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You are here: Home / Japanese Grammar 108 – Positive, negative and interrogative sentence

Japanese Grammar 108 – Positive, negative and interrogative sentence

The positive sentence

Subject+wa+verb

Examples:

Watashi wa yomimasu (I read) polite form
Kare wa tabemasu (He eats) polite form
Watashi wa yomu (I read) colloquial form
Kare wa taberu (He eats) colloquial form


Subject+wa+object+o+verb

Examples:

Watashi wa hon o yomimasu – I read a book
Kare wa sakana o tabemasu – He eats fish
Watashi wa hon o yomu – I read a book
Kare wa sakana o taberu – He eats fish

Subject+wa+to be

Kanojo wa nihonjin desu – She is Japanese
Are wa gakkō da – That is a school

Subject+wa+place+ni / he+Verbo iku (to go) / kuru (to come)

Kanojo wa Kyoto ni / he ikimasu – She goes to Kyoto
Karera wa eki ni / he kimasu – They come to the station
Kanojo wa Kyoto ni / he iku – She goes to Kyoto
Karera wa eki ni / he kuru – They come to the station

Negative sentence

Subject+wa+negative verb

Watashi wa yomimasen – I don’t read
Kare wa tabemasen – He doesn’t eat
Watashi wa yomanai – I don’t read
Kare wa tabenai – He doesn’t eat

Subject+wa+object+o+negative verb

Watashi wa hon o yomimasen – I don’t read books
Kare wa sakana o tabemasen – He doesn’t eat fish
Watashi wa hon o yomanai – I don’t read books
Kare wa sakana o tabenai – He doesn’t eat fish

Subject+wa+to be (negative)

Watashi wa nihonjin dewa arimasen – I am not Japanese
Are wa gakkō dewa nai – That is not a school

Subject+wa+place+ni / he+verb iku (to go) / kuru – to come

Kanojo wa Kyoto ni / he ikimasen – She doesn’t go to Kyoto
Karera wa eki ni / he kimasen – They don’t come to the station
Kanojo wa Kyoto ni / he ikanai – She doesn’t go to Kyoto
Karera wa eki ni/he konai – They don’t come to the station

Interrogative sentence

Questions are formed by adding ­ka at the end of the polite form.

Anata wa gakusei desu – You are a student
Anata wa gakusei desuka – Are you a student?
Kare wa zasshi o yomimasu – He reads magazines
Kare wa zasshi o yomimasuka – Does he read magazines?

­There are also interrogative pronouns:

donata (formal) / dare (colloquial) – who

nan – what
dore – which
ikutsu – how much
donoyōni – how (in what way)
doko – where
itsu – when
ikura – how much (cost)
dō – how

These pronouns come before the verb:

Ano hito wa donata desuka – Who is that person?
­Yamadasan desu – It’s mr / ms Yamada

* It is important to add ­san after the name or surname to be polite.

Are wa nan desuka – What is that?
­Are wa gakkō desu – That is a school
Nihongo no hon wa dore desuka? – Which one is the Japanese book?
­Kore desu – It’s this one
Mikan wa ikutsu arimasuka? – How many mandarins are there?
­Nanatsu desu – There are seven
Donoyōni asobimasuka – How do you play?
Futari de asobimasu – You play in two people

EXERCISE: 108 Positive, negative and interrogative sentence | NEXT: 109 Present and past of verbs

FREE JAPANESE BEGINNERS’ COURSE

Grammar
101 Personal Pronouns
102 Demonstrative Pronouns
103 Prepositions wa, ga, no, o, mo
104 Prepositions he, ni, de, to, kara, made, ka
105 Existential Verbs
106 Godan Verbs
107 Ichidan Verbs
108 Positive, negative and interrogative sentence
109 Past and Present of verbs
110 Irregular Verbs
111 Verb + Tai Desu

Exercises
101 Personal Pronouns
102 Demonstrative pronouns
103 Prepositions wa, no, o, mo, ga
104 Prepositions he,ni,de,to,kara,made,ka
105 Existential Verbs
106 Godan Verbs
107 Ichidan Verbs
108 Positive, Negative and Interrogative sentence
109 Present and Past of Verbs
110 Irregular Verbs
111 Verb + Tai Desu
Vocabulary
101 Numbers
102 Family
103 Greetings
104 Food and Drinks
105 Times of the Day
106 House
107 City
108 Questions
109 Home Content
110 Jobs
Listening practice
101 Personal Pronouns
102 Demonstrative Pronouns
103 Prepositions wa, no, o, mo
104 Prepositions he, ni, de, to, kara, made, ka
105 Imasu, Arimasu
106 Godan Verbs
107 Ichidan Verbs
108 Positive, Negative and Interrogative sentence
109 Past and Present of Verbs
110 Irregular Verbs
111 Verb + Tai Desu
Dialogues
101 At the Restaurant
102 Tourist Office
103 Phone Call
104 Shopping
105 At the Dentist
106 The Train Station
107 Taxi
108 Hotel
109 Directions
110 Police Station

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