Nikolay Tsvetinov's Learned Grammar

When the noun N1 represents a direction or a position, e.g. うえ, した, まえ, うしろ, みぎ, ひだり, なか, そと, となり, ちかく or あいだ, it shows a positional relationship with N1.

When added after a noun denoting a place, the particle で indicates the occurrence of an action in that place.

When talking about doing something with a person or an animal, the person or animal is marked with the particle と. If doing something by oneself, the expression ひとりで is used. In this case, the particle と is not used. ひとりで 東京へ 行きます。　ー＞　I'm going to Tokyo on my own.

Verbs like もらいます, かります and ならいます indicate receiving things or information, so they are used with a noun indicating the person from whom those things or information are received. The particle に is used to denote that person. [Note] から can be used instead of に in this sentence pattern. から is always used when receiving something from an organisation such as a company or school rather than a person. Example: - ［わたしは］ 銀行から お金を 借りました。（［わたしは］ ぎんこうから おかねを かりました。） - I borrowed some money from the bank.

Verbs like あげます, かします and おしえます indicate imparting things or information, so they must be used with a noun saying to whom those things or information are imparted. The particle に is used to denote the recipient.

Verb (dictionary form) + ところ → “just about to do [verb]” So: - 帰るところ = about to go home - 食べるところ = about to eat - 寝るところ = about to sleep - 出かけるところ = about to go out

1. V ます works as a predicate. Using ます shows politeness toward the listener. 2. V ます is used when a sentence expresses something habitual or a truth. It is also used when a sentence expresses a behavior or event that will occur in the future. The table below shows its negative and past-tense forms. 3. Verb question sentences are formed by putting か at the end of the sentence, without changing the word order. When using an interrogative, this is placed in the part of the sentence that the speaker wants to ask about. When answering such questions, the verb in the question is repeated. そうです and ちがいます cannot be used when replying to a verb sentence question. **Example 1:** わたしは 毎日 勉強 します。（わたしは まいにち べんきょう します。） — I study every day. **Example 2:** 毎朝 六時に 起きます。（まいあさ ろくじに おきます。） — I get up at six every morning. **Example 3:** あした 六時に 起きます。（あした ろくじに おきます。） — I'm going to get up at six tomorrow morning. **Example 4:** けさ 六時に 起きました。（けさ ろくじに おきました。） — I got up at six this morning. **Example 5:** きのう 勉強 しましたか。（きのう べんきょう しましたか。） — Did you study yesterday?

から indicates a starting time or place.

The particle に is appended to a noun indicating time to indicate the time of occurrence of an action.

The particle と connects two nouns in coordinate relation.

1. から indicates a starting time or place, and まで indicates a finishing time or place. 2. から and まで are not always used together. 3. To indicate the starting or finishing time/date of a noun introduced as a topic, ～から、～まで or ～から～まで can be used with 「です」attached.

When making a noun in the expression N を V (i.e. a noun that is the direct object of a verb) into the topic of a sentence, the noun is placed at the beginning of the sentence and the particle を is replaced by the particle は. ここに荷物を置かないでください。 Don’t put your bags here, please. 荷物をはここに置かないでください。 荷物はここに置かないでください。 Don’t put your bags here, please. 会社の食堂で昼ごはんを食べます I have lunch in the company cafeteria. 昼ごはんをは会社の食堂で食べます。 昼ごはんは会社の食堂で食べます。 I have lunch in the company cafeteria.

Using this sentence pattern, you can state where a place, thing or person is.

When N1 is the name of a country and N2 is the name of a product, it means that N2 is made in that country. When N1 is the name of a company and N2 is the name of a product, it means that N2 is made by that company. The interrogative どこ is used when asking where or by what company something is made.

この, その and あの modify nouns. The refer to nouns near or further compared to the speaker.

It was explained in Lesson 1 that の is used to connect two nouns N1 and N2 when N1 modifies N2. The present lesson explains some other uses of の. 1) N1 explains what N2 is about. 2) N1 indicates who owns N2.

My interest is......

Please don’t do…… This sentence pattern is used to ask or tell someone not to do something. It can also be used to show consideration to someone by telling them they don’t have to do something.

「も」 is used when the same thing applies as was stated previously.

Can do...... できます is a verb that indicates that a person has the ability to do something or that some behavior is possible as a result of the situation. The object of できます is marked by が, and the ability or what is possible is expressed in the form of either a noun or the dictionary form of a verb with こと added to it. In the case of a noun Nouns indicating motion, such as（うんてん、かいもの、スキー and ダンス）can be used, as can nouns representing an ability, such as にほんご or ピアノ.

#### Particle か The particle か is used to express uncertainty, doubt, etc. on the part of the speaker. A question can be formed simply by adding か to the end of a sentence. A question usually ends with a rising intonation. #### Questions asking whether a statement is correct or not This type of question is formed simply by adding か to the end of the statement, leaving the order word the same. The reply begins with はい if the statement is agreed with, and いいえ if it is disagreed with. ミラーさんは アメリカ人ですか。 はい、アメリカ人です。 いいえ、先生じゃ ありません。 #### Questions with interrogatives An interrogative replaces the part of the sentence that states what the speaker wants to ask about. The word order does not change, and か is added at the end.

### Particle は The particle は indicates that the noun before it (N1) is the topic of the sentence. The speaker forms a sentence by adding は to what he or she wants to talk about, and then makes statements about it. [Note] The particle は is read わ. ### です Nouns used with です work as predicates. Besides indicating judgment or assertion, です also shows politeness towards the listener. です inflects when the sentence is negative or in the past tense.

When a noun N1 modifies a following noun N2, の is used to connect the two nouns. In Lesson 1, N1 represents an organisation or some kind of group to which N2 belongs.

じゃ（では）ありません is the negative form of です. じゃ ありません is often used in everyday conversation, while では ありません is used in formal speech and writing. [Note] The は in では is pronounced わ.

My interest is...... Using the V-dictionary form こと enables the interest to be described more specifically than just using a noun.

Must do…… This sentence pattern is used to say that something must be done. Note that it is not in the negative.

The form of a verb that attaches to ない (e.g. かか in かかない) is called its ない-form. The method by which the ない-form is created from the ます-form depends on the group to which the verb belongs, as explained below. 1) Group I Verbs The final sound of the ます-form of verbs in this group is always from the い-column, and this is changed to the corresponding syllable from the あ-column to make the ない-form. However, with verbs where the final sound is the vowel い (e.g. かいます and あいます), this changes not to あ but to わ. かきーます → かかーない いそぎーます → いそがーない よみーます → よまーない あそびーます → あそばーない とりーます → とらーない まちーます → またーない すいーます → すわーない はなしーます → はなさーない 2) Group II Verbs The ない-form of verbs in this group is the same as their ます-form. たべーます → たべーない みーます → みーない 3) Group III Verbs べんきょうします → べんきょうしーない します → しーない きーます → こーない

This is the basic form of a verb, as given in the dictionary. The method by which the dictionary form is created from the ます-form depends on which group the verb belongs to, as explained below: Group I verbs With verbs in this group, the last sound of the ます-form, which is always in the い-column, is changed to corresponding sound in the う-column. かきます → かく　　　　いそぎます → いそぐ よみます → よむ　　　　あそびます → あそぶ とります → とる　　　　まちます → まつ すいます → すう　　　　はなします → はなす Group II verbs る is added to the ます-form. たべます → たべる みます → みる Group III verbs The dictionary form of します is する, while that of きます is くる