Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar

729 Pages·2013·3.647 MB·English

by  Stefan Kaiser, Yasuko Ichikawa, Noriko Kobayashi, Hilofumi Yamamoto

Japanese
A Comprehensive Grammar
Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to
modern Japanese grammar.
Accessible and systematic, it explores the complexities of the language
thoroughly, filling many gaps left by other textbooks.
Clear grammar points are put in context using examples from a range of
Japanese media. The emphasis is firmly on contemporary Japanese as
spoken and written by native speakers.
Key features of the book include:
• coverage of colloquial and standard Japanese
• extensive cross-referencing
• detailed index of Japanese and English terms
• up-to-date real examples of current usage
• greater emphasis on structures that learners find particularly confusing.
Written by experts in their fields, Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar
will prove a lasting and reliable resource for all learners of Japanese.
Stefan Kaiser is Special Professor at Kokugakuin University, Japan, and
Emeritus Professor at the University of Tsukuba, Japan.
Yasuko Ichikawa was previously Professor at the International Center,
University of Tokyo, Japan.
Noriko Kobayashi was previously Professor at the University of Tsukuba,
Japan.
Hilofumi Yamamoto is Associate Professor at the Tokyo Institute of
Technology, Japan.
Routledge Comprehensive Grammars
Comprehensive Grammars are available for the following languages:
Bengali
Cantonese
Catalan
Chinese
Danish
Dutch
Greek
Indonesian
Modern Welsh
Modern Written Arabic
Polish
Slovene
Swedish
Turkish
Ukrainian
Japanese
A Comprehensive Grammar
Second edition
Stefan Kaiser,
Yasuko Ichikawa,
Noriko Kobayashi and
Hilofumi Yamamoto
First published 2001
by Routledge
Second edition published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Stefan Kaiser, Yasuko Ichikawa, Noriko Kobayashi,
Hilofumi Yamamoto
The right of Stefan Kaiser, Yasuko Ichikawa, Noriko Kobayashi and
Hilofumi Yamamoto to be identified as authors of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Japanese : a comprehensive grammar / Stefan Kaiser . . . [et al.].
p. cm. – (Routledge comprehensive grammars)
Text in English and Japanese.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Japanese language–Grammar. I. Kaiser, Stefan.
PL533.J36 2012
495.6′82421–dc23
2012014794
ISBN: 978-0-415-68739-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-68737-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-08519-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon and Gill Sans
by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Contents
List of tables xxiv
Symbols and abbreviations used in the text xxv
Acknowledgements xxvii
Introduction 1
A note on romanization 2
1 Nouns 4
1.1 Types of noun 4
1.1.1 Native-Japanese (NJ) nouns 5
1.1.2 Sino-Japanese (SJ) nouns 5
1.1.3 Western-Japanese (WJ) nouns 6
1.2 Apposition of nouns and noun reduplication 7
1.2.1 Apposition of nouns 7
1.2.2 Noun reduplication 8
1.3 Plural suffixes 9
1.3.1 -domo 9
1.3.2 -gata 9
1.3.3 -ra 10
1.3.4 -tachi 11
1.4 Personal nouns: addressing family and others 13
1.4.1 Family address 14
1.4.2 Family reference 14
1.4.3 Non-family address 18
1.4.4 Personal suffixes 18
1.5 Animate and inanimate nouns 20
1.6 Relational nouns and structural nouns 21
1.6.1 Relational nouns 21 v
1.6.2 Structural nouns 26
Contents 1.7 Time nouns 26
1.7.1 toki 26
1.7.2 koro 27
1.7.3 -goro 28
1.8 Honorific and humble nouns 29
1.8.1 Nouns referring to a person 29
1.8.2 Nouns referring to a person’s actions or
belongings 30
1.8.3 Nouns used as euphemisms 30
1.8.4 Nouns used when speaking to children
(“motherese”) 31
1.9 Verbal nouns 31
1.9.1 Sino-Japanese/Western-Japanese/
Native-Japanese suru nouns 31
1.9.2 Using verb-stem of many verbs 32
1.10 Nominalizing suffixes 32
1.10.1 Adjective into noun 33
1.10.2 Verb → noun 35
2 Case particles 38
2.1 ga 38
2.1.1 With one-place verb/adjective 39
2.1.2 With ellipted ga 39
2.1.3 With ellipted predicate 39
2.1.4 ga in potential sentences 40
2.1.5 ga in desiderative sentences 40
2.1.6 ga in passive sentences 41
2.1.7 ga marking the preceding subject
noun/noun phrase 42
