Lesson #2
The Verb ‘To Be’
です
desu
is the verb 'to be'. In English, this means is, am, or are.
Let's look at some examples:
私watashi
はwa
がくせいgakusei
です。
I am a student.
I am a student.
かれkare
はwa
せんせいsensei
です。
He is a teacher.
Essentially, your saying:
He student is.
I student am.
In Japanese, the verb always comes at the end. As です desu is a verb (a copula, for those interested), it comes at the end of the sentence.
He student is.
I student am.
In Japanese, the verb always comes at the end. As です desu is a verb (a copula, for those interested), it comes at the end of the sentence.
If you find the verb ‘to be’ difficult, think of a pirate substituting is/am/are for ‘be’.
“That be my ship”
“This be my treasure”
“She be my sister”
Noun +
です
desu
alone can be a full sentence.
For example: 私: watashi What is that?
あなた: anata ねこです。 neko desu (that is) a cat.
あなた: anata せんせいsensei です。 desu (she is) a teacher.
For example: 私: watashi What is that?
あなた: anata ねこです。 neko desu (that is) a cat.
私: watashi Who is she?
あなた: anata せんせいsensei です。 desu (she is) a teacher.
Let’s Practice
Answer the questions with just 2 words! To check your answer, click your enter button. You can use Hiragana, Kanji or romaji (try not to mix romaji with Hiragana/Kanji.
1. I am a student
。
The Topic Particle
は (wa) marks the topic of a sentence。
Some people are naturally great at figuring out the topic of a sentence, but for those of us that are not, a common tip is to think of it as ‘as for’ or ‘speaking of’. Whatever is before the は is what you’re ‘speaking of’.
かのじょkanojoは
がくせいstudent ですis 。
Speaking of her, she’s a student.
Lit: She student is.
You'll get better at figuring out the sentence subject as you study, and eventually you wont have to rely on the little trick.
Note: This particle uses the は(Ha) hiragana but is pronounced as wa. This is only when it’s used as a particle!
かのじょkanojoは
がくせいstudent ですis 。
Speaking of her, she’s a student.
Lit: She student is.
You'll get better at figuring out the sentence subject as you study, and eventually you wont have to rely on the little trick.
Note: This particle uses the は(Ha) hiragana but is pronounced as wa. This is only when it’s used as a particle!
Let’s Practice
Translate the sentences to Japanese! To check your answer, click your enter button. You can use Hiragana, Kanji or romaji (try not to mix romaji with Hiragana/Kanji).
1. I am a student
。
Sentence Structuring
Let’s Practice
Rearrange the sentences to SOV by dragging them into the empty rectangles in. Once correctly placed, the row will turn green and move to the next round!
cake
Leila
eats