Japanese for English speakers House · Lesson 6

More verb patters

Use で (de) for where an action happens, もう (mō, already), and noun-verb compounds with します — 勉強します (study). Practice talking about future plans.

Conversation

  1. Cassian Cassian

    へえ？もう出かけますか？

    hē? mō dekakemasu ka?

    Eh? Are you leaving already?

    Tip: <mō> = already

  2. Meera Meera

    そうですね。明日、試験がありますから、

    sō desu ne. ashita, shiken ga arimasu kara,

    Yes. As I have an exam tomorrow,

    Tip: <ashita> = tomorrow <shiken> = exam, test NOTE that in Japanese verbs don't change according to present or future. A sentence like "I am visiting the doctor tomorrow" sounds like "I visit the doctor tomorrow".

  3. Meera Meera

    午後は友達と勉強します

    gogo wa tomodachi to benkyō shimasu

    I am studying with my friends in the afternoon

    Tip: <gogo> = afternoon <tomodachi> = friend <to> = particle to link two nouns or to say "with" <benkyō> = study (noun) <shimasu> = to do Note: some nouns come together with the verb "shimasu" and turn into verbs. Fox example, <benkyō> (the study) + <shimasu> (to do) = <benkyō shimasu> = to study

  4. Cassian Cassian

    学校の図書館で勉強しますか？

    gakkō no toshokan de benkyōshimasu ka?

    Are you studying in the school library?

    Tip: <gakkō> = school <toshokan> = library

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

What does もう (mō) mean?

'Already' or 'now' — 'もう食べました' = 'I've already eaten'. With negative: もう食べません = 'I won't eat anymore'.

What is 勉強します?

勉強 (study) + します (do) — together they form a verb. Many Japanese nouns become verbs by adding する/します.

How do Japanese verbs handle future tense?

Japanese has no distinct future tense. The present form 食べます = both 'I eat' and 'I will eat'. Context tells you which.

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Japanese lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.

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