私たちは今までお掃除していました。夫はお掃除がきらいですよ。私は全部男の人もお掃除がきらいと思います。ほんとですか。

Generally Speaking

We've been busy cleaning house for the new year. My husband hates "spring cleaning". I think all men do. What about you?

私たちのクリスマスツリーは今年ちょっとへんですよ。リスマスツリーは高すぎると夫は言うし、買わないんです。気温は寒いし、居間の中にこの木のレモンツリーがあります。レモンツリーを decorate　したら、どうでしょうか。そうですね。それからこれはクリスマスツリーなります。

Generally Speaking

Our Christmas tree this year is a bit unusual. My husband said that Christmas trees are too expensive, so we didn't buy one. Because the temperatures have been cold, this tree, a lemon tree, is in the living room. What if we decorate the lemon tree? Hmmm...well, okay. And so that's how this became our Christmas tree.

質問とコメント

1. This is not the first strange tree in my family. Some of you may remember my mother's childhood story, of a tree made from an old umbrella. And then when I was first married, I liked to decorate a bare branch with candles and little bird ornaments. When we lived in Japan, we made origami cranes and decorated some greeenery in an ikebana vase. So, I haven't always had a traditional tree.

2. You might recognize the little silk balls, which are from Kyoto. They are supposed to look like the balls that girls played with on New Year's Day in the olden days. The little bells are from Oita. And the embroidered bird is from Thailand. The lemons make good decorations, too, don't they?

3. In the background are wooden folk toys from around the world and our collection of stuffed animals.

よかったよ。日本語のクラスは今日終わりました。きまつしけんは終わりました。今から冬休みです。

何をしたいんですか。
ーそうですね。日本語のきょうかしょを書くつもりです。私たちのきょうかしょうはちょっと難しすぎるしですから。「Japanese Grammar Made Easier」と言いたいんです。

What I'm Trying to Say

Yay! My Japanese class ended today. Final exams are over. Winter vacation starts now.

So what am I going to do? (you ask)
Well. I plan to write a Japanese textbook. That's because I think our textbook is needlessly complicated. I'd like to call my book "Japanese Grammar Made Easier. "

質問とコメント

I know that I have to keep studying throughout the semester break or I'll forget everything I've been taught. Notice that I didn't say "everything I've learned". I don't feel confident enough in my grasp of the material to say "I've learned this". Not yet. That's why I want to make my own book. When I try to explain something, I find I really have to learn it first.

Okay--so I'm not going to spend my entire vacation studying. First I have to clean house for the holidays. Then I have to decorate and cook and write Christmas cards. Wow! I need to get organized. I'm so, so glad that exams are behind me. Now I can focus all my energy on all the things I need to do at home.

This is a departure from my usual attempt at a bilingual post just to announce another set of flashcards. We took our oral exam in our Japanese class yesterday and are now studying for our written chapter and final exams. So I thought this would be a good time to add the flashcards for na Adjectives. (The actual conjugation is explained in detail on pages 244 and 245 of our textbook).

An important thing to keep in mind about "na" adjectives is that grammatically they act more like nouns than true (i-type) adjectives.

• noun: (He) is a teacher. 先生だ。｜　先生です。
• na-adj: (He) is famous.　有名だ。｜　有名です。
• -i adj: (He) is kind.　やさしい。｜　やさしいです。

Whether an i-adjective precedes the noun it modifies or is in the predicate, its form is the same.

• -i adj: The kind man... やさしい人。。。(adjective precedes noun)
• -i adj: That man is kind.　 あの人はやさしい。 (predicate adjective)

But nouns also can be used to modify other nouns (that is, they play the role of adjectives). In Japanese when a noun modifies another noun, the particle の is required to show that the first noun modifies the second noun: 先生の本, 赤の本. In English, they usually change their form (in extremely irregular ways!)

In Japanese, na-adjectives work almost the same way as nouns, except they use な instead of の: きれいな本.

• noun: (It) is a Japanese (language) book. 日本語の本です。
• noun: The book is (in) Japanese. 本は日本語です。
• na-adj: (It) is a famous book.　有名な本です。
• na-adj: The book is famous.　本は有名です。
• -i adj: (It) is a new book.　新しい本です。
• -i adj: The book is new.　本は新しいです。

Once you understand that na-adjectives are a lot like nouns, then the six grammar points we learned in this chapter become much easier to form.

Nouns and na-Adjectives Before 時

とき is a noun. So use the same pattern as noun modifies noun and na-adjective modifies noun.

• こどもの本、こどもの時
• 有名な本、有名な時

Nouns and na-Adjectives Before the Indefinite Pronoun の

A pronoun takes the place of a noun. So the rules remain the same as above, with one exception. Because the particle の and the indefinite pronoun の would repeat, one is dropped.

• the Japanese book, 日本語の本
  -> the Japanese one, 日本語のの
• the famous book 有名な本
  -> the famous one　有名なの

If Clause: Independent Clause + ら

You form the if-clause (a conditional statement) by putting any statement in plain form, past tense. Nouns and na-adjectives behave exactly the same way here.

• 先生です。formal, non-past
• 先生だ。 plain, non-past
• 先生だった。 plain, past
• 先生だったら。 conditional
• 有名です。formal, non-past
• 有名だ。 plain, non-past
• 有名だった。 plain, past
• 有名だったら。 conditional

Reporting Hearsay: Independent Clause + そうです

This construction is almost the same as above, except the tense can be either past (だった) or non-past (だ). Just keep it plain. (です -> だ；でした -> だった)

And So: Independent Clause + し

し is a conjunction. When it is used with a single independent clause, you can translate it as "and so". You can include or omit the conclusion that follows the "and so..."

• "I'm busy, and so [I can't meet with you now]."

When し is used to connect multiple clauses, you can translate it as "and what's more".

• "I'm busy, and what's more, I have a headache, and so [I can't meet with you now]."

With nouns and na-adjectives, use the plain form of です (です -> だ；でした -> だった) to form an independent clause.