Learn about expression that is used when the speaker is explaining something or asking for an explanation about something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: おはよう、国際宇宙ステーション。ナツコです。(Ohayō, Kokusai Uchū Sutēshon. Natsuko desu.) |
| Yoshi: おはよう、国際宇宙ステーション。ヨシです。(Ohayō, Kokusai Uchū Sutēshon. Yoshi desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson, Yoshi-san, what’s the number today? |
| Yoshi: 百！(Hyaku!) |
| Peter: 100! |
| Natsuko: Wow, congratulations! |
| Peter: Congratulations is right. We would like to thank everybody for all the support and making this possible. Without you, without our great listeners, there is no way we would have gotten to this point. 100, Natsuko-san, it seems like just yesterday. |
| Natsuko: Yeah, amazing how far we came! |
| Peter: Remarkable. How long has it been since you’ve heard the first episode? |
| Natsuko: I don’t want to hear any more. I am so embarrassed. |
| Peter: All right, now today, this week, we have another two-part series and over the next two days, today and tomorrow, we will be covering the plain form and the plain negative form of verbs. Now this is crucial. This is one of the major turning points in speaking Japanese because this is the form that you can use to speak with your friends and people you are on an intimate level with and you can use the same style of speaking plus a couple of tricks we are going to show you to actually use this to speak polite Japanese. So these next two lessons are really important. So what we are going to do now is walk you through. We are going to get right in because we want to get as much in today as possible. All right, here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 本田さん、どうも。今月のプロジェクトはどうですか。(Honda-san, dōmo. Kongetsu no purojekuto wa dō desu ka.) |
| 本田 (Honda) : 順調に進んでいます。そちらのプロジェクトはどうですか。(Junchō ni susunde imasu. Sochira no purojekuto wa dō desu ka.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 負けないですよ！私たちも進んでます。ところで、今週末のゴルフ大会へは行くんですか。(Makenai desu yo! Watashi-tachi mo susunde masu. Tokorode, konshūmatsu no gorufu taikai e wa iku n desu ka.) |
| 今年も優勝したいです！五年連続優勝を目指しています。(Kotoshi mo yūshō shitai desu! Go-nen renzoku yūshō o mezashite imasu.) |
| 本田 (Honda) : 今回は行きません。私たちはプロジェクト優先。会社が命ですから。(Konkai wa ikimasen. Watashi-tachi wa purojekuto yūsen. Kaisha ga inochi desu kara.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : でも、部長たちは全員参加するんですが。(Demo, buchō-tachi wa zen’in sanka suru n desu ga.) |
| 本田 (Honda) : ゴルフの結果より、プロジェクトの結果の方が大事でしょう。(Gorufu no kekka yori, purojekuto no kekka no hō ga daiji deshō.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : そうですよね。さすが本田さん。それじゃ、私も参加しないです。今週末一緒に頑張りましょう！(Sō desu yo ne. Sasuga Honda-san. Soreja, watashi mo sanka shinai desu. Konshūmatsu issho ni ganbarimashō!) |
| Yoshi: もう一度、お願いします。ゆっくり、お願いします。(Mō ichi-do, onegai shimasu. Yukkuri, onegai shimasu.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 本田さん、どうも。今月のプロジェクトはどうですか。(Honda-san, dōmo. Kongetsu no purojekuto wa dō desu ka.) |
| 本田 (Honda) : 順調に進んでいます。そちらのプロジェクトはどうですか。(Junchō ni susunde imasu. Sochira no purojekuto wa dō desu ka.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 負けないですよ！私たちも進んでます。ところで、今週末のゴルフ大会へは行くんですか。(Makenai desu yo! Watashi-tachi mo susunde masu. Tokorode, konshūmatsu no gorufu taikai e wa iku n desu ka.) |
| 今年も優勝したいです！五年連続優勝を目指しています。(Kotoshi mo yūshō shitai desu! Go-nen renzoku yūshō o mezashite imasu.) |
| 本田 (Honda) : 今回は行きません。私たちはプロジェクト優先。会社が命ですから。(Konkai wa ikimasen. Watashi-tachi wa purojekuto yūsen. Kaisha ga inochi desu kara.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : でも、部長たちは全員参加するんですが。(Demo, buchō-tachi wa zen’in sanka suru n desu ga.) |
| 本田 (Honda) : ゴルフの結果より、プロジェクトの結果の方が大事でしょう。(Gorufu no kekka yori, purojekuto no kekka no hō ga daiji deshō.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : そうですよね。さすが本田さん。それじゃ、私も参加しないです。今週末一緒に頑張りましょう！(Sō desu yo ne. Sasuga Honda-san. Soreja, watashi mo sanka shinai desu. Konshūmatsu issho ni ganbarimashō!) |
