Kids Web Japan

Grammar

1. Sentences using adjectives
   To make a sentence describing something with an adjective, just take the adjective and add [desu] for an affirmative (yes) statement. It's a little different for a negative (no) statement, though. Most adjectives end with [i]: To say the opposite of an adjective, you turn that into a [ku] and add the negative [arimasen], or [arimasen deshita] to put the sentence into the past tense. Here are some examples:
   

   Affirmative (yes): [it is] delicious.	Oishii desu.
   Negative (no): [it is] not delicious.	Oishiku arimasen.
   Past affirmative: [it was] fun.	Tanoshikatta desu.
   Past negative: [it was] not fun.	Tanoshiku arimasen deshita.

   
   
   In Lesson 2 you learned how to use [ka] at the end of a sentence to make the question form:
   

   Is [this] big?	Ookii desu ka?
   Is [this] not big?	Ookiku arimasen ka?
   Was [this] small?	Chiisakatta desu ka?
   Was [this] not small?	Chiisaku arimasen deshita ka?

   
2. Using [totemo], "very"
   Place the word [totemo] in front of any adjective you want to emphasize:
   

   Oishii desu.	[It's] delicious.
   Totemo oishii desu.	[It's] very delicious.

3. [takai] and [yasui]
   [takai] can mean a number of things, including expensive, tall (as in a person's height), and high (like a building or mountain). [yasui], on the other hand, means only cheap - not short or low.
4. This and that
   The words [kono], [sono], [ano], [dono] are used to say "this," "that," "that [over there]," and "which" respectively. Be sure not to confuse them with [kore], [sore], [are], and [dore], which you learned in Lesson 6. These words don't refer directly to things, but are used to indicate certain objects: "this apple," "that pencil," and so on.
   

   Kore wa aisukuriimu desu.	This is ice cream.
   Kono aisukuriimu wa oishii desu.	This ice cream is delicious.

   [kore] is a noun, and can be used as the subject of a sentence; but [kono] has to be used with a noun following it. It's the same with the other words in the series:
   

   Dono aisukuriimu ga suki desu ka?	Which ice cream do [you] like?
   Kono banana aisukuriimu ga suki desu.	[I] like this banana ice cream.