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Japanese Commas / Textbook Chapter 1 Review

ledojaeger

後輩
19 Jul 2015
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みなさんこんにちは。日本語の「、」について質問があります。
In many example sentences I try to craft, after the particle は usually at the beginning of a sentence, I have occasionally used a 、to separate my topic from the content at hand. Hashed example:
ミネソタの冬はすごく寒いです。
ミネソタの冬は、そごく寒いです。
When I introduce these sorts of sentences to native speakers I find that many times, to correct it, they will either get rid of or add the 、after は, and I'm wondering if there's any guiding rule for proper usage.


Also, in an attempt to see if I have grasped concepts from the 1st chapter of my intermediate textbook, I would like to make 1 example sentence each of the 11 grammar concepts to see if my usage of the term is correct. If this sort of request is overbearing, please tell me and I won't do it any more (my textbook, unfortunately, has no answer keys or separate answer books, so I can be lost for knowing if I'm correct or not).

Because I also like to play around with bits and pieces of what else I know, some of my 'examples' may end up being really odd. I apologize in advance. Also, thank you in advance for any help.

1)vないで
傘を持っていかないで駅に行っちゃった。- (He) went to the station without taking an umbrella.
2)vばいいのに
仕事を探せばいいのに。- It'd be good if you looked for a job.
3)それに
今朝仕事に遅刻だった。それに風邪が引いたみたい。もう!- I was late for work yesterday. I also seem to have caught a cold. Ugh!
4)なかなか〜ない
色々なことを考えてたから宿題なかなかできなかった。- I was thinking about a lot so I couldn't do homework that well.
5)Qか分かる
大学が終わったら、何をすればいいかまだわからなくて困るよ。- After college, I don't know what I should do yet, so I'm troubled.
6)しか〜ない
この店は緑茶しか売ってないって聞いたよ。ちょっと入ってみようか? - I heard that this shop only sells green tea. Should we take a look?
7)つまり 8)わけです
一ヶ月入院してたから、仕事に行けないわけです。つまり、貧乏になっちゃうかもしれない。- I've been hospitalized for a month, so that's why I can't go to work. In other words, I may become poor.
9)〜によって
天気によって、散歩しようと思う。- Depending on the weather, I think I may go for a walk.
10)に当たる
日本語の「お元気ですか」は、英語の「How are you」に当たるそうです。
I heard that the Japanese 'ogenki desu ka' corresponds to the English 'how are you'.
11)〜のような〜
「どういう映画が気に入りますか?」「となりのトトロのような映画が気に入りますよ。」
"What kind of movies do you like?" "I like movies like My Neighbor Totoro."
 
It's often put at the end of a clause, but there is no strict rule where to put comma. Your sentence is not wrong, but comma is usually not used those kind of simple/short sentence. See the following example.
ミネソタの冬は、東京と違って、すごく寒いです。

Just few minor corrections
3)
今朝仕事に遅刻した。

9)
天気によっては、散歩するかもしれない。

11)
「どういう映画が好きですか?」「となりのトトロのような映画です。」
 
Thank you very much.
If I may ask, what is the reason for 'ni yotte wa' versus simply 'ni yotte'?
Also, I'm sure I've asked this on some level or other here before, but why would I use 'suki' over '~ga ki ni iru'?
 
は works as a contrastive marker here. "I may go for a walk" is a result of your choice. If the main clause expresses the choice itself that is changed depending on it, ~によって works fine.
c.f.
天気によっては、洗濯しません。
天気によって、洗濯するかしないか決めます。
Furthermore, ~によって can be interpreted as indicating the cause/reason in your sentence, meaning "by/because of".

The present form of action verbs can't express the present state. This is a fundamental principle.
 
usually 'ki ni iru' is not used in present tense and positive form. it's just idiomatic.
so 「あなたは、となりのトトロを気に入るでしょう」 and 「私は、となりのトトロのような映画気に入りません」 sound natural, for example.

in addition to that, 'ki ni iru' often sounds more like 'being satisfied'.

それに風邪が引いたみたい
それに風邪引いたみたい is proper.
 
Additional explanation to my previous post.
気に入る belongs to punctual verbs as a set, thus, ~ている form is used to express the present state, probably as you already learned.
e.g.
となりのトトロのような映画が気に入っています。

examples the present tense is used
with a conditional clause
どういう映画なら気に入るんですか?

present habitual action
宮崎駿監督の映画は間違いなく気に入ります。
 
Thank you both for your detailed explanations.
So, it is safe for me to assume that suki and ki ni iru are not simply interchangeable.