| Yoshi: 次は、ピーターさんの英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa, Pītā-san no Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 本田さん、どうも。今月のプロジェクトはどうですか。(Honda-san, dōmo. Kongetsu no purojekuto wa dō desu ka.) |
| SUZUKI: Mr. Honda, hello. How is this month's project? |
| 本田 (Honda) : 順調に進んでいます。そちらのプロジェクトはどうですか。(Junchō ni susunde imasu. Sochira no purojekuto wa dō desu ka.) |
| HONDA: It is going as planned. How about your project? |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 負けないですよ！私たちも進んでます。(Makenai desu yo! Watashi-tachi mo susunde masu.) |
| SUZUKI: We're not going to lose! We are also doing good. |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : ところで、今週末のゴルフ大会へは行くんですか。(Tokorode, konshūmatsu no gorufu taikai e wa iku n desu ka.) |
| SUZUKI: By the way, are you going to this weekend's golf tournament? |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 今年も優勝したいです！五年連続優勝を目指しています。(Kotoshi mo yūshō shitai desu! Go-nen renzoku yūshō o mezashite imasu.) |
| SUZUKI: I want to win this year too. I'm aiming for a 5 year winning streak. |
| 本田 (Honda) : 今回は行きません。(Konkai wa ikimasen.) |
| HONDA: I'm not going this time. |
| 本田 (Honda) : 私たちはプロジェクト優先。(Watashi-tachi wa purojekuto yūsen.) |
| HONDA: We prioritize the project. |
| 本田 (Honda) : 会社が命ですから。(Kaisha ga inochi desu kara.) |
| HONDA: Because the company is everything. |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : でも、部長たちは全員参加するんですが。(Demo, buchō-tachi wa zen’in sanka suru n desu ga.) |
| SUZUKI: But, the department managers are all participating... |
| 本田 (Honda) : ゴルフの結果より、プロジェクトの結果の方が大事でしょう。(Gorufu no kekka yori, purojekuto no kekka no hō ga daiji deshō.) |
| HONDA: The project's results are more important than golf results, right? |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : そうですよね。さすが本田さん。(Sō desu yo ne. Sasuga Honda-san.) |
| SUZUKI: Right. Just like you, Mr. Honda. |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : それじゃ、私も参加しないです。(Soreja, watashi mo sanka shinai desu.) |
| SUZUKI: Well then, I'm not participating either. |
| 鈴木 (Suzuki) : 今週末一緒に頑張りましょう！(Konshūmatsu issho ni ganbarimashō!) |
| SUZUKI: Let's do our best together this weekend. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Yoshi-san, let’s ask Natsuko-san what she thinks of today’s lesson? |
| Yoshi: ナツコさん、今日の会話はどうでしたか。(Natsuko-san, kyō no kaiwa wa dō deshita ka.) |
| Natsuko: 典型的な日本のサラリーマンですね。(Tenkeiteki na Nihon no sararī man desu ne.) |
| Peter: Wait, can you explain that in English? I didn’t catch that. |
| Natsuko: They are typical Japanese office workers. |
| Peter: All right. You heard it here from Natsuko-san. All right, now what we are going to do is get into today’s vocabulary because there is a lot. This conversation was action packed. So without further adieu, let’s do some vocab. Here we go. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Natsuko: 最初のキーワードは、プロジェクト (Saisho no kīwādo wa, purojekuto) |
| Peter: Project. |
| Natsuko: (slow)プロジェクト (purojekuto) (natural speed) プロジェクト (purojekuto) |
| Yoshi: 次のキーワードは、順調 (Tsugi no kīwādo wa, junchō) |
| Peter: Favorable, doing well. |
| Yoshi: (slow)じゅんちょう (junchō) (natural speed) 順調 (junchō) |
| Peter: Next. |
| Natsuko: 次のキーワードは、進む (Tsugi no kīwādo wa, susumu) |
| Peter: To advance, to make progress. |
| Natsuko: (slow)すすむ (susumu) (natural speed) 進む (susumu) |
| Yoshi: 次のキーワードは、大会 (Tsugi no kīwādo wa, taikai) |
| Peter: Tournament, rally, convention. |
| Yoshi: (slow)たいかい (taikai) (natural speed) 大会 (taikai) |
| Peter: Next we have |
| Natsuko: 優勝 (yūshō) |
| Peter: Overall victory. |
| Natsuko: (slow)ゆうしょう (yūshō) (natural speed) 優勝 (yūshō) |
| Peter: And Natsuko, what verb do we use with this? |
| Natsuko: 優勝する (yūshō suru) |
