Q/A and advice for 2012/Future VCE Japanese Students

[RazzMeTazz]

Thanks Jibba for all the help!

Is there a specific grammar pattern when using the verb 'かんじます’ and '分かります', which is similar to the grammar pattern used with ’思います'?

Or can you simply just say: "noun + かんじます/わかります" ?

But what if I wanted to say something like: " I feel cold."
Since cold is not a noun, I'm a little confused on how I would structure this using the verb: かんじます.


Thanks!

[jibba]

@Razz

You can say と感じます or と分かります similar to と思います
You don't often use　感じます in present tense I think. But it can be used. It might sound a bit unnatural.

For I feel cold. You should just say 寒いです. Japanese people just say that when they want to say 'I feel cold'.

寒いと感じました. I felt cold. You can use it like that.

I get the feeling, you would need to say a bit more than I just feel cold. Using と感じました places a bit more of an emphasis on whatever you are feeling. (I think haha)

something like
久しぶりに寒いと感じました。
It has been a long time since I felt cold.

[RazzMeTazz]

Thanks for the help Jibba!



Do you guys recommend any supplementary Japanese books/textbook type of things, or is the Wakatta course book just fine?

[jibba]

Wakatta book's the best one out there for explaining grammar.

You could use the Leading Edge book if you wanted some more VCE exam related practice. The Genki books have decent explanations as well.

[RazzMeTazz]

In my textbook the translation for this sentence:

すみこさんの英語のテストは今日だっだそうだけど、どうだっだだろう。

the English translation is given as: "Apparently Sumiko's English test was today, I wonder how she went."
But I don't quite get the meaning of the 'けど' in the Japanese sentence then, because it doesn't seem to come up in the English translation? Is there another meaning for けど other than 'but'. ?

ありがとう.

[sarangiya]

In my textbook the translation for this sentence:

すみこさんの英語のテストは今日だっだそうだけど、どうだっだだろう。

the English translation is given as: "Apparently Sumiko's English test was today, I wonder how she went."
But I don't quite get the meaning of the 'けど' in the Japanese sentence then, because it doesn't seem to come up in the English translation? Is there another meaning for けど other than 'but'. ?

ありがとう.

The translation is looking at the meaning rather than the actual content. In fact, in my opinion it's quite a poor translation. It does really have them same emotional nuances.
Anyhow.
けど is indeed 'but' - used to contrast. However, it is still in itself a conjunction and you can use it as such. It works in English the same way.
すみこさんの英語のテストは(subject) = Sumiko's English test...
今日だっだそうだけど、= [seemed to be] today, but
どうだっだだろう。= how was it, [I wonder]?
In my personal opinion - which could be wrong - I think it is a sentence that is meant to convey some worry.
"Sumiko's English test was meant to be today but I wonder how it went..."
Maybe she is wondering if a) the test date was moved, b) where Sumiko went or not, c) how she actually did on the test.
It's probably c) though, because I can't really understand why one would say that for a) or b).

But in any case, you can see how I used 'but'. It wasn't contrasting or differentiating two opinions, it was just leading into the next statement with a little bit of emotion.
That's what I think at least.

[RazzMeTazz]

The translation is looking at the meaning rather than the actual content. In fact, in my opinion it's quite a poor translation. It does really have them same emotional nuances.
Anyhow.
けど is indeed 'but' - used to contrast. However, it is still in itself a conjunction and you can use it as such. It works in English the same way.
すみこさんの英語のテストは(subject) = Sumiko's English test...
今日だっだそうだけど、= [seemed to be] today, but
どうだっだだろう。= how was it, [I wonder]?
In my personal opinion - which could be wrong - I think it is a sentence that is meant to convey some worry.
"Sumiko's English test was meant to be today but I wonder how it went..."
Maybe she is wondering if a) the test date was moved, b) where Sumiko went or not, c) how she actually did on the test.
It's probably c) though, because I can't really understand why one would say that for a) or b).

But in any case, you can see how I used 'but'. It wasn't contrasting or differentiating two opinions, it was just leading into the next statement with a little bit of emotion.
That's what I think at least.

Thankyou so much sarangiya for the detailed explanation! It really helped

[Fyrefly]

Sarangiya's explanation is on the money.

A few things to note when 「けど」 is used as a conversation marker: it's used a lot by women in casual conversation, and depends on the sort of intonation it's paired with.

