Talking About Your Daily Life
In Lesson 3 of GENKI I, you’ll learn how to talk about your daily activities. This lesson is a huge step forward because you’ll finally learn how to use verbs!
1. Verb Conjugation: The “-masu” Form
Unlike in English, Japanese verbs change their form based on tense and politeness. In GENKI I, you’ll start with the “-masu” form, which is used for polite, present, and future tense sentences.
All Japanese verbs end with a “u” sound (e.g., iku, kaeru, taberu). To make them polite, you simply change the ending.
| Verb Type | Rule | Example |
| -ru Verbs | Drop the る and add ます | たべる (taberu) → たべます (tabemasu) |
| -u Verbs | Change the u sound to an i sound and add ます | いきく (iku) → いきます (ikimasu) |
| Irregular | Just memorize them! | します (shimasu), きます (kimasu) |
You can also make them negative by changing -masu to -masen.
- たべます (tabemasu) → たべません (tabemasen)I will eat. → I will not eat.
- いきます (ikimasu) → いきません (ikimasen)I will go. → I will not go.
2. Particles for Verbs
Particles are the key to building Japanese sentences. They connect nouns to verbs and show the function of each word.
- 「を」 (o): The Direct Object Marker
- 「を」 marks the direct object of a verb. It tells you what you are doing the action to.
- 「で」 (de): The Location of Action Marker
- 「で」 marks the place where an action occurs.
- 「に」 (ni) & 「へ」 (e): The Directional Markers
- 「に」 and 「へ」 both indicate a destination or direction. They are often interchangeable, but 「へ」 has a stronger nuance of movement towards a location.
The Particle「に」 for Time
The particle 「に」 is not just for places; it’s also used to specify the time an action takes place. You add 「に」 after a specific time to indicate when something happens.
- 午後 (ごご – p.m.) 七時 (しちじ – seven o’clock) に午後 七時 に ごはん を たべます。 I eat dinner at 7 p.m.
- 毎日 (まいにち – everyday) 九時半 (くじはん – 9:30) に毎日 九時半 に ねます。 I go to bed at 9:30 every day.
Important: You cannot use 「に」 with words like 今日 (きょう – today), 明日 (あした – tomorrow), 昨日 (きのう – yesterday), 毎日 (まいにち – every day), 週末 (しゅうまつ – weekend), or いつ (itsu – when).
3. Word Order and Frequency Adverbs
In Japanese, the basic word order is Subject – Object – Verb. However, the order is very flexible because particles clearly show the function of each word.
- 私は 朝 ごはん を たべます。I eat breakfast in the morning.
You can also add frequency adverbs to say how often you do something. These usually come after the subject.
| Adverb | Meaning | Example |
| いつも (itsumo) | Always | いつも コーヒーを 飲みます。(I always drink coffee.) |
| よく (yoku) | Often | よく 映画を 見ます。(I often watch movies.) |
| ときどき (tokidoki) | Sometimes | ときどき 本を 読みます。(I sometimes read books.) |
| あまり (amari) | Not often | あまり 勉強しません。(I don’t study often.) |
| ぜんぜん (zenzen) | Not at all | ぜんぜん テレビを 見ません。(I don’t watch TV at all.) |
Tip: 「あまり」 and 「ぜんぜん」 must always be used with a negative verb form (-masen).
By using these new verbs, particles, and adverbs, you can now build a wide range of sentences to talk about your life. You can describe what you do, where you go, and how often you do it!