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"It depends on..."

Kinsao

Horizon Rider
8 May 2005
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I wonder if someone can help me with this grammar point.
How would I say in Japanese "it depends on..." something?
I'm thinking about a simple sentence, for example:
"What's your mood?" -- "It depends on the weather"
"Do you want a conservatory?" -- "It depends on the price"
........ that kind of construction, not a complex series of possibilities! :)

(I'm sorry if this is a stupid question... I need to practice my grammar more, because I neglected it this last while in favour of kanji, just while I was getting started, but in future I try and practice both! :sorry: 😌 )
 
a) noun + shidai desu.
N次第(しだい)です。
or
b) noun + ni (particle) yori masu.
Nによります。

weather->tenki
price->nedan
situation->joukyo
etc.
 
Kinsao said:
I wonder if someone can help me with this grammar point.
How would I say in Japanese "it depends on..." something?
I'm thinking about a simple sentence, for example:
"What's your mood?" -- "It depends on the weather"
"Do you want a conservatory?" -- "It depends on the price"
........ that kind of construction, not a complex series of possibilities! :)
(I'm sorry if this is a stupid question... I need to practice my grammar more, because I neglected it this last while in favour of kanji, just while I was getting started, but in future I try and practice both! :sorry: 😌 )
Hi Kinsao,
It is not a stupid question at all! :)
"It depends on ...." can be translated ".... ni yori masu".
Yoru is a verb, meaning "to depend" (in this sense).
Yori masu is a polite form.
Another expression is "...shidai", meaning "depending"
It depend on the weather - tenki ni yorimasu./tenki shidai desu.
It depends on the price - nedan/kakaku ni yorimasu, nedan/kakaku shidai desu.

--- edit ---
Oh, pipokun posted better and concise answer while I was doodling...😌
 
Kinsao said:
(I'm sorry if this is a stupid question... I need to practice my grammar more, because I neglected it this last while in favour of kanji, just while I was getting started, but in future I try and practice both! :sorry: 😌 )
Hi, Kinsao!

Looks like pipokun has already replied to your question! 😌

It is not a stupid question! I am certain that every question asked here benefits all learners--learning something new or confirming what had been learned before. Besides, there must be a lot of lurkers reading and learning from the threads! 👍

If you have further questions, fire away! :)
 
Wow - thank you everyone for your speedy and helpful replies! :)

I thought maybe people would think I was attempting a grammar point too high above my level. 😌 But, it seems the answer (at least for a simple construction, probably there are others at a higher level) is not so very complicated! :)

I am making an effort to try and learn in the 'right order' (because I am one of those people who doesn't have much patience to stay at the order of the text book, and always wants to learn the difficult things too early! 😌 ), but I think there's also some value in learning on a 'need to know' basis. 😌 After all, language is for using! :p

Thanks again for your help! :)
 
Yeah, *ahem*, speaking of which... I thought that it would be によってです. That use of 次第 is new to me, too. I just knew it as "as soon as." 😊
 
Glenn said:
Yeah, *ahem*, speaking of which... I thought that it would be によってです. That use of 次第 is new to me, too. I just knew it as "as soon as."
I only began using it when my ni yorimasu wasn't understand. Which I still think is their fault and why I haven't checked more into any/ the differences, but that's another story....:p
 
Yeah; I looked them up in my kanji dictionary and it gives one of the meanings of 次第 as "circumstances, reasons", as well as the other meanings "order" and "as soon as" - so that figures. 👍 (And I also got to learn 4 new kanji from this :) .. although not so thoroughly as usual. ><)
 
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