＊＊＊Japanese noun sentences with particle も (mo)

The particle も (mo) is also a topic marker, except that it is used in place of は (wa) when the statement about the topic is the same as the previous topic in Japanese noun sentence. For example,

• • ジョンさんはせんせいです。

  • jon san wa sen sei de su

  • マイクさんもせんせいです。

  • ma i ku san mo sen sei de su

  • Meaning:

  • John is a teacher.

  • Mike is also a teacher.

However if the topic is different from the previous topic, you still need to use は (wa). For example,

• • ジョンさんはせんせいです。

  • jon san wa sen sei de su

  • マイクさんはがくせいです。

  • ma i ku san wa ga ku sei de su

  • Meaning:

  • John is a teacher.

  • Mike is a student.

Questions in Japanese noun sentences

You can change the sentence into a question by simply adding か (ka) at the end of the sentence in Japanese nouns. This is really much simpler as compared to an English sentence where you have to change the order of the words to form a question. For example,

• • ジョンさんはせんせいですか。

  • jon san wa sen sei de su ka

  • Meaning: Is John a teacher?

The particle か (ka) expresses the speaker's question, doubt and uncertainty regarding something. Take note that か should read with a rising tone to indicate it is a question.

So how do you answer to the above Japanese noun question? The question above is asking whether you agree or disagree with the statement, therefore requires you to give a 'Yes' or 'No' answer. You will normally begin the answer with 'Yes' or 'No', which is はい (ha i) or いいえ (i i e). We will call that a Yes/No question. Look at the following examples:

• • Question: ジョンさんはせんせいですか。

  • jon san wa sen sei de su ka

  • Answer: はい、ジョンさんはせんせいです。

  • ha i, jon san wa sen sei de su

  • Meaning:

  • Question: Is John a teacher?

  • Answer: Yes, John is a teacher.

  • Question: マイクさんはせんせいですか。

  • (ma i ku san wa sen sei de su ka)

  • Answer: いいえ、マイクさんはせんせいではありません。

  • i i e, ma i ku san wa sen sei de wa a ri ma sen

  • Meaning:

  • Question: Is Mike a teacher?

  • Answer: No, Mike is not a teacher.

Japanese comma (、) and full stop (。)

Do you notice that the commas used in the previous examples are different from what you normally use? In Japanese, the comma sign is "、" instead of ",".

Similarly, the full stop sign is "。" instead of ".". Moreover, with the question word か (ka), you don't really need to add the question mark sign "?" at the end of the sentence.

Combining も (mo) and question word か (ka)

You can also use も (mo) together with か (ka) in a question in Japanese nouns. For example,

• • Question: ジョンさんはせんせいですか。

  • jon san wa sen sei de su ka

  • Answer: はい、ジョンさんはせんせいです。

  • ha i, jon san wa sen sei de su

  • Question: メリーさんもせんせいですか。

  • me ri- san mo sen sei de su ka

  • Answer: はい、メリーさんもせんせいです。

  • ha i, me ri- san mo sen sei de su

  • Meaning:

  • Question: Is John a teacher?

  • Answer: Yes, John is a teacher.

  • Question: Is Mary a teacher too?

  • Answer: Yes, Mary is a teacher too.

However, if Mary is not a teacher, you cannot use も (mo) as the topic is different from the previous topic. So the answer should be:

• • Answer: いいえ、メリーさんはせんせいではありません。

  • i i e, me ri- san wa sen sei de wa a ri ma sen

  • Meaning:

  • Answer: No, Mary is not a teacher.

Adding も (mo) to negative form questions

Similarly, adding も (mo) to the negative form question in Japanese nouns gives:

• • Question: マイクさんはせんせいですか。

  • ma i ku san wa sen sei de su ka

  • Answer: いいえ、マイクさんはせんせいではありません。

  • i i e, ma i ku san wa sen sei de wa a ri ma sen

  • Question: アランさんもせんせいではありませんか。

  • a ran san mo sen sei de wa a ri ma sen ka

  • Answer: はい、アランさんもせんせいではありません。

  • ha i, a ran san mo sen sei de wa a ri ma sen

  • Meaning:

  • Question: Is Mike a teacher?

  • Answer : No, Mike is not a teacher.

  • Question: Isn't Alan a teacher too?

  • Answer : No, Alan is not a teacher too.

But if Alan is a teacher, you should give the answer:

• • Answer: いいえ、アランさんはせんせいです。

  • i i e, a ran san wa sen sei de su

  • Meaning:

  • Answer: Yes, Alan is a teacher.