Grammar Notes
Grammar Notes for Dialogue 1
Grammar Note 1a Expressing degrees of politeness in requests, using the giving & receiving verbs
 

The request form Vて下さい can be made more polite by adding ませんか ending: 書いて下さいませんか ("Would you please write it down?"). This form can be made even more polite by changing 下さいませんか to いただけませんか as shown below. This is often used in business situations (e.g., a bank teller speaking to a customer).

Politeness
degrees
Requested
action
(Vて)
Giving or
receiving
verb
Polite
negative
ending
 
Standard 書いて ください
(give me)
Please write it down.
(Lit. "Please give me
your [favor of] writing it down.")
High 書いて ください
(give me)
ませんか。 Would please write it down?
(Lit. "Won't you give me
your [favor of] writing it down?")
Higher 書いて いただけ
(I can receive)
ませんか。 Could you please write it down?
(LIt. "Can't I receive
your[favor of] writing it down?")

いただけませんか is the negative potential question form of いただきますhumble form (いただく "to receive" [itadak-u]):

いただきます I receive.
いただけます I can receive.
いただけません I can't receive.
いただけませんか Can't I receive?

When you practice this form, repeat いただけませんか (or くださいませんか) many times until you can say it without much effort. Now put the requested action in the Vて form in front of it as shown below.

みる → みて くださいませんか。
いただけませんか。
Would/Could you please look at it?
する → して Would/Could you please do it?
つかう つかって Would/Could you please use it?
よむ → よんで Would/Could you please read it?
Grammar Note 1b Business Permission
 

Line 4B: のこりは...()() れて下さってけっこうです

  • のこり is a noun which is also a verb stem of のこります. Stems of some verbs can function as a noun.
    • のこります [to remain] → のこり [remainder]
    • 読みます [to read] → 読み [reading]
  • ()()れる [to fill in] is a compound verb made of the verb stem of 書く [to write] and 入れる [to put in].
  • Vて下さってけっこうです is basically a permission form Vて(も)いい (L. 23.3, L. 24.3). けっこうです is a formal form of いいです.
    Vて(も)
    けっこうです (= いいです)
     
    書き入れて(も) けっこうです You may fill in...
    (Lit. "It's alright even if you fill in...")
    書き入れて下さって(も) けっこうです
    書き入れていただいて(も) けっこうです

Grammar Note 2 Giving and Receiving Verbs
 

Japanese experience request makings as a form of giving or receiving favors just like givng or receiving objects as gifts.

A picture showing giving and receiving favors is like giving and receiving gifts

To make a request, the speaker either asks others to "give your favor to me" (くれる/くださるhonorific form) or asks for a permission to "receive a favor from others" (もらう/いただくhumble form). くださる [kudasar-u; special う-verb] is the honorific form of くれる [kure-ru; る-verb], and いただく [itadak-u; う-verb] is the humble form of もらう [moraw-u; う-verb]. In polite conversations, polite forms of くださる ("give to me") and いただく ("receive") are used. These are くださいます and いただきます, respectively.

To make a request, we use the negative-potential form of いただきます → いただけませんか ("Couldn't I receive your...").

メールをいただけませんか。 ("Couldn't I receive your email?")
メールしていただけませんか。("Couldn't I receive your favor of emailing me?")

Exercise: The following are grammatical sentences but do not work as a request. What do they mean?

メールをいただきませんか。
メールしていただきませんか。

Grammar Note 2 Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs
 

Japanese tend to distinguish self-controllable actions from non-self-controllable events. This distinction appears linguistically as a distinction between transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. In English, this kind of linguistic distinction is blurred because the same verbs can be used to refer to these phenomena. As you can see from the chart, the object of a transitive verb is marked by while the subject of an intransitive verb is marked by .

