Grammar Notes for Dialogue 1
bullet て-form of Verbs (Vて form)
  In order to refer to a group of actions in one sentence (e.g., "Someone goes to a restaurant and eats a hamburger"), we need to conjoin verbs. The particle ("and") cannot be used for this purpose because connects only nouns. Instead, we use the て-form of verbs (also called Vて form).
S1
S2
七時 しち じ おきます ごはんを べます。
七時におきて、ごはんを食べます。
"I wake up at 7 and eat a meal."

The two sentences above are combined by changing the first verb おきます into its Vて form, おきて ("wake up and"). There are three types of verbs (う-verbs, る-verbs, and irregular verbs) in Japanese, and there are separate Vて form formation rules for each type of verbs.

For verbs (Type I Verbs):

  1. Drop the ます ending of the nonpast form (e.g., かきます). This will obtain the verb stem (e.g., かき).

  2. If the verb stem ends with one of the following on the left, change it to the ending on the right. (Note that some Vて forms result in the same form: いって ("go") and いって ("say").)

    If the stem
    ends with

    change
    or add

     

    Examples

    …し

    Add

    animation

    はなますarrowはなして ("speak")
    ますarrow  だして ("take out/submit")
    かえます arrow かえして ("return [something]")

    …き

    Change it
    to いて

    animation

    ますarrowいて ("write")
    ますarrowいて ("ask/listen")
    あるますarrowあるいて ("walk")
    かぜをひますarrowかぜをひいて ("catch a cold")
    ますarrowいて ("ask/listen")
    (except いますarrowいって) ("go")

    …い
    …ち
    …り

    Change it
    to って

    animation

    ますarrow  かって ("buy")
    つかますarrow  つかって ("use")
    うたますarrow うたって ("sing")
    ますarrow  いって ("say")
    ますarrow  まって ("wait")
    ますarrow  もって ("hold/have")
    つくますarrowつくって ("make")
    ますarrow  とって ("take")
    かえますarrow かえって ("go home")
    かかますarrowかかって("takes [time/money]")
    ますarrowって ("[it] rains/snows")

    …み
    …び
    …に

    Change it
    to んで

    animation

    ますarrow  よんで ("read")
    ますarrow  のんで ("drink")
    やすます arrow やすんで ("rest")
    ますarrow  よんで ("call")
    あそますarrowあそんで ("play")
    ますarrow  しんで ("die")

    …ぎ

    Change it
    to いで

    animation

    およますarrowおよいで ("swim")
    いそますarrowいそいで ("hurry")

For る Verbs (Type II Verbs):

  1. Drop the ます ending of the nonpast form (e.g., べます). This will obtain the verb stem (e.g., ).
  2. Add to the verb stem.

    V stem     Examples
    ます
    ます
    ます

    おき ます
    ます
    つけ ます
    つかれ ます
    Add animation べますarrow ("eat")
    みますarrow  み ("look/watch/see")
    いますarrow  い ("be/stay")
    おきますarrow おき ("get up/wake up")
    ねますarrow ("lie down/go to bed")
    つけますarrow つけ ("turn on/attach")
    つかれますarrowつかれ ("get tired")

For Irregular Verbs (Type III Verbs):

There are two irregular verbs in Japanese ( ます and します), and they conugate as follows:

animation

ますarrow て ("come")
しますarrowして ("do")

When verbs are put together with Vて forms, the combined expression generations the following interpretations.

1. Sequential actions
bullet七時におきて あさごはんを 食べました。 I woke up at seven, and ate breakfast.
bulletとしょかんに行って しんぶんを よみます。 I go to the library, and read newspapers.
bulletひるごはんを かって きます。bullet I will buy my lunch, and come back.
(=I'm coming back having bought my lunch.)
2. Parallel actions
bullet田中さんは テレビをみて、
スミスさんは テニスをしました。
Ms. Tanaka watched TV,
and Mr. Smith played tennis.
3. Manner/Means
bulletあるいて いきます。 I will walk, and go. (i.e., "I will go on foot.")
bulletえきまで あるいて ふん かかります。 I walk to the station, and it takes 5 minutes.
(i.e., "It takes 5 min. to get to the station on foot.")
bulletワープロを つかって かきました。bullet I used a word processor, and wrote it.
(i.e., "I wrote it by using a word processor.")

bullet The combination /Vて + きます/ is called an errand pattern. It refers to a sequence of actions made of (1) going somewhere, (2) doing something, and (3) coming back. Only the last two actions are expressed in Japanese, and the first action ("going") is implied. In English, the first two actions are expressed, and the last action ("coming back") is implied (e.g., "I went shopping yesterday").

bulletNote here that -forms are tenseless. In this case, つかって can be interepreted as either "use" (present/future) or "used" (past) depending on the tense of the main verb (last verb).

