Lesson 2.4
Dialogue 4 
Michael checks the schedule.
Michael: Doyou to nichiyou wa yasumi desu ne. We’re off on Sat. and Sun., right?
どよう にちよう やす
土曜と日曜は休みですね?
Honda: Mochiron desu. Of course.
もちろんです。
Michael: Ajia ginkou no apo wa getsuyoubi deshita ne. The appointment with Bank of Asia was on Mon. right?
ぎんこう げつようび
アジア銀行のアポは、月曜日でしたね。
Honda: E? Kayoubi ja nakatta desu ka. Huh? Wasn’t it on Tues?
かようび
え？ 火曜日じゃなかったですか。
Michael: Aa, sou deshita ne! Sumimasen. Oh, that’s right! Sorry.
ああ、そうでしたね。すみません。
Vocabulary 
doyou(bi) どよう（び）土曜日 Saturday
to と and
nichiyou(bi) にちよう（び）日曜日 Sunday
mochiron もちろん of course
apo あぽアポ appointment
getsuyoubi げつようび月曜日 Monday
deshita でした was (the Past form of desu)
e え？What? Oh? (Surprise/‘Couldn’t hear’)
kayoubi かようび火曜日 Tuesday
X ja nakatta desu ka X じゃなかったですか Wasn’t it X?
＋itsu いつ when
＋jugyou じゅぎょう授業 class
＋shukudai しゅくだい宿題 homework
＋shiken しけん試験 exam
＋kaigi かいぎ会議 meeting, conference
＋orienteishon おりえんていしょんオリエンテーション orientation
＋purezen ぷれぜんプレゼン presentation
＋hon ほん本 book
＋kyoukasho きょうかしょ教科書 textbook
＋manga まんが manga, comic, anime
＋anime あにめアニメ anime
＋nooto のおとノート notebook
＋kami かみ紙 paper
＋enpitsu えんぴつ鉛筆 pencil
＋pen ぺんペン pen
Days of the Week Youbi 
nichi-youbi にちようび日曜日 Sunday
getsu-youbi げつようび月曜日 Monday
ka-youbi かようび火曜日 Tuesday
sui-youbi すいようび水曜日 Wednesday
moku-youbi もくようび木曜日 Thursday
kin-youbi きんようび金曜日 Friday
do-youbi どようび土曜日 Saturday
nan-youbi なんようび何曜日 what day of the week
Grammar Notes
2-4-1 Days of the Week
Youbi indicates days of the week. There are three variations for each day of the week.
getsu, getsu-you, getsu-youbi
The longer, the more formal. Abbreviations like the following are also very common.
Getsu-sui-kin Mon-Wed-Fri
Kaa-moku Tue-Thurs.
Do-nichi Sat-Sun
The question word nan-youbi ‘what day of the week’ cannot be used to ask ‘what day of the month’, which will be introduced later.
2-4-2 Noun to Noun
/X to Y/ means ‘X and Y’. Unlike English ‘and’, which can connect various elements including adjectives, verbs, or sentences, the particle to can only connect nouns or noun phrases.
Nihon to America – Japan and America
Asia Ginkou no Oda-san to J-Netto no Sumisu-san – Mr. Oda from Asia Bank and Mr. Smith from J-Net
Kayoubi to mokuyoubi no jugyou – classes on Tuesday and Thursday
Kono nihongo no kyoukasho to ano hon – this Japanese textbook and that book
Like other particles, to follows a noun, and when pronouncing, there is no pause between the noun and to (in English, you can pause before ‘and.’) There is no limit to the number of nouns connected, but it’s rare for an adult speaker to list more than three or four.
2-4-3 The Past Form of /X desu/X deshita, X ja nakatta desu
The forms of /X desu/ including the Non-Past, Past, Affirmative and Negative are shown in the chart below. Make sure you do not use deshita in the Past Negative form.
Table 3. Conjugation of non-past and past-forms of -desu in the affirmative and negative.
|
|
Affirmative |
Negative |
|
Non-past |
Nihongo desu. It’s Japanese. |
Nihongo ja nai desu. It’s not Japanese. |
|
Past |
Nihongo deshita. It was Japanese. |
Nihongo ja nakatta desu. It wasn’t Japanese. |
The Past forms are also used to express recollection of information, even when it is information about an event scheduled in the future.
Kaigi wa ashita deshita ne. The meeting was tomorrow, right?
–Iya, asatte ja nakatta desu ka? No, wasn’t it the day after tomorrow?
Drills and Exercises
A.
Cue: Kyou wa getsuyoubi desu ne. Today is Monday, right? 
Response: E? Kayoubi ja nai desu ka? What? Isn’t it Tuesday?
Cue: Kyou wa Mokuyoubi desu ne. Today is Thursday, right?
Response: E? Kinyoubi ja nai desu ka? What? Isn’t it Friday?
B.
Cue: Kinou wa ame deshita ne. It rained yesterday, right? 
Response: Ee, ame ja nakatta desu ka. Yes, didn’t it rain?
Cue: Shike wa getsuyou deshita ne.The exam was Monday, right? Response: Ee, getsuyou ja nakatta desu ka.Yes, wasn’t it on Mon.?
C. Say it in Japanese.
You are talking about last week’s meeting. Ask the following:
- When was it?
- What day of the week was it?
- What time was it?
- Where was it?
- Which country was it (held in)?
- Which company was it (held at)?
- Who was the teacher?
- Of what nationality was the teacher?
- In what language was it?
- Which textbook was it (that was used)?
Emily is looking at the course catalog. Ask her:
- What days of the week are the Japanese classes scheduled on?
- What time are they scheduled at?
- Who is the instructor?
- Is homework due everyday?
- What time is the Tuesday orientation for exchange students scheduled at?
You’ve been asked the above questions. Reply:
- It’s Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
- Aren’t they at nine and eleven thirty?
- The instructors are Japanese and American. The Japanese teacher is Prof. Sato, but I do not know the name of the American teacher.
- Of course, it’s everyday, I tell you.
- The Tuesday orientation is at 10:30, but the sophomores do not go.
D. Act in Japanese.
- Find out from the teacher what day of the week the Japanese exam is scheduled and what time.
- You’ve just been told that there is an exam today! Express your surprise.
- You need to write down something. Ask for paper and a pen.
- A coworker is wondering about yesterday’s weather. You remember that it rained yesterday. Let him know.
- You have an appointment with a business associate this week. Confirm with her that it is at ten o’clock on Thursday. Make sure you thank her in advance for the appointments.