I read 天気によって、洗濯するかしないか決めます。as "Depending on the weather, I'll decide whether I'll do laundry or not." I'm having a little trouble sorting out what makes 'yotte wa' different, and how to think of it - is it that I can use just 'yotte' in the above sentence ^ because whether or not I'll do it is up and the air and dependent (yotte) on the weather? But if I use yotte wa for contrast, it implies a definite choice.

Also, understanding ki ni iru as idiomatic is interesting and helps. If I can remember:
- Not used in present positive
- Sometimes comes across as 'satisfied'
- When present, must use ~te iru form

Finally, the final sentences, for clarification:

「どういう映画なら気に入るんですか?」
この文の「なら」の意味は何ですか?

「宮崎駿監督の映画は間違いなく気に入ります。」
「間違えなく」とは、「without fail」という意味があるでしょう?
 
So, it is safe for me to assume that suki and ki ni iru are not simply interchangeable.

I read 天気によって、洗濯するかしないか決めます。as "Depending on the weather, I'll decide whether I'll do laundry or not." I'm having a little trouble sorting out what makes 'yotte wa' different, and how to think of it - is it that I can use just 'yotte' in the above sentence ^ because whether or not I'll do it is up and the air and dependent (yotte) on the weather? But if I use yotte wa for contrast, it implies a definite choice.
Yes and yes.

Not used in present positive
It can be possible in some cases, as I pointed out.

「どういう映画なら気に入るんですか?」
この文の「なら」の意味は何ですか?
Grammatically, for conditional.

「宮崎駿監督の映画は間違いなく気に入ります。」
「間違えなく」とは、「without fail」という意味があるでしょう?
間違なく
More likely "surely" in this case.
 
Apologies for the 間違いなく typo - was going too fast, lazy error on my part.
Thank you very much for all your help.

For one last question, I must ask, how would one translate that into a smooth english sentence? どういう映画なら気に入るんですか?
The 'nara' throws me off because it always makes me think of 'if', and when I read it I can't think of anything besides 'What kind of movies if do you enjoy?' In other words, I can't fit that if anywhere in my brain. Sorry for the trouble :dead:
 
Apologies for the 間違いなく typo - was going too fast, lazy error on my part.
Thank you very much for all your help.

For one last question, I must ask, how would one translate that into a smooth english sentence? どういう映画なら気に入るんですか?
The 'nara' throws me off because it always makes me think of 'if', and when I read it I can't think of anything besides 'What kind of movies if do you enjoy?' In other words, I can't fit that if anywhere in my brain. Sorry for the trouble :dead:

Depending on the conversation, "Well, what kind of movie would/do you like?"

It helps to remember that some grammatical/communicative functions and distinctions are sometimes best expressed in English through differences in stress/emphasis.
 
What kind of movies do you enjoy/like? would be the best. なら adds a nuance something like the one you are talking to usually doesn't enjoy movies, and you are asking "Then, what kind of movies do you enjoy?". In other words, this sentence needs a context.
 
Thank you, Mike and Toritoribe!
It gets hard when it comes down to, 'Well, in English, this is the best way to express it...' when it is not a direct translation. Sometimes sentences seem to translate very promptly and simply. Other times, since its a different way of thinking, many options present themselves.

Hmm. In a way then, it seems like saying 'If [if you watch a] movie, then what kind do you like [to watch]?' In that way, I can get the 'if' in there in a way that makes sense - although yes, it makes sense that this sort of sentence requires some context around it.
 
Yes, your understanding is correct. なら has a similar function as a conditional 映画を見るなら.
 
Thank you, Mike and Toritoribe!
It gets hard when it comes down to, 'Well, in English, this is the best way to express it...' when it is not a direct translation. Sometimes sentences seem to translate very promptly and simply. Other times, since its a different way of thinking, many options present themselves.

Hmm. In a way then, it seems like saying 'If [if you watch a] movie, then what kind do you like [to watch]?' In that way, I can get the 'if' in there in a way that makes sense - although yes, it makes sense that this sort of sentence requires some context around it.

If you always try to force something present in one language into a translation of it in the other language, you're shoestringing yourself.

If you develop a habit of needing to see/hear something in translation to feel you understand it, you're hamstringing yourself.
 
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