In some cases, the combination /Vて + Predicate/ can create a cause-effect interpretation.

Vて (Cause) Predicate (Effect)  
ほん を たくさん よんで ねむいです。 I read a lot of books, so I am sleepy.
かぜを ひいて 三日 みっか やすみました。 I caught a cold, so I took three days off.

The classroom request form Vてください learned in Lesson 5 actually consists of two verbs as shown below. ください is a polite imperative form of the verb くださいます ("give me"). Vてください literally means "Please give me your V-ing."

  Verb1て Verb2  
bullet まって ください。 Please wait.
bullet きいて ください。 Please listen/ask.
bullet みて ください。 Please look at it.
bullet いって ください。 Please say it.
bullet だして ください。 Please turn it in.
bullet れんしゅうして ください。 Please practice it.
Grammar Note 1 Nが (Placeに) ございます/Nでございます
 

Two similar expressions Nが ございます and Nでございます are introduced in this lesson. These expressions are the polite forms of Nが あります and Nです, respectively.

Neutral style Polite style  
Nが あります Nが ございます There is/are N. [inanimate]
です でございます It's N.

Both Nがあります and Nがございます require that N is an inanimate object. In contrast, Nです/でございます can be used for both animate and inanimate objects.

Unlike the honorific verb いらっしゃいます ("Somone is [here/there]"), でございます is not an honorific style, so it can be used for in-group people including the speaker himself/herself.

Neutral style Polite style  
かさが あります。
田中さんが います
かさが ございます。
田中さんが いらっしゃいます
There are umbrellas. [inanimate]
Mr. Tanaka is (here/there). [animate]
です。
田中さんです。
かさです。
でございます。
田中さんでございます。
かさでございます。
This is my mother.
He is Mr. Tanaka.
It's an umbrella.

Exercise:

Explain why the following expressions are unacceptable? Correct the errors.

  1. かさが いらっしゃいます。("There are umbrellas.")
  2. 田中さんが ございます。("Mr. Tanaka is (here/there).")

Both of the following polite sentences mean "The stationery department is on the 7th floor." What are the regular forms of these sentences?

  1. ぶんぼうぐうりばは7かいでございます。
  2. ぶんぼうぐうりばは7かいにございます。

Grammar Note 2 Requests using quantity expressions: Xを Y(ほん) ()せて(くだ)さい
 

The following are common expressions to buy something. Note that the quantity expression (how many or how much you would like to buy) is placed after the object (X) you buy.

Xを Quantity Verb  
その とけいを   (くだ)さい。 Please give me that watch.
その (あか)いペンを 五本 下さい。 or
おねがいします。
Please give me those five red pens.
赤いペンを 三本 下さい。 Please give me three red pens.

Note the similar structures for saying "There are..." or "I have..." below.

Xが Quantity Verb  
(あお)いノートが 二さつ あります。 There are five blue notebooks.

You can combine things you buy in one statement by using the particle as shown below.

Xを Quantity Yを Quantity Verb
その あかい ペンを 五本 あおい ノートを 二さつ かいました。

+

bought
I bought those five red pens and two blue notebooks.

When the objects being referred to are understood, you can drop the object names without confusion.

五本 (くだ)さい。 Please give me five (of those long things).
四さつ かいました。 I bought four (books, magazines, etc.).
250こ つくりました。 I made 250 (small, solid things).
5300まい あります。 I have 5300 (sheets of paper, etc.).
三つ です。 (He/She) is three (years old).
(or "They are three [things].")

To state how much something costs per unit, we use the following type of noun sentences.

  Xは (Unit) Quantity です。
Q: その とけいは   いくら ですか。
  How much is that watch?
A: (それは)   六千八百円 です。
  It's 6,800 yen.
Q: ガソリンは 1ガロン 何ドル ですか。
  How many dollars is a gallon of gasoline?
A: (ガソリンは) (1ガロン) 1ドル15セント です。
  (Gasoline) is one dollar $1.15 (a gallon).

Be careful with the placement of quantity expressions. They come after (not before) the unit expression.

Grammar Note 3 Nになります (Change of states)
 

In Lesson 19.4, we learned an idiomatic expression おせわになっております (Lit., "[Someone] is under your care."). The verb なります means "become" or "come (out) to be." The expression /Nになります/ means "It becomes/comes out to be N." For example, if the change comes out to be 53 yen, you can say:

53円の おかえしに なります The change comes out to be 53 yen.
(Lit. "It comes out to be the change of 53 yen.")

The verb なります can also be used in a more generic sense of "become N" as shown below.

田中さんは 大学をでて、先生に なりました
  After graduating from college, Mr. Tanaka became a teacher.