AmgedIsmail's Japanese Language Class
 

Hello,
I will go with my first kind of question, here I go.
[Yes, No Questions]

Is it right to say：

Did you play yesterday
kinou shimashitaka.
きのうしましたか。

Did you eat yesterday?
kinou tabemashitaka.
きのうたべましたか。

Hi,

I think this might be better:

kinou asobimashitaka
きのうあそびましたか。

if you were referring to doing something yesterday, maybe you might have to add nanika
きのうなにかしましたか。
It becomes: Did you do something yesterday?

Thanks for your info.
But what I am asking for is that if my grammar correct here in the question?

I am still beginning to learn Japanese Grammar
Did you play yesterday?

And what I studied so far is that "didn't" is not in Japanese but it makes the verb in Past tense and adds the suffix "mashita" to the verb "wakarimashita"

And I also learned that we don't need to mention pronouns in our Japanese questions, so "you" is not needed.

So, we only have the verb here and "yesterday"...
I studied that "play" means "shimasu" just like "do" which has the same meaning "Shimasu"....

I studied that words of adverbs of time like "yesterday" "tomorrow" and "today" comes at the beginning of the sentence... and that I don't forget to add "ka" to the form of the verb to make the sentence a question.....

So, from applying these grammar lessons I answered:-
Kinou shimashitaka.
きのうしましたか。
Did you eat yesterday?
Kinou tabemashitaka.
きのうたべましたか。

If I have an object like:
Did you read a book yesterday?

I studied that we use the word 'yesterday" before the object and then we use the object and an object marker after it then we end the question with our verb having "ka" at it's end.

kinou hon o yomimashitaka.
きのうほんをよみましたか。

The problem is that します is not the verb for "to play" but for "to do".

So, is that website wrong then?
Look:
A: What will Lucy do tomorrow?
Ashita Lucy wa nani o shimasu ka.

B: Lucy will play tennis.
Tenisu o shimasu.

Look at the site.
Dialogue, Say It Out Loud - Lesson 4 - Language - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan

No the website isn't wrong. Just you need to know that "shimasu" means "to do".

shimasu = to do
tenisu wo shimasu = play tennis
sanpou wo shimasu = to take a walk
aisatsu wo shimasu = to give a greeting
shigoto wo shimasu = to work

In Japanese we don't say "play tennis" but more accurately "do tennis".

I think 「きのうほんをよみましたか。」is grammatically perfect.

「きのうたべましたか。」sounds unnatural. If you say this, it'll sound to me like you're saying I didn't eat anything at all yesterday-- and I think maybe you can add an 'object' here, like 「きのう、なにかたべましたか。」(Did you eat anything yesterday?) , which would make its meaning clearer.
Or maybe in a colloquial use, when the asker and the hearer already know what food they're talking about, then I think 「○○を」,「あれを」or「それを」can be implied so you can say 「きのう、たべましたか？」.

「きのうしましたか」also sounds unnatural to me and here again I think you should add an 'object', like きのうテニスをしましたか？(Did you play tennis yesterday?)　because する is usually used with an object, like when you say 'play games' 'play catch' 'play a role' 'play a trick' etc.
So 'to play' without an object, as in 'Did you play yesterday?' would be translated 「あそぶ」, not 「する」.

Well,
Can I use the verb "to do" shimasu with any verb?
Like "sing" , to do sing or to do singing.
to do drinking...??
to do eating??

No. There are set verbs you use する to make. There are thousands of them, though. Think of it this way: really important verbs for things that have been around hundreds of years will have their own verbs. する verbs are often for highly technical verbs, newer words (テニス isn't exactly a thousand year old Japanese concept), and things like that.

But what I've just said is not a hard-and-fast rule. It's just something to show you that する verbage is very expansive.

Also, to sing = 歌う
to drink = 飲む
to eat = 食べる

Now, I mentioned する is often used for more technical/formal words. Here:
to sing an aria = 詠唱する
to imbibe/ingest [fancy words for eat/drink] = 摂取する

What will Lucy do tomorrow?
Ashita Lucy wa nani o shimasu ka.

The adverb of time "tomorrow Ashita" here began the sentence and the came the Subject "Lucy".....

Where will Kenta go tomorrow?
Kenta wa ashita doko e ikimasu ka.

While here in this sentence the Adverb of time "Ashita" didn't began the sentence but instead it came after the subject....

Can you please explain me why to understand what is the difference between them?

Ashita Lucy wa nani o shimasu ka.
=Lucy wa ashita nani o shimasu ka.

Kenta wa ashita doko e ikimasu ka.
=Ashita kenta wa doko e ikimasu ka.

