日本語の文法

秋山信夫

語順

文とは何ですか？
A sentence is an organized series of words which enables us to make a statement, ask a
question, express a thought, offer an opinion, & so forth. In writing, an English sentence starts
with a capital letter & ends with a perion, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.

英語の文章
English is a ​Subject-Verb-Object language. This means that in a typical sentence (a
statement, not a question), the subject comes first, the verb next, & the object last. This kind of
word order sequence for the sentence is sometimes referred to by the initials ​SVO​.

Subject Verb Object

John eats a fruit

I saw a movie

The car has a flat tire

Understanding this principle of word order is important because the word order in
Japanese is different.

English sentences have two basic parts, a ​subject​ & a ​predicate​.

● The subject is “who” or “what the sentence is about. A subject must contain a noun or a
pronoun. In a statement, the subject is usually the first element in the sentence.
○ “John speaks English.” In this instance, “John” is the subject, he is the person
“who” speaks English.
○ “Yoko is Japanese.” In this instance, “Yoko” is the subject, she is the person
“who” is Japanese.
 ● The predicate is that part of the sentence that expresses what is said about the subject. It
usually can be found directly after the subject, it must include a verb, & it includes
everything remaining in the sentence that is not part of the subject.
○ “John speaks English.” In this instance, “speaks English” is the predicate.
○ “Yoko is Japanese.” In this instance, “is Japanese” is the predicate.

日本語の文章

Subject-Object-Verb Sentences
Japanese is a ​Subject-Object-Verb language. Thus, in a typical sentence, the subject
comes first, the object next, & the verb last. This kind of word order sequence for the sentence is
sometimes referred to by the initials ​SOV​.

Subject Object Verb

お母さんが パンを 買いました。

ジョンさんが それを しました。

お父さんが 映画を 見ました。

The significant difference from English here is that the verb must come at the ​end of the
sentence.

Subject & Predicate

Japanese sentences ​may​ have a subject or a topic, but they ​must​ have a predicate.

● The ​predicate is the core of the Japanese sentence. It comes at the end, & it must be a
verb or a verbal for. In Japanese, a verbal form may be a noun plus copula (like English ​is
or ​are​), or a verbal adjective.

Predicate (verb, noun +

Subject or Topic Object
copula, verbal adjective)

ジョンさんは 日本語を 話します。

田中さんは 日本人です。
果物は 高いです。
 ● In addition to the ​subject or ​topic​, there may, of course, be other elements in the
sentence—​object​, ​indirect object,​ ​adverb​, & so forth. They come before the predicate, &
are not considered part of it.
● Two principles hold true for word order in a Japanese sentence:
○ The predicate must come at the end of the sentence.
○ A particle must immediately follow the word or words it marks.
● Other than this, word order is not rigid. The subject or topic usually comes first, although
an adverb of time may precede it or follow it. Expressions of time usually precede
expressions of place. Most modifiers precede the words they modify.

He​ ​reads​ many​ newspapers​ at home

彼は​毎日​家で​新聞を​たくさん​読みます​。
everyday​.

この​子供達は​日本人​です​。 These​ children​ are​ ​Japanese​.

新聞が​テーブルの上​に​あります​。 There’s ​a newspaper​ ​on the​ table’s top​.

今日​ジョンさんは​東京から​京都に​行きます​。 Today​ John​ ​will go​ from Tokyo​ to Kyoto​.

彼女は​本屋で​本を​買いました​。 She​ bought​ ​a book​ at the bookstore​.

● With a question, the word order is the same. The particle「か」makes a statement into a
question.

彼女は​本屋で​本を​買いましたか​？ Did​ she​ ​buy​ ​a book ​at the bookstore​?

● If a question uses a question word (​who​, ​what,​ ​when​, etc.), it normally comes after the
subject or topic, but this is not rigid.

彼女は​いつ​本屋で​本を​買いましたか​？ When​ ​did​ she​ ​buy​ ​a book ​at the bookstore​?

