Verb Sentences 3

Verbs with a direct object

Whenever one acts upon something or someone, verbs with a direct object are used. These verbs include "eat," "watch," "listen," etc.

たべます	eat
のみます	drink
みます	watch
よみます	read
ききます	listen
べんきょうします	study
します	do
あびます	take [a shower]

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Structure (English)

For instance, "hamburger" as in "John eats a hamburger at McDonald's everyday" is the direct object of the verb "eat." A direct object is something (or someone) that someone (or something) acts upon.

John eats	a hamburger	at McDonald's everyday.
	direct object

A direct object is marked by the particle を in Japanese. (FYI: The hiragana を is used only as a grammatical particle.)

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Structure (Japanese)

In Japanese, when referring to when X acts upon a direct object, you can start with X + は (or が), followed by the time + に, followed by the location of activity + で, and then say the direct object and mark it with particle を. Finally, add the appropriate verb のみます, たべます, and so on to complete the sentence.

～は(or が)	Timeに	Loc. of Activityで	Direct Objectを	Verb
"X acts upon something at somewhere at time."

Watch

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Example (1)

Topic は

Here's an example. To say "Lisa eats lunch at McDonald's at 1 o'clock," you can start with the subject ("Lisa") and mark it with は (or が).

リサさんは

Lisa

eat

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Example (2)

Topic は timeに

Then you say the time １じ followed by the particle に.

リサさんは	１じに
Lisa	at 1

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Example (3)

Topic は timeにloc. of activityで

Then you say the location of activity followed by the particle で.

リサさんは	１じに	マクドナルドで
Lisa	at 1	at McDonald's

eat

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Example (4)

Topic は timeにloc. of activityで direct objectを

Now, ｓay what she eats (ひるごはん) and mark it with the direct object marker を.

リサさんは	１じに	マクドナルドで	ひるごはんを
Lisa	at 1	at McDonald's	lunch

eat

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Example (5)

Topic は timeにloc. of activityで direct objectを たべます

Finally, say the verb たべます to complete the sentence.

リサさんは	１じに	マクドナルドで	ひるごはんを	たべます。
Lisa	at 1	at McDonald's	lunch	eats

eat

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Question Words

Question words can be substituted for any part of speech before the verb.

Subject は／が	Time に	Loc. of Activityで	Direct Object を	Verb
リサさんは	１じに	マクドナルドで	ひるごはんを	たべます。

だれが	なんじに	どこで	なにを	たべますか。

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Summary

We have introduced general verb sentences in Japanese with three different types of verbs (verbs that do not take a direct object (e.g., おきます), verbs with a destination (e.g., いきます) and verbs that take a direct object (e.g., たべます).

The table below represents these verbs. Based on the table, you should be able to make three sentences. Click the Play buttons below to hear the answers. Other parts of speech not listed below include personと ("with a person"), means/toolsで ("by means of/with""), frequency of activities ("always/usually/often/etc.") and length of time of activities ～じかんぐらい. Examples of these additional parts of speech will be shown later.

Subject は／が	Time に	Loc. of Activity で	Destination に／へ	Direct Object を	Verb
Yamada
Smith
Tanaka

As always, you can scramble parts of speech before the verb, so the order is not important. It's the particles that determine the meaning --- who does what, where, when, etc.

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