Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher Education Regional Office VI (HERO VI)
City Government of Bago
BAGO CITY COLLEGE
Rafael Salas Drive, Brgy. Balingasag, Bago City, Negros Occidental 6101
Tel: [034] 4611-363 | Fax: [034] 4610-546 | E-mail: bagocitycollege@yahoo.com.ph

Module 2 in Basic Japanese Language (FLES 102)

AB ENGLISH 2
UNIT 1
Basic Word Order and Particles

Intended Learning Outcome: At the end of this module, the student must have:

1. Identified the different parts of a Japanese sentence based on word order and particles present.
2. Used appropriate particles to emphasize parts of a sentence.
3. Written a grammatical sentence following Japanese word order using only the given words.

Introduction: In this lesson, you will learn how to construct simple Japanese sentences by knowing its parts, learning
ways to organize words in a sentence and the use of appropriate particles to emphasize the said parts.

Activity
A. Take a look at these English sentences. Identify the subject (S), verb (V) and object (O) from the sentence below, label
using letters only. Write your answers on the space provided.
1. I eat egg. 2. She cuts vegetables. 3. He writes a letter.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

B. Now, take a look at these Japanese sentences below. These are direct translation of the sentences above. Identify the
subject (S), verb (V) and object (O) from the sentence below, label using letters only. Write your answers on the space
provided.

I egg eat
1. わたしは たまごお たべます. [Watashi wa tama go o tabemasu.]
___ ___ ___

she vegetables cuts

2. かのじは やさいお きる. [Kanojo wa yasai o kiru.]
___ ___ ___

letter he writes
3.てがみお かれは かきます. [Tegami o kare wa kakimasu.]
___ ___ ___

Analysis
Guide Questions for Activity A
1. What is the word order for English sentences? _____________________________________________________
2. Can we interchange the words in the sentence and still be considered as grammatical? Explain. ( Example: eat I egg)
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Guide Questions for Activity B
1. What is the usual word order for Japanese sentences? ______________________________________________
2. Can we interchange the words in the sentence and still be considered as grammatical? Explain. ( see item #3)
3. What indicators helped you locate the different part of the sentence if the English equivalent is to be excluded?
a. Subject: ____________________
b. Object: ____________________
c. Verb: ____________________

Abstraction
 Usually, the basic structure of Japanese sentences is considered to be SOV – subject-object-verb. This
description makes it easier to compare with English, for example, which follows an SVO structure, but the truth is, this
comparison is mostly meaningless because the two languages function in completely different ways. The SOV label is
also wrong sometimes, as it is not uncommon in Japanese to see sentences with the object appearing before the
subject.

Japanese sentences are structured around grammatical markers called ‘particles’. Each particle indicates how
the word before it relates to other words in the sentence, usually to the verb. The verb appears last, but the order of the
other words can vary because it is the particles, not word order, that tell us who did what.

For example, a basic sentence might have a topic (which is often the same as the subject) followed by the
particle ‘wa’, then an object with the particle ‘o’, and finally the verb (the main verb is always at the end of the
sentence).This basic word ordering is why Japanese is often considered an SOV language, but as long as the right
particles are used with the right words, the actual order of the words can be changed.

Japanese sentences uses particles. These are:

1. wa - attached to the subject of the sentence. Usually, the subject is a
name of a person, place or thing
2. ga - attached to the subject of the sentence with same function as wa.
Usually, the subject refers to a topic or situation.
3. o (wo) - marks the grammatical object of a sentence.

Application
Identify the parts of the sentences in column A. Write your answers in the column intended for each part.
SUBJECT OBJECT VERB
1. けいさつは はんざいしゃお つか
まえます.
2. しゅじんこは まおお たおします.

3. まんがお まんがかは かきます

4. ねこは ねずみお たべる.

5. ダンスお せいとは します.