彼女は​なぜ​本屋で​本を​買いましたか​？ Why​ did​ she​ buy​ ​a book​ at the bookstore​?

誰が​本屋で​本を​買いましたか​？ Who​ bought​ a book​ at the bookstore​?

それは​どんな​本​ですか​？ What kind of​ book​ is it​?

Incomplete sentences
In most languages, words that can be understood or implied from the context of the
situation can be left out of a sentence. In japanese, it is the subject or topic that is omitted, not the
predicte. If the situation is clear without the subject or topic, Japanese tend to leave it out.

これは何ですか？ What is this?

（これは）本です。 (This is) a book.

In this instance, “This is” is omitted in English, leaving just the noun: “a book.”

In Japanese, the copula or verb ​to be is needed too. Remember, a Japanese sentence must
have a predicate, or verb form.

あなたは何を買いましたか？ What did you buy?

Although this sentence is grammatically correct, the Japanese prefer to omit the ​you​,
which would be obvious from the context.

何を買いましたか？ What did (you) buy?

本です。 (I bought) a book.

名詞

名詞とは何ですか？
A ​noun is a word that names or refers to a person, a place, or a thing. A thing may be a
quality or a concept. There are two main types of nouns:

● A ​proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing. The underlined words are all
proper nouns. In the following examples, the underlined words are proper nouns.

ジョンさん​は、​東京​に行きます。 金曜日 六月

ジョンさん​は、​月曜日​に​東京​に行きます。 フランス語 英語

● A ​common noun​ doesn’t name a particular person, place, or thing.

本 Book

男の子 Boy

女の子 Girl
性別
Japanese nouns don’t have ​gender​. There are no special endings to show masculine,
feminine, or neuter forms.

冠詞
Japanese doesn’t use ​articles before nouns. There are no words to correspond to English
a​, ​ an​, or​ the​.

番号
Number means that a word can be ​singular (referring to one person, thing, etc.) or ​plural
(referring to more than one). With most Japanese nouns, number is not an issue. ​The same word
is used for one or for more than one.

本 Book(s)

新聞 Newspaper(s)

車 Car(s)

家 House(s)

木 Tree(s)

手 Hand(s)

本を持っています。 I have a book.

本を持っています。 I have some books

 ● For nouns referring to people, the plural suffix「達」may be used, although it isn’t
required.

子供 Child(ren)

男の子 Boy(s)

女の子 Girl(s)

母親 Mother(s)

先生 Teacher(s)

子供達 Children

男の子達 Boys

女の子達 Girls

母親達 Mothers

先生達 Teachers

● When「達」is used with someone’s name, it usually refers to the person & their family
or group.

田中さん達 Tanaka & their family 智子さん達 Tomoko & their group

名前
Japanese use ​family names​ first, & their ​given name (first name)​ last.

Family Name Given (First) Name

山口 (Yamaguchi) 栄子 (Eiko)
中村 (Nakamura) 友美 (Tomomi)

When Japanese introduce themselves to each other, they say the family name first.
Japanese prefer family names, not given names. Japanese adults rarely use their given name.
Even among friends, family names are the rule, given names are the exception. Unless a
Japanese specifically asks you to use their given name, you should use their family name.
敬称
The Japanese word that corresponds to English ​Mr.​, ​Mrs.​, ​Miss​, & ​Ms. is「さん」. The
Japanese always use「さん」(or other, more formal titles of respect) with proper names. Even
among family members or close personal friends who use first names with each other,「さん」
follows the name. Be sure to use「さん」in direct address (when speaking directly to someone),
& when referring to someone else. ​Never​ use「さん」to refer to yourself.

田中さん、コーヒーはいかがですか？ Mr. Tanaka, would you like some coffee?

中村さん、今日学校にいますか？ Is Mary at school today?

But note the following:

私はスミス・ジョンです。 I’m John Smith.

