How to translate this?

[MeAndroo]

Thank you, that is very good. You've been studying it for 4 years? Wow. I've really only learned it since a few weeks ago (The nuts and bolts)

Yes, though the last year and a half or so have been reduced to the occasional anime/samurai movie/Japanese menu. The rust on my Japanese is evident by the mistakes I make when posting, and in my horrid kanji recognition.

 

[GoldCoinLover]

not at all; what you need to do is turn that verb into a noun so you can use it with the "x ga suki/suki ja nai" or "x ga kirai" forms.
to do that? just take the short (dictionary, casual) verb and place "no" after it and voila, instant modified verb: 読むー＞読むの. Treat this like a self-contained noun.
now, by itself, 読むの can't really do anything. You've created the noun, but now you have to do something with it. You want to say that....
You like to read: 読むのがすき
You don't like to read: 読むのがすきじゃない
You hate to read: 読むのがきらい
You love to play video games: テレビゲームをするのがだいすき！
Note that these forms are the same structures you'd use for saying "I like fish" or "I hate the rain;" the only difference is that you're using a modified verb to take the place of the noun. (If there's a special term for this someone help me out here)
Using verbs modified this way can be used in many ways, such as saying "I forgot to do my homework," or "reading japanese is hard!" Try to make these sentences on your own (忘れる （わすれる）is to forget, 宿題 （しゅくだい） is homework, and 難しい （むずかしい） is difficult)

Thank you so much nice gaijin!!

Why don't I see this 'normalization' in textbooks?

Here's a question for you:
If 読む is to read, then what "noun" is 読むの?


読むのが難しい です。

Is that correct for "homework is difficult?"


読むのが難しい じゃない。

Homework is not difficult.

 

[MeAndroo]

Thank you so much nice gaijin!!
Why don't I see this 'normalization' in textbooks?
Here's a question for you:
If 読む is to read, then what "noun" is 読むの?
読むのが難しい です。
Is that correct for "homework is difficult?"
読むのが難しい じゃない。
Homework is not difficult.

Normalization IS in textbooks, but it's further along in your Japanese studies.

読む, as you said, is to read. Thus it isn't homework.

Since むずかしい is an -い adjective, the correct negative form of 難しい is 難しくない. じゃない is reserved for -な adjectives.

 

[Glenn]

Why don't I see this 'normalization' in textbooks?

Most likely because that's the wrong word. It's "nominalization."

 

[GoldCoinLover]

Normalization IS in textbooks, but it's further along in your Japanese studies.
読む, as you said, is to read. Thus it isn't homework.
Since むずかしい is an -い adjective, the correct negative form of 難しい is 難しくない. じゃない is reserved for -な adjectives.

Yes, that I Understand.
はい、そのわかります。


However, I don't understand guran 'nouns' because 'to write' sounds like a verb to me. I hope there is another way to use it besides the normalization verb.

 

[moofs]

Yes, that I Understand.
はい、そのわかります。
However, I don't understand guran 'nouns' because 'to write' sounds like a verb to me. I hope there is another way to use it besides the normalization verb.

Should be はい、それがわかります。 You're mixing up the その/それagain. その needs to be used with a noun. その説明がわかります。(I understand that explanation.)

In English, a gerund noun is when you tack on -ing to a verb to use it as a noun.
I like to read. <-- verb
I like reading. <-- noun

For Japanese you just tack on の or こと to the verb followed by a は、が、 or を particle if needed.

 

[GoldCoinLover]

Should be はい、それがわかります。 You're mixing up the その/それagain. その needs to be used with a noun. その説明がわかります。(I understand that explanation.)
In English, a gerund noun is when you tack on -ing to a verb to use it as a noun.
I like to read. <-- verb
I like reading. <-- noun
For Japanese you just tack on の or こと to the verb followed by a は、が、 or を particle if needed.

Oh, well that makes much sense.

How did I mix it up? I mean, I used a particle after it right? So I didn't use a noun right after it, so it should've been OK Right?

I like to read.
Yomuno ga suki

I like reading
Yomimasu ga suki imasu

 

[RockLee]

I like to read.
Yomuno ga suki

Wrong.

I like reading
Yomimasu ga suki imasu

Wrong.

I like reading -> Watashi ha dokusho ga suki DESU.

I like to read -> Watashi ha yomukoto ga suki DESU.

You should put the Watashi in front of the sentence, it's the polite form of speaking.

 

[kumo]

I like to read.
Yomuno ga suki

Wrong.

Actually, this is correct. の in this case works in the same way as 事 (読む事が好き= 読むのが好き), it's actually more natural to use の for nominalizing verbs (6x more google hits).

 

[RockLee]

Actually, this is correct. の in this case works in the same way as 事 (読む事が好き= 読むのが好き), it's actually more natural to use の for nominalizing verbs (6x more google hits).

Wow, didn't know that Thanks for pointing out Kumo !