Assessment
Write a comprehensible Japanese sentence using the given words below. Make sure to use appropriate particles.

barado (ballad) Nika utaimasu (sing)

1.
Jun akemasu (open) Botoru (bottle)
2.
biru (beer) nomimasu (drinks) Goku
3.
haha (mother) tsukurimasu (cooks) choshoku (breakfast)
4.
sho (awards) ataemasu (gives) daitoryo (president)
5.
 Republic of the Philippines
COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Higher Education Regional Office VI (HERO VI)
City Government of Bago
BAGO CITY COLLEGE
Rafael Salas Drive, Brgy. Balingasag, Bago City, Negros Occidental 6101
Tel: [034] 4611-363 | Fax: [034] 4610-546 | E-mail: bagocitycollege@yahoo.com.ph

Module 2 in Basic Japanese Language (FLES 102)

AB ENGLISH 2
UNIT 2
The verb DESU & its various forms

Intended Learning Outcome: At the end of this module, the student must have:

1. Familiarized the different conjugation of the verb desu and its uses.
2. Determined the appropriate conjugation of desu to be used based on the English translation provided.
3. Written a complete grammatical sentence by providing the appropriate conjugation of desu.

Introduction: In this lesson, you will learn how to construct simple Japanese sentences by knowing its parts, learning
ways to organize words in a sentence and the use of appropriate particles to emphasize the said parts.

Activity
Using your Jap-Eng translator app, translate the following sentences into Japanese. Write using Romaji.
a. Mr. Tanaka is a company president. __________________________________________________________
b. Mr. Tanaka is not a company president. __________________________________________________________
c. Mr. Tanaka was a company president. __________________________________________________________
d. Mr. Tanaka was not a company president. __________________________________________________________
e. Is Mr. Tanaka a company president? __________________________________________________________

Analysis
Answer the following questions based on the activity above.
1. What word/suffix was attached to the complement in the following sentences:
a. ___________________
b. ___________________
c. ___________________
d. ___________________
e. ___________________
2. What word/suffix was used to signify the following forms:
a. present tense, affirmative: _____________________________________
b. present tense, negative: _____________________________________
c. past tense, affirmative: _____________________________________
d. past tense, negative: _____________________________________
e. interrogative: _____________________________________
3. In English, what kind of verb are the above-mentioned words? _________________________
Abstraction
DESU – is the English equivalent of the Be-verb am, is, are and its conjugated form. Sentences using “desu”
usually follow this basic structure:

Sentence Pattern: SUBJECT wa + COMPLEMENT + DESU

(noun) (noun)

Conjugation of DESU:
Present Past
Affirmative desu – is , are deshita – was, were

Negative dewa arimasen – isn’t, aren’t dewa arimasen deshita – wasn’t, weren’t

Interrogative ka = ? attached to each conjugated form when asking a question

(Example: desu ka – is it? Dewa arimasen ka – isn’t it?

Application
Underline the appropriate form of desu from the words inside the parenthesis. English translation is provided
for your reference.

Kudō-san wa sensei (desu, deshita, dewa arimasen, dewa arimasen deshita, desu ka, dewa arimasen ka). Kare
wa gakusha (desu, deshita, dewa arimasen, dewa arimasen deshita, desu ka, dewa arimasen ka). Kare no chichi wa
keikan (desu, deshita, dewa arimasen, dewa arimasen deshita, desu ka, dewa arimasen ka). Kare no hahaoya wa jūgyōin
(desu, deshita, dewa arimasen, dewa arimasen deshita, desu ka, dewa arimasen ka). Kare no hahaoya wa shufu (desu,
deshita, dewa arimasen, dewa arimasen deshita, desu ka, dewa arimasen ka)?

[Mr. Kudo is a teacher. He was not a scholar. His father is a policeman. His mother is not an employee. Is his mother a housewife?]

Assessment
Write the appropriate form of desu on the space provided to make the sentence grammatical. English
translation is provided for your reference.

1. Yamashita-san wa untenshu __________________. Mr. Yamashita is a driver.

2. Kenji-san wa sensei __________________. Kenji is a teacher.

3. Kino wa gakusei __________________. Kino is not a student.

4. Nika wa sakka __________________. Nika is not a writer.

5. Watashino chichi wa gaka __________________. My father was a painter.

6. Jinu wa bijinesuman __________________. Jinu was a businessman.

7. Aiko wa shikai __________________. Aiko was not a dentist.

8. Kanojo wa isha __________________. She was not a doctor.

9. Kuruma wa gakusei __________________? Is Kuruma a student?

10. Karera wa gakusha __________________? Aren’t they scholars?