| Do you remember how the character said, |
| Not really fun. |
| あまり 楽しくない｡ (Amari tanoshikunai.) |
| あまり 楽しくない｡ (Amari tanoshikunai.) |
| This sentence follows the pattern here. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| [Noun/Topic] + は + (い/な)Adjective ([Noun/Topic] + wa + (i/na)Adjective ) |
| Topic is [adjective]. |
| This pattern is used to describe something using an adjective. Start with the noun or topic you’re talking about, add は, the topic-marking particle, and then follow it with an adjective that describes the topic. |
| If it’s an い-adjective, you use it as-is. If it’s a な-adjective, you don't add な when it comes at the end of the sentence. This structure works for both positive and negative sentences, depending on how the adjective is conjugated. |
| Notice that we don’t add です or ます at the end, since this is a casual way of speaking. You’ll hear this often in conversations between friends. |
| Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. In the dialogue, the speaker does not include the topic, because it is clear from the context of the conversation. To show the pattern more clearly, let's include the topic here. |
| バイトはあまり 楽しくない。 |
| In this sentence: |
| バイト means “part-time job.” |
| は marks バイト as the topic of the sentence. |
| あまり means “not very” or “not really” and is used with a negative verb or adjective. |
| 楽しくない is the negative form of the い-adjective 楽しい (tanoshii), which means “fun.” 楽しくない means “not fun.” |
| So, バイトはあまり 楽しくない。 means “My part-time job is not really fun.” |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| このえいがは こわいよ｡ ほんとうに 見るの？ (Kono eiga wa kowai yo. Hontō ni miru no?) |
| This movie is scary. Are you really going to watch it? |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Here, このえいが (kono eiga) means “this movie.” The particle は (wa) marks it as the topic, so このえいがは (kono eiga wa) means “as for this movie” or “this movie (is)…” |
| The adjective is こわい (kowai), which means “scary.” This is an い-adjective describing the topic. It ends the sentence and expresses the speaker’s feeling or evaluation of the topic. |
| So このえいがは こわい (kono eiga wa kowai) fits the pattern “[Noun/Topic] + は + (い/な)Adjective” — “Topic is scary.” |
| The rest of the sentence — ほんとうに 見るの？ (hontō ni miru no?) — means “Are you really going to watch it?” and is a follow-up question based on the scary nature of the movie. |
| Here's another example |
| 今週は テストと やきゅうの しあいと バイトがあるから、いそがしいよ｡ (Konshū wa tesuto to yakyū no shiai to baito ga aru kara, isogashii yo.) |
| I have a test, a baseball game, and work this week, so I’m busy. |
| 今週は テストと やきゅうの しあいと バイトがあるから、いそがしいよ｡ (Konshū wa tesuto to yakyū no shiai to baito ga aru kara, isogashii yo.) |
| I have a test, a baseball game, and work this week, so I’m busy. |
| Let's try one more, |
| バイトは 楽しくない｡ いそがしくて つまらない｡ (Baito wa tanoshikunai. Isogashikute tsumaranai.) |
| My part-time job isn’t fun. It’s busy and boring. |
| バイトは 楽しくない｡ いそがしくて つまらない｡ (Baito wa tanoshikunai. Isogashikute tsumaranai.) |
| My part-time job isn’t fun. It’s busy and boring. |
| Another one. |
| 学校の べんきょうは おもしろい！ (Gakkō no benkyō wa omoshiroi!) |
| School studies are interesting! |
| 学校の べんきょうは おもしろい！ (Gakkō no benkyō wa omoshiroi!) |
| School studies are interesting! |
| Another example. |
| 家の そうじは たいへんだ｡ あまり 好きじゃない｡ (Ie no sōji wa taihen da. Amari suki ja nai.) |
| Cleaning the house is tough. I don’t really like it. |
| 家の そうじは たいへんだ｡ あまり 好きじゃない｡ (Ie no sōji wa taihen da. Amari suki ja nai.) |
| Cleaning the house is tough. I don’t really like it. |
| Next. |
| 今週は ひまだ｡ でも、来週は たぶん いそがしい｡ (Konshū wa hima da. Demo, raishū wa tabun isogashii.) |
| I’m free this week. But next week I’ll probably be busy. |
| 今週は ひまだ｡ でも、来週は たぶん いそがしい｡ (Konshū wa hima da. Demo, raishū wa tabun isogashii.) |
| I’m free this week. But next week I’ll probably be busy. |
| One last example. |
| カリフォルニアの うみは とっても きれい｡ (Kariforunia no umi wa tottemo kirei.) |
| The ocean in California is very beautiful. |
| カリフォルニアの うみは とっても きれい｡ (Kariforunia no umi wa tottemo kirei.) |
| The ocean in California is very beautiful. |
| One last example. |
| わー そのドレス すてき！ (Wā sono doresu suteki!) |
| Wow, that dress is lovely! |
| わー そのドレス すてき！ (Wā sono doresu suteki!) |
| Wow, that dress is lovely! |
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