Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi everyone, I'm John.
Risa: And I'm Risa.
John: And welcome to Must-Know Japanese Sentence Structures, Season 1, Lesson 45. Talking About an Action.
John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for talking about an action or a fact.
PATTERN
John: For example,
John: "It's a pity that Satoko can't come."
Risa: さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.)
Risa: [slow] さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.)
John: The pattern for talking about an action has four elements. First, a sentence in informal form, indicating the action or fact you want to say something about, in this case "Satoko can't come."
Risa: さとこさんが来られない (Satoko-san ga korarenai)
John: Second, the sentence nominalizer followed by the topic-marking particle.
Risa: のは (no wa)
John: Third, an adjective, in this case a na-adjective meaning "pitiful" or "sorry."
Risa: 残念 (zan'nen)
John: And last, the linking verb.
Risa: です (desu)
John: Altogether, we have... "It's a pity that Satoko can't come."
Risa: さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.) [slow] さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.) [normal] さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.)
John: The sentence pattern to say "It's ~ to do something." in Japanese is a sentence in informal form, indicating the action or fact you want to say something about something, followed by...
Risa: のは (no wa)
John: which makes the preceding sentence into a topic you want to talk about, then the adjective, which conveys your feelings or description of the topic followed by the linking verb…
Risa: です (desu)
John: Again, "It's a pity that Satoko can't come." is...
Risa: さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.)
John: So remember, to say that "It's ~ to do something.", first say what you want to talk about in a informal sentence followed by...
Risa: のは (no wa)
John: then describe it with an adjective and the linking verb...
Risa: です (desu).
John: Here is another example meaning, "It's fun to talk with you." First, a sentence in informal form, meaning "to talk with you."
Risa: あなたと話す (Anata to hanasu).
John: Second, the sentence nominalizer followed by the topic-marking particle.
Risa: のは (no wa)
John: Third, the i-adjective meaning "fun."
Risa: 楽しい (tanoshii)
John: And last, the linking verb.
Risa: です (desu)
John: Altogether we have...
Risa: あなたと話すのは楽しいです。 (Anata to hanasu no wa tanoshii desu.) [slow] あなたと話すのは楽しいです。 (Anata to hanasu no wa tanoshii desu.) [normal] あなたと話すのは楽しいです。 (Anata to hanasu no wa tanoshii desu.)
John: "It's fun to talk with you."
[pause]
Risa: あなたと話すのは楽しいです。 (Anata to hanasu no wa tanoshii desu.)
John: How do you say, "It's sad that he isn't here." To give you a hint, "sad, lonely" is...
Risa: さみしい (samishii). [slow] さみしい (samishii). [normal] さみしい (samishii).
John: "It's sad that he isn't here."
[pause]
Risa: 彼がいないのはさみしいです。 (Kare ga inai no wa samishii desu.) [slow] 彼がいないのはさみしいです。 (Kare ga inai no wa samishii desu.) [normal] 彼がいないのはさみしいです。 (Kare ga inai no wa samishii desu.)
[pause]
Risa: 彼がいないのはさみしいです。 (Kare ga inai no wa samishii desu.)
REVIEW
John: Let's review the sentences from this lesson. I will give you the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out loud in Japanese. Here we go.
John: "It's a pity that Satoko can't come."
[pause]
Risa: さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.)
[pause]
Risa: さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.)
John: "It's fun to talk with you."
[pause]
Risa: あなたと話すのは楽しいです。 (Anata to hanasu no wa tanoshii desu.)
[pause]
Risa: あなたと話すのは楽しいです。 (Anata to hanasu no wa tanoshii desu.)
John: "It's sad that he isn't here."
[pause]
Risa: 彼がいないのはさみしいです。 (Kare ga inai no wa samishii desu.)
[pause]
Risa: 彼がいないのはさみしいです。 (Kare ga inai no wa samishii desu.)

Outro

John: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for talking about an action, as in...
Risa: さとこさんが来られないのは、残念です。 (Satoko-san ga korarenai no wa, zan'nen desu.)
John: meaning "It's a pity that Satoko can't come."
John: You can find more vocab or phrases that go with this sentence pattern in the lesson notes. So please be sure to check them out on JapanesePod101.com. Thanks everyone, see you next time!
Risa: またね!(Mata ne!).

Comments

Hide