皆様, こんにちにゃあぁ！Welcome to Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online. We’re your personal stockpiling of supplies and tools created to help you survive and thrive in Japanese language. However, actually handling the supplies and using the tools doesn’t happen overnight. And, that’s why we’re also here to assist you and to give you training opportunities. No matter how simple or complex a concept may seem, it’s important to give them the proper time and patience. In the case of something that seems simple, some may write it off and take it for granted, leaving that skill to wither. Throughout your journey of learning Japanese language, you’ll find that every aspect of language should be equally given care and attention, or the things you may have found simple at first may end up not becoming as natural to you when you begin to use these concepts out there on your own! But, even still, we’ll be sure to be there with you every step of the way, so you’ll never be alone. Though, of course, when it comes to the basics, you’d probably rather be able to recall the basics of verbs in conversation. We’re Kiki and Koko, your guides to Japanese language and culture, here with an opportunity to test your skills or simply try to put your practising into action!

Last time, on Blast from the Past, and Blast from the Past (pt2), concerning the basics of verbs, we gave you step-by-step instructions on how to transform your verbs into three different forms: 過去形, kakokei, Past Tense (Past Form); 否定形, hiteikei, Negative Form; and the Past Form of the Negative Form. However, each of these only applied to one other important from we introduced you to in the past, and that form is: マス形, masukei, otherwise known as masu form. And, when you’re learning about concepts such as these, simply knowing how to speak properly in Japanese can be a useful motivation, but at times, it can help you have a more focused goal as to why this particular form is important. We explain it in the previous lessons, to which we have the thumbnails linked to below. And, if you haven’t experienced those lessons, you should definitely take a bit to do so, or you may find this more needlessly challenging. But, perhaps, in the meantime, we can also motivate you by reminding you that this is a great stepping stone into the other forms of conjugation. This may simply be replacing different endings with other set endings, but in the end, getting accustomed to this idea can be invaluable and can train your brain to get used to the more complicated conjugation as we move on. But, again, just because this is simple for some doesn’t mean it’s simple for all! It’s still a completely different language, and it’s understandable that it can put your mind in a boggle. But, if you ever feel like it’s a bit much, be sure to be patient with yourself and take your time! Just step away if you need to, and return with a fresh mindset. And, hey, maybe you just need a bit of a refresher of the previous lessons.

But, before you get to those, you may want to have a look at these:

However, simply understanding verbs alone isn’t quite the whole of it. You’ll need a bit of an understanding of Japanese grammar in general. Maybe you’re not even quite sure how to make a sentence or why ‘particle’ in this case doesn’t have anything to do with a hadron collider. That’s why we’re offering a round trip to the past whilst we wait for you here in the present tense.

Alright, now that you have a general understanding of what you need to know in order to get the most out of this session, and your future sessions, it’s time to put your skills to the test! (Or, simply have a good bit of practice.) No worries, we’ll explain exactly what you need to do in the following questions in order to complete the activity. So, without further ado: Let’s NihonGO!!

Before we continue, we want to point out: If you’ve been practising your verbs from the Classroom Vocabulary series, you’ll certainly be in for a treat, because as you practise these, you’ll be expanding your vocabulary three fold! This will expand three new ways to use each of your verbs, showing the past, negative, and past negative, along with the previous forms you know and love. So, know that as you continue forward, you’ll be training a sort of multi-tool of vocabulary if you’ve been keeping up. Or, if you need to do some catching up, no worries, a bit further down, we have some links to said lessons through their quizzes. Anyway, let’s continue to NihonGO!!

 Past, Negative, or Negative Past?|過去形か否定形か否定形の過去形？

Hello, there！Let’s NihonGO!! あなたならできますよ！You can do it!

So, there is just ONE more element to this activity than we let on: it’s a bit of vocabulary practice as well! But, don’t worry, we’re really just focusing on the conjugation, so you’ll be practising the vocabulary, but you’ll mostly be identifying the conjugation and what that means for each verb. Though, this will simply be a warm-up for the next activity. Oh, but we also have here with us the portable version of our computer robot friend, QUIZBO™ Mini, who will be here for your emotional support. Are you ready!? Let’s NihonGO!!

Oh! But, before we do properly begin, if you really want to test your translation skills of these verbs, be sure to have a go at these previous quizzes where there’s pronunciation links to the previous lessons. 

次の文の　英訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the English translation of the following sentence.

持ってきませんでした。
mottekimasen deshita.

次の文の　英訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the English translation of the following sentence.

間に合います。
ma ni aimasu.

次の文の　英訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the English translation of the following sentence.

貼りません。
harimasen.

次の文の　英訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the English translation of the following sentence.

クレヨンで　色を塗りました。
kureyon de iro wo nurimashita.

次の文の　英訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the English translation of the following sentence.

調べませんでした。
shirabemasen deshita.

Don’t go away! There’s more conjugation practice after these messages!

Translations and Conjugations!|翻訳と活用！

Masu form |マス形

難しくても　頑張りましょうよ！

So, if that previous section was a bit of a difficult one, then this one may either be more difficult or less difficult, depending on which type of translation is easier for you. However, in this case, it should really help you conjugate in your mind a bit more. In this section, you’ll be conjugating verbs into different forms based on the instruction given, or translating them into Japanese. Don’t worry, though, this is much more focused on conjugation than direct vocabulary translation. But, if you’d like to practise your vocabulary, the Classroom Vocabulary we linked in the previous section should give you a bit more use. And, on top of that, it will open up so many more ways to utilise said vocabulary.

Are you ready!? Let’s NihonGO!!

次の文の　和訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the Japanese translation of the following sentence

「I do not use the computer.」

次の文の　和訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the Japanese translation of the following sentence

「I packed my lunch」

次の文の　和訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the Japanese translation of the following sentence

「I will consult a dictionary.」

次の文の　和訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the Japanese translation of the following sentence

「She does not ask questions.」

次の文の　和訳を　お選びしてください。
Please select the Japanese translation of the following sentence

「He cut the paper.」

That’s all we have for today, but no worries! There is plenty more on the horizon, and this is far from the last you’ll be seeing of this conjugation. However, the next activity depends on if you’re comfortable with the conjugation we’ve presented, today, so we want to be sure we’ve given you enough with which to work. And, on top of this, you may have realised that we’ve given you even more useful information than you may have imagined~! The incorrect answers are actually other useful conjugations, this time! That’s right, we’ve provided you with a bit of a crib sheet of conjugation for a few of these verbs. Perhaps you’d like to have a go with these and try to see if you can apply them to other verbs in the meantime! You can even submit some in the comment section or through social media if you’d like to be sure you’re conjugating these correctly. Either way, be sure to try your best with these in preparation for the next time!

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Thank you for joining us! We hope that you continue with us on this adventure, and we appreciate that you’ve chosen us to assist you on your Japanese learning journey.

Stay Safe!!
♡Kiki+Koko

     
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