plain sentences

i'm having trouble with making plain sentences. while with verbs in their dictionary forms, i can just add a の, but with nouns and others, i have no idea to add a だ (幾らだ?), a の (幾らの?), a か (幾らか?) or just use end with a rising tone with no particle (幾ら?). which one is correct?

also with verbs, can i add a か (来るのか?) and/or just use a か (来るか?).

also, '来るのかな' is 'i wonder if he will come', right? is there any other way to ask this question (来るかな etc)? かな is unisex, while かしら is for females only, right?


くれる くれます
くださる くださいます

上げる 上げます
差し上げる 差し上げます

貰う 貰います
頂く 頂きます

the 'normal' and humble forms of giving/receiving favours are grouped correctly above, right?

in the above examples, is there any difference between humble polite(頂きます) and humble plain(頂く)? if they're already humble (ie, talking to customers), the polite form should be used more frequently, right?

also, which verb group does くださる belongs to? none of the group converts it to くださいます for its polite form.


how do you use と言う意味?
AはBと言う意味です = A has the same meaning as B?
AはBと言う意味で使えます = A can be use as the same meaning as B?
any other usages?


買った所
買ったばかり
for 買ったばかり, it means 'just bought', right? even if it's a week after buying, you can still use it, right? as compared to 買った所, which can only be used shortly after buying, right? but my teacher said it's used only to say the place at which you bought; it does not say the time of buying at all. and she's a native japanese ...


how do you use お気に入り, in polite and plain sentences?


ありがとうございます

誰か答えてくれませんか。ありがとうございます。

tanhql said:

i'm having trouble with making plain sentences. while with verbs in their dictionary forms, i can just add a の, but with nouns and others, i have no idea to add a だ (幾らだ?), a の (幾らの?), a か (幾らか?) or just use end with a rising tone with no particle (幾ら?). which one is correct?
also with verbs, can i add a か (来るのか?) and/or just use a か (来るか?).
also, '来るのかな' is 'i wonder if he will come', right? is there any other way to ask this question (来るかな etc)? かな is unisex, while かしら is for females only, right?

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I'm not very sure I understand what your question is, but I'll just give a brief description of what you refer here.
Of all the variations of 幾ら (more preferably いくら ), 幾ら？ is the safest bet when askiing how much.
いくらだ is masculine speech, very often rude.
いくらか is also masculine and can be used in a pretentious manner.
いくらの cannot stand by itself. It must be followed by a noun either explicitly or implicitly.
いくらのパン？ (Question asking which of the prices at which bread is sold)
いくらの？ (Same question with the noun "bread" suggested implicitly)
来るかな？ Will he come? (Straightforward question asking whether he is coming)
来るのかな？ I wonder if he'll come. (Expression of doubt whether he's coming)
As you said, these two can be used by either gender, while 来るかしら？ is feminine usage.

It's very late, so that's it for now.
I'll come back for the rest if no one provides the answers...

epigene said:

I'm not very sure I understand what your question is

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as in:

あの傘を買ったばかり(x)? 幾ら?
what should be the particle x and y?

彼女はもう２時間遅れた。いつ来る(z)?
what should be the particle z?

can anyone answer the questions?

tanhql said:

can anyone answer the questions?

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Could you translate more specifically what you want to say in English ? There are various possibilities. Also, are your speakers male or female ?

Elizabeth said:

Could you translate more specifically what you want to say in English ? There are various possibilities. Also, are your speakers male or female ?

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i'm a male, but i don't want to sound too masculine. neutral tone is what i'm after.


first, what particles do you use to end a plain question? please give examples.

頂く and 頂きます are both humble forms, and since 頂く is plain form, it sould be rarely used compared to 頂きます, right? otherwise, it'd defeat the purpose of being humble.

none of the verb group change くださる to its polite form くださいます, so is it another irregular verb?

AはBと言う意味です = A has the same meaning as B?
AはBと言う意味で使えます = A can be use as the same meaning as B?
any other usages of と言う意味?

買った所 is similar to 買ったばかり, as shown here, right? but my native Japanese teacher says 所 only means the place of action, not the time of action.

How do you use お気に入り, in polite and plain sentences? is it a verb or noun?

are my questions that difficult to answer?

どうして誰も答えてくれませんか? 日本人や日本語が非常に上手な人にとって、この質問は 全然答え難くないんでしょう?

tanhql said:

どうして誰も答えてくれませんか? 日本人や日本語が非常に上手な人にとって、この質問は全然答え難くないんでしょう?

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上げないで、もらう期待ができませんね。

どうして、日本語の初心者（勉強し始めたばかりの生徒）の質問に答えてくれないの？

ｔａｎｈｑｌさんには、簡単に答えられる質問が多いと思いますよね。

ｔａｎｈｑｌさんの日本語の知識は、多くの人より、もう優れていますよ。


すくなくとも、前の質問を助けていただいて、私たちに感謝すべきですよね。

今まで、感謝の気持ちをあまり示さなかったと思います。

tanhql said:

i'm a male, but i don't want to sound too masculine. neutral tone is what i'm after.
first, what particles do you use to end a plain question? please give examples.

Click to expand...

"すいてる[の[か]]" | Japan Forum

頂く and 頂きます are both humble forms, and since 頂く is plain form, it sould be rarely used compared to 頂きます, right? otherwise, it'd defeat the purpose of being humble.

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Rarely used to end a sentence ? Probably.

AはBと言う意味です = A has the same meaning as B?
AはBと言う意味で使えます = A can be use as the same meaning as B?

Click to expand...

The second is saying "A can be used in the way/sense/with the meaning B is being used"

none of the verb group change くださる to its polite form くださいます, so is it another irregular verb?

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ください is irregular in the imperative form only, afaik.

買った所 is similar to 買ったばかり, as shown here, right? but my native japanese teacher says 所 only means the place of action, not the time of action.

Click to expand...

It can also mean time, but a much shorter span than bakari. Your teacher is really nuts, tanqhl.

Elizabeth said:

Your teacher is really nuts, tanqhl.

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でも、彼女は日本人なんですよ...
答えてくれてありがとう。

それに、誰か残っている質問を答えてくれませんか。

買った所 ...the place you bought
今それを買ったところです（ひらがな not所） time..
in conversation, 買ったところ、買った所 you must guess it.
今、買ったところ。
さっき、買ったところ
たった今、買ったところ
夕方買ったところ
I think there are some words（time) before 買ったところ "I just bought it "

昨日の話はそれを買ったところまででしたね. time

の意味 - goo国語辞書

According to the dictionary, 所 or 処 can be used for ところ, but normally hiragana is used and if you use 所 for many people it looks more like place (the place where I bought it) than the time (I've just bought it).