Text: Past Negative Desu Form
To make past negative sentences, we combine both 'ja arimasen' and 'deshita' into one.
Sore ha watashi no inu ja arimasen deshita.
That was not my dog.
'Ja arimasen' makes the sentences negative and adding 'deshita' puts it in the past tense. 'Deshita' will always go after the negation and both will take the place of 'desu'.
To make a more formalized sentence, just replace 'ja arimasen' with 'dewa arimasen' as you saw previously.
Kore wa enpitsu dewa arimasen deshita.
This was not a pencil.
It may seem like a long thing to say/write/read to make something as short as "was not", but don't fret! There are much shorter versions that I'll cover later on. These versions will be informal tho
Text: Past Tense Desu Form
So we can say something 'is' something and something 'is not' something, now let's learn something 'was' something.
To make 'desu' into past tense, we say 'deshita'. Let's use it.
Kore wa ringo deshita.
This was an apple.
(Ringo = apple)
Sore wa watashi no jitensha deshita.
That was my bicycle.
Just like "ja arimasen", the only thing that changes is "desu". Everything else stays the same.
Sore mo watashi no tomodachi no kasa deshita.
That was also my friend's umbrella.
Sore mo = that also
watashi no = my
tomodachi no = friend's
kasa = umbrella
deshita = was
Text: Practice Dialogue 1
I've gone ahead and written some pieces of dialogue that cover everything up to this point. I hope you find it useful/helpful! You are welcome to change whatever parts you want, make additions, move things around, etc.
Person A: こんにちは！はじめまして！わたしはAです。
Person A: Konnichi wa! Hajimemashite. Watashi wa A desu.
Person B: こんにちは！わたしはBです。どうそうよろしく。
Person B: Konnichi wa! Watashi wa B desu. Douzou yoroshiku.
Person A: あなたはこうこうせいですか？
Person A: Anata wa koukousei desu ka?
Person B: いいえ、こうこうせいじゃありませ
Text: Negative Desu Form
Now you should by now know how to say that something /is/ something (x wa y desu). But how about something is /not/ something?
To negate an affirmative "desu" statement, you change "desu" to "ja arimasen". Let's see it in action:
Watashi wa daigakusei desu.
I am a college student.
Now change "desu" to "ja arimasen".
Watashi wa daigakusei ja arimasen.
I am not a college student.
Aside from "desu" changing, everything else remains the same and stays in the same place.
Another way to negate "desu" sentences is using the noncontracted form (and also the more formal form) of 'ja' which is 'dewa'.
Kore wa enpitsu dewa arimasen.
Text: Particle Mo, Ne, Yo
'Mo' in Japanese is basically the equivalent of the English word "too" or "also". It takes the place of the subject marker 'wa/ga' when used in a sentence. Let's try some examples.
Kore wa enpitsu desu.
That is a pencil.
Kore mo enpitsu desu.
That is also a pencil.
Be careful not to place 'mo' at the end of the sentence as in English, this happens quite often. (Example: I am a student also.)
Watashi wa gakusei desu.
I am a student.
Watashi mo gakusei desu.
I am also a student.
You don't have to use "full" sentences to add 'mo' to. They can be as simple as this:
Text: Days and Months
I figured I'd give you all a little break from grammar to bring in some more vocabulary c: I hope you won't think of this as repetitive since I already have a few deviations involving days and such, but I never really explained it. So here we go!
--DAYS OF THE WEEK--
The days of the week may be a little hard to remember, but if you think of just the kanji and how they're pronounced, that might help you.
If you noticed that the kanji for 'sun' is pronounced two different ways then good eye This is because that kanji can mean both 'sun' and 'day' depending on the context. The first time it refers to 'sun' and the second, 'day'. It literally means 'sun day'
Monday (or literally: moon day)
Tuesday (or literally: fire day)
Text: Koko, Soko, Asoko, Doko
ここ、 そこ、 あそこ、 どこ
koko, soko, asoko, doko
Try not to confuse this group with the other two 'ko, so, a, do' groups. These words are used for places. They do, however, follow the same pattern as the other two as seen below:
ここ (koko) means 'here' and is used for places near the speaker.
Gakkou wa koko desu.
The school is here.
そこ (soko) means 'there' and is used for places near the recipient.
Ginkou wa soko desu.
The bank is there.
あそこ (asoko) means 'over there' and is used for places far from both the speaker and the recipient.
Otera wa asoko desu.
The temple is over there.
どこ (doko) means 'where' and has
Text: Dareno + noun
だれの + noun
Dareno + noun
This little guy goes along with 'kono, sono, ano, dono' in that it has to have a noun after it.
Let's break down the word:
だれ (dare) means 'who'.
の (no) is the possessive particle.
So, putting it together:
だれの (dareno) means 'whose'.
Let's try some sentences
Kore wa dare no enpitsu desu ka.
Whose pencil is this?
Sore wa dare no jitensha desu ka.
Whose bike is that?
Sore wa Sam san no enpitsu desu.
That is Sam's pencil.
Text: Kono, Sono, Ano, Dono
この, その, あの, どの + noun
Kono, sono, ano, dono + noun
Try not to get these confused with 'kore, sore, are, dore' as they are similar (so I refer you back to the previous tutorial: http://learningjapanese.deviantart.com/art/Text-Kore-Sore-Are-Dore-266472391) but their uses are different. These can make a sentence slightly more specific and must always be followed by a noun (whereas 'kore, sore, are, dore' must always be alone).
Kore wa ikura desu ka?
How much is this?
Replace 'kore wa' with 'kono+noun':
Kono kaban wa ikura desu ka?
How much is this bag?
Notice that the subject marker moved. It's not after 'kono' as the 'no' series has to have a noun after it; rather it is after the noun as the noun is now the subject of the sentence.