Grammar

[Sultan]

わかる is hardly used in that context (or rather, 動画 or 本 is not appropriate as the object of わかる).

Well, I've found pair of verbs in google translator. 日本語で動画を見て取ったり、本を見て取ったりしたいからです。(What if I add です before or after から, I got really confused how から works with だ and です. As far as I remember long form before から works, too.). The second verb is 聞き取る, I thought to use it for 動画, since I want to understand what I here, but on the other hand it's 動画を見る, not 動画を聞く, right? (Or might be there's same issue as with teacher?)

Isn't there any explanation about the form that is connected to ～そう of that meaning in the textbook?

Sorry, I don't know if I understand what you ask, but there's not said about noun + そうです.

You misheard もしは since it doesn't make sense. (I guess it would be もしや.)
Yes, it's ungrammatical. It's used there to add a nuance of 慇懃無礼 "polite on the surface but actually contemptuous" by a seemingly ultra-polite form.

Yes, indeed. もしや it is. It should be either 傲慢でないかね or 傲慢でありませんかね? Adding だ or です after 傲慢でない is ungrammatical, too, right? Is there a case when to add だ or です after ある or ない?
Concerning 元気がない, can I say 元気がありません ot 元気がないです?
<META> - Новини, Пошта на порталі META

 

[Toritoribe]

Well, I've found pair of verbs in google translator. 日本語で動画を見て取ったり、本を見て取ったりしたいからです。(What if I add です before or after から, I got really confused how から works with だ and です. As far as I remember long form before から works, too.). The second verb is 聞き取る, I thought to use it for 動画, since I want to understand what I here, but on the other hand it's 動画を見る, not 動画を聞く, right? (Or might be there's same issue as with teacher?)

見て取る doesn't work well, either, and 聞き取る is more likely just "to catch what is said" than "to understand". What you want to do is "to be come to be able to watch movies and read books in Japanese" or "to be come to be able to understand them in Japanese", right? Haven't you learned a structure "the potential form + ようになる", meaning "to become to be able to do" yet? This would be the most appropriate in your situation.

～からだ/です is very common as the explanation of the reason.

What do you mean by "long form", by the way?

Sorry, I don't know if I understand what you ask, but there's not said about noun + そうです.

～そう can't be attached with nouns in modern Japanese, except with the stem of of na-adjectives(they are also classified into nouns) or as a kind of set phrase いい人そう.

Yes, indeed. もしや it is. It should be either 傲慢でないかね or 傲慢でありませんかね? Adding だ or です after 傲慢でない is ungrammatical, too, right? Is there a case when to add だ or です after ある or ない?
Concerning 元気がない, can I say 元気がありません ot 元気がないです?

～ないです is quite commonly used as a polite negative form, which is less-polite than ありません. ～じゃないです is preferred than ～でないです, though.

 

[Sultan]

Haven't you learned a structure "the potential form + ようになる", meaning "to become to be able to do" yet?

No, I haven't, but I remember I've met such structure once upon a time and asked here.

"最近やっと文字がかけるようになりました"
Does it mean "I only recently started using characters"?

Nice, thanks. Then I'll rephrase it as "Recently, I finally became able to write letters.".

日本語で動画を見たり、本を読んだりできるようになりたいから。

～からだ/です is very common as the explanation of the reason.

But there's also ～ですから and ～だから. I fail to understand how it works. it's だ／です are on the left of から here and on the right there.

～そう can't be attached with nouns in modern Japanese, except with the stem of of na-adjectives(they are also classified into nouns) or as a kind of set phrase いい人そう.

おいしそうです seems tasty
静かそうです seems quiet
料理が作らなさそうです seems he/she can't cook
How do I say "seems to be a student" / "it seems he's a student" "seemingly a student"?

～ないです is quite commonly used as a polite negative form, which is less-polite than ありません. ～じゃないです is preferred than ～でないです, though.

I see. It seems like it's been long time ago when I learned じゃないです／じゃありません／ではありません and it feels like I haven't faced it much.

 

[Toritoribe]

日本語で動画を見たり、本を読んだりできるようになりたいから。

You got it.

But there's also ～ですから and ～だから. I fail to understand how it works. it's だ／です are on the left of から here and on the right there.

