Category Archives: Expressions

意志動詞と無意志動詞 – Consciousness & unconsciousness verb

Today I will introduce the last part of consciousness and unconsciousness verb by showing another tip. Sometimes we need to distinguish the appropriate situations when to use these two types of verb. Here are the basic rules.   – When show the willing/opinion of the speaker “しよう”, “つもりだ”, “ことにする”, etc. When you want to express […]

意志動詞と無意志動詞 – Consciousness & unconsciousness verb

Today we will expansion regarding 意志動詞 and 無意志動詞. First, let’s go through a new situation where a consciousness verb is used as the unconsciousness one. – 明日から毎日泳ぐ。(I will keep swimming from tomorrow.) – 手紙を書こうかなあ。(I will write a letter.) “泳ぐ” and “書く” are consciousness verbs above. However, you will see how they are used as unconsciousness […]

授受表現 – some typical mistakes

We have been learning the “授受表現” for a few weeks. Students should know that there is a kind of emotion about “offering a benefit to somebody” included in this structure. However, many students usually misunderstanding this “benefit”. Therefore, Today I will introduce some typical mistakes that students are liable to make.   Wrong example 1: […]

授受表現「くれる/くださる」

This week I will introduce the expression about “receive (くれる/くださる)”. Let’s have a look at the structure first.   Giver が/は + receiver に (etc.) + item + くれる/くださる   Example: マリさんは私の妹に絵本をくれました。(Mary gave my sister a picture book.)   If it is clear to identify the receiver, usually it is not necessary to mention the […]

授受表現 – やる/あげる/さしあげる

Last week we have learned that you should use “さしあげる” instead of “あげる” when you give an item to someone superior such as your supervisor. However, it sounds like you are very pushy and it might end up making your supervisor uncomfortable. Therefore, instead of “さしあげる”, you could alter the sentence a bit as below. […]

Use “ないでください” to make a request.

Except for the prohibition, “ないでください” can also be used as a form of request. However, you would find that the structure is exactly same with we have learned before which probably makes you confused. Thus, practice is necessary to distinguish the difference. Let’s have a look at the following examples. A: コーヒーでも飲みませんか。(Would you want some […]

“ないでください”

Last week we have learned the basic form of “ないでください” and the nuance under different circumstances. Today I will introduce the ways of response for such nuance respectively. First, let’s have a brief review.   Imagine that you are in a museum. You have been told that do not touch the articles. – すみませんが、この会場では品物に触らないでください。   […]

“〜ないでください”

I believe some of you have already learned “〜てください” which means “please…(do something)”. Conversely, if you want to ask people not to do something, you could use “〜ないでください” which is we are going to learn today.   Basically, “〜ないでください” has two different meanings: instruction and attention. Let’s go through some examples.   1. Instruction – […]