| Yoshi: ナツコさん、例文をお願いします。(Natsuko-san, reibun o onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: サッカー大会で、優勝した。サッカー大会で、優勝しました。ヨシさん、もう一つ例文をお願いします。(Sakkā taikai de, yūshō shita. Sakkā taikai de, yūshō shimashita. Yoshi-san, mō hitotsu reibun o onegai shimasu.) |
| Yoshi: 昨日の優勝は意外でした。(Kinō no yūshō wa igai deshita.) |
| Peter: Yesterday’s championship was unexpected. |
| Yoshi: 次のキーワードは、優先 (Tsugi no kīwādo wa, yūsen) |
| Peter: Priority. |
| Yoshi: (slow)ゆうせん (yūsen) (natural speed) 優先 (yūsen) |
| ナツコさん、例をお願いします。(Natsuko-san, rei o onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 優先席 (yūsenseki) |
| Peter: Priority seat. You will see this all the time on trains. |
| Natsuko: Yes, with a special mark. |
| Peter: Yes, and you don’t want to sit in those. You definitely don’t. If you can stand unless you fit into that category, elderly, injured or pregnant. So if you are not, please don’t sit in those seats, right Natsuko-san? |
| Natsuko: Yes, it has to be kept for those people. |
| Peter: And Yoshi-san, have you sat in any seats before? |
| Yoshi: Yes, I have but there were no – there were not many people on the train or on the bus. So you know, if you see those people, I just give those seats away. |
| Peter: Good point. Now how do you say give up your seat for somebody? |
| Yoshi: 優先席を譲る (yūsenseki o yuzuru) |
| Peter: The verb you use when you say to give up a seat is |
| Yoshi: 譲る (yuzuru) |
| Peter: All right. Next we have |
| Natsuko: 次のキーワードは、命 (Tsugi no kīwādo wa, inochi) |
| Peter: Life. |
| Natsuko: (slow)いのち (inochi) (natural speed) 命 (inochi) |
| ヨシさん、例文をお願いします。(Yoshi-san, reibun o onegai shimasu.) |
| Yoshi: 命を大切にする。(Inochi o taisetsu ni suru.) |
| Peter: To respect life. |
| Yoshi: 命を失う。(Inochi o ushinau.) |
| Peter: To lose life. We really got to read. |
| Natsuko: Ah, gloomy. |
| Peter: Gloomy. Oh boy! Yes, we really got to check these example sentences before they sneak right into our scripts here. All right, what do we have next? |
| Yoshi: 次のキーワードは、全員 (Tsugi no kīwādo wa, zen’in) |
| Peter: All members. |
| Yoshi: (slow)ぜんいん (zen’in) (natural speed) 全員 (zen’in) |
| ナツコさん、例文をお願いします。(Natsuko-san, reibun o onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 先週は海の日でしたので、JapanesePodのスタッフは全員休みました。(Senshū wa umi no hi deshita node, Japanīzupoddo no sutaffu wa zen’in yasumimashita.) |
| Peter: Last week was Marine Day. So everyone from japanesepod101.com took a day off. |
| Natsuko: Really? |
| Peter: No. Just a sample sentence. We worked but the good news was it rained. So everybody else had a bad day. |
| Natsuko: And what’s good about that? I wonder. |
| Peter: Well umm… |
| Natsuko: Okay. 次のキーワード。次のキーワードは、参加 (Tsugi no kīwādo. Tsugi no kīwādo wa, sanka) |
| Peter: Participation. |
| Natsuko: (slow)さんか (sanka) (natural speed) 参加 (sanka) |
| Peter: And Natsuko-san, how do we make this into a verb? |
| Natsuko: 参加する (sanka suru) |
| Peter: To participate. |
| Natsuko: ヨシさん、例文をお願いします。(Yoshi-san, reibun o onegai shimasu.) |
| Yoshi: 頭が痛いから、今日の飲み会に参加しません。(Atama ga itai kara, kyō no nomikai ni sanka shimasen.) |
| Peter: I have a headache. So I won’t participate in today’s drinking party. Now Natsuko-san, today we had so many, so many words… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: That could be turned into verbs by adding |
| Natsuko: する (suru) |
| Peter: Can we just recap those? |
| Natsuko: 優勝する (yūshō suru) |
| Peter: To win the championship, to achieve overall victory. |
| Natsuko: 優先する (yūsen suru) |
| Peter: To prioritize. |
| Natsuko: 参加する (sanka suru) |
| Peter: To participate. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: All right, let’s move on to today’s grammar point. Today’s grammar point is making the plain form polite. Now first we want to take a look at |
| Natsuko: んです (n desu) |
| Peter: Okay, んです (n desu) is actually |
| Natsuko: のです (no desu) |
