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My practice sentences...

Everybody else is biting their tongues and waiting for somebody else to be the one to say it....and that task usually falls to me, for some reason:

.... g r a m m A r ....

"Grammar"
 
I've read through the whole thread and didn't even notice. If I had though I would have said something. Seeing it spelled as "grammer" bugs me.
 
zxuiji said:
using single is not a problem but trying to combine them is where I trip up as you noticed with my failed attempts.
Click to expand...
So far I haven't seen any evidence that you are able to use single grammar constructs reliably either.
 
That's because I never put it up here, わたしはばかです, same thing applies to eveyone in the world for one reason or another so I have no shame in admiting that.
 
Then, how about to translate a simple sentence "How do you say this in Japanese?" first for practice?
 
I'll do so tommorrow as I need to sleep since I have work tommorrow (I work Wednesday to Sunday, all 7 hour shifts). Since I'll probably read this thread in the morning I'll ask a few questions that can be answered to by then.
1. Does どぅ ever need a か?
2. Is there more than one way to say "you" & "say" in japanese
3. I haven't actually looked up the particle yet but is it the ご particle I attatch to にほん to make it state language instead of country?

Also forgot to mention it ealier but I didn't realise I was spelling grammar wrong, I'll try to remember in future (bad habits die hard)
 
1)
どう, not どぅ. The difference between the large and small kana is critical in almost all cases (except sentence final particles or like that). You should be careful not to confuse them. For instance, while びょういん means hospital, びよういん is beauty salon (or きょう today vs. きよう skillful ).

か is not always necessary, but it would be better to learn the basic pattern to use it.

2)
Yes, of course, but you can use 言う for "to say" here. As for "you", the second person pronoun is rarely used in Japanese, especially in interrogative sentences since it's obvious from the context. This is a very basic fact learners must learn in the early period of learning, by the way.

3)
ご is not a particle but a suffix to mean "language".
Japanese particles - Wikipedia
 
Thanks, btw it still counts as a particle since it's part of something but anyway you confirmed what I needed to know there

Alright here's my attempt
これは言うでにほんごがどうですか
 
No, 語/ご/-go is not a particle. Did you read the wiki page I linked above?

As for your translation, 1)で can't be attached directly to the dictionary form of verbs, 2)言う is not the means, 3)the position of the interrogative どう is totally wrong, 4)the main verb is "to say", which is neither copula nor na-adjecties, so ですか is not used there, 5)にほんご is not the subject or object of some special verbs/adjectives, so が is not appropriate, etc., etc., thus, it's totally wrong. Try again.
 
Wasn't で supposed to represent at;in;on?
How about this attempt?

言うはこれでにほんごがどう

Edit: should I swap これ & にほんご?
 
Doesn't make sense at all, either.
1)言う is not the topic, 2)は can't be attached directly the dictionary form of verbs, etc., etc..

zxuiji said:
Wasn't で supposed to represent at;in;on?
Click to expand...
Then, why did you attach it to これ?

zxuiji said:
Edit: should I swap これ & にほんご?
Click to expand...
Why do you think so?
 
Toritoribe said:
Doesn't make sense at all, either.
1)言う is not the topic, 2)は can't be attached directly the dictionary form of verbs, etc., etc..
Click to expand...
Guess I'm not understanding what you're getting at there, I'll try again after I look up some things
Toritoribe said:
Then, why did you attach it to これ?
Click to expand...
Because it's supposed to be the "this in japanese" part
Toritoribe said:
Why do you think so?
Click to expand...
I wasn't sure because I remember asking about words being swapped in my first thread and someone saying that yes they had to be, I think it was you, I'm gonna go re-read the thread as well in a minute before I retry.
 
a basic hint about the word order;
As the name shows its function, the preposition is put before the target noun in English, as in "to say/write/ask in English", whereas the particle is a postposition in Japanese, i.e., the particle is always put after the target noun. If で is the particle you want to attach to にほんご, で should be put after にほんご. This rule applies to all the particles.
 
Edit: Meant to say this is my last attempt for the day because I'm gonna have a bath then head off for work
Edit 2: Your post showed up after my first edit so here's my edited attempt
どうはこれにほんごで言う

I'm starting to wonder wether I'm supposed to take out that う next to 言
 
Last edited:
どう is not the topic, either.
What is the function of これ in that sentence? You need to choose a particle to indicate it, and put it after これ.
Have you learned the conjugation of verbs?
I already gave you an advice about か.
Toritoribe said:
か is not always necessary, but it would be better to learn the basic pattern to use it.
Click to expand...
 
So in other words the topic should be what the sentence as a whole is pointing to?
 
Underestimated the time I have left before I leave for work, here's my next attempt:

これは日本語で言うがどうか
 
When が is attached directly to a predicative(verb/adjective/copula), it works as an adversative conjunction (although/but), not the subject marker. 言う is not the subject in the first place.
どうか is a form asking the addressee's opinion.
Your sentence is grammatical, but it actually means "I'm going to say this in Japanese, so what do you think about it?"
 
Then had I swapped the 言う & どう to be the other way round would that have achieved it correctly? Bare in mind I'm now leaving for work so while I'll be able to read the message from my phone I won't be responding until I get back at the earliest
 
Do you mean どうが言うか? If so, どう is not the subject, either.
The non-polite form of verbs usually doesn't attached to か. It's grammatical, but sounds rather arrogant. You need to use the polite form. (That's why I asked if you learned the verb conjugation.)
 
verb-conjugation... do you mean the と particle? (If you hadn't noticed I'm not used to breaking down sentences into parts which is part of why I'm having trouble identifying what grammer to use on what words)
 
Well at least I'm trying, I'm sure you've come across plenty of others who simply gave up right?
 
See pecifically this part:

i form
The i form, or 連用形 ren'yōkei, is very regular, and in almost all cases it is formed by replacing the u with i. Phonetically, this changes す su to し shi, and つ tsu to ち chi.

Usage
The i form has many uses, typically as a prefix. These include:
  • To form polite verbs when followed by the -ます -masu ending: 行く iku → 行きますikimasu, 使う tsukau → 使います tsukaimasu.
Japanese verb conjugation - Wikipedia

You need to get the polite form of 言う by using the explanation above.
 
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