Lesson 10 心得 Can Do’s and Cannot Do
Lesson 10.3
Dialogue 3 会話 3
Mrs. Yamamoto explains recycling.
Yamamoto: Sore wa sutete wa ikemasen yo.
す
それは、捨ててはいけませんよ。You shouldn’t throw those away.
Michael: Kono bin ya kan mo?
かん
このビンや缶も？ Do you mean these bottles and cans, too?
Yamamoto: Onaji desu. Mottainai deshou?
おな
同じです。もったいないでしょう？Same. It would be wasteful, wouldn’t it?
Michael: Nan de mo risaikuru-suru n desu nee.
なん
何でもリサイクルするんですねえ。 You recycle everything, don’t you?
Vocabulary
suteru すてる 捨てる throw away, discard
ikenai いけない won’t do; bad; mustn’t do
sutete wa ikenai すててはいけない 捨てては行けない should not throw away
bin びん ビン bottle; jar
kan かん 缶 can
＋petto botoru ペットボトル plastic bottle
＋gomi ごみ trash
＋gomibako ごみばこ ゴミ箱 trash can
onaji おなじ 同じ same
(a noun: no no or na is required to modify a noun: onaji namae ‘same name’)
＋chigau ちがう 違う is different; is wrong
(an U-verb: chigaimasu, chigawanai, chigatta: chigau namae ‘different name’)
mottai nai もったいない wasteful; sacrilegious
x de mo X でも even X
nan demo なんでも 何でも anything
risaikuru リサイクル recycle
Grammar Notes
10-3-1 Expressing Prohibition ‘Must not’
The /X~te + wa/ pattern proposes a condition ‘if you do X’. When followed by ikenai/ ikemasen ‘it cannot go’ or ‘it won’t do’, it expresses prohibition ‘it’s no good if you do X’ or ‘you must not do X’.
Sutete wa ikemasen. It’s no good if you throw it away.
Shashin o totte wa ikenai. It’s no good if you take pictures.
In addition to ikenai, other negative expressions such as dame, yoku nai, shitsurei, etc. sometimes follow the /~te wa/ pattern.
Mada mite wa dame. You must not look yet.
Osoku denwa-shite wa shitsurei desu. It’s rude to call late.
In casual speech, the following sound contractions often occur:
/te wa/ à /cha(a) / and /de wa/ à /ja(a) /
sutete wa ikenai à sutecha(a) ikenai You must not throw it away.
nonde wa ikenai à nonja(a) ikenai You must not drink it.
Note that permission and prohibition are the ‘yin and yang’ of the rule, so to speak.
In many contexts, the /~te mo ii/ and /~te wa ikenai/ express opposite sides of the same rule.
Tabako suttee mo ii desu ka. May I smoke?
-Iya, sutte wa ikemasen. No, you mustn’t.
Be aware that prohibiting someone from doing something may be rude in some situations. Use more indirect patterns in such cases including chotto, sumimasen kedo…, and negative requests.
Tabako suttee mo ii desu ka? May I smoke?
-Chotto…
-Anoo, sumimasen kedo….
-Sumimasen kedo, suwanai de itadakemasen ka.
-Moushiwake arimasen kedo, goenryo kudasaimasen ka.
10-3-2 Noun de mo
We learned earlier that de mo placed before a sentence means ‘However’ or ‘But’. It comes from ‘Soo de mo,’ which literally means ‘even if it is so.’ This is the noun version of the /~te mo/ pattern, which is introduced in Dialogue 2 above. Now, the combination of /de mo/ is attached to a noun as if it’s a particle and /X de mo/ means ‘even X’
Kodomo de mo wakarimasu. Even children can understand it.
Obentoo de mo ii desu yo. Even a bento is fine.
When combined with a question word, it means ‘any X’ or ‘every X’.
Nan de mo risaikuru-shimasu. We recycle anything (and everything.)
Dare demo shitte imasu. Any person knows it.
Itsu de mo ii desu yo. Any time is fine.
This pattern contrasts with /Question word +ka/, which was introduced earlier and means ‘some X’.
some X any and every X
nani ka something nan de mo anything dare ka someone dare demo anyone doko ka somewhere doko demo anywhere itsu ka sometime itsu demo anytime
Nani ka tabe ni ikanai? Would you like to go and eat something?
–Un, nan de mo ii yo. Sure. Anything is fine.
Itsu ka denwa shimasu. I’ll call you sometime.
–Itsu de mo shite kudasai. Please call me anytime.
Drills and Excercise
Cue and Response
Cue: 捨ててもいいですか。 May I throw it away?
Response: いえ、捨てては行けませんよ。 No, you must not.
Cue: タバコ、吸ってもいいですか。 May I smoke?
Response: いえ、吸ってはいけませんよ。 No, you must not.
Cue: 何をリサイクルしますか。 What do you recycle?
Response: 何でも、リサイクルしますよ。 We recycle anything.
Cue: いつ会えますか。 When can we meet?
Response: いつでも会えますよ。 We can meet anytime.
Say it in Japanese
Tell an intern the following:
- It’s no good if you are late for the appointment.
- It’s no good if you forget the name of the company president.
- It’s no good if you go home earlier than the section chief.
- It’s no good if you rush the report. Take your time.
- It’s no good if you drink any more beer.
You are visiting a factory. Tell your group what the tour guide said.
- We must not take pictures inside.
- We must not smoke inside. Go outside to smoke.
- We must not use cellphones inside.
- We must not park in front of the building. Park in the back.
- We must not litter. Use the garbage can at the exit.
Act in Japanese
- Ask a landlord how to dispose of the garbage. How about cans, bottles, and plastic bottles?
- A co-worker is about to throw away all the extra bento from the lunch meeting. What would you say?
- You are desperate to have help with the project. Tell the Division chief you need help and you don’t care who, when, where, what kind of job, how many people, etc.
- Discuss the recycling policies in your community; the laws regarding drinking, driving, and drinking and driving in your country. What should they be in your opinion?
- Discuss what you were prohibited from doing as a child. How about now?
