Page 3


  1. Sentences using adjectives

    To make a sentence describing something with an adjective, just take the adjective and add [desu] for an affirmative (yes) statement. It's a little different for a negative (no) statement, though. Most adjectives end with [i]: To say the opposite of an adjective, you turn that into a [ku] and add the negative [arimasen], or [arimasen deshita] to put the sentence into the past tense. Here are some examples:


    Affirmative (yes): [it is] delicious.
    Oishii desu.
    Negative (no): [it is] not delicious.
    Oishiku arimasen.
    Past affirmative: [it was] fun.
    Tanoshikatta desu.
    Past negative: [it was] not fun.
    Tanoshiku arimasen deshita.



    In Lesson 2 you learned how to use [ka] at the end of a sentence to make the question form:

    Is [this] big?
    Ookii desu ka?
    Is [this] not big?
    Ookiku arimasen ka?
    Was [this] small?
    Chiisakatta desu ka?
    Was [this] not small?
    Chiisaku arimasen deshita ka?



  2. Using [totemo], "very"

    Place the word [totemo] in front of any adjective you want to emphasize:


    Oishii desu.
    [It's] delicious.

    Totemo oishii desu.
    [It's] very delicious.



  3. [takai] and [yasui]

    [takai] can mean a number of things, including expensive, tall (as in a person's height), and high (like a building or mountain). [yasui], on the other hand, means only cheap--not short or low.

  4. This and that

    The words [kono], [sono], [ano], [dono] are used to say "this," "that," "that [over there]," and "which" respectively. Be sure not to confuse them with [kore], [sore], [are], and [dore], which you learned in Lesson 6. These words don't refer directly to things, but are used to indicate certain objects: "this apple," "that pencil," and so on.


    Kore wa aisukurimu desu.
    This is ice cream.

    Kono aisukurimu wa oishii desu.
    This ice cream is delicious.


    [kore] is a noun, and can be used as the subject of a sentence; but [kono] has to be used with a noun following it. It's the same with the other words in the series:


    Dono aisukurimu ga suki desu ka?
    Which ice cream do [you] like?

    Kono banana aisukurimu ga suki desu.
    [I] like this banana ice cream.