敬語
The prefix「お」before certain nouns expresses ​politeness (this is also used with verbs
& adjectives).

名前、お名前 Name

酒、お酒 Rice wine

箸、お箸 Chopsticks

金、お金 Money

風呂、お風呂 Bath

手紙、お手紙 Letter

A variation of this for is「ご」, which is used with words of Chinese origin.

本、ご本 Book

結婚、ご結婚 Marriage

Some words are ​always used with the polite prefix. The「お」and「ご」are now part of
the words.

お茶 Tea

ご飯 Cooked rice
複合名詞
When two nouns are used together to make a ​compound noun, they are usually joined by
the particle「の」.

歴史のクラス History class

英語の先生 English teacher

アパートのビル Apartment Building

Some compound nouns may be formed without the「の」, however.

コーヒー茶碗 Coffee cup

観光バス Tour bus

貿易会社 Trading company

名詞の接尾辞
● The suffix「屋」, when added to a noun, means that place or shop where that thing is
sold, or the person or shopkeeper who sells it.

肉 Meat

本 Book

カメラ Camera

肉屋 Butcher, Butcher shop

本屋 Bookstore, Clerk, Owner

カメラ屋 Camera shop, Clerk, Owner

● When referring to the clerk or shopkeeper, the title「さん」is used:

肉屋さん Butcher

カメラ屋さん Camera shop clerk

 ● The suffix「家」, when added to a noun, means a person with expertise or special
knowledge on that subject.

政治 Politics

評論 Commentary

小説 Novel

芸術 Art

政治家 Politician

評論家 Critic, commentator

小説家 Novelist

芸術家 Artist

代名詞

代名詞とは何ですか？
A ​pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Here are some common English
pronouns: ​I​, ​you​, ​he​, ​she​, ​it​, ​we​, ​they​. These are personal pronouns used as ​subjects.​ Other
common English pronouns are ​me​, ​him​, ​her​, ​us​, ​them​. These are personal pronouns used as
objects​. ​You & ​it​, or course, may be subjects or objects. In addition to these, there are other
kinds of pronouns, such as ​possessive (​mine​, ​yours​, ​his​, etc.), ​demonstrative (​this​, ​that​), &
interrogative​ (​who​, ​where​, ​what​, etc.).

人称代名詞
Japanese pronoun usage is quite different from that of English. ​Personal pronouns in
Japanese refer to people, not things or ideas. Japanese has no equivalent to the English “​it​” in
this category.

When the meaning can be understood from the context, the Japanese prefer not to
use personal pronouns.
 Singular (Japanese) Singular (English) Plural (Japanese) Plural (English)

私 I, me 私達 We, us
あなた達・あなた
あなた You You, You (polite)
方
They, them (all male
彼 He, him 彼ら
or male & female)

They, them (female),

彼女 She, her 彼女達・彼女ら
They, them (female)

Special Usage
● Avoid using「あなた」whenever possible. When speaking to someone directly, try to
use the person’s name &「さん」instead.

スミスさん、何を買いましたか？ Mr. Smith, what did (you) buy?

● When speaking to a teacher, a doctor, a dentist, or a member of the Diet (the Japanese
legislature), use the word「先生」, either along or after the person’s last name.「先
生」, which literally means “teacher,” may also be used with others not listed above. A
teacher can be one who has achieved success or earned respect in their field. You can use
「先生」, for example, to address an artist, writer, architect, musician, or other talented
person.

先生、お元気ですか？ Sir (teacher), how are you?

● If you are speaking to a group, you can use「皆さん」to express “you (plural).”

皆さん、おはようございます！ Good morning, everyone!

● Whenever possible, when referring to a third person, use the person’s name instead of
「彼」or「彼女」.
● Several other terms can be used instead of the pronouns「彼」,「彼女」, & their plural
forms. The Japanese prefer these:

Singular Singular (English) Plural Plural (English)

あの人 That person あの人達 Those people

あの方 That person (polite) あの方々 Those people (polite)
 昨日、あの人に会いましたか？ Did you see him (that person) yesterday?

