にほんご１３1　 4 Main Sentence Types

1. Aは B です＝　Topic + Comment = A is B

わたし　の　なまえ は　うえだ　です。

My Name is Ueda

わたし　は　がくせい　です。

I am a Student

（わたし　は）いちねんせい　です。

I am a First Year Student.

(わたしの)　せんこう　は　せいじがく　です。

[My] Major is Politics.

 

Basically, in these A は B です structures, the subject or Topic of the sentence--the thing that is set-off by the particle は--is "equated" with the predicate or the second half of the sentence. In your mind, you can think of what comes before は as signalling, "As for A..." then the rest of the sentence, the predicate, is a comment on A, i.e., what comes before the は.

In English, "IS" is a linking verb showing existence or the condition of the subject. In Japanese, the so-called "copular" verb DESU is similar in function. A copula just means that the verb is not a very "strong" or "active verb; it simply "equates" the subject to the predicate. In Japanese, it equates what is to the left of the は, or to what follows, what is to the right of the は. Therefore, it can show identity (Max is a dog), some qualities or properties of the dog (He is furry), the condition or state he is in (He is happy), and membership in a set (He is one of my pets).

 

Negative of です = じゃない、じゃありません

にねんせい　じゃないです／じゃありません。

I am not a sophomore.

 

 

2. Sentences ending with a verb of LOCATION or EXISTENCE, あります for inanimate objects, います for living things--people, pets, etc.

These verbs tend to use が to mark the object we are talking about, and に to locate the object in time or Space. e.g.

Some Location に Some Thing が あります.

= There is or there exists a Thing in such-and-such a Place.

 

3. Transitive Verb Sentences with "action" verbs like eat, drink, watch, write, read, listen, do, etc.

Use Direct Object particle を between object and verb.　

e.g. Fish を Eat (たべます). Coffee を Drink (のみます).

 

4. Motion Verbs with Place　+ go, come, return

Use directional particles へ or に for "to" as in

I go to, come to or return to Place Y.

 

Note on Particles:

It tends to be the TYPE of VERB (hence the Sentence Type) that determines which of the many Particles we might use with them. As noted above, we often see

ーー the particle は　with　です constructions

We use these types of sentences a lot for descriptions and information about something or someone:

A IS B as in A is equivalent to B or

B describes/explains something about A.

Tanaka-san IS a student;

Tanaka-san IS a First Year;

Tanaka-san IS NOT a French person;

He IS Japanese.

His Major IS...

We also use です with Adjectives, e.g.,

S/he is Tall, Pretty, Busy, Nice, Kind, etc.

So we are describing Attributes of the Person or Place under discussion.

 

ーー が and に show up alot with あります and います constructions: The broom is over there. Or Tanaka-san is in his room.

The difference between the IS of a です sentence and the IS of an あります or います sentence is subtle, but the difference is there. With あります and います sentences, we are saying THERE IS something in some Location, not that the Location IS this or that (Big, Small, Far, Expensive, etc.) which is what an A は B です would do.

So it is more of an "Existence" or "Location" statement than a Descriptive comment on some quality of the Topic (the Topic is what comes before the は.　People say that the A は B です structure is very much a Topic followed by a Comment type of construction:

As for Tanaka-san (は), s/he is a Junior (です).

 

ーー we use を with all our Transitive Verb sentences to mark the Object upon which the Verb is acting; in these sentences, we usually use で mark the Place where the action occurs; and

 

ーー Finally, we use Directional Particles へ or に meaning "to" in order to indicate the destination of movement of Motion Verbs like

Go, Come, and Return (いきます、きます and かえりえますrespectively). e.g.,

Place へ or に いきます. I Go to place X .

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions