Learn Minna no Nihongo Grammar – Lesson 8

Learn Minna no Nihongo Grammar – Lesson 8
Let’s study N5-level Japanese grammar, lesson by lesson, following the Minna no Nihongo textbook.

Lesson 8:

1. Adjectives:
• い-adjectives: they end in い : 小(ちい)さい(small)、大(おお)きい(big)、熱(あつ)い(hot)…
• な-adjectives : they end in な : ハンサム（な） (handsome)、しんせつ（な）(kind)、 …
• Note:
– The な ending sometimes appears and sometimes does not, depending on the word and the sentence.
– Some words are easily mistaken for い-adjectives: きれい（な）(beautiful, clean)、
きらい（な）(to dislike)

2. Sentence patterns with adjectives
a. Affirmative sentences
Nは どうですか。 What is N like?
N はA (な) です。
N はAいです。
• Usage:
– どう is the question word asking about the quality of, or your impression of, a thing or person; it asks directly about the noun’s quality (no noun follows it)
– い-adjectives keep their い
– な-adjectives drop the な

• Examples:
あの人はハンサムです。
Anohito wa hansamu desu.
That person is handsome.

このかばんはどうですか。
Kono kaban wa dō desuka.
What is this bag like?

たかいです。
Takaidesu.
That bag is expensive.

3. N1 は どんな N2 ですか。 What kind of N2 is N1?
N1 は + A い + N2 です。
N1 は + A (な) + な + N2 です。
• Usage:
– どんな is the question word asking about your impression of, or the quality or state of, a person or thing; it asks what a noun is like (a noun must follow it)
– The adjective goes before the noun to modify it
– な-adjectives keep their な
– い-adjectives keep their い
• Examples:
田中さんどんな人ですか。
Tanakasan wa donna hito desuka.
What kind of person is Mr Tanaka?

親切な人です。
Shinsetsu na hito desu.
He is a kind person

富士山はどんな山ですか。
Fujisan wa donna yama desuka.
What kind of mountain is Mount Fuji?

高い山です。
Takai yama desu.
It is a high mountain.

4. あまり＋．．．negative adjective: Not very ~ / Not particularly ~
• Usage: あまり before an adjective in the negative expresses partial negation.
• Examples:
日本語は 難しいですか。
Nihongo wa muzukashī desuka.
Is Japanese difficult?

…いいえ、あまり難しくないです。
Iie, amari muzukashiknai desu.
No, it is not very difficult.

5. Sentence1 が、Sentence2: S1 but S2
• Usage: The particle が means “but” and links 2 clauses with contrasting meanings.
• Examples:
このでんわはべんりですが、たかいです。
Kono denwa wa benri desu ga takaidesu.
This phone is convenient but expensive.

6. Sentence1。そして Sentence2: S1. And S2
• Usage: そして is a conjunction meaning “and”, used to join 2 sentences with similar content. そして is different from と (which joins 2 nouns).
• Examples:
この部屋はきれいです。そして、広いです。
Kono heya wa kirei desu. Soshite, hiroi desu.
This room is nice and spacious.

7. N はどれですか。Which one is N?
• Usage: どれ： a question word meaning “which one”, used to ask the listener to choose one out of several things (2 or more).

• Examples:
田中さんのほんはどれですか。
Tanakasan no hon wa dore desuka.
Which one is Mr Tanaka’s book?

白いのです。
Shiroi no desu.
It is the white one.