だ and です can't be attached to the affirmative form of verbs, thus, する/します + だから/ですから are all ungrammatical. The same goes to しませんだから/ですから and しないだから, but しないですから is correct since しないです is grammatical. Similarly, noun/na-adjective + だから/ですから and i-adjective + ですから is grammatical, but i-adjective + だから is not.
As for からだ and からです, the latter is just the polite form of the former. Unlike just から, polite forms can't be connected to からだ/からです.

In conclusion;
(blue: grammatical, red: ungrammatical)
verb + だから
するだから
しないだから
しますだから
しませんだから

verb + ですから
するですから
しないですから
しますですから
しませんですから
(As you can see, only しないです is grammatical.)

noun/na-adjective + だから
きれいだから
きれいじゃないだから
きれいじゃありませんだから
(～じゃないだ and ～じゃありませんだ are ungrammatical.)

noun/na-adjective + ですから
きれいですから
きれいじゃないですから
きれいじゃありませんですから
(～じゃないです is grammatical, but ～じゃありませんです is not.)

i-adjective + だから
高いだから
高くないだから
高くありませんだから
(高いだ, 高くないだ and 高くありませんだ are all ungrammatical.)

i-adjective + ですから
高いですから
高くないですから
高くありませんですから
(高いです and 高くないです are grammatical, but 高くありませんです is not.)


verb + からだ/です
するからだ/です
しないからだ/です
しますからだ/です
しませんからだ/です

noun/na-adjective + からだ/です
きれいだからだ/です
きれいじゃないからだ/です
きれいですからだ/です
きれいじゃないですからだ/です
きれいじゃありませんからだ/です
(As you can see, you need to add だ after the noun or the stem of na-adjective.)

i-adjective + からだ/です
高いからだ/です
高くないからだ/です
高いですからだ/です
高くないですからだ/です
高くありませんからだ/です

Seemingly complicated, but actually, it's just whether the form preceding から is grammatical or not, plus, polite forms can't be used with からだ/です.

料理が作らなさそうです seems he/she can't cook

料理が作れなさそうです
(It's the potential form.)

How do I say "seems to be a student" / "it seems he's a student" "seemingly a student"?

You need to use ～のようだ/です instead of そう in those cases.

 

[Sultan]

だ and です can't be attached to the affirmative form of verbs, thus, する/します + だから/ですから are all ungrammatical. The same goes to しませんだから/ですから and しないだから, but しないですから is correct since しないです is grammatical. Similarly, noun/na-adjective + だから/ですから and i-adjective + ですから is grammatical, but i-adjective + だから is not.
As for からだ and からです, the latter is just the polite form of the former. Unlike just から, polite forms can't be connected to からだ/からです.

In conclusion;
(blue: grammatical, red: ungrammatical)
verb + だから
するだから
しないだから
しますだから
しませんだから

verb + ですから
するですから
しないですから
しますですから
しませんですから
(As you can see, only しないです is grammatical.)

noun/na-adjective + だから
きれいだから
きれいじゃないだから
きれいじゃありませんだから
(～じゃないだ and ～じゃありませんだ are ungrammatical.)

noun/na-adjective + ですから
きれいですから
きれいじゃないですから
きれいじゃありませんですから
(～じゃないです is grammatical, but ～じゃありませんです is not.)

i-adjective + だから
高いだから
高くないだから
高くありませんだから
(高いだ, 高くないだ and 高くありませんだ are all ungrammatical.)

i-adjective + ですから
高いですから
高くないですから
高くありませんですから
(高いです and 高くないです are grammatical, but 高くありませんです is not.)


verb + からだ/です
するからだ/です
しないからだ/です
しますからだ/です
しませんからだ/です

noun/na-adjective + からだ/です
きれいだからだ/です
きれいじゃないからだ/です
きれいですからだ/です
きれいじゃないですからだ/です
きれいじゃありませんからだ/です
(As you can see, you need to add だ after the noun or the stem of na-adjective.)

i-adjective + からだ/です
高いからだ/です
高くないからだ/です
高いですからだ/です
高くないですからだ/です
高くありませんからだ/です

Seemingly complicated, but actually, it's just whether the form preceding から is grammatical or not, plus, polite forms can't be used with からだ/です.

Oh, thank you, I hope I'll be able to cope with it.

料理が作れなさそうです
(It's the potential form.)

You need to use ～のようだ/です instead of そう in those cases.

Got it. Thanks.
学生のようです - seems to be a student?
学生のような人 - person who seems to be a student?

