adverbs can only be used with an affirmative predicate (past & nonpast).
| Adverb | Meaning | |
| tokidoki | sometimes | |
| totemo | very, a lot | |
| itsumo | always | |
| kanari | quite | |
| chotto | a little | |
| The following adverbs can only be used with a negative predicate (past & non-past). | ||
| Adverb | Meaning | |
| zenzen | not at all, never, in no way | |
| amari, anmari | not very | |
| The following adverb can be used with either affirmative or negative predicates. | ||
| Adverb | Meaning | |
| taitei | usually | |
| Adverbs are usually placed directly before the adjectives they modify. | ||
| Example: | Totemo omoshiroi desu. = It is very interesting. Ano eiga wa anmari omoshiroku nai. = That movie is not very interesting. |
Don’t make the mistake in thinking that zenzen and amari with a negative predicate constitute a double negative. Those adverbs by themselves will not make a negative sentence. The sentence is not negative until the predicate is put in negative form.
Try this exercise. You may use either formal or plain forms of the adjective.
1. It is very interesting. _____________________
2. I’m not busy at all. _____________________
3. It doesn’t taste very good. _____________________
4. It’s always fun. _____________________
5. It’s not hot at all. _____________________
6. Sometimes it’s expensive. _____________________
7. It’s not difficult at all. _____________________
8. It’s usually cool. _____________________
9. It’s quite warm. _____________________
10. It wasn’t very early. _____________________
11. Sometimes they’re cheap. _____________________
12. I was very busy. _____________________
13. It’s not very easy. _____________________
14. It was quite far. _____________________
15. Sometimes it’s good. _____________________
16. It was quite bad. _____________________
17. It’s always good. _____________________
18. It’s not very old. _____________________
19. They’re quite new. _____________________
20. It’s not at all interesting. _____________________
21. It’s a little large. _____________________
22. It’s quite cold. _____________________
23. It was always expensive. _____________________
24. It was a little old. _____________________
25. I wasn’t busy at all. _____________________
There are many adverbs in Japanese other than the ones presented here. When you come across a new one, find out whether it can be used with only affirmative, only negative, or both types of sentences.
5. Other Adjectives
If you have completed all the exercises so far, you are probably an expert at changing adjectives to the negative present, the past tense and the negative past tense. The manner in which you have changed the adjectives listed so far in this workbook is the same for any adjective in Japanese. Following is a list of some other adjectives in Japanese. By following the rules you have mastered in the previous pages, you should be able to handle the exercises without any difficulty.
| abunai | = | dangerous |
| akai | = | red |
| aoi | = | blue |
| itai | = | painful |
| kawaii | = | cute (objects, people, animals) |
| kibishii | = | strict |
| kitanai | = | dirty |
| kowai | = | scary |
| kuroi | = | black |
| kuwashii | = | detailed |
| mazushii | = | poor (economic status) |
| mezurashii | = | unusual |
| mushiatsui | = | hot and humid |
| sabishii | = | lonely |
| shiroi | = | white |
| subarashii | = | fantastic |
| sugoi | = | awesome |
| tsuyoi | = | strong |
| ureshii | = | happy |
| urusai | = | noisy, annoying |
| utsukushii | = | beautiful |
| wakai | = | young |
Now, referring to the list above, see if you can figure out what the following sentences mean. Look up any new nouns in the glossary.
1. Watashi no Nihongo no sensei wa kibishii desu.
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2. Sugokatta!
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3. Kuruma wa akakatta desu.
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4. Tookyoo no natsu wa totemo mushiatsui desu.
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5. Haha wa wakaku arimasen.
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6. Setsumei wa zenzen kuwashiku nakatta.
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7. Ano inu wa kowaku arimasen.
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8. Kyoo no tenki wa subarashikatta desu.
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