SVC Japanese Class

Lesson 9: Verb Groups

2010-03-18T14:59:00.001-07:00

1) Group 1 Verbs (end in -u, but not -eru or –iru):

Also called 五段動詞 godan doushi or strong verbs.

Examples:

書く kaku - (to write)
[ends in "kU"]
話す hanasu - (to speak)
[ends in "sU"]
泳ぐ oyogu - (to swim)
[ends in "gU"]
買う kau - (to buy)
[ends in "U"]

2) Group 2 Verbs (ends in -eru or –iru):

Also called 一段動詞 ichidan doushi or weak verbs

Examples:

見る miru - (to see)
[ends in "IRU"]
食べる taberu - (to eat)
[ends in "ERU"]
教える oshieru - (to teach)

[ends in "ERU"]

3) Group 3 Verbs (Irregular):

There are only two verbs to worry about.

する suru - (to do)
来る kuru - (to come)

Japanese Immersion Course 2010

2010-02-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Ohayo gozaimasu!

Remember that we have five of our classmates in Osaka over the next two weeks for the Japanese Immersion Course.

We'll be regularly updating our blog (http://jic2010.blogspot.com) just like we did a year ago when it was the Japan Club travelling throughout Japan.

Please also leave comments of encouragement for our brave world travellers!

Mata ne,

Mr. Fehr

Edmodo!

2009-12-14T10:30:00.001-08:00

It’s time to meet the other Japanese Immersion Course participants!

I’ve set up Social Network exclusively for the teachers and students travelling to Osaka in February. The site is called Edmodo and can be found here (www.edmodo.com).

Go ahead and sign in. No e-mail address or personal info needed. See me for the code that you need to join the Immersion Course group.

- C Fehr

Self-Study Lesson (Thursday 10th December)

2009-12-09T14:42:00.001-08:00

I’m not here today, but your tasks are as follows:

1) Put your homework on my desk.

2) Pick up a new Hiragana Practice Sheet from the box on the bookshelf beside my desk. To be done before next Thursday.

3) Learn and practice the new vocabulary on this Quizlet. Adjectives are words that modify a noun.

4) Write a comment on this blog post with three of your own sentences using an adjective in each one.

Have fun!

-Mr Fehr

Homework

2009-11-26T14:16:00.001-08:00

You are to compose at least four sentences using the different forms of desu (present/past/negative/positive). They can be questions, answers or just statements. They can be just a list of unrelated sentences, or you can put together a simple paragraph or conversation on a theme of your choice. Keep in mind the vocabulary we have learned over the last few weeks and feel free to use a dictionary.

Leave your answer as a comment. Good luck!

Lesson 8: Desu (Present/Past/Negative Tenses)

2009-11-25T13:13:00.001-08:00

Desu is a copula, a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate. It shows that something is or isn't something else.

Present Tense

ゾウは大きいです。
zou wa ookii desu.
Elephants are large.
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-are]

Past Tense

ゾウは大きいでした。
zou wa ookii deshita.
Elephants were large.
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-were]

Negative Tense

ゾウは大きいでわありません。
zou wa ookii dewa arimasen.
Elephants are not large.
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-are not]

Past Negative Tense

ゾウは大きいでわありませんでした。
zou wa ookii dewa arimasen deshita.
Elephants were not large.
[elephants-(topic particle)-big-were not]

Lesson 8: Question Words (who/what/when/where/why)

2009-11-25T13:07:00.001-08:00

いつ itsu - when

いつきましたか？
itsu kimashita ka?
When did you come?
[lit. when came? notice the "you" is understood.]

どこ doko - where

どこからきましたか？
doko kara kimashita ka?
Where did you come from?
[lit. where from came?]

どうして doushite - why

どうしてきましたか？
doushite kimashita ka?
Why did you come?
[lit. why came?]

なぜ naze - why

なぜ
naze?
Why?
[used in the same way as doushite]

だれ dare - who

だれがきましたか。
dare ga kimashita ka?
Who came?

何 nani - what

なにを買いましたか。
nani o kaimashita ka.
What did you buy?

Note:

Even with the question word a かka is generally used. (Except in casual spoken Japanese)

The question word is at the beginning, but after は wa if there is one.

あなたはだれですか？
anata wa dare desu ka?
Who are you? (the question word dare is after the wa)

Task 1

2009-11-19T12:27:00.001-08:00

Your task: Click on "comment" above and contribute at least one sentence to describe the picture.

Hint: Use words like...

- school vocabulary

- colours

- animals

- countries/nationalities

And sentences using...

- kore/sore/are

- kono/sono/ano

- particles like "no" (ownership), "ka" (question), etc.

Oh, and feel free to draw on the picture!

-C Fehr

Lesson 6: kore/sore/are

2009-11-14T08:55:00.001-08:00

THIS (これ・この) – Used when the object is closer to the speaker.

1) これ kore - this - When "this" is not connected to a noun.

これは何ですか？                 これはねこです。
kore wa nan desu ka?               kore wa neko desu.
What is this?                           This is a cat.

2) この kono - When you put "this" before a noun, it should be kono.

このねこはくろいですか？
kono neko wa kuroi desu ka?
Is this cat black?

いいえ。このねこはしろいです。
iie kono neko wa shiroi desu.
No. This cat is white.

THAT (それ・その) Used when the object is closer to the listener.

1) それ sore - when "that" is not connected to a noun

それは何ですか？                 それはねこです。
sore wa nan desu ka?                 sore wa neko desu.
What is that?                            That is a cat.

2) その sono - When you put "that" before a noun, it changes to sono

そのねこはくろいですか？
sono neko wa kuroi desu ka?
Is that cat black?

いいえ。そのねこはしろいです。
iie sono tako wa shiroi desu.
No. That cat is white.

THAT OVER THERE (あれ・あの) Used when the object is not near the speaker nor the listener.

1) あれ are - when "that" is not connected to a noun

あれは何ですか？                あれはねこです。
are wa nan desu ka?                 are wa neko desu.
What is that over there?           That over there is a cat.

2) あの ano - When you put "that" before a noun, it changes to ano

あのねこはくろいですか？
ano neko wa kuroi desu ka?
Is that cat over there black?

いいえ。あのねこはしろいです。
iie ano tako wa shiroi desu.
No. That cat over there is white.

Welcome! ようこそ！

2009-11-13T14:31:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the brand new blog dedicated to the SVC Japanese Class. This will largely be a source for study materials for those attending the Thursday afternoon class, but will also link to entertaining media and be a source of news and information.

Feel free to contribute any fun things you've found on the internet for learning Japanese by posting to this blog.

Mata ne,

C Fehr