あの方々は昨日いらっしゃいました。 They (those people) were here yesterday.

Case
Case refers to the form of a pronoun which shows its relationship to other words in a
sentence.

In English, the personal pronouns have three cases: the ​nominative (used for the subject
of a sentence or clause), the ​objective (used for the object of a sentence, indirect object, or object
of a preposition), & the ​possessive (showing ownership). English has a different set of personal
pronouns for each of these cases.

In Japanese, the personal pronouns function with all three cases, but the words stay the
same. The case is shown by a ​particle,​ or postpoition, that comes after the pronoun. Note that in
the following examples of how one pronoun,「私」, is used for different grammatical functions,
the topic marker「は」, rather than the subject marker「が」, is preferred. The underlined word
is the topic, & the bolded word is the marker in the following examples.

私​は​今付きました。 I just arrived.

メリーさんは、​私​を​知っています。 Mary knows me.

これが​私​の​家です。 This is my house

疑問代名詞
Although some are pronouns & some are other parts of speech in Japanese, these are all
interrogative words:

誰 Who

どう How

どこ Where (place)

どの Which, what

どんな What kind of

どのくらい How far, how long

どちら Where, which (direction, preference)

どれ Which (persons, things)

どっち Which (of two choices)

どなた Which person, who (polite)

どうして Why

なぜ Why

何 What

何人 How many people

いくら How much

いくつ How many

いつ When

誰か Someone

誰も No one

どなたか Someone (polite)

どなたも No one (polite

どれか Something

どれも Nothing

どこか Somewhere

どこも Nowhere

何か Something

何も Nothing

いくらか Some, a litte

いくらも Not much

なんでも Anything

なんにも Nothing
 ● Note that some expressions listed take negative ​verbs​ in order to take a ​negative​ ​meaning​.

誰か来ました。 Someone came.

誰も来ませんでした。 No one came.

指示代名詞
The ​demonstrative words (some are pronouns & some are adjective or adverbs) form a
pattern of prefixes:

こ Here​ — Close to speaker

そ There​ — Away from speaker

あ Over there​ — Distanced away from speaker

ど Question

The last one,「ど」, can be seen in「疑問代名詞」. Here are the rest:

「こ」Here 「そ」There 「あ」Over there

Pronoun これ (This) それ (That) あれ (That)

Adjective この (This) その (That) あの(That)

Adjective こんな (This kind of) そんな (That kind of) あんな (That kind of)

Adverb こう (In this manner) そう (In that manner) あう (In that manner)
Adverb, Pronoun
ここ (Here) そこ (There) あそこ (Over there)
(Plain)

Adverb, Pronoun
こちら (Here, this) そちら (There, that) あちら (There, that)
(Polite)

関係代名詞
The ​relative pronouns in English are ​who​, whom​, whose​, which​, where​, & ​that​.
Because relative clauses in Japanese precede, rather than follow, the words they modify,
Japanese does not have words that correspond to these pronouns.

今日​ついた​人は​山田さんです​。 The man​ who ​arrived​ ​today​ ​is Mr.Yamada​.

 Notice that the Japanese sentence has no word to correspond to the relative pronoun
“who” in the English language.

再帰代名詞
The ​reflexive pronouns in English are words such as ​myself​, yourself​, himself​,
yourselves​, & so forth. Japanese has only one word to correspond to these pronouns. You might
call it an all-purpose reflexive pronoun. Its meaning is both singular & plural, masculine &
feminine. It can be used for humans & for warm-blooded animals. It cannot be used for fish,
reptiles, insects, or inanimate objects.

自分 One’s self

「自分」is commonly followed by particles such as「で」or「の」.

自分で行きます。 I’m going myself

自分でしなさい。 Do it yourself

自分のことは自分でしなさい。 Do your own work by yourself.

メリーさんは、自分で勉強しています。 Mary is studying by herself.

助詞