TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lesson 7 Particle Quiz (This link is currently broken. I will fix it as soon as I find the new one.)
Review the conjugations of the Te-forms using the chart below one more time if necessary. More information on Genki Study Sites Lesson 6.
Te-Form Conjugation Chart
*Pay attention to the fact that some of the う verbs end with る in the dictionary form. (ex. かえる、はいる）
You learned the てform of verbs for the following usages in Lesson 6:
Making a Request: ～てください
Expressing Permissions: ～てもいいです
Expressing Prohibitions: ～てはいけません／てはだめです
Describing Sequence of Activities: ～て、～ます
In addition to these, verb てforms can be used with います to describe ongoing actions, current situations, and state of being.
This is the most straight-forward usage of ～ています form and used to describe what you are doing at this moment. The ます form you have been using is used to express future actions, or actions that take place at specific times, places and/or frequencies. Therefore, it does not describe your current action.
ex. 私は今日２時にともだちと会います。(I will meet my friend at 2 o'clock today.)
私は時どききっさてんでコーヒーを飲みます。 (I sometimes drink coffee in a cafe.)
としょかんで何をしますか。 (What do you (generally) do in the library?)
私は今ともだちと会っています。 (I am meeting my friend right now.)
私は今きっさてんでコーヒーを飲んでいます。 (I am drinking coffee in a cafe right now.)
私は今としょかんでべんきょうしています。 (I am studying in the library right now.)
Some verbs can express both an ongoing action and a situation. You should be able to recognize which the sentence indicates from the context.
ex. 私は今日本語をべんきょうしています。(Can mean either "I am studying Japanese at this moment" or "I currently study Japanese.")
私は今アルバイトをしています。(Can mean either "I am working right now" or "I currently have a part-time job.")
The ています form of verbs that describe changes in state expresses the resulting situations/states.
私はけっこんしています。(I am married. (けっこんする = to get married))
私は山口さんをしっています。 (I know Mr./Ms. Yamaguchi. (しる = to get to know))
父は今ちょっとふとっています。 (My father is a bit overweight now. (ふとる = to gain weight))
さやさんはとてもやせていますね。 (Saya is very thin. (やせる = to lose weight))
おとうとは東京にすんでいます。 (My little brother lives in Tokyo. (すむ = to live into (house/town/country, etc.))
ともだちは新（あたら）しいiPhoneをもっています。(My friend has a new iPhone. (もつ = to carry/hold))
Use the verbs おきる, つとめる, and きる (to put on) in the same way.
Note that 何をしていますか can mean "what do you do (for work?)" as well as "what are you doing (right now)?." Although you can say "what do you do?" in English, you have to use the ています form to ask about the person's occupation in Japanese, so pay close attention to this difference.
When motion verbs (行く、来る、かえる、出かける） are in the ています form, they describe the state resulting from the motion.
ex. 母は今スーパーに行っています。 (My mother (went to the supermarket. As a result, she) is currently at the supermarket.)
けんじくんはうちにきています。(Kenji (came over. As a result, ) is at my house now.)
今うちにかえっています。(I (returned home. As a result, I) am at home now.)
父は出かけています。 (My father (went out. As a result, he) is out.)
The concept is different from English as you cannot use this form when you are on the way to your destination. The motion verbs in the ています form are very similar to using the existence verb います, adding the connotation that the person is temporarily there. (i.e. 母は今スーパーに行っています is similar to 母は今スーパーにいます／スーパーです, and けんじくんはうちにきています is similar to けんじくんは今うちにいます／うちです (though in this case, using the latter does not make it clear that he is at your house now)。
Use the appropriate verb to describe what a person is wearing depending on what type of clothing item the person is wearing.
Use:
きます/きています for wearing something on the upper part of the body, such as T-shirt (Tシャツ), shirt (シャツ), jacket (ジャケット), and sweater (セーター) and for things that cover both the upper and lower parts of the body, such as dress (ドレス or ワンピース), suit (スーツ), and pajamas (パジャマ).
はきます/はいています for wearing something on the lower part of the body, such as pants (パンツ), shorts (ショートパンツ), skirts (スカート), jeans (ジーンズ), sneakers (スニーカー), boots (ブーツ), and socks (ソックス).
