【Minna no Nihongo: Lesson 1】Sentence patterns and Key sentences

quiz, test, task
2020.07.15
quiz, test, task
Minna no Nihongo
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Sentence patterns

Sentence patterns you are going to learn in this lesson are:

  • A is B. → AはBです。
  • A is not B. → AはBじゃありません。
  • A is also B. → AもBです。
  • Is A B? → AはBですか。

わたしは　マイク・ミラーです。

I am Mike Miller.

  • わたし（wa ta shi）means ‘I’.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • マイク・ミラー（ma i ku / mi ra a）means ‘Mike Miller’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.

サントスさんは　学生じゃ　ありません。

Santos is not a student.

  • サントス（sa n to su）means ‘Santos’ which is a boy’s name of Spanish.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 学生（がく・せい／ga ku se i）means ‘student’.
  • じゃありません（ja a ri ma se n）means ‘is/am/are not’.

ミラーさんは　会社員ですか。

Is Miller an employee?

  • ミラー（mi ra a）means ‘Miller’.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 会社員（かい・しゃ・いん／ka i sha i n）means ‘employee’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.

サントスさんも　会社員です。

Santos is also an employee.

  • サントス（sa n to su）means ‘Santos’ which is a boy’s name of Spanish.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • も（mo）means ‘also’.
  • 会社員（かい・しゃ・いん／ka i sha i n）means ‘employee’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
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Sample sentences

Q：あなたは　マイク・ミラーさんですか。

Are you Mike Miller?

A：はい、わたしは　マイク・ミラーです。

Yes, I am Mike Miller.

  • あなた（a na ta）means ‘you’.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • マイク・ミラー（ma i ku / mi ra a）means ‘Mike Miller’.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.
  • はい（ha i）means ‘yes’.
  • わたし（wa ta shi）means ‘I’.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • マイク・ミラー（ma i ku / mi ra a）means ‘Mike Miller’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.

Q：ミラーさんは　学生ですか。

Miller, are you a student?

ミラーさんは　学生ですか。can mean ‘Is Miller a student?’. It all depends on a context.

If you LITERALLY translate ‘Miller, are you a student?’ into Japanese, that is: ミラーさん、あなたは　学生ですか。which Japanese people do not usually say.

They often use an actual person’s name instead of あなた. So, ‘Miller, are you a student?’ should be like this: ミラーさんは　学生ですか。

A：いいえ、わたしは　学生じゃ　ありません。

No, I am not a student.

  • ミラー（mi ra a）means ‘Miller’.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 学生（がく・せい／ga ku se i）means ‘student’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.
  • いいえ（i i e）means ‘no’.
  • わたし（wa ta shi）means ‘I’.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 学生（がく・せい／ga ku se i）means ‘student’.
  • じゃありません（ja a ri ma se n）means ‘is/am/are not’.

Q：ワンさんは　銀行員ですか。

Is Wang a banker?

A：いいえ、ワンさんは　銀行員じゃ　ありません。医者です。

No, Wang is not a banker. He is a doctor.

  • ワン（wa n）means ‘Wang’ which is a Chinese surname.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 銀行員（ぎん・こう・いん／gi n ko o i n）means ‘banker’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.
  • いいえ（i i e）means ‘no’.
  • ワン（wa n）means ‘Wang’ which is a Chinese surname.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 銀行員（ぎん・こう・いん／gi n ko o i n）means ‘banker’.
  • じゃありません（ja a ri ma se n）means ‘is/am/are not’.
  • 医者（い・しゃ／i sha）means ‘doctor’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.

Q：あの　方は　どなたですか。

Who is that person?

A：ワットさんです。さくら大学の　先生です。

That is Watt. He is a teacher from Sakura University.

  • あの（a no）means ‘that’.
  • 方（かた／ka ta）means ‘person’.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • どなた（do na ta）means ‘who’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.
  • ワット（wa t to）means ‘Watt’ which is an English surname.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • さくら（sa ku ra）means ‘cherry blossom’, although it is used as a university name in this context.
  • 大学（だいがく／da i ga ku）means ‘university’.
  • の（no） means ‘of’.
  • 先生（せんせい／se n se i）means ‘teacher’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.

方（かた） and 人（ひと）

Both of them mean ‘person’, although 方 is a polite word and 人 is a casual word.

どなた and だれ

Both of them mean ‘who’, although どなた is a polite word and だれ is a casual word.

Q：グプタさんは　会社員ですか。

Is Gupta an employee?

A：はい、会社員です。

Yes, he is an employee.

  • グプタ（gu pu ta）means ‘Gupta’ which is a surname name of Indian.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 会社員（かい・しゃ・いん／ka i sha i n）means ‘employee’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.
  • はい（ha i）means ‘yes’.
  • 会社員（かい・しゃ・いん／ka i sha i n）means ‘employee’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.

Q：カリナさんも　会社員ですか。

Is Karina also an employee?

A：いいえ。カリナさんは　学生です。

No. Karina is a student.

  • カリナ（ka ri na）means ‘Karina’ which is a girl’s name of Indonesian.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • も（mo）means ‘also’.
  • 会社員（かい・しゃ・いん／ka i sha i n）means ‘employee’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.
  • いいえ（i i e）means ‘no’.
  • カリナ（ka ri na）means ‘Karina’ which is a girl’s name of Indonesian.
  • さん（sa n）is a suffix after a person’s name when you want to call the name politely.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 学生（がく・せい／ga ku se i）means ‘student’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.

Q：テレーザちゃんは　何歳ですか。

How old is Theresa?

A：９歳です。

She is 9 years old.

  • テレーザ（te re e za）means ‘Theresa’.
  • ちゃん（cha n）is a suffix after a name of boys, girls, close friends and pets that are cute.
  • は（wa）is a topic marking particle which doesn’t mean anything.
  • 何歳（なん・さい／na n sa i）means ‘how old’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.
  • か（ka）at the end of a sentence means ‘?’.
  • ９歳（きゅう・さい／kyu u sa i）means ‘9 years old’.
  • です（de su）means ‘is/am/are’.

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