 

[Sultan]

Can I use そうです (seems like) with past / past negatives?
A：彼が濡れました。He is wet.
B：泳いでいたそうです。Seems he was swimming.
The question concerns adjectives, too.
Also, is it correct?
学生なのようです Seems to be a student
学生だったのようです Seems to have been a student
学生じゃないのようです Seems not to be student
学生じゃなかったのようです Seems not to have been a student
そのようです。Seems like that.

 

[Toritoribe]

学生のようです - seems to be a student?
学生のような人 - person who seems to be a student?

Yes, that's right.

Can I use そうです (seems like) with past / past negatives?
A：彼が濡れました。He is wet.
B：泳いでいたそうです。Seems he was swimming.

While "He is wet" is the present tense, 彼が濡れました。 is past.
泳いでいたそうです is hearsay; "I heard that ~". Again, isn't there any explanation about the form connected to そう as "to seem" in your textbook?

Also, is it correct?
学生なのようです Seems to be a student
学生だったのようです Seems to have been a student
学生じゃないのようです Seems not to be student
学生じゃなかったのようです Seems not to have been a student

学生 is a noun, not the stem of a na-adjective, thus, 学生な is ungrammatical. "The stem of na-adjective + なの", だったの, じゃないの and じゃなかったの are all ungrammatical, too. の is needed only after nouns.

そのようです。Seems like that.

そのようです is grammatical, but it's usually used as a reply, meaning "What you said is correct".

 

[Sultan]

While "He is wet" is the present tense, 彼が濡れました。 is past.
泳いでいたそうです is hearsay; "I heard that ~". Again, isn't there any explanation about the form connected to そう as "to seem" in your textbook?

It says adjectives without い and な in the end and verb stems (します without ます) in the positive and negative adjectives with なさ instead of ない in the end + そうです. Or そうじゃないです with positive ones. よさそうです - exception. It also says you can use adjective + そうな + noun combination. That's it about forms as far as I see in the part about そうです. Information about past time is not given (maybe there's something more on it later in the book in next lessons)

学生 is a noun, not the stem of a na-adjective, thus, 学生な is ungrammatical. "The stem of na-adjective + なの", だったの, じゃないの and じゃなかったの are all ungrammatical, too. の is needed only after nouns.

学生のようです Seems to be a student
学生だったようです Seems to have been a student
学生じゃないようです Seems not to be student
学生じゃなかったようです Seems not to have been a student

そのようです is grammatical, but it's usually used as a reply, meaning "What you said is correct".

Yes, I meant it. More exactly, I meant "What you said seems to be correct", can I say そのようです in that meaning?

 

[Toritoribe]

It says adjectives without い and な in the end and verb stems (します without ます) in the positive and negative adjectives with なさ instead of ない in the end + そうです. Or そうじゃないです with positive ones. よさそうです - exception. It also says you can use adjective + そうな + noun combination. That's it about forms as far as I see in the part about そうです. Information about past time is not given (maybe there's something more on it later in the book in next lessons)

As in the explanation, even the present form is not used with そう in that meaning since it's for hearsay, as I wrote. そうだ can't express a guess about past things from the present viewpoint. "Past form + ようだ" is a form for that purpose.
"Stem of verbs/adjectives + そうだった" is past, but this form expresses a past guess about the present or future at the time. For instance, 彼は泳ぎそうだった is a past guess that he would swim, thus, he didn't swim yet at the time. Similarly, 彼は泳いでいそうだった is a past guess that he was swimming at the time.

学生だったようです Seems to have been a student
学生じゃなかったようです Seems not to have been a student

学生だったようです doesn't always mean "It seems that he was a student at the time". It's also used when it's turned out that he is actually a student. The same goes to 学生じゃなかったようです.
e.g.
彼は去年学生だったようです。
It seems that he was a student last year.

彼を先生だと思っていましたが、どうやら学生だったようです（＝ 学生のようです）。
I thought that he was a teacher, but actually he is probably a student.
(This form is often used even for almost certain things.)

I believe there is a chapter regarding よう in your textbook.

Yes, I meant it. More exactly, I meant "What you said seems to be correct", can I say そのようです in that meaning?

Yes.

 

[Sultan]

As in the explanation, even the present form is not used with そう in that meaning since it's for hearsay, as I wrote. そうだ can't express a guess about past things from the present viewpoint. "Past form + ようだ" is a form for that purpose.
"Stem of verbs/adjectives + そうだった" is past, but this form expresses a past guess about the present or future at the time. For instance, 彼は泳ぎそうだった is a past guess that he would swim, thus, he didn't swim yet at the time. Similarly, 彼は泳いでいそうだった is a past guess that he was swimming at the time.


