'But' 'and' 'however' etc. links? :)

[Kriffix]

Hey guys, this place is so awesome for advice and so once again I find myself appealing to you wonderful people for help.

I've noticed there are alot of ways to say 'and','however', and 'but' etc.

"kara","kedo","nagara","keredo", "soshite" etc.

if possible if you guys could refer me to a site or something that explains when you can and can't use them and in what context. I've been reading around but I havn't even found a nice compiled list let alone something that says when you can and can't use it, plus nuances etc.

I'm going to Japan for 5 months as part of a scholarship, it's a dream come true, I'm so excited so i really want to brush up my basics.

Thanks for your time~

 

[Kirakira1232]

Kedo is a contraction of keredo mo which roughly means however or but. Its used to join two independent clauses into one sentence. Its also a less formal version of "shikashi".

私は日本語が一番好きですけど日本語を勉強することは難しい。

I really love Japanese but studying Japanese is really hard.

It can also be used at the transitive phase of two contrasting sentences which in this case it means "although"

ここは冬は寒いですけども、ゆきはあまり降りません。

Although winters are cold here, it doesnt snow much


kara can be used a number of ways. The most common is how its used as "from":

東京から大阪までに行きました

I went from Tokyo to Osaka.

私は九時午前から一時午後までアルバイトをしました。

I worked part time from 9 AM until 1PM

It can also be used in the same way as "because" in the english language. In order to give a reason.

アルバイトに行くから、マイケルさんはパーチーに来ませんでした。

Michael didnt come to the party because he had to go to (his) part time work.

Kara in this sense has to be attached to the end of the reason or excuse.

そしてcan be used in the same way english uses "and then"

私は東京に行くそしてうちに帰る

I'm going to tokyo and then I'm going home.

ながら is used when your linking two concurrent activities together. Its used in the same sense that english uses "while"

コーヒーを飲みながら、日本語を勉強しましょう。

Let's drink coffee while studying Japanese.

 

[Kriffix]

Thanks, that helped big time!

 

[Kirakira1232]

dou itashimashite ^^