かぶります/かぶっています for wearing hats and caps (ぼうし). For sun visor hats, use します/しています.
かけます/かけています for wearing glasses (めがね) and sunglasses (サングラス).
します/しています for accessories such as watches (とけい), necklaces (ネックレス), belts (ベルト), earrings (イヤリング & ピアス), neckties (ネクタイ), and contact lenses (コンタクトレンズ).
To describe certain characteristics something/someone has, use:
[Noun A]は [part]が Adjective。
ex. ぞうははながながいです。(An elephant has a long trunk.)
This construction is used when you are talking about "Noun A" as the topic. On the other hand, ぞうのはなは ながいです。(An elephant's trunk is long.) only focuses on the trunk itself. Therefore, using the ～は～が construction is more appropriate in most cases. You can use this construction to describe someone or something's physical characteristics and features. Remember this as the construction for "whole-part" relations.
ex. たけしさんはせが高いです。
カリフォルニアは天気がいいです。
小さいまちは人がやさしいです。
ハワイはうみがきれいです。
(Go to the vocab tab if you want to listen to the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song. And here's a link to another children song "ぞうさん.")
Adjectives/nouns as well as verbs have てforms that can be used to combine sentences.
ex. このまちは きれいです ＋ しずかです → このまちはきれいで、しずかです。
けんじくんは おもしろいです ＋ やさしいです → けんじくんはおもしろくて、やさしいです。
てform of な adjectives and Nouns: Replace です with で (Ex. 元気で、学生で、etc.)
てform of い adjectives: Replace い with くて (Ex. やすくて、おいしくて、etc.)
てform of いい: よくて
Note 1: きれい and きらい are な adjectives and therefore take で instead of くて (きれいで、きらいで).
Note 2: The てform of かっこいい is かっこよくて, and the てform of かわいい is かわいくて.
When you list things using this construction, make sure to list things that are similar kinds or of similar nature. You can list facts and subjective opinions together as long as they are related, but mention facts before subjective opinions in that case.
ex. かなえさんはめが大きくて、きれいです。 (めが大きい is part of the reason why you think she is beautiful.)
たくやさんはかっこよくて、にんきがあります。(Takuya is good-looking and (because of that, he is) popular.)
If you list two contrasting or contradictory ideas, use が instead.
ex. 京とはきれいです (+) ＋ れきしがふるいです (+) → 京とはきれいで、れきしがふるいです。
私のまちは小さいです (-) ＋ にぎやかです (+) → 私のまちは小さいですが、にぎやかです。
See VI below for more explanations on が.
Use the following construction when describing a purpose of going:
[Destination] に／へ [Purpose: Pre-ます form of verb]に 行く／来る／帰る
ex. としょかんにべんきょうしに行きます。 (I'm going to the library to study.)
パンやにあさごはんをかいに行きました。 (I went to the bakery to buy breakfast.)
うちにしゅくだいをとりに帰ります。 (I'm going home to get my homework.)
You need to use the appropriate counters depending on what type of items you are talking about. To count people, use the counter 人（にん）:
一人（ひとり）、二人（ふたり）、三人（さんにん）、四人（よにん）、五人（ごにん）、六人（ろくにん）、七人（ななにん／しちにん）、八人（はちにん）、九人（きゅうにん）、十人（じゅうにん）
Question word = 何人（なんにん）
Use the regular numbers + にん for numbers higher than 10; however, use よ instead of よん for all numbers that end with 4.
ex. 24 = にじゅうよん
84 = はちじゅうよん
Since ～人 is a quantity, do not use a particle directly after it. The appropriate particle should be used for the noun that the quantity describes.
ex. 私はかぞくが五人います。
きょうだいがなん人いますか。
You have learned the transitional word が, which means "but." When using でも, you have two separate sentences. If you want to connect the two sentences to make one sentence, use が instead.
ex. きのうは天気がよかったです。でも、今日は天気がよくないです。 → きのうは天気がよかったですが、今日は天気がよくないです。(The weather was not good yesterday, but it is good today.)
山田さんはテニスをします。でも、北川さんはテニスをしません。 → 山田さんはテニスをしますが、北川さんはテニスをしません。(Yamada plays tennis, but Kitagawa does not.)