会話 Dialogue 4

In the office, Michael has just finished creating a file.

単語 Vocabulary

文法 Grammar Notes

7-4-1 ~te itadakemasen kaMore on Requests

We have learned how to request things using kudasai and onegai-shimasu.

We will now add a slightly more polite way of asking, itadakemasen ka, which means ‘can’t I have X?’So, you can request for coffee in the following three ways.

コーヒー、ください。Koohii kudasai.

ねが
コーヒー、お願いします。Koohii onegai-shimasu.

コーヒー、いただけませんか。Kohii itadakemasne ka.

When requesting an action, you have leaned to use a ~te form alone (informal) or a ~te form plus kudasai. You can also substitute itadakemasen ka for kudasai to make a more polite request. So, you can ask for help in the following three ways now.

てつだ
手伝って。Tetsudatte.

てつだ
手伝ってください。Tetsudatte kudasai.

てつだ
手伝っていただけませんか。Tetsudatte itadakemasen ka.

These are the most common request forms in Japanese, but there are many more—dozens, perhaps. It’s important to choose a right request form for each situation. The choice is made based on the elements such as the relationship between the speakers, the nature of the request you are making, the setting, etc.

7-4-2 Relative Time Words

Time expressions such as san-ji ‘3 o’clock’ and mik-ka ‘the 3rd’ indicate specific times. In contrast, expressions such as kyou ‘today’ and ima ‘now’ refer to relative times defined by their relationship to the timing of an utterance. These relative time words usually do not require the time particle に while specific time expressions do.

あした、します。Ashita shimasu.I’ll do it tomorrow.

ど よ う び
土曜日に、します。Doyoubi ni shimasu. I’ll do it on Saturday.

In the chart below, note the regular elements such as mai~ 毎 ‘every X’, sensen~ 先々‘X before last’, sen~ 先 ‘last X’, kon~ 今’this X’, rai~ 来‘next X’, sarai~ 再来‘X after next’. Watch out for the irregular items, marked in yellow below.

Relative Time Words

7-4-3 来月からのスケジュール Noun + Particle as a Noun Phrase

A noun + certain particles can constitute a noun phrase. The particles include kara, made, de, e, and to. Just like a regular noun phrase, the resulting combination can be followed by desu and its variants and can be connected to another noun by particle no.

イギリスからです。 Igirisu kara desu.It is from England.

とも
友だちとじゃないです。 Tomodachi to ja nai desu.It’s not with a friend.

イギリスからのおみやげ Igirisu kara no omiyagea souvenir from England

ともりょこう
友だちとの旅行です。 Tomodachi to no ryokou desu. It’s a trip with a friend.

Note the difference in the following:

らいげつしゅっちょう

来月から 出 張 です。Raigetsu kara shucchou desu.

From next moth, I have a business trip.

らいげつしゅっちょう

来月からの 出 張 です。Raigetsukara no shucchou desu.

It is [a business trip from next month].

The first sentence answers the question of ‘what does your schedule look like?, for example, while the second one answers ‘which business trip are you talking about ?’