These are all correct, I think. I don't see any difference in meaning (unless you're talking about 'informational structure' 'focus' or 'presupposition' etc.)

OK, I finally finished Lesson 4 and it's pretty easy talking about how to form a question including a transitive verb and an object and questions in past tense that have yesterday, questions in future tense that have "tomorrow".

Now, I am going to review all this...
Again I am discussing about that I would like to mention the subject in both questions and statements.
Here is the first one...

A: Did you eat ice cream yesterday?
I wrote this in Japanese using two ways:
1st by mentioning the subject (Pronoun you).
A: Anata wa kinou aisukuriimu o tabemashitaka.
あなたはきのうアイスクリームおたべましたか。

2nd one by not mentioning the pronoun.
A: Kinou aisukuriimu o tabemashitaka.
きのうアイスクリームおたべましたか。

So, can the two questions be correct?
Thanks.

A: Anata wa kinou aisukuriimu o tabemashitaka.
あなたはきのうアイスクリーム【を】たべましたか。

A: Kinou aisukuriimu o tabemashitaka.
きのうアイスクリーム【を】たべましたか。

Both are correct again....

Ok thanks a lot.
Now is there an easy way to memorize the days of the month...
It looks difficult...
1st day of the month, 2nd day, 3rd,.......31st
Is there a simple way to remember them?

Hmm...simple way...?

As to 「ついたち　ふつ-か　みっ-か　よっ-か　いつ-か　むい-か　なの-か　よう-か　ここの-か　とお-か」, I think you should just accept and memorise them.

When we count something we may say 「ひと-つ、ふた-つ、みっ-つ、よっ-つ、 いつ-つ、むっ-つ、なな-つ、やっ-つ、ここの-つ、とお」. If you already know this, it may be of some help, no?

And 20th is 「はつ-か」. If you know that '20 years old' is 「はたち」, it will be easier, no?

As to the other days (from 11 to 19 and from 21 to 31), just add 'にち（nichi）' after the numbers, ex. ２４ｔｈ＝「にじゅうよん-にち」.

(oh wait--we say 'nijuu-yon-nichi' but don't say 'nijuu-shi-nichi'. And 19th is 'juu-ku-nichi', not 'juu-kyuu-nichi... !!...why?)

OK, what about the months?
Is there a simple way for it??

I made a way for the last 3 months (October, November, and December) each of them begins with juu, except that we add ichi from January ichigatsu to November juuichigatsu
and add ni from February nigatsu to December juunigatsu

So, what about the other months? From March to September?

OK,
I made a song for months from March to September..
Listen to it and tell me if it's good, for me I think I will memorize them.
11.mp3

san shi goga roku shichi hachi kuga

Isn't it にじゅうよっか (nijyuuyokka)?

・・・あっ！！ほんまや！！　
I'm sorry~~...


Ah!! Yes! I think we say 'じゅうよっかjuuyokka' for 14th and 'にじゅうよっかnijuuyokka' for 24th.

17th may be either of 'じゅうななにちjuunananichi' or 'じゅうしちにちjuushichinichi', right? Wait, do we also say 'にじゅうなのかnijuunanoka'? Oh no~~now I'm confused!

And now, why don't we say 'にじゅういつか' for 25th or 'じゅうみっか' for 13th...??

Oh~thank you for your song...(^^)

Basically they are 'numbers(from 1-12)+ がつgatsu', like 'ichi, ni, san, she, go, roku, shichi, hachi, ku, juu etc.' + gatsu.

...Or would it be easier to put them like this...'each, knee, sun, she, go, rock, hitch, hatch, q, jew' + 'gatsu'...? Just kidding! (^^) Here's 'q' for 9, but we use 'ku' for the month.

There is something I don't understand now...
What is the difference between these two letters??

I know this one is つ　tu
But what is this smaller one っ? I can't find it on the keyboard..
Just like the one in mikka , yokka.
みっか
よっか

And check out this Power Point work by me, I have just made it now.
1. Days of the Month - From 1st to 10th.pptx

I also made a way to memorize the days from 11th to 19th, pretty easy I think and if you saw it as well, Sumippi, I hope it will be of help to you so you don't get confused.

The days from 11th to 19th starts with juu and ends in nichi, except for that 14th starts in juu as well but it is just like 4th ends in yokka...
juuyokka

Let's see what we will do next...!!
Remember the song I have just made..
(san - shi - goga - roku - shichi - hachi - kuga)
(1) Now remove shi from the list.
(2) Now remove ga from goga, and remove ga from kuga.

Days of 11th and 12th
11th : We will add ichi from January or it's just number 1 ichi ichigatsu, we will just add it after juu.
juuichinichi.

