LESSON #5 – Going & Coming
Recap from previous lesson
Present
To go | Ikimasu | いきます
To come | Kimasu | きます
Past
Gone | Ikimashita | いきました
Came | Kimashita | きました
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In phrasing a sentence with a direction like “go” and “come”, we use the particle ‘e | へ’. It is kinda an equivalent of “to” in English.
Phrasing sentences with “GO” (adding certain direction particles)
Q:
[present tense]
Where are you going? | Doko e ikimasu ka? | どこ へ いきます か。
Where are you going tomorrow? | Ashita doko e ikimasu ka? | あした は どこ へ いきます か。
Are you going to the library? | Toshokan e ikimasu ka? |
Where are you going during the holidays in December? | Juni gatsu no yasumi ni doko e ikimasu ka?
[past tense]
Where did you go yesterday? | Kino doko e ikimashita ka?
Did you go to the supermarket yesterday? | Kino supa e ikimashita ka?
Did you go to a restaurant last week? | Sensho resutoran e ikimashita ka?
Who did you go to the restaurant with yesterday? | Kino dare [?] resutoran e ikimashita ka?
Did you go to a restaurant last Saturday? | Sensho no doyobi ni resutoran e ikimashita ka?
S:
I’m going home. | Watashi wa uchi e kaerimasu. |
I’m going to the library tomorrow. | Watashi wa toshokan e ikimasu. |
I’m going home after class. | Kurasu kara, uchi e kaerimasu. |
I’m going to Osaka. | Osaka e ikimasu. |
I’m going to Osaka with my friends. | Tomodachi to isshoni Osaka e ikimasu. |
I’m going to Osaka with my friends in December. | Juni gatsu ni tomodachi to isshoni Osaka e ikimasu. |
I went to Tokyo last year. | Sen~ Tokyo e ikimashita.
[negative]
I’m not going anywhere. | Doko e mo ikimasen. |
I went to a restaurant with my friends last Saturday. | Sensho no doyobi ni tomodachi to isshoni resutoran e ikimashita. |
Phrasing sentences with “COME”
Q:
[past tense]
When did you come to Japan? | Itsu nihon e kimashita ka? | いつ にほん へ きました か。
What time did you come to school? | Nanji ni gakko e kimashita ka? |
What time did you come here? | Nanji ni koko e kimashita ka? |
S:
[past tense]
I came last week. | Senshu kimashita. |
I came yesterday. | Kino kimashita. |
I came at 8 o’clock. | Hachi ji ni kimashita. |
Phrasing sentences with “GO BACK” [To go back | Kaerimasu | かえります]
S:
My Japanese class ends at 7 o’clock. After that, I go back home. | Nihongo no kurasu wa shichi ji ni owarimasu. Sore kara, uchi e kaerimasu. | にほんご の くらすは しちじ に おわります。それ から、うち へ かえります。
* Particle ‘ni’ (on, at, in) is used to show when in time, e.g. in June, on Wednesday, at Christmas, at 5 o’clock. It cannot however be used for “last week”, “next year” etc. (Same rules apply for English)
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Today I also learnt “by what means” – in the context of transportation. The particle ‘de | で’ is used to suggest “by ~”. It’s a little different from English in a sense that it starts of with the “mode of transportation” followed by the word “by” – a literal translation would be “car by | kimura de” or “train by | densha de”. It also opens the sentence, unlike English.
Helpful way to understand:
I go to school by train = Train by + school + *particle e + go = Mode of transport + *particle de + Place + *particle e + Verb ]
Q:
[present tense]
By what means/ How do you go to school everyday? | Mainichi nan de gakko e ikimasu ka? | まいにち なん で がっこう へ いきます か。
[past tense]
How did you come to school today? | Kyo nan de gakko e kimashita ka? | きょ なん で がっこう へ きました か。
OR
How did you come to school? | Doyatte kimashita ka? | どやって きました か。
S:
[present tense]
I go to school by train. | Densha de gakko e ikimasu. | でんしゃ で がっこう へ いきます。
I go to school by bus and train. | Basu to densha de gakko e ikimasu. | ばすと と でんしゃ で がっこう え いきます。
[including ‘to isshoni’ from the previous lesson]
When including “together with someone”, add the phrase ‘~ to isshoni’ in the beginning. Phrasing structure: ~ to isshoni + Transport + *particle de + Place + *particle e + Verb/ Action.
I go to school by train with my friend. | Tomodachi to isshoni densha de gakko e ikimasu. | ともだち と いっしょに でんしゃ で がっこう へ いきます。
[past tense]
I came alone by train and bus. | Hitoride densha to basu de kimashita. | ひとりで でんしゃ と ばす で きました。
[including ‘to isshoni’ from the previous lesson]
I came by bus with my friend. | Tomodachi to isshoni basu de kimashita. | ともだち と いっしょに ばす で きました。
I came to school by bus with my friend. | Tomodachi to isshoni basu de gakko e kimashita. | ともだち と いっしょに ばす で がっこう へ きました。
[including the verb “go back”]
I go back to my country by ship. | Fu ne de kuni e kaerimasu. | ふね で くに え かえります。
[including the particles ‘kara | から’ and ‘made | まで’]
I go to Osaka from Tokyo by Shinkansen (bullet train) | Tokyo kara Osaka made Shinkansen de ikimasu. | ときょ から おさか まで しんかんせん で いきます。
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Extra stuff learnt:
1. Is your major hard/ tough? | Senko no benkyo wa tai hen desu ka? | せんこう の べんきょうは たいへん です か。
2. The word ‘yo |’ is used to highlight something of importance. Such as:
There’s a test tomorrow! | Ashita wa tesuto desu yo! | あした は てすとです よ！
Chronicles of Nori 