In Japanese, there are two kinds of adjectives: -な adjectives and -い adjectives.
-な Adjectives
When the noun follows the -な adjective, -な is kept.
真面目な人。A serious person.
When the adjective is separated from the subject by a verb, -な is deleted.
彼は真面目だ。He is serious.
彼は真面目な人だ。He is a serious person.
The conjugation of -な adjectives is almost the same as that of nouns :
真面目な人。A serious person.
When the adjective is separated from the subject by a verb, -な is deleted.
彼は真面目だ。He is serious.
彼は真面目な人だ。He is a serious person.
The conjugation of -な adjectives is almost the same as that of nouns :
Tense
|
Conjugation |
---|---|
Present or future affirmative
|
有名だ
|
Present or future negative
|
有名じゃない
|
Past affirmative
|
有名だった
|
Past negative
|
有名じゃなかった
|
彼女は親切だ。
She is nice.
ここは静かじゃない。
It's not quiet here.
山田さんは元気だった。
Yamada was fine.
"(Someone) likes (something)", is translated in Japanese by "(someone) は (something) が 好きです"。 Indeed, to like is translated by 好き(な), a -な adjective.
私はマンガが好きだ。I like manga.
"(Someone) who likes (something)" is translated by "(something) が好きな (someone)".
マンガが好きな人。A person who likes manga.
マンガが好きじゃない人。A person who does not like manga.
マンガが好きだった人。A person who loved manga.
マンガが好きじゃなかった人。A person who did not like manga.
私はマンガが好きだ。I like manga.
"(Someone) who likes (something)" is translated by "(something) が好きな (someone)".
マンガが好きな人。A person who likes manga.
マンガが好きじゃない人。A person who does not like manga.
マンガが好きだった人。A person who loved manga.
マンガが好きじゃなかった人。A person who did not like manga.
静かな場所が好きだ。
I like quiet places.
-い Adjectives
Adjectives in -い always end with an い written in hiragana :
今日は暑い。Today it's hot.
猫は可愛い。Cats are cute.
Some adjectives in -な end in い like 綺麗(な)、有名(な) etc.
Generally, adjectives in -な are written in kanji and they do not have okurigana (kanas needed for conjugation), 嫌い(な) is the only exception.
When an -い adjective qualifies a noun, it directly precedes the name.
今日は寒い日だ。Today is a cold day.
東京は大きい町だ。Tokyo is a big city.
The conjugation of -い adjectives is different from that of -な adjectives.
Note that だ cannot be added to -い adjectives..
今日は暑い。Today it's hot.
猫は可愛い。Cats are cute.
Some adjectives in -な end in い like 綺麗(な)、有名(な) etc.
Generally, adjectives in -な are written in kanji and they do not have okurigana (kanas needed for conjugation), 嫌い(な) is the only exception.
When an -い adjective qualifies a noun, it directly precedes the name.
今日は寒い日だ。Today is a cold day.
東京は大きい町だ。Tokyo is a big city.
The conjugation of -い adjectives is different from that of -な adjectives.
Note that だ cannot be added to -い adjectives..
Tense
|
Conjugation
|
---|---|
Present affirmative
|
寒い
|
Present negative
(drop final -い and add -くない) |
寒くない
|
Past affirmative
(drop final -い and add -かった) |
寒かった
|
Past negative
(drop final -い and add -くなかった) |
寒くなかった
|
スイスは、物価が高い国だ。
Switzerland is a country with high prices.
Note the exception : 良い well, good (≠ food).
Temps
|
Conjugaison
|
---|---|
Present or future affirmative
|
良い
|
Present or future negative
|
良くない
|
Past affirmative
|
良かった
|
Past negative
|
良くなかった
|
彼は頭が良い。
He is intelligent (literally: he has a good head).
嘘は良くない。
Lying is not good.
日本旅行は良かった。
The trip to Japan was good.
Exercices
Conjugate the following words in present, present negative, past and past negative forms.
Ex :大きい→大きい・大きくない・大きかった・大きくなかった
楽しい
Present/future affirmative
Answer →
楽しい
Translation →
Fun.
Present/future negative
Answer →
楽しくない
Translation →
Not fun.
Past affirmative
Answer →
楽しかった
Translation →
Was fun.
Past negative
Answer →
楽しくなかった
Translation →
Wasn't fun.
良い
Present/future affirmative
Answer →
良い
Traduction →
Is good.
Present/future negative
Answer →
良くない
Translation →
Isn't good.
Past affirmative
Answer →
良かった
Translation →
Was good.
Past negative
Answer →
良くなかった
Translation →
Wasn't good.
小さい
Present/future affirmative
Answer →
小さい
Translation →
Is small.
Present/future negative
Answer →
小さくない
Translation →
Is not small.
Past affirmative
Answer →
小さかった
Translation →
Was small.
Past negative
Answer →
小さくなかった
Translation →
Wasn't small.
綺麗
Present/future affirmative
Answer →
綺麗だ
Translation →
Is beautiful.
Present/future negative
Answer →
綺麗じゃない
Translation →
Is not beautiful.
Past affirmative
Answer →
綺麗だった
Translation →
Was beautiful.
Past negative
Answer →
綺麗じゃなかった
Translation →
Was not beautiful.
有名
Present/future affirmative
Answer →
有名だ。
Translation →
Is famous.
Present/future negative
Answer →
有名じゃない
Translation →
Is not famous.
Past affirmative
Answer →
有名だった
Translation →
Was famous.
Past negative
Answer →
有名じゃなかった
Translation →
Wasn't famous.
好き
Present/future affirmative
Answer →
好きだ
Translation →
Like.
Present/future negative
Answer →
好きじゃない
Translation →
Don't like.
Past affirmative
Answer →
好きだった
Translation →
Did like.
Past negative
Answer →
好きじゃなかった
Translation →
Didn't like.
Fill in a particle は or が in the 〇 and an adjective in ( ).
A:明日 〇 忙しい?
B:ううん、( )。
B:ううん、( )。
Answer →
A:明日 は 忙しい?
B:ううん、忙しくない。
B:ううん、忙しくない。
Translation →
A: Are you busy tommorow ?
B: No, I'm not busy.
B: No, I'm not busy.
A:何〇 好き?
B:アニメ〇 好き。
B:アニメ〇 好き。
Answer →
何が 好き?
B:アニメが 好き。
B:アニメが 好き。
Translation →
A: What do you like ?
B: I like anime.
B: I like anime.
A:納豆 〇おいしい?
B:ううん、( )。
B:ううん、( )。
Answer →
A:納豆 はおいしい?
B:ううん、おいしくない.。
B:ううん、おいしくない.。
Translation →
A: Does natto taste good ?
B: No, it doesn't taste good.
B: No, it doesn't taste good.
A:テスト〇( )?
B:ううん、簡単 じゃなかった。
B:ううん、簡単 じゃなかった。
Answer →
A:テストは 簡単だった?
B:ううん、 簡単 じゃなかった。
B:ううん、 簡単 じゃなかった。
Translation →
A: Was the exam easy ?
B: No, it wasn't easy.
B: No, it wasn't easy.
A:前橋〇 有名な 町?
B:ううん、( )。
B:ううん、( )。
Answer →
A:前橋は 有名な 町?
B:ううん、有名じゃない。
B:ううん、有名じゃない。
Translation →
A: Is Maebashi a famous city ?
B: No, it's not famous.
B: No, it's not famous.
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