12th : We will add ni from February or it's just number 2 nigatsu, and we will just add it after juu,
juuninichi.

Now the rest in the list of the song, we will add them after juu for days of 13th to 19th except 14th in same order.

Let's try and see.
13th: juusannichi
15th: juugonichi
16th: juurokunichi
17th: juushichinichi
18th: juuhachinichi
19th: juukunichi

And here is another Power Point work by me for days from 11th to 19th this time.
2. Days of the Month - From 11th to 19th.pptx

And ohh.....!!!!
After I have discovered a new and simple way rather than this I discovered that forming Japanese numbers are so so so so easy than I expected... You don't have to be confused...
I think the only one is different is just 4---- numbers and numbers like 20, 30, 40, 50, etc.......

Hello,
Which is the correct one for number 10?
Juu or jyuu?
When I type them with keyboard I see no difference at all.

Juu: じゅう
Jyuu: じゅう

For example number 11 can I say juuichi?
In a site It's jyuuichi.
Japanese Numbers - The Number System of Japanese

Thank you for your detailed explanation...I use these expressions daily but haven't noticed any rules there...(^_^)笑

We usually write 'juu', not 'jyuu', and 'juuichi' not 'jyuuichi'...

I think you can type 'っ' with「L+T+U」.
With the key 'L', you can type smaller letters such as ゃゅょぉぇぅぃぁゎ.

if you type "yokka" (with a double k) the small tsu (っ) should pop up automatically.

If you just wanted to type っ you can type "xtu" and it should come up.

Also to note

ぁ - xa
ぃ - xi
ぅ - xu
ぇ - xe
ぉ - xo
づ - du

Thank you!
OK what about the other small letter?
ゃゅょぉぇぅぃぁゎ

Now I know that
Ltu = っ

And for number 20, can I say?
juujuu

20 = 10 + 10 = juu + juu = juujuu

I currently learned the numbers, can you check them, please?
Twenty-One: 2(10) + 1 = ni-juu-ichi
Twenty-Two: 2(10) + 2 = ni-juu-ni
Twenty-Three: 2(10) + 3 = ni-juu-san
Twenty-Four: 2(10) + 4 = ni-juu-shi
Twenty-Five: 2(10) + 5 = ni-juu-go
Twenty-Six: 2(10) + 6 = ni-juu-roku
Twenty-Seven: 2(10) + 7 = ni-juu-shichi
Twenty-Eight: 2(10) + 8 = ni-juu-hachi
Twenty-Nine: 2(10) + 9 = ni-juu-ku
Thirty: 3(10) = san-juu
Thirty-One: 3(10) + 1 = san-juu-ichi
etc....

I also have a question..
Is it September Sixth?
Shouldn't this be in Japanese...
kugatsu muika wa desu ka.
くがつむいかはですか。

In that site there is no wa after the subject here...
kugatsu muika desu ka.
How is this?
Can you explain?
Dialogue, Say It Out Loud - Lesson 5 - Language - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan

おお！I didn't know about the 'x'-key.

ゃ-- lya / xya
ゅ-- lyu / xyu
ょ-- lyo / xyo
ぉ-- lo / xo
ぇ-- le / xe
ぅ-- lu / xu
ぃ-- li / xi
ぁ-- la / xa
ゎ-- lwa / xwa

-----------------------------

＞And for number 20, can I say?　juujuu
＞20 = 10 + 10 = juu + juu = juujuu

--No, 20 is にじゅう(ni-juu). And 20th (for the day and duration) is はつか(hatsuka). We understand にじゅうにち(nijuu-nichi), but I think we usually say はつか.

------------------------------

＞I currently learned the numbers, can you check them, please?
Twenty-One: 2(10) + 1 = ni-juu-ichi
Twenty-Two: 2(10) + 2 = ni-juu-ni
Twenty-Three: 2(10) + 3 = ni-juu-san
Twenty-Four: 2(10) + 4 = ni-juu-shi
Twenty-Five: 2(10) + 5 = ni-juu-go
Twenty-Six: 2(10) + 6 = ni-juu-roku
Twenty-Seven: 2(10) + 7 = ni-juu-shichi
Twenty-Eight: 2(10) + 8 = ni-juu-hachi
Twenty-Nine: 2(10) + 9 = ni-juu-ku
Thirty: 3(10) = san-juu
Thirty-One: 3(10) + 1 = san-juu-ichi
etc....

--All correct.^^

-------------------------------

＞Is it September Sixth?
＞kugatsu muika desu ka.

--The subject 「きょうは=today」is left out here. You can also say 「きょうは、くがつむいかですか」.

