Genki 1: Lesson 3: Making a date

This is my favorite lesson because you will learn how to form a sentence using verb.

会話：かいわ Dialogue

Mary and Takeshi are talking

たけし：メアリーさん、週末（しゅうまつ）はたいてい何（なに）をしますか。

Takeshi: Ms. Mary, what do you usually do on the weekend?

メアリー：そうですね。たいていうちで勉強（べんきょう）します。でも、ときどき映画（えいが）を見（み）ます。

Mary: Let me see..I usually study at home. But I sometimes watch a movie.

たけし：そうですか。。じゃあ、土曜日（どようび）に映画（えいが）を見（み）ませんか。

Takeshi: I see. Well, Why don’t we watch a movie together on Saturday?

メアリー：じゃあ、日曜日（にちようび）はどうですか。

Mary: Well, How about Sunday?

メアリー：いいですね。

Mary: That sounds good.

On Sunday morning, at Mary’s host family’s.

メアリー：おはようございます。

Mary: Good morning.

お母さん：おはよう。早い（はやい）ですね。

Mother: Good morning. It’s early.. (you’re up early)

メアリー：ええ、今日（きょう）は京都（きょうと）に行（い）きます。京都（きょうと）で映画（えいが）を見（み）ます。

Mary: Yes, I will go to Kyoto today. I will watch a movie in Kyoto.

お母さん：いいですね。何時（なんじ）ごろ帰（かえ）りますか。

Mother: That sounds good. What time are you returning (home)?

メアリー：九時（くじ）ごろです。

Mary: Around 9:00.

お母さん：晩ご飯は？（ばんごはんは）？

Mother: How about dinner?

メアリー：食（た）べません。

Mary: I won’t eat it (at home).

お母さん：そうですか。じゃあ、いってらっしゃい。

Mother: I see. Well, have a great time. (have a nice day)

メアリー：いってきます。

Mary: See you later!

Vocabulary

えいが : movie

おんがく: music

ざっし: magazine

スポーツ: sports

デート: date

テニス: tennis

テレビ: TV

Foods and Drinks

アイスクリーム: ice cream

あさごはん: breakfast

おさけ: alcohol

おちゃ: tea

コーヒー: coffee

ばんごはん: dinner

ハンバーガー: hamburger

ひるごはん: lunch

みず: water

Places

いえ: house

うち: home

がっこう: school

Time

あさ: breakfast

あした: tomorrow

いつ: when

きょう: today

〜ごろ:at around

こんばん: tonight

しゅうまつ: this weekend

どようび: saturday

にちようび: Sunday

まいにち: everyday

まいばん: every night

U-verbs

いく: to go (destination に／へ）

かえる: to back/to return

きく: to listen (〜を）

のむ: to drink  (〜を）

はなす: to speak/to talk (〜を）

よむ: to read  (〜を）

Ru-verbs

おきる: to get up

たべる:  to eat  (〜を）

ねる: to sleep

みる: to watch/ to see  (〜を）

Irregular verbs

くる: to come (destination に／へ）

する: to do  (〜を）

べんきょうする: to study  (〜を）

Adjectives

いい: good

はやい: soon, early

Adverbs

あまり + negative: not much

ぜんぜん + negative: not at all

たいてい: usually

ちょっと: a little

ときどき: sometimes

よく: often

Expressions

そうですね: That’s right; let me see

でも: but

どうですか: How about..?

Grammar

Verb Conjugation

Verbs in Japanese conjugate, or take various shapes. In this lesson, we learn three forms, (1)the “dictionary forms” (2)the present tense affirmative forms, (3) present tense negative forms. There are two kinds of verbs that follow regular conjugation patterns, and an example of each is below.

Verb bases                             ru-verb                          u-verb

dictionary forms                  Taberu (to eat)          Iku

present, affirmative            Tabemasu                  Ikimasu

present, negative                Tabemasen                Ikimasen

stems                                    Tabe                              Iki

Taberu belongs to the group of verbs called the “ru-verbs“. Ru-verb are so called, because you and the suffix ru to the verb base (tabs, in the above example) to form the dictionary form. For the two long forms we learn in this lesson, you simply add the suffixes masu and masen, instead of ru, to the bases. We learn four ru-verbs in this lesson.

Taberu-Tabemasu

Neru-Nemasu

Okiru-Okimasu

Miru-Mimasu

Another major group of verbs is called the “u-verbs“. The dictionary form of an u-verb like iku can be broken down into the base (ik in the above example) and the suffix u. The long forms like ikimasu and ikimasen, then are formed with the base plus suffixes imasu and imasen. In u-verb conjugations you find letters shifting in the same row of the hiragana chart (see inside front cover). In iku, for example, you see ku and ki, both in the ka row of the hiragana chart, nomu has mu and mi, both in the ma row, and so forth.

We learn six u-verbs in this lesson:

nomu: nomimasu

yomu: yomimasu

hanasu: hanashimasu

kiku: kikimasu

iku: ikimasu

odoru: odorimasu