhere in between c: わたしはときどきウォルマートにいきます。 Watashi wa tokidoki worumaato ni ikimasu. I sometimes go to Walmart. わたしはよくしゅくだいをします。 Watashi wa

The next particle to cover is 'ni'. 'Ni' has many uses, but for the purpose of this tutorial, I will be covering two of them. The first one is "the goal of movement" or "the goal toward which things move." This is just like the 'e' particle. You can use either one, it does not matter. きょう、わたしはがっこうにいきます。 Kyou, watashi wa gakkou ni ikimasu. Today, I will go to school. –REFRESHER– Today, I (subject) will be going (movement) to school (place of destination; you are moving to get there). きの

For this tutorial, I will be covering the /basics/ of two particles: de and e. Let's get started with the 'de' particle. The 'de' particle marks the noun in which the verb/action takes place. A somewhat literal translation would be the equivalent of 'in' or 'at'. わたしはうちでにほんごをべんきょうします。 Watashi wa uchi de nihongo wo benkyoushimasu. At home I study Japanese. OR I study Japanese at home. (Keep in mind, this could also be understood as, "I will study Japanese at home." depending on the context/inte

This tutorial will cover using verbs in a sentence as well as the particle 'wo'. Before we get into any verbs, we need to first learn what 'wo' is. 'Wo' is the particle used for marking the direct object in a sentence. It comes after the direct object in the sentence. – For those of who you who need a referesher in what direct objects are, here is a quick review: In English, the direct object will follow a transitive/action verb and can be nouns, pronouns, etc. They answer the question "who?" or "what?" Some simple examples: I (sub.) ate (verb) a banana (d.o.). We (sub.) played (verb) soccer (d.o.). If you need more information,

For this tutorial, I'll be covering present negative, past affirmative and past negative of the "masu" form. This may remind you of the "desu" lessons covered previously as there are similarities. Hopefully you remember how to get to the "masu" form from each verb type as this is necessary before moving on. Let's get started! The first form to cover is the present negative form. What this basically means is a sentence like, "This is not an apple." The sentence is in the present tense (is) but also negative (not). To achieve this, we change "masu" after the verb stem to "masen". かえりません (kaerimasen)

The next verb form I'm going to teach you is the "masu" form. This will take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll get it soon enough c: The "masu" form is the present affirmative tense of verbs. It is also the future tense as the language has no separate way to say it. I'll go more over the meaning of the verbs at a later time. For now, let's just learn how to conjugate. Let's start with 'ru-verbs'. To make a 'ru-verb' into 'masu' form, you take it's stem. The verb stems for 'ru-verbs' are very easy to figure out as they are the same their respective verb base. You add 'masu' to the verb stem and that's it for 'ru-verbs' :D Pretty simp