You may think 「きょうは、くがつむいかですか。」(Kyou wa, kugatsu muika desu ka. ) would be grammatically correct, but we often say this without 'Kyou wa',-- because it can be implied, I think.... It depends on the context, though.

Hello,
The subject is not "today" here. It refers to the birthday...
A: When is your birthday?
B: My birthday is September third.
A: Is it September sixth?

So, I am going to follow the correct grammar which is first comes the subject..

A: anata no tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka.
あなたのたんじょうびはいつですか。

B: watashi no tanjoubi kugatsu mikka desu.
わたしのたんじょうびくがつみっかです。

A: tanjoubi wa kugatsu mikka desu ka.
たんじょうびはくがつみっかですか。

But in the website, they didn't mention "your" in 1st A.
A: Tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka.

And they didn't mention "My " in B.
B: Tanjoobi wa kugatsu mikka desu.

And where is the subject in the 2nd A.
The website's answer is:
A: kugatsu mikka desu ka.

So, is any of my answers wrong, please?

There is no "your" and "my" because it is obvious in Japanese who you are talking about. Any unnecessary or obvious information is dropped. That is why "you" is rarely used, as 99% of the time it is obvious.

So, my sentences are correct or wrong??

Also,
A: Is it September Sixth?
kugatsu muika desu ka.

B: No, it isn't the sixth, it's the third.
iie, muika dewa arimasen. Mikka desu.

Can you tell me, what does dewa arimasen mean?

I think you are heading down a path of serious frustration, as I think you are getting way too far ahead of yourself. Along with learning Japanese, you need to learn about Japanese.

Language is not like math. Right and wrong are not so black and white. I cannot say your sentences are wrong, as they are grammatically correct, but I cannot say they are right, as no one speaks like that.

Japanese is not structured like English. Piecemealing this understanding through questions on this forum is going to be frustrating to you and tiring for us. Please invest in a good textbook or class that includes more than just grammar lessons, but "theory" and cultural understanding as well.

Thanks.
OK is this the right order of the sentence in Japanese.

The Japanese sentence structure takes this order:
(1) Subject (birthday) (Tanjoubi たんじょうび) followed by wa　は
(2) Adverbs of Time such as yesterday, today.
(3) Object of Preposition followed by a Preposition such as (to) (e え),
(From) (kara から), (on) (ni に).
(4) Question Tool (When) (itsu いつ)
(5) An Object followed by (o を).
(7) The Verb (is) (desu です).

Look at this PowerPoint I've just made...
Can you check if something wrong?
I think it really makes things simple for me...

But can you check whether this order is correct.
When is your birthday (English).pptx

B: watashi no tanjoubi 'wa' kugatsu mikka desu.
わたしのたんじょうび「は」くがつみっかです。


dewa arimasen=is/am/are not~

Is something wrong with 'wa' here?

I enjoyed your PowerPoint... the pictures are pretty, especially the clock is so cute...^^

I think these rules will apply to simple sentences such as 'when's your birthday' etc. but the word order in Japanese language is not so strictly fixed so, for example, you can put '(2) adverbs of time' before '(1) subject' or sometimes after '(3) prepositional phrase.'

Oh wait, we don't have prepositions--I think we call 「が、の、を、に、へ、と、より、から、で、や」'case particles'...

Oh, I just added 'はwa' to your composition.

Yes, Thanks brother :)
Can you explain more about the verb "like" to me?

I noticed that there is "desu" for this verb.
Doesn't "desu" mean "is"?

[i] like bananas.
Banana ga suki desu.

I wonder why it doesn't end in masu or mashita?

Oh, it's because 'すきsuki' is not a verb in Japanese. Its original form is 'すき-なsuki-na' and it's classified as 'けいようどうし（形容動詞/keiyou-doushi）' , which is similar to adjectives but not exactly treated the same way.

I can't find out how you call 'けいようどうしkeiyoudoushi' in English...I'll try my other dictionaries, (I'm not sure if they have it though 笑.... because you don't have an equivalent in English language). I think it's something like...hmm... between verbs and adjectives.

What is that over there?
Isn't over a preposition? though it doesn't have a preposition meaning.
It just means "that over there" means "are".

Is that the only meaning for it in Japanese?

Which one do you mean?
Dore desu ka.
どれですか。
Does "mean" means "desu" too??

Japanese Language is very easy to learn,
but very difficult to translate.....

Currently, I have studied so many questions in my studies so far and I can type them correctly with my hand...

But I still can't translate a sentence, can't identify the verb of the sentence or even a subject...

どれどれ?
どんな、やつがいるんだ?

as I don't see wa "は"..
Shouldn't any Japanese text supposed to have a subject or a verb at the end?

は is not required to make a sentence.