Example:

Friend: ね、昨日このピアスを買ったんだけど。
Me: かわいい！よく似合うよ！

Friend: Hey, I bought these earrings yesterday.
Me: They're so cute! They really suit you!

My friend was drawing attention to her new earrings and I guess was fishing for opinions and compliments. Her tone was upbeat. In this sense, けど is not used in a doubtful or negative way. It simply functions as a conversation marker. Without it, she would have simply been stating that she bought earrings yesterday. But with it, she is able to lead into a conversation about the earrings. It makes her speech pattern sound natural.

In English, the same effect is reached often just through intonation, as in the translated example sentence above. A flat or falling intonation at the end of a sentence is a statement. It closes the sentence off. A rising intonation at the end of the sentence is conversational and invites commentary. Almost like a question, but without actually asking anything.

[jibba]

Agreed with the above explanations! Thank you!

Only thing I could add in addition to the above is that in Japanese sometimes you can imply sentences/meanings without explicitly saying them.
For example with the above the full meaning as Fyfefly explained would be 機能このピアスを買ったんだけど。。（どうかな？）

Another example might be
Friend: 明日、パーティーに行きますか？
Me: 明日はちょっと。。(だめです）

[RazzMeTazz]

Thankyou for all the help everyone!

I was wondering, in my Wakatta book it explains the differences in speech between males and females (Such as females will tend to not use だ when speaking in plain form and instead sometimes use わ as a sentence ending particle.)

So if I was writing an essay in plain form, would I have to keep these things in mind, if I was signing off with a female name? (e.g. in a letter to a friend etc.)

[sarangiya]

Thankyou for all the help everyone!

I was wondering, in my Wakatta book it explains the differences in speech between males and females (Such as females will tend to not use だ when speaking in plain form and instead sometimes use わ as a sentence ending particle.)

So if I was writing an essay in plain form, would I have to keep these things in mind, if I was signing off with a female name? (e.g. in a letter to a friend etc.)

Well I probably would assume you wouldn't write an essay in plain form. If it were a diary, then OK.
I think the thing to keep most in mind is consistency. You don't have to think "OK I'm a 15-year-old girl who likes pumpkin spice lattes".
BUT, if you at point write something like "どうするかな～？もういやなの！” then you need to continue that way of speaking throughout the diary. Another thing to note is that you do not need to sign off on a journal, so you don't even have to keep it in mind.
Contrasting that, if it were a letter/email/something to a friend you may consider writing in plain form - and those styles would call for a name at the end. But even so, unless you're really wanting to express a certain gender for some reason, you don't need to add gender-specific endings etc. If you're really pedantic, why not use a name like Alex or something?
My advice is to ditch the わ　(it could be funny to say あたし、そんなお下品なことが好きじゃございませんわよ！but there's no reason to) or any other "gendered" language you might have come across and keep it neutral and ideally polite. If not, just make sure it's consistent ...あたしそんなお下品なことが好きじゃございませんわよ！けどおめえってまじでムカつくんだぜ。ぶっ殺すぞ。... XD

[RazzMeTazz]

Thankyou so much sarangiya!

If I wanted to say  " I think it is approximately 400 Yen"

would I write:

1.) 四百円ぐらいだと思います

or

2.) 四百円ぐらいと思います。

I'm not sure if I should put a 'だ' before the と思います?? (Since ぐらい is neither a noun or a descriptive noun)?

[RazzMeTazz]

Is the general conversation section of the oral exam based of the prescribed topics, given in the study design? (Personal world, daily life, past and future, visiting Japan etc.)

Thankyou

[AngelWings]

Is the general conversation section of the oral exam based of the prescribed topics, given in the study design? (Personal world, daily life, past and future, visiting Japan etc.)

Thankyou

Sort of.

Most of them begin with a prescribed topic, then will go according to what you say. It's a conversation, hence the name. An example: (All of this is said in Japanese, of course, but I got lazy.)

Assessor: What do you study this year?
You: I study English, Maths, Biology and Chemistry, besides Japanese. I like these subjects because I want to study Science in university.
Assessor: Why are you interested in science?
You: I ask teachers lots of questions in Biology and I think the content is quite interesting. I would like to know more about the world and travel one day.
Assessor: Really? Have you travelled overseas?
You: Yes, I have. I went to Japan in the summer holidays, actually.

... and basically you get the idea. Just think of all the answers you've got down already and all the ways it could go - basically that's where it'll start to spin off and become your specific conversation.

[RazzMeTazz]

Thanks AngelWings!