Subordinate clause
In Japanese, a noun can be modified by introducing a proposition, as if it were an adjective.
- an interesting book → 'interesting' + 'book': 面白い本
- a book I bought yesterday → 'I bought yesterday' + 'book':昨日私が買った本
- a person who is not a student → 'who is not a student' + 'a person': 学生じゃない 人
The subject in the proposition is marked by が.
Please note that you cannot use 'だ' to directly modify a name with another name.
(Wrong) 会社員だ人
However, it is possible to do this with の instead of 'だ'.
会社員の人 : a person who is employed.
Or by conjugating the first noun with 'だった', 'じゃない' and 'じゃなかった'.
会社員だった人 : a person who was employed.
- an interesting book → 'interesting' + 'book': 面白い本
- a book I bought yesterday → 'I bought yesterday' + 'book':昨日私が買った本
- a person who is not a student → 'who is not a student' + 'a person': 学生じゃない 人
The subject in the proposition is marked by が.
Please note that you cannot use 'だ' to directly modify a name with another name.
(Wrong) 会社員だ人
However, it is possible to do this with の instead of 'だ'.
会社員の人 : a person who is employed.
Or by conjugating the first noun with 'だった', 'じゃない' and 'じゃなかった'.
会社員だった人 : a person who was employed.
会社員の人は、毎日会社に行く。
A person who is employed goes to the office every day.
雨じゃない日は洗濯する。
I do the laundry on days when it doesn't rain.
学生だった佐藤くんは建築家になった。
Sato who was a student became an architect.
昨日まで知り合いじゃなかった加藤さんと友達になった。
I became friend with Kato who was not my acquaintance until yesterday.
さくらちゃんは、よく勉強する子だ。
Sakura is a child who studies a lot.
先週友達と見た映画は面白くなかった。
The film I saw with my friend last week was not interesting.
日曜日は、働かない日だ。
Sunday is a day when I don't work.
The order of a sentence
In Japanese, you should always put the verb at the end of the sentence, but you can put the subject and the complement in any order.
All the sentences below are correct.
(1) 私はコンビニでおにぎりを買った。
(2) コンビニで私はおにぎりを買った。
(3) おにぎりを私はコンビニで買った。
(4) おにぎりを買った。
(5) 買った。
All the sentences below are correct.
(1) 私はコンビニでおにぎりを買った。
(2) コンビニで私はおにぎりを買った。
(3) おにぎりを私はコンビニで買った。
(4) おにぎりを買った。
(5) 買った。
Exercices
Translate the expressions below into Japanese.
Manga that are not "shojo" (manga style targeting young girls).
Answer →
少女マンガじゃないマンガ
The day when the weather was not good.
Answer →
晴れじゃなかった日
A person who was a doctor.
Answer →
医者だった人
A person swimming in the sea.
Answer →
海で泳ぐ人
A person I saw last week.
Answer →
先週会った人
The day I didn't go to school.
Answer →
学校へ(に)行かなかった日
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