2. It became cheap(er). _____________________
3. It got interesting. _____________________
4. It will get easy. _____________________
5. It became red. _____________________
6. It gets fun. _____________________
7. She became beautiful. _____________________
8. We got busy. _____________________
9. She got well. _____________________
10. It will get dirty. _____________________
11. It will get cool. _____________________
12. It got noisy. _____________________
13. Japanese became difficult. _____________________
14. The teacher became strict. _____________________
15. The problem became easy. _____________________
16. The car became old. _____________________
17. It will get warm. _____________________
18. The weather got bad. _____________________
19. The coffee became cold. _____________________
20. I became lonely. _____________________
The -ku form is also used with the verb shimasu to express the idea someone makes something big, small, cheap, etc.
| Example: | She will make it large. | = | Ookiku shimasu. |
| She made it large. | = | Ookiku shimashita. |
Since the adjective describes how someone does something, the -ku form of the adjective is required.
Try this exercise. Again, take care to choose the proper tense of the verb shimasu.
1. I’ll make it hot. _____________________
2. He lowered the price. _____________________
3. They made it interesting. _____________________
4. I’ll make it early. _____________________
5. The teacher made it difficult. _____________________
6. Will you make them small? _____________________
7. He made it fun. _____________________
8. She made it spicy. _____________________
The following is a list of verbs with their English eguivalents. Although each verb here is given in the past tense, the -ku form of the adjective may be used with any tense.
| tabemashita | ate |
| kaimashita | bought |
| arukimashita | walked |
| kimashita | came |
| benkyoo shimashita | studied |
| hatarakimashita | worked |
| oshiemashita | taught |
| tatemashita | built |
| asobimashita | played |
| urimashita | sold |
| setsumei shimashita | explained |
| okimashita | woke up |
| nemashita | went to bed |
| iimashita | said |
| hanashimashita | spoke, talked |
See if you can understand the meaning of the sentences below. If you get stumped, start with the verb and work backwards. If the subject or object of the sentence has been omitted in the Japanese sentence, supply an appropriate one. Keep in mind that although a literal translation may not work sometimes, the -ku form of the adjective will always describe how an action is done.
| Example: | Kuwashiku setsumei shimashita. Literally: [She] explained [it] detailedly. Better: [She] explained [it] in detail. |
1. Hayaku okimashita. ____________________
2. Osoku kimashita. ____________________
3. Isogashiku hatarakimashita. ____________________
4. Kuruma o takaku urimashita. ____________________
5. Sensei wa kibishiku oshiemashita. ____________________
6. Hayaku nemashita. ____________________
7. Uchi o atarashiku tatemashita. ____________________
8. Sensei wa kuwashiku setsumei shimashita. ____________________
Translate the following sentences. The sentences are in idiomatic English, but can be said using one of the adjectives you already know.
1. I sold it at a low price. ____________________
2. We came late. _____________________
3. She went to sleep early. ____________________
4. He spoke in detail. _____________________
5. She said it nicely. _____________________
6. He studied well. _____________________
7. I bought it at a high price. _____________________
8. They played merrily. ____________________
9. I told her sternly. ____________________
10. We got up late. _________________
11. Linking Adjectives
If you want to link two or more adjectives together in Japanese, to say for example that something is delicious and cheap, you need to know how to make the -te form of the adjective.
The -te form is made by dropping the last i of the dictionary form of the adjective and adding -kute. Thus, the -te form of samui is samukute.
There are two additional bits of information you need to know about the -te form:
| 1) | the -te form does not have a tense. It takes the tense of the last inflected expression of the sentence. |
| Example: | Oishikute yasui desu. = It is good and cheap. Oishikute yasukatta desu. = It was good and cheap. |
| Therefore, the -te form of both oishii and oishikatta is oishikute. | |
| 2) | The -te form cannot end a sentence. |
As fast as you can, write the -te form of the following adjectives. Adjectives followed by an asterisk (*) can be found in the section on Other Adjectives.
1. takai ____________________
2. atsukatta ____________________
3. mezurashii* ____________________
4. oishii ____________________
5. chikakatta ____________________
6. kitanai* ____________________
7. suzushii ____________________
8. tanoshii ____________________
9. yokatta ____________________
10. furui ____________________
Write