Online Live Lessons #1 - Grammar

Distal

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Terms in this set (10)

When you're speaking to someone that you should have a "social distance" between.

Essentially the same thing as "polite".

Verbs (and sentences) can be in the "distal style"

When you want to not sound like a jerk.

Verbs (and sentences) can be in the "polite style"

Verbs are usually described as "words that show action". But this isn't exactly accurate. After all, no one moves when you "understand" something.

A verb is simply a type of word that fits in the "verb" category.

So far, every verb you've learned ends in ます (Masu)

These are small words in Japanese sentences that change how (a) one word interacts with all the other words, (b) one "clause" interacts with another clause, or (c) a sentence feels.

In this lesson you've learned よ (assertive) and か (Interrogative... that means "question") particles at the end of sentences

This is a fancy way of saying that something will either happen (or be) in the future, or habitually does something (or habitually is something).

"He is drunk on Tuesdays" = Habitual = Non-Past
"He will drink a gallon of whiskey tomorrow" = Future = Non-Past

Your ます (Masu) verbs are all "non-past"

Really, in Japanese (and in English) we don't have "positive sentences". We only have "non-negative sentences".

Any sentence that "is" or "does" something, as opposed to "is not" or "does not do" something is "Positive".

"I am a cat" - Positive
"I am not a cat" - Negative

With Japanese "Distal/Polite" Verbs, the part of the word that comes before ます (Masu) is the Stem of the Verb.

This will be very important to remember.

The funny "Butt" word that describes how Japanese Verbs (and other words) change their meaning.

We add sounds to the "butt" (end) of the word's meaning and can change the word to "negative" or "past tense", etc.

This is the noun of the sentence that "does" the action, or "is" the description.

"That is a book." - "That" is the thing being described by "book" - "That" is the subject.

"He barfed." - Who barfed? "He" did. "He" is the subject.

Pretty much any non-subject noun in a sentence/clause.