5. Although you’ve never visited Alaska in mid-January, what comment could you reasonably make about the weather at that time of year?
_________________________________________
6. Your friends are discussing Hanako’s new 2-carat engagement ring. What comment could you make about its price?
_________________________________________
7. Toshio tells you that earlier that day, he played 5 sets of tennis when the temperature was 95 degrees in the shade. What would be an appropriate verbal reaction on your part?
_________________________________________
8. What comment could be made about the volume of business in June at a store specializing in skiing equipment?
8. Straddling the Fence
Very often you will hear the particle wa inserted between the -ku form and any negative form. Look at this brief exchange:
Q: Kono terebi wa takakatta desu ka?
A: Iie. Takaku wa nakatta desu.
In response to the question, Was this TV expensive? the speaker answers, No. It wasn’t what one would call expensive. The speaker’s answer does not mean, however, that the TV was inexpensive. The wa particle in this case is used to “straddle the fence” as the speaker wants to say that although the item in question was not expensive, he does not want to go so far as to say that it was cheap.
Other ways to think of this pattern in English would be:
It’s not exactly what you’d call expensive.
I wouldn’t say that it was expensive.
This construction may be used with any negative form:
atsuku wa arimasen
atsuku wa nai desu
atsuku wa nai
atsuku wa arimasen deshita
atsuku wa nakatta desu
atsuku wa nakatta
Answer these questions using the wa particle to “qualify” the negative. It is not necessary to repeat the subject if it is understood. Give the English equivalent of your answer.
1. Kono terebi wa ii desu ne. Takakatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
(Eng.)___________________________________
2. Sono suupu wa oishii desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
3. Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
4. Sono shoosetsu wa omoshiroi desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
5. Kyoo wa isogashikatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
6. Natsu wa atsukatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
7. Anata no uchi wa hiroi desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
8. Mizu wa tsumetai deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
9. Yama wa tooi deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
10. Sono sensei wa warui desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
11. Kono suupaa no yasai wa atarashii deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
12. Sono depaato wa yasui desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
13. Sono eiga wa omoshirokatta deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
14. Kono jisho wa furui desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
15. Sono basu wa hayakatta deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
9. Soo Desu
The use of soo desu following the plain form of an adjective differs from the soo desu meaning it’s true, that’s correct, etc. The soo desu we are going to look at here is used to report hearsay as in, I understand that it ..., I hear that ..., I heard that....
This construction is made by adding soo desu to a plain form of the adjective in both the past, non-past, affirmative, and negative depending on what you want your sentence to mean.
| Example: | Samui soo desu. | = | I understand it is cold. |
| Samuku nai soo desu. | = | I understand it isn’t cold. | |
| Samukatta soo desu. | = | I understand it was cold. | |
| Samuku nakatta soo desu. | = | I understand it wasn’t cold. |
Notice that desu is not changed to the past or negative. Those issues have already been taken care of by the adjective preceding soo desu. The use of the plain form is a requirement before soo desu and does not mean that the sentence is informal.
Write the meaning of the following in Japanese. Do not translate subject pronouns such