| Peter: Now the way we form this construction is in the case of verbs, in the plain form, the way we form this construction is we take the verb and attach |
| Natsuko: んです (n desu) |
| Peter: Now two quick things we want to point out. When we attach this |
| Natsuko: んです (n desu) |
| Peter: The sentence is now in what form? |
| Natsuko: Polite. |
| Peter: Yeah. We went from the plain casual to the polite just by attaching |
| Natsuko: んです (n desu) |
| Peter: All right. Now this can be attached to the end of any class 1, 2, or 3 verb. Again inside the PDF, we are going to have a write up about this. Now for the second part of the grammar point, we want to take a look at the negative plain form of class 2 and class 3 verbs with class 3 verbs being the irregulars. Now Natsuko-san, how do we form the plain negative of class 2 verbs? |
| Natsuko: You just drop the る (ru) and add ない (nai). |
| Peter: That’s it. It’s that simple. You take the masu-stem. Now remember, the masu-stem of class 2 verbs is you just drop the る (ru). Quick example, class 2 verb 食べる (taberu). How do we get the masu-stem? |
| Natsuko: 食べ (tabe) |
| Peter: Drop the る (ru), you have the masu-stem. How about the verb to look? |
| Natsuko: 見る (miru) |
| Peter: Give us the masu-stem. |
| Natsuko: 見 (mi) |
| Peter: Okay. Now to form the plain negative, we add |
| Natsuko: ない (nai) |
| Peter: Okay. That’s it, it’s done. Now class 3, the irregular verbs. Can you give us those two and remember just two? |
| Natsuko: する (suru), くる (kuru) |
| Peter: The masu-stem is going to work for the first one, する (suru). Can you give us the plain negative for する (suru)? |
| Natsuko: しない (shinai) |
| Peter: Okay, and you definitely want to remember this one as you will be using it over and over. Now くる (kuru), the other class 3 irregular verb, it’s a bit different. Can you give us the plain negative of this? |
| Natsuko: こない (konai) |
| Peter: Okay, you are going to have to memorize this one. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Okay, there it is, the plain negative of class 2 and class 3 verbs. Now again we want to show you another little trick. Now Natsuko-san, when we have this form. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Let’s take a look at one of the sentences in the dialogue. We are not going to lose |
| Natsuko: 負けないですよ。(Makenai desu yo.) |
| Peter: Okay. This is which verb? |
| Natsuko: 負ける (makeru) |
| Peter: Class 2 verb and the plain negative form is |
| Natsuko: 負けない (makenai) |
| Peter: Okay. Now this is casual informal, right? |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Now what do we do inside here and what can our listeners do to make this sentence polite? |
| Natsuko: Just add です (desu). |
| Peter: That’s it and now it’s polite. Now remember, you can only do this for the plain negative of verbs. You can’t do it, you cannot – we repeat, you cannot do it to the polite form of verbs. This is only for the plain negative form of verbs. You can’t do it for the polite negative form of verbs. Okay, just for the plain polite. Natsuk- san, please say it once? |
| Natsuko: Just for the plain negative. |
| Peter: And Yoshi-san, say it once? |
| Yoshi: Just for the plain negative. |
| Peter: Okay, remember that, remember that just for the plain negative you can directly attach the copula to the verb. That’s the – this is the only case. Please remember this. We don’t want to see people adding です (desu) to the polite form and other things. To elaborate quickly, when we add んです (n desu) now in case somebody is wondering why we can do this with んです (n desu) directly to the plain form of the verb, the んです (n desu) and です (desu) are two different structures. |
Outro |
| Peter: So that’s why it works there. All right, that’s going to cover it for today. |
| Natsuko: じゃ、また明日ね。(Ja, mata ashita ne.) |
| Yoshi: またね。(Mata ne.) |
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