So let me show some example sentences:
"Neko wa niwa ni ita" (The cat was in the garden)
"Kare wa gohan ga suki datta" (He liked rice)
"Taro wa ringo o tabeta" (Taro ate apples)
"Kare wa sensei datta" (He was a teacher)
[Chapter 3.3 - Polite verb-forms]
What about the polite form, the masu-form? Well, it can be made into past as well, of course. And it is actually very simple. Because the masu-form is just treated like a consonant-stem verb whose stem ends in "s". So.:
"Chichi wa sake o nomimashita" (My father drank sake)
"Oniisan wa tabako o suimashita" (My big brother smoked a cigarette)
"Satou-san deshita" (It was mr. Satou)
As I said earlier the masu-form is what should normally be used in speech. And luckily this is the form which is easiest to turn into past time. Therefore many grammar books start by learning you
only this form, but I thought it was important to introduce the other form too, as it is used much later on when you start combining verbs.
[Chapter 3.4 - Adjectives]
Ok, now for something completely different: Adjectives. Adjectives are a rich and interesting group of words in Japanese too. Many words which we normally wouldn't consider adjectives are indeed so in Japanese. For instance "to like".. in Japanese it is called "is likeable". Or "to hate" is called "dislikeable".
Like the verbs could be categorized in groups, so can the adjectives. The two types are: True adjectives and quasi-adjectives. They are also called i-adjectives and na-adjectives because the first type of adjective always ind in an "i" and the second has the particle "na" added to it in certain situations.
Here are some examples. I have pritten "na" after the na-adjectives even though it is not really a part of the word. Note that there are indeed some na-adjectives that and in "i". But like with the exceptions with the verbs.. you will soon learn them.
Akai = red
Aoi = blue
Shiroi = white
Kuroi = black
Kurai = dark
Akarui = light
Ii = good
Warui = bad
Tsuyoi = strong
Tsurai = painful
Wakai = Young
Takai = Tall, expensive
Mijikai = short
Hikui = short, low
Yasui = Cheap
Osoi = Late, slow
Hayai = Early, fast
Yasashii = Kind
Furui = old (used with things)
Minikui = ugly
Mazui = Ugly, unappetizing
Kirei na = nice, clean
Suteki na = beautiful
Jouzu na = skillful
Heta na = unskillful
Suki na = likeable
There are also a lot of nouns that can function as adjectives. Then they have a "no" added to them. Examples.:
Midoriiro no = green
Kiiro no = yellow
Hontou no = true
Shizen no = natural
Takusan no = many
In Japanese the adjectives come before the word they describe, just like in English. So here are some examples:
"Akai kuruma" (A red car)
"Hikui hito" (A short person)
"Tsurai keiken" (A painful experience)
When you use on of the na-adjectives, you insert the na between the adjective and the noun.
"Kirei na heya" (A clean room)
"Suteki na keshiki" (A beutiful landscape)
"Suki na hito" (A person I like)
If you want to say that something is X, where X is the adjective, you use the adjective in its nominal form. For the i-adjectives this form is identical to the above listed, but with the na-adjectives the na disappears. Thus the adjective almost works as a noun.
Since the na-adjectives becomes nouns, so to speak, you need to add "da" or "desu" after it. For the i-adjectives though this is not necessary unless you want to make the sentence extra polite.
"Kuruma wa akai." (The car is red)
"Kono niku wa warui". (This meat is no good)
"Ano heya wa shizuka da" (That room is quiet)
"Kare ga suki desu yo" (I like him!)
[Chapter 3.5 - Adjectives past form]
The adjectives can be turned into past form just by exchanging the "i" with katta for i-adjectives, and by adding "datta" for the na-adjective. See, again the na-adjectives act just like nouns!
"Yokatta" (That was good)
"Anata no ie wa akakatta" (His house were red)
"Kono kuruma wa takakatta" (This car is expensive)
"Toire wa kirei datta " (The toilet was nice and clean)
The polite form is, for the i-adjectives, made simply my adding "desu" to the past form, just like you did with the present form. For the na-adjectives... well you guessed it: use "deshita" in stead of "datta". It may sound strange to use "desu" with the i-adjectives when the adjective is in the past form... but this is how it is done. Strange but true:
"Hon wa yasukatta desu" (The book was cheap)
"Daidokoro wa shizuka deshita" (The kitchen was quiet)
"Otousan wa jouzu na hito deshita" (Your father was a skillful person)
[Chapter 3.6 - The particle no]
Before I end this chapter, I would like to introduce an important particle, "no". As with all the other particles it has many usages. The easiest to explain is that of acting as genitive. This is what is marked in English by "'s". As in: "John's house". But also like in the sentence "The roof of the house". In Japanese this construct is made by adding "no" to the noun that possesse something else:
"Jon-san no otaku" (John's house)
"Watashi no kuruma" (My car)
"Sakana no atama wa mazui" (The head of the fish is not tasty)
You can even use it without a noun after the "no", like in the English, "This car is John's":
"Kono kuruma wa jon-san no desu" (This car is John's)
"Sakana wa anata no desu ka?" (Is this fish yours?)
"Boku no kodomo wa kare no ga suki desu" (My kid likes his (kid))
But "no" can also replace "ga" in some sentences. Typically if the sentence gets a little complex, like if there were to be two "ga" or a "ga" and a "wa" in it.. Take this example:
"Kare ga suki na hito wa kimasu" (The person that he likes will come)
See how the first part of the sentence "Kare ga suki..." is coupled to the noun "hito"... and everything becomes the subject of the last part "wa kimasu". This could also be written:
"Kare no suki na hito wa kimasu" (The person that he like will come)
Does it look stupid? I don't think so, cause in English you might also say:
His beloved person is coming
right? And here you use "his" the genitive form of "he", just like in the Japanese sentence you used "kare no".
Now if you are reaching this text you are still interested! So now go and practice the few things I have learned you. Look up some nouns or adjectives in your dictionary, or in Jim Breen's online dictionary. The good thing about nouns and adjectives is, that they are relatively easy to understand. Once you get the meaning of a certain noun, it is easy to use. The verbs though can have so many meanings, and can be used in so many different situation that some of them would require a japanese course all for themselves!
If you are in doubt wether your sentences sound right, don't hesitate to mail me a letter, and I will help correcting you. Hey, we are all in this together, right? :)
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