学生だったようです doesn't always mean "It seems that he was a student at the time". It's also used when it's turned out that he is actually a student. The same goes to 学生じゃなかったようです.
e.g.
彼は去年学生だったようです。
It seems that he was a student last year.

彼を先生だと思っていましたが、どうやら学生だったようです（＝ 学生のようです）。
I thought that he was a teacher, but actually he is probably a student.
(This form is often used even for almost certain things.)

I believe there is a chapter regarding よう in your textbook.


Yes.

Thank you very very much (and sorry when I fail you expectations).

 

[Sultan]

Is「食べたくありません」normal? Do you say 高くありません or 元気がありません, too?

 

[lanthas]

Is「食べたくありません」normal? Do you say 高くありません or 元気がありません, too?

From what I've read, ～ないです and ～ありません are both valid, although the former emphasizes politeness and is used in speech, while the latter emphasizes negation and is more formal.

 

[Sultan]

Is 何週間 read as なんしゅうかん in the sense "how many weeks" and なにしゅうかん in the sense "for weeks"?

 

[Toritoribe]

It's never read as なにしゅうかん. The reading is always なんしゅうかん. The same goes to 何日, 何か月/何月 or 何年. The reading of 何 is always なん, except when talking about 干支 by 何年. The reading is なにどし in this case.
e.g.
何年生まれですか？
なんねんうまれですか？(asking the addressee's birth year)
1984年（ねん）です。

なにどしうまれですか？(asking the addressee's 干支)
ねずみ年（どし）です。

 

[Sultan]

It's never read as なにしゅうかん. The reading is always なんしゅうかん. The same goes to 何日, 何か月/何月 or 何年. The reading of 何 is always なん, except when talking about 干支 by 何年. The reading is なにどし in this case.
e.g.
何年生まれですか？
なんねんうまれですか？(asking the addressee's birth year)
1984年（ねん）です。

なにどしうまれですか？(asking the addressee's 干支)
ねずみ年（どし）です。

Got it, thank you.
Is よいではないか grammatical or is it also something sort of 慇懃無礼?

 

[Toritoribe]

It's grammatical but not polite (so can't be 慇懃).

 

[Sultan]

私は朝パン( _ )りんごを食べました。
I think there should be to と in the blank, but in a program the correct answer is said to be も. Is it so and why?

 

[Lomaster]

Your suggestion is correct, it should be と. If the correct answer was supposed to be も then there is a misprint, namely を which should be も in that case 私は朝パンもりんごも食べました。

 

[Toritoribe]

Probably the mistake is on the answer. If the question is 私は朝パン＿りんごも食べました。, both と and も can be the correct answer. The writer wouldn't make these types of questions.

 

[Zuba]

Hello!
Exactly as everyone else said. Not sure if you know this or if anyone covered it, but when you use multiple も like in 私は朝パンもりんごも食べました。 The も adds emphasis. I am sure トリトリべさん will correct me if I am mistaken. I hope I am not mistaken. :nailbiting:

 

[Toritoribe]

If you mean "even" or something by "emphasis", it totally depends on the context. も can mean just "too/also".

 

[Zuba]

Yes. I forgot to mention that. Thanks for explaining the rest.

 

[Sultan]

Thanks, everyone. Sorry for late reply.

宿題を忘れた時、泣いてしまいました。
I cried when I had forgotten the homework.

Could it be there's typo and it should be 泣いていました?
------
I saved some pairs
店員 vs 店番
将来 vs 未来
誘う vs 招待する
本屋 vs 書店
示す vs 見せる
全て vs 全部
気をつける vs 注意する
I already asked first pair, and as far as I remember 店員 means a shop worker who sells stuff whereas 店番 is for someone on duty to sell, let it be occupation, temporary responsibility or so. What about others? Are they synonyms or there's difference in meaning?

 

[Toritoribe]

Could it be there's typo and it should be 泣いていました?

No. There is no typo there.

 

[Sultan]

No. There is no typo there.

I see, I thought a little just now and it occurred to me it's probably the "helping verb" shimau used there, I didn't learn such thing yet and till now thought it might mean doing something bad, wrong, or sort of. Then I looked up shimau at jisho.org and there's link on tae kim's "Things that happen unintentionally （～てしまう、～ちゃう／～じゃう）". Thanks