General features of Japanese sentence structures + grammars - 1

みなさん、こんにちは！


Today I will write about very basics of Japanese grammars and structures.


(1) Word order
A predicate (verb or adjective) comes at the end of a sentence.
Tense and whether it is affirmative or negative are revealed only when the last word of the sentence is spoken.
This is the reason that one must listen to the very end of a Japanese sentence to know whether it is negative/affirmative or question.


(2) omission
Words or phrases are often omitted if they are understood from the context.
Even the subject and object of a sentence are often omitted.


(3) Three basic structures
Japanese sentences can be divided into the following three patters.

① Noun sentence　: (topic) wa (Noun) desu.
Ex.　Watashi wa Suzuki desu. (I am Suzuki.)

② Adjective sentence : (topic) wa (Adjective) desu.
Ex.　Kono inu wa kawaii desu. (This dog is cute.)

③ Verb sentence : (topic) wa (Verb).
Ex. Watashi wa arukimasu. (I (will) walk)
* “desu” has a similar function to “to be” in English, and comes at the end of Noun and
Adjective phrases.


(4) Negative Sentence
Negative Sentences are made by modifying the end of a predicate.
Ex. Kyo wa ame desu. -> Kyo wa ame dewa arimasen.
　　　(Today is rain. = It is raining today.)


(5) Question sentences
Attach “ka” to the end of a Declarative Sentence to create a question sentence.
Ex. Kore wa oishii desu ka. (Is this tasty?)