Zeljko Cipris and Shoko Hamano – Making Sense of Japanese Grammar – A Clear Guide Through Common Problems

Zeljko Cipris and Shoko Hamano: Making Sense of Japanese Grammar: A Clear Guide Through Common Problems Making Sense of Japanese Grammar explains basic principles that underlie a wide range of phenomena in Japanese. Students – irrespective of proficiency level and linguistic training – will find clarification on matters of grammar that often seem idiosyncratic and Japanese-specific, such as avoiding the use of certain pronouns, employing the same word order for questions, hidden subjects, polite and direct forms. Making Sense of Japanese Grammar consists of short units, each focused on explaining a distinct problem and illustrated with a wealth of examples. The units are corss-referenced and contain brief comprehension exercises to test and apply newly acquired knowledge. A glossary and keys to the exercises are at the back of the book.It can be used as a supplementary classroom reading or a helpful reference for students of all levels. ContentsPart 1. Grammatical Categories and the Basic Architecture of a Sentence1 The subject corresponds to an item around which an event evolves 32 Use the verb at the end! 53 An explicit subject is optional 64 Pay attention to the last part of a sentence 75 There are three types of verb-like constituents 96 The noun in the sentence gakusei-desu is not the subject! 117 Japanese speakers avoid certain pronouns 138 You cannot always guess the grammatical category of a Japanese form from the grammatical category of its English counterpart 159 Dictionary forms of all Japanese adjectives end with -ii, -ai, -oi, or -ui 1610 “Noun” is an open category in Japanese 1711 Use the same word order for questions. Attach -ka to a statement to turn it into a question 1912 Do not hesitate to use the same verb over and over again 2213 Japanese particles are postpositions 2314 Classification of particles 25Part 2. Phrase Particles: Marking the Functions of Noun Phrases in a Sentence15 A phrase particle determines the function of the noun 3116 The particle -wa identifies what the sentence is about and urges the listener to pay attention to the part that follows 3317 The particle -mo adds the preceding noun phrase to a list of objects 3618 Use of -wa and -mo presupposes a contextual set 3819 -ga is the subject marker; -o is the direct object marker 4020 -ga and -o mark a fresh participant; -wa marks a familiar participant already anchored in a context 4321 Do not attach -wa to interrogative WH-phrases 4622 Only one direct object particle -o appears per verb 4823 The subject and the direct object are the primary grammatical categories 5024 Two types of locational particles: -de and -ni 5325 Three reasons not to use phrase particles 5726 “Exceptional” uses of -ga 6027 Grammatical reasons for alternations of particles 6428 The person marked with the particle -ni is an active participant in an interaction 6629 The person marked with the particle -to is a “reciprocal” participant in an interaction 7130 Certain auxiliary verbs take the non-subject participant particle -ni 7331 The auxiliary verb -morau comes with -ni; the auxiliary verbs -ageru and -kureru do not 7632 Another consequence of the double-o constraint 7933 Phrase particles are powerful! 80Part 3. Expanding Noun Phrases34 The particle -no between two nouns turns the first noun into a modifier 8535 A noun modified by an adjective functions like a noun 8736 The modifier consistently precedes the modified 8837 Spatial relationships are expressed with stacked nouns 9038 The particle -no mediates a wide range of relationships. Mekishiko-jin-no tomodachi, for instance, means either “a friend of a Mexican” or “a friend who is Mexican” 9239 The particle -to connects noun phrases representing separate objects 9440 Na-nouns behave like nouns, but they have “fuzzy” meanings 9641 To say something more complex, use complex noun phrases 9942 The head noun of a complex noun phrase carries with it only the particle which marks its function in a larger sphere 10143 Japanese does not employ WH-phrases for creating complex noun phrases 10344 Mekishiko-jin-no tomodachi “a Mexican friend” is a complex noun phrase 10545 Atarashii tomodachi “a new friend” is also a kind of complex noun phrase 10746 One more way to create a complex noun phrase 10947 No is for a familiar event; koto is for an abstract idea 111Part 4. Tense and Events48 There are only two tenses in Japanese: non-past and past 11749 Special use of past tense forms 11950 Te-forms connect very closely related events 12151 Tense markers separate events 12452 Events are tied with varying degrees of cohesion inside a sentence 12953 Two perspectives for tense inside a subordinate clause 13354 The main clause perspective means involvement 13755 The speaker’s perspective means incidental connection, speaker’s recollection, or speaker’s reasoning 140Part 5. Miscellaneous Topics56 Hai and ee mean “I agree” or “I hear you”; iie means “I disagree” 14557 Are “that” is for things known to both speaker and hearer; sore “that” is for something just mentioned 14958 The longer and vaguer, the more polite 15259 Polite forms and direct forms 15360 Reality consists of continuous-grade scales; language makes things discrete 15661 Interpretations of -te-kuru/-te-iku 15962 Expressing solidarity with -te-kuru/-te-iku 16363 -n-da expresses expectation of mutual understanding 16564 -n-da-kara does not provide personal information. Do not overuse it! 16765 There are ways to identify hidden subjects 17066 Do not be intimidated by apparent complexity 175