Transitive Verbs (vt) Intransitive Verbs (vi)
ドアを あける ドアが あく
Someone opens the door. The door opens (by itself);
The door can be opened.
ドアを しめる ドアが しまる
Someone closes the door. The door closes (by itself);
The door can be closed.
電気(でんき)つける 電気が つく
Someone turns on the light. The light came on.
電気(でんき)けす 電気が きえる
Someone turns off the light. The light goes off.
番号(ばんごう)まちがえる 番号(ばんごう)まちがっている
Someone makes a mistake on the number. The number is wrong.
かぎを かける
時間を かける
お金を かける
電話を かける
かぎが かかる
時間が かかる
お金が かかる
電話が かかる
Someone locks (something).
Someone takes time.
Someone spends money.
Someone makes a phone call.
(Something) becomes locked.
(Something) takes time.
(Something) costs money.
Phone rings.
いぬを だす いぬが でる
Someone lets out the dog. The dog went out (by himself/herself.)
いぬを いれる いぬが はいる
Someone lets the dog in. The dog comes in/enters.
車を とめる 車が とまる
Someone stops the car. The car stops.
びょうきを なおす びょうきが なおる
Someone cures/fixes an illness. Some recovers from illness/gets well.
ごはんを のこす ごはんが のこる
Someone leaves/retains some food. Some food remains.
ごみを かたづける ごみが かたづく
Someone puts away trash. Trash is put away.
ちゅうもんを きめる ちゅうもんが きまる
Someone decides on the order. The order is decided on.
じょうきゃくをおろす
お金をおろす
じょうきゃくがおりる
お金がおりる
Someone drops off passengers.
Someone widthdraw the money.
Passengers get off (the train, etc.).
The money becomes withdrawn.
メッセージをまわす メッセージがまわる
Someone sends the message around. The message goes around.
れんしゅうをつづける

れんしゅうがつづく

Someone continues the practice. The practice continues.
きかいをこわす きかいがこわれる
Someone breaks the machine. The machine breaks/goes out of order.
こどもをおこす こどもがおきる
Someone wakes up children. Children wake up.

The verb まちがう (vi) "(something) is mistaken" is usually used in the ている form.

When the speaker refers to a resultant state (Vている) in which something happens without referring to how it happened or who did it, intransitve verbs are naturally chosen. Note that Vている forms using transitive verbs are interpreted as on-going or repeated/habitual actions.

Transitive Verbs (vt)
On-Going/Repeated Actions
Intransitive Verbs (vi)
Resultant States
ドアを あけている ドアが あいている
Someone is opening the door. The door is open.
ドアを しめている ドアが しまっている
Someone is closing the door. The door is closed.
電気(でんき)つけている 電気が ついている
Someone is turning on the light. The light is on.
電気(でんき)けしている 電気が きえている
Someone turns off the light. The light is off.
番号(ばんごう)まちがえている 番号(ばんごう)まちがっている
Someone has made a mistake on the number. The number is wrong.
かぎを かけている
時間を かけている
お金を かけている
電話を かけている
かぎが かかっている
時間が かかっている
お金が かかっている
電話が かかっている

Someone is locking (something).
Someone is taking time.
Someone is spending/has spent money.
Someone is making a phone call.

(Something) is locked.
(Something) is taking time.
(Something) has cost money.
(Someone) is requested on the phone.
いぬを だしている いぬが でている
Someone is letting the dog out. The dog is out.
いぬを いれている いぬが はいっている
Someone is letting the dog in. The dog is in.
車を とめている 車が とまっている
Someone is stopping the car. The car is/has stopped.
びょうきを なおしている びょうきが なおっている
Someone is curing illnesses. Someone has recovered from illness.
ごはんを のこしている ごはんが のこっている
Someone is leaving/retaining some food. Some food is remaining.
ごみを かたづけている ごみが かたづいている
Someone is putting away trash. Trash has been put away.
ちゅうもんを きめている ちゅうもんが きまっている
Someone is deciding on the order. The order has been decided on.
しりょうをまわしている しりょうがまわっている
Someone is sending around the materials. The materials are going around.
れんしゅうをつづけている

れんしゅうがつづいている

Someone is continuing the practice. The practice is continuing.
きかいをこわしている きかいがこわれている
Someone is breaking the machine. The machine is broken/out of order.
こどもをおこしている こどもがおきている
Someone is waking up children. Children is up/has woken up.

Only a limited number of verbs in Japanese can be used in both situations as shown below.

Transitive Verbs (vt) Intransitive Verbs (vi)
ドアを ひらく ドアが ひらく
Someone opens the door. The door opens (by itself);
ドアを とじる ドアが とじる
Someone closes the door. The door closes (by itself);
クラスを おわる クラスが おわる
Someone ends the class. The class ends.