| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| [Topic]は [Place]に すんで います |
| [Topic] wa [Place] ni sunde imasu |
| [Topic] live(s) in [place] |
| First is [Topic] は (wa), the topic marker. Often the topic and subject are the same, but not always. In this sentence, いつもは is marked as the topic, and the subject わたし is left out and understood from the context. |
| Next is [Place]に (ni). This particle shows the location of an action. In this case, it tells us where someone lives. |
| Then we have すんで います (sunde imasu), which is the present progressive form of the verb すむ (sumu), meaning "to live (somewhere)." So すんでいます means "live" or "is living." |
| So, when you put it all together: |
| [Topic]は [Place]に すんで います |
| means "[Topic] live(s) in [Place]." |
| Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| いつもは (Itsumo wa) means "usually." The word いつも (itsumo) means "always" or "usually," and the particle は follows it to mark it as the topic. |
| 大学のりょう (daigaku no ryō) means "university dormitory." 大学 (daigaku) means "university" and の (no) is the possessive particle, showing that the dormitory (りょう, ryō) belongs to the university. |
| に (ni) follows the place to indicate location — this tells us where the subject lives. |
| すんでいます (sunde imasu) means "lives," from the verb すむ (sumu), as explained above. |
| So, the full sentence いつもは 大学のりょうに すんでいます｡ follows the pattern [Topic]は [Place]に すんで います. |
| Notice that in this pattern, すんでいます describes a state, not an action. That brings us to a common mistake learners often make: the difference between the particles に and で. |
| Let's look at an example: |
| わたしはカフェではたらいています。 (Watashi wa kafe de hataraite imasu.) |
| Here, we use で, not に, because the verb はたらく is an action verb. |
| で is the particle that marks where an action takes place. |
| So, remember: |
| Use に when talking about someone's location or state, like where someone lives or exists. Use で when talking about an action happening at a place. |
| So be sure to pay attention to the verb. |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| おっとと むすこと 日本に すんでいます｡ (Otto to musuko to Nihon ni sunde imasu.) |
| I live in Japan with my husband and son. |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| おっとと むすこ means "my husband and son." |
| The first と is the connecting particle, meaning "and." So おっとと むすこ means "husband and son." The second と (after むすこ) is different — it means "together with" and shows that the speaker is living with those people. |
| In this sentence, the topic わたし is implied and understood from the context. |
| 日本 (Nihon) tells us the place — 日本 (Nihon) means "Japan" and に is the location particle. It shows where the subject lives. |
| Finally, に すんでいます (ni sunde imasu) is the ongoing action, of the person living in a place. |
| So the sentence おっとと むすこと 日本に すんでいます｡ follows the pattern [Topic]は [Place]に すんで います — even though わたしは is omitted, which is common in spoken Japanese when the subject is understood. |
| Here's another example |
| せまい アパートに すんでいます｡ (Semai apāto ni sunde imasu.) |
| I live in a small apartment. |
| せまい アパートに すんでいます｡ (Semai apāto ni sunde imasu.) |
| I live in a small apartment. |
| Let's try one more, |
| わたしはとうきょうの大学にかよっています｡ (Watashi wa Tōkyō no daigaku ni kayotte imasu.) |
| I go to college in Tokyo. |
| わたしはとうきょうの大学にかよっています｡ (Watashi wa Tōkyō no daigaku ni kayotte imasu.) |
| I go to college in Tokyo. |
| Another one. |
| おっとは とうし会社 に つとめて います｡ (Otto wa tōshigaisha ni tsutomete imasu.) |
| My husband works at an investment company. |
| おっとは とうし会社 に つとめて います｡ (Otto wa tōshigaisha ni tsutomete imasu.) |
| My husband works at an investment company. |
| Another example. |
| わたしは アパート に すんで います｡ (Watashi wa apāto ni sunde imasu.) |
| I live in an apartment. |
| わたしは アパート に すんで います｡ (Watashi wa apāto ni sunde imasu.) |
| I live in an apartment. |
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