Learn Japanese – The Complete Video Series (presented by becauseofdreams) - Basic Japanese Sentence Structure (How-to Form a Simple Sentence in Japanese)

Basic Japanese Sentence Structure (How-to Form a Simple Sentence in Japanese)

Basic Japanese Sentence Structure (How-to Form a Simple Sentence in Japanese)

English:
S-V-O
SUBJECT – VERB – OBJECT
“I drink juice.”

Japanese:
S-O-V
SUBJECT – OBJECT – VERB
“I juice drink.”
私はジュースを飲む。
(”Watashi wa juice o nomu.”)

The English language doesn’t have as many particles as the Japanese language when it comes to simple sentences, but it does have some. We much more commonly refer to them as prepositions, because they denote something about the word they are right before and that something they denote is a relation to another part of the sentence. For example, when we hear the English particle “from,” we automatically have an idea of what the word right after it is going to be. Maybe a place, a time, or a noun. We also know that it definitely isn’t going to be a verb, because that would be grammatically incorrect.

Particles in the Japanese language work in the same way, except they’re indicative of the word right before it instead of right after it. They also have a wider range of word types they apply to, e.g. the word could be a subject, an object, a location, etc. We also have multiple options for particles to choose from for certain word types.
は (wa) – the topic marker (can also be used to mark the subject)
が (ga) – the subject marker
を (o) – the direct object marker
に (ni) and へ (e) – the destination/location (either can be used but not both at the same time)

The word type that most apparently doesn’t have a particle-or particles, associated with it are the verb actions of the sentence; this is probably because the verb action almost always appears at the end of the sentence or clause so there’s not as much a need to distinguish it with a particle.

So, sentences having a topic as well as a subject is something that is 100% unique to the Japanese language, at least if we’re just comparing Japanese to the English language. And what it is is pretty much just that, the topic of the sentence. If we were to literally translate it, it would be something like “Speaking of X,” or “As for X,” and then whatever the rest of the sentence is would come right after that.

The topic doesn’t necessarily replace the subject of the sentence. There can be a sentence with a topic, a subject, and an object.
But in some cases it can replace the subject.

“I juice drink.”
TOPIC/SUBJECT – OBJECT – VERB
私はジュースを飲む。
(”Watashi wa juice o nomu.”)
*The topic marker は is used to mark “I,” which makes it not only the subject but also the topic.

The topic can even replace the object of the sentence.
テレビは子供が見る。
(”Terebi wa kodomo ga miru.”)
“Speaking of television, children watch (it).”
TOPIC/OBJECT – SUBJECT – VERB

More Example(s):
彼女は家に帰りました。
Kanojo wa uchi ni kaerimashita.
“She went home.”
[SUBJECT-LOCATION-VERB]

幽霊を見た。
Yuurei o mita.
“(I) saw a ghost.”
[(SUBJECT)-OBJECT-VERB]

壁が壊れた。
Kabe g kowareta.
“The wall broke./The wall gave in.”
[SUBJECT-VERB]

コンピューターを買う。
Computer o kau.
“(I) will buy a computer”
[(SUBJECT)-OBJECT-VERB]

✧¸¸.•*¨*• •*¨*•.¸¸✧

Interested in learning Japanese with anime?

LEARNING JAPANESE – THE COMPLETE VIDEO SERIES
200+ Video lessons on Japanese grammar to help anyone at any level learn Japanese from scratch!

✧¸¸.•*¨*• •*¨*•.¸¸✧

VISIT OUR OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
http://learnjapanese.becauseofdreams.com

*The #01. source for the most complete and updated information on all lessons. Also includes many other invaluable resources such as downloads for scripts, importable flashcard text files, infographics, charts, and more!

SUPPORT LEARNING JAPANESE ON PATREON!
Need more videos? Please consider becoming a patron to support the continuation of this video series and the development of our curriculum!
https://www.patreon.com/learningjapanese

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LIVE UPDATES!
stay up to date with the newest videos as well as gain access to additional content such as articles, recommended resources, kanji lessons, Japanese Phrase and Words of the Day, vocabulary lists, and more!

FACEBOOK:
http://fb.me/LearnJPBOD

TUMBLR:
http://learnjapanesebod.tumblr.com/

TWITTER
Tweets by LearnJPBOD

Need conversation partners to practice speaking Japanese with?
Have questions that need immediate replies?

JOIN FELLOW LEARNERS ON OUR DISCORD SERVER COMMUNITY!
http://learnjapanese.becauseofdreams.com/discord/

✧¸¸.•*¨*• •*¨*•.¸¸✧

This video series is presented by becauseofdreams
http://becauseofdreams.com/

All media presented in this video is created and owned by becauseofdreams or is used as supplemental material to the main educational content with no malicious copyright infringement intended.

*Please leave a comment below if you notice any possible errors so that we may make proper notes and revisions for future viewers.