2.1.8 ga in comparative/superlative sentences:
marking the preferred item (= subject) 42
2.1.9 ga attached to question word in subject
position 43
2.1.10 (Noun ni) ga aru/iru: ga in existential/
locational sentences 44
2.1.11 ga in ‘double-subject’ (noun wa noun ga)
sentences 45
2.1.12 ga in ‘double-subject’ (noun wa noun ga)
sentences with ellipted noun wa 45
2.1.13 ga marking the subject in a noun-modifying
vi clause 46
2.1.14 ga marking a nominalized clause 46
2.2 o 47 Contents
2.2.1 Marking the object 47
2.2.2 In potential sentences 48
2.2.3 In desiderative sentences 49
2.2.4 Marking the object of a verb of motion 49
2.2.5 Marking departure point of a verb of motion 50
2.3 no 50
2.3.1 Genitive or associative particle 50
2.3.2 Marking subject in a noun-modifying clause 57
2.4 ni 57
2.4.1 With three-place verbs 58
2.4.2 With two-place verbs 58
2.4.3 With ellipted predicate 59
2.4.4 Stative location 60
2.4.5 Noun ni noun ga/wa aru/iru (+ negative):
possession 60
2.4.6 . . . noun ni aru/nai 61
2.4.7 Noun ni noun ga verb-potential/noun ga
noun ni verb-potential 62
2.4.8 Noun ni verb-passive (or pseudo-passive) 62
2.4.9 Noun (noun = person) ni verb-causative 63
2.4.10 Verbal noun ni iku/kuru 63
2.4.11 Verb 1 ni verb 2-potential-negative
(between repeated identical verbs) 63
2.4.12 Verb ni wa + adjective 64
2.4.13 Time expression ni 64
2.4.14 Time/amount ni number + counter 65
2.4.15 Noun ni 65
2.4.16 Verb/verbal noun ni wa 66
2.4.17 Noun (noun = person) ni wa 66
2.4.18 Noun (+ counter) ni noun (+ counter) 66
2.5 de 67
2.5.1 Active or stative location 67
2.5.2 Means or method of action of verb 68
2.5.3 Indicates basis for judgement 69
2.5.4 Noun de shirareru 69
2.5.5 Noun (noun = time expression) de 69
2.5.6 Marks the extent of people involved in
the action of verb 70
2.5.7 Noun (noun = amount) de: unit or total 71
2.5.8 Indicates reason 71
2.5.9 de [case particle] and de [conjunctive form vii
of copula] compared 71
Contents 2.6 e 72
2.6.1 With verbs of motion 72
2.6.2 With ellipted predicate 73
2.6.3 Noun e no noun 74
2.6.4 Noun e to verb/verb phrase 74
2.7 kara 75
2.7.1 Noun/demonstrative pronoun kara 75
2.7.2 Noun kara naru 76
2.7.3 Noun kara tsukuru/dekiru 77
2.7.4 Noun kara + verbs of motion (deru/oriru) 77
2.7.5 Indicating reason (koto kara, riyj kara, etc.) 78
2.7.6 Noun/pronoun kara (noun/pronoun = person) 78
2.7.7 Indicating the agent in a passive sentence 79
2.7.8 Idiomatic uses 79
2.8 o and kara with verbs of motion compared 79
2.9 yori 80
2.9.1 yori as equivalent of kara 80
2.9.2 yori in comparative sentences 81
2.10 made 82
2.10.1 Noun made 83
2.10.2 Verb made 86
2.11 made-ni 87
2.11.1 Noun/demonstrative pronoun made-ni 87
2.11.2 Verb made-ni 88
2.12 to 89
3 Phrasal particles 91
3.1 Phrasal particles incorporating ni 92
3.1.1 ni atatte 92
3.1.2 ni hanshi(te) 94
3.1.3 ni kakete 94
3.1.4 ni kanshi(te) 96
3.1.5 ni kawatte 97
3.1.6 ni oite 98
3.1.7 ni saishi(te) 99
3.1.8 ni taishi(te) 100
3.1.9 ni totte 101
3.1.10 ni tsuite 102
3.1.11 ni tsuki 103
viii 3.1.12 ni yotte 104
3.2 Phrasal particles incorporating o 106 Contents
3.2.1 o megutte 106
3.2.2 o motte 107
3.2.3 o tishite 108
3.3 Phrasal particle incorporating to 109
3.3.1 to shite 109
4 Numbers and counters 111
4.1 Numbers 111
4.1.1 Counting things 111
4.1.2 Counting in sequence 113
4.1.3 Superstition and numbers 115
4.2 Counters 115
4.2.1 Number + counter no noun 117
4.2.2 Number + counter + particle 117
4.2.3 Noun (+ particle) [number + counter] verb 120
4.2.4 Noun [number ‘one’ + counter] (+ particle) 120
4.2.5 Number + counter with ellipted noun 121
4.3 Ordinal numbers 121
4.4 Fractions and percentages 123
5 Demonstrative/interrogative words and pronouns 124
5.1 Demonstrative words and pronouns 125
5.1.1 Demonstratives: spatial/temporal reference 125
5.1.2 Demonstratives: discourse reference 126
5.2 Interrogative pronouns or question words 128
5.2.1 Question word + ka 130
5.2.2 Question word + mo 131
5.2.3 Question word (+ counter) + demo 134
5.2.4 Idiomatic uses 136
5.3 Personal pronouns and suffixes 137
5.3.1 Personal pronouns 137
5.4 Suffixes attached to personal pronouns 142
5.4.1 -domo 142
5.4.2 -gata 143
5.4.3 -ra 144
5.4.4 -tachi 144
5.5 Reflexive pronouns 145
5.5.1 jibun 146
5.5.2 jishin 147 ix