We all know people who can’t say three words without inserting something like ‘I mean,’ ‘you know,’ or ‘you see’: ‘Well, you see, it was Friday, you see, and, you know, that movie, you see, it was new, I mean, I hadn’t seen it, so….’ In a similar fashion, some Japanese overwork the particle ne, inserting it after every few words. This seems to be particularly true of the speech of women, as in Kyō ne, sūpā ni ne, ittara ne, Yamada-san ga ne, Tanaka-san to hanashiteta no yo ‘When I went to the supermarket today, (I saw) Ms. Yamada talking with Ms. Tanaka.’ For the foreign student, it is advisable to avoid using the particle except at the end of a sentence, as above.
3.5. Particle で de
The particle de has two quite different meanings. One is ‘by means of’:
車で来ましたか。
Kuruma de kimashita ka.
Did you come by car?
筆で名前を書きました。
Fude de namae o kakimashita.
I wrote my name with a brush.
Another meaning is ‘(an action happens) at (a place)’:
学校で勉強します。
Gakkō de benkyō shimasu.
I study at school.
You have already learned that the particle ni means ‘at’ in the sense of a location in space:
学校にいます。
Gakkō ni imasu.
I’m at school.
The difference in usage between ni and de depends on whether you use a verb that means something about existence—‘exists, lives, stays’—or something about activity—‘talks, works, studies, eats, sleeps.’ There are very few verbs of the inactive sort; you have had imasu ‘stays, (a person) exists (in a place),’ arimasu ‘exists,’ and sunde imasu ‘is living, residing.’ With other verbs you will usually hear de for ‘at,’ but occasionally a Japanese person will use ni if his attention is focused on the person’s existence rather than his action. In general, you will be doing best to remember that ‘at’ corresponds to ni with the verbs imasu, arimasu, and sunde imasu (also tomarimasu ‘stops or stays at’); with other verbs—alone or in a phrase with imasu, like hataraite imasu—‘at’ corresponds to de.
| 「夏休みには何をしますか。」“Natsuyasumi ni wa nani o shimasu ka.”“What will you do during summer vacation?” | 「レストランでバイトをします。」“Resutoran de baito o shimasu.”“I’ll work part-time at a restaurant.” |
叔母が先週からうちに泊まっています。うちで母の手伝いをしてくれています。
Oba ga senshū kara uchi ni tomatte imasu. Uchi de haha no tetsudai o shite kurete imasu.
My aunt has been staying at our house since last week. She is helping my mother.
まだ東京に住んでいるんですか。大阪で働きませんか。
Mada Tōkyō ni sunde iru n desu ka. Ōsaka de hatarakimasen ka.
Are you still living in Tokyo? Wouldn’t you want to work in Osaka?
Note that the nouns that express events such as meetings, conferences, and concerts are marked by the particle de even though the verb is arimasu.
会議は品川であります。ホテルは品川にあります。
Kaigi wa Shinagawa de arimasu. Hoteru wa Shinagawa ni arimasu.
The meeting will take place in Shinagawa. The hotel is located
in Shinagawa.
3.6. Particle を o
The particle o (written wo in some spelling systems, but pronounced o) shows that the preceding word is the direct object of the verb.
何を見ていますか。
Nani o mite imasu ka.
What are you looking at?
本を読みました。
Hon o yomimashita.
I read a book.
The meaning of o is the OPPOSITE of that of ga, which is the particle indicating the subject of the verb, of the copula, or of the adjective (as we shall see later). Notice the following sentences:
ここでだれが何をしますか。
Koko de dare ga nani o shimasu ka.
Who does what here?
だれがだれを見ましたか。
Dare ga dare o mimashita ka.
Who saw who?
誠が幸平を見ました。
Makoto ga Kōhei o mimashita.
Makoto saw Kōhei.
幸平が誠を見ました。
Kōhei ga Makoto o mimashita.
Kōhei saw Makoto.
Either ga or o can be replaced by the topic particle wa. That is, you can take either the subject or the object and make it the topic you are going to talk about.
誠は幸平を見ました。
Makoto wa Kōhei o mimashita.
Makoto saw Kōhei.
誠は幸平が見ました。
Makoto wa Kōhei ga mimashita.
It was Kōhei who saw Makoto.
幸平は誠を見ました。