Some Stuff I Just Don't Get...

[Rabby]

Alright, hi, yes, im back ^-^. If it helps, I finished memorizing the kana tables, and am moving onto basic grammar, basic words, and basic particles for now, but however there r some....japanese grammar dat I rly dont get....
If anyone can help me with detailed answers, I will appreciate it, thx <3
Sorry, I know its a lot to ask for, but this rarely happens...only if im seriously stuck ^-^

Anyways, here r my questions

1. What exactly r the differences of "desu ne" and "desu yo" :/? (They both seem the same ...)

2. In song lyrics, why r verbs usually not last and why does the lines there seem completely.....messed up ?

3. If there r TWO or MORE verbs in a single sentence, how do u construct this? (Verbs r at the end of the sentence so....?)

4. Okay, so there r many particles to learn. But...at least one of them have the same function as another particle....so.... :

If you were READING japanese and particles pops out, how can u tell what dat particle particular means in dat sentence (There r many possibilities of the meaning of one particle)?! But then, if ur WRITING japanese, and u have to write a particle for a sentence. But so many particles share a same meaning, so how do u know which particle to choose and write down D:?!

5. In Anime, I hear the characters would say something like "wadawada wa" , and the it usually happens when a "we" is around (eng subs). What exactly is that?

6. Usually, in a word or sentence, how do u pronounce the kana "tsu"? Do u pronounce it tsu or something like dat? And how does it look like ur writing it in romaji with it? (Because, when I say tsu usually when I read it, I had this nagging feeling that, that its not how I say it....)

Thats all for now...thx

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
The meaning/connotation depends on the context, but those two expressions are different.

2)
Verbs are not always put at the end of a sentence. Or, what you read was not a sentence(just a clause or phrase).

3)
Have you learned the attributive/adnominal clause(連体節[れんたいせつ]), which is equivalent to the relative clause in English grammar?

4)
The meaning of a particle depends on the context, verb or noun that is attached to it. It's similar to the relation between a preposition and a verb/noun in English.

5)
我々[われわれ] or 我ら

6)
Are you confusing つ(large tsu) with っ(small tsu), maybe?

 

[lanthas]

1. ね at the end of a sentence is typically translated as "isn't it?", "don't you think so too?": it suggests an idea to the person you're talking to and seeks their agreement. E.g. "Mariko is looking good today, isn't she?"
よ on the other hand enforces a statement and suggests that the listener didn't know about it yet. It can be translated as ", you know!". "If you eat that many sweets, you'll get sick, you know!"
So, these two particles are definitely different.

2. It's true that in standard, polite Japanese, a sentence always ends with a verb. However, in casual conversation and especially in song lyrics, people take liberties with this rule: verbs are dropped or moved around in order to shorten the sentence or make it fit better with the music. You'll see strange word ordering in other language's songs and poems as well.

3. There's nothing unusual about having multiple verbs in one sentence, it happens all the time in any language. E.g. "I saw him wearing his girlfriend's dress today" contains the verbs "see" and "wear". When textbooks say that "the verb goes at the end of the sentence in Japanese", they mean the *main* verb. It doesn't mean that there can be only one verb, or that all verbs have to be at the end.

4. Like Toritoribe said, if a particle has multiple meanings, you need to look at the surrounding words to find out which one is meant. For example, if と comes after a person's name it probably means "with", if it comes after a verb it can mean "if", etc.

When writing or speaking, at first it may seem that there are many particles with the exact same meaning (e.g. "only" can be translated to だけ, しか, ばっかり and a whole lot of others). In truth though, each one has its own nuance, so they *are* slightly different.

5. われ is a rather stiff/formal way of saying "I"; it's typically used when you're holding an important speech. われわれ or われら are two possible plurals of this, so they are a formal way of saying "we" (as in "our organisation", "our company").

6. A large つ is pronounced as "tsu" or a shorter "ts" depending on the word. A small っ means you should make a short pause.

 

[Mike Cash]

Please refrain from using text message shorthand like "r" and "dat" in your posts. It shows a lack of consideration and can make some readers question whether you're intelligent enough to understand their answers.