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JLPT N5 - The state of beeing だ

Christophe
Posted by Christophe on Mar 6, 2022 12:06:21 PM
 
「だ」is a copula denoting a state of being, which is put at the end of the sentence. 「だ」 is used with a noun or na−adjective only. 「だ」is used in a sentence of familiar register.
Expressing the nature of a thing with 「だ」
Add 「だ」 to nouns or na-adjectives
(1) いぬ。It is a dog.
(2) いぬだ。 It is a dog.
A sentence without 「だ」 like(1) also indicates "It is a dog". The difference between (1)and (2) is the tone. The sentence with「 だ」 is more affirmative.
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かれ日本人にほんじん
He is Japanese
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かれ日本人にほんじんだ。
He is Japanese (the speaker is sure that he is Japanese.)
As the sentence with「だ」has a stronger tone, in a conversation we often add 「ね」or「よ」just after「だ」to soften the tone.
かれ日本人にほんじんだよ。

かれ日本人にほんじんだね。
We often use 「だ」when we have discovered something or someone.
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あ、て。いぬだ。
Look, there's a dog.

 
99998477873127
99998478120706
99998481917520
99998485022991
 
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How to conjugate to the negative form?

Rules for conjugating the state of being in the past tense.

To use the negative form, simply add 「じゃない」 to nouns or adjectives in na.

日本人にほんじん → 日本人にほんじんじゃない 
This is not a Japanese person.
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いぬじゃない。
It is not a dog.
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学生がくせいじゃない。
This is not a student.
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有名ゆうめいじゃない。
This is not famous.

 
じゃない 99998476980023
じゃない 99998484937048
じゃない 177855907
じゃない 99998480880359
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How to conjugate to the past form?

Conjugation rules for the past tense state of being.

To use the affirmative past form, 「だった」 is added to nouns or na-adjectives.

学生がくせい → 学生がくせいだった He was a student.
静かしずか → しずかかだった It was quiet.

To use the negative past form, we remove 「い」 from 「じゃない」and we add 「かった」.

学生がくせい → 学生がくせいじゃない → 学生がくせいじゃなかった  He was not a student.
静かしずか → 静かしずかじゃない → 静かしずかじゃなかった It wasn't quiet.
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いぬだった。
It was a dog.
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いぬじゃなかった。
It was not a dog.
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有名ゆうめいだった。
It was known.
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有名ゆうめいじゃなかった。
It was not known.

 
だった 99998485022902
だった 99998482057857 
じゃなかった 99998482179482
じゃなかった 99998485503595
 
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Summary

Tense
Affirmative
Negative
Not past (present / future)
学生がくせい(だ)- He is a student
学生がくせいだった - He was a student
Past
学生がくせいじゃない - He is not a student
学生がくせいじゃなかった - He was not a student
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Exercices

1 - Conjugate with the following words in declarative (present), negative, past, and past negative forms.
学生がくせい
Answer →
学生がくせい
Translation →
Is a student.
past
Answer →
学生がくせいだった
Translation →
Was a student.
negative
Answer →
学生がくせいじゃない
Translation →
Is not a student.
past negative
Answer →
学生がくせいじゃなかった
Translation →
Was not a student.
友達ともだち
non-past
Answer →
友達ともだち
Translation →
This is a friend.
non-past negative
Answer →
友達ともだちじゃない
Translation →
Is not a friend.
past
Answer →
友達ともだちだった
Translation →
Was a friend.
past negative
Answer →
友達ともだちじゃなかった
Translation →
Was not a friend.
彼女かのじょ
non-past
Answer →
彼女かのじょ
Translation →
It is her.
non-past negative
Answer →
彼女かのじょじゃない
Translation →
This is not her.
past
Answer →
彼女かのじょだった
Translation →
It was her.
Answer →
彼女かのじょじゃなかった
Translation →
It was not her.
かれ
non-past
Answer →
かれ
Translation →
It is him.
non-past negative
Answer →
かれじゃない
Translation →
It is not him.
past
Answer →
かれだった
Translation →
It was him.
past negative
Answer →
かれじゃなかった
Translation →
it was not him.
 
 
 
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