Lesson 5. Grammar Item #1b (p. 100-101)

The sea was beautiful.

·          きれいなうみ ‘beautiful/clean sea (Noun Phrase)’

·          The sea is beautiful. à うみは

きれい                               で                  す

                                    de                  s-u

/na/-adjective minus /na/     being [LV]-to  [Polite]-Present Tense

 

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the Linking Verb be plus the /na/-adjective in polite-style PAST

à

きれい                                で                  した

s-ita

[Polite]-Past Tense

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N.B. The paradigm of Linking Verb + [/na/-Adjective minus /na/] patterns the same as that of Linking Verb + Noun, as given before, except when they modify a noun.

 

1)   うみは　きれいでした。

 

a)     The professor was energetic.

 

Shinjuku was not quiet.

·          しずかなこうえん ‘a quiet park’

·          Shinjuku is not quiet.

à

しんじゅくは         しずか                               じゃ

                              /na/-adjective minus /na/ being [LV]-to-TOPIC

ありません

ar-imas-en

exist-Polite-Negative of Classical Japanese

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the negative of Linking Verb be plus /na/-Adjective in polite-style PAST

à

しずか   じゃ ありません               で   した[1]

de  s-ita

was [Linking Verb]

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2)            しんじゅくは　しずかじゃ　ありませんでした。

 

b)    Tokyo was not lively/busy.

c)     The person next to me was not free.

d)    Father was handsome when he was a high school student.

e)     Mary and Robert were students.

f)      They were not students at Kansai Gaidai.

 

 

＊The school was big.

·          おおきいとけい ‘a big watch’

·          The school is big.

à

がっこうは  おおきい[2]                      です

ooki-i desu

/i/-Adjective-Present is/am/are-Polite-Present

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Linking Verb be plus /i/-Adjective in polite-style PAST

à

おおきかった                         です

 

UR:                             ooki-ku         ar-ita                 desu

                                   bigly               exist-PAST

Contracted Form:      ooki-k           atta                    desu

 

N.B. The form /desu/ ‘is’ attaches to /ooki-katta/ ‘was/were big’ as well as to /ooki-i/ ‘is big’ at its end in order for the sentence to get the polite style. The literal translation of the sentence is ‘it is the case [Polite Style] that the school’s being big existed’.

 

3)   がっこうは　おおきかったです。

 

g)     It was cold yesterday.

h)     The exam was easy.

 

The town was not big.

·          おおきいまち ‘a big town’

·          The town is not big.

à 

まちは     おおきく             ありません

                     ooki-ku                 ar-imas-en

                     bigly [Adverbial]   exist-Polite-Negative

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negative of Linking Verb be plus /i/-adjective in polite-style PAST

à

おおきく        ありません      でした[3]

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4)            まちは　おおきく　ありませんでした。

 

i)       The exam was not difficult.

j)       The ramen was not expensive.

k)     It was fun.


[1] The modern Japanese uses /sizuka-zya nak-atta-desu/ as well, where /nak-atta/ (the underlying representation of which is /na-ku ar-ita/ ‘being non-existent existed’) is ‘was not’, and the form /desu/ ‘is [Linking Verb]’ attaches to the clause at the end for the clause to get the polite style. See N.B. on p. 3.

[2] The Ashikari dialect of Japanese, which is spoken in Ashikari, Saga, uses /ooki-ku aru/ ‘bigly exist-Present’.

[3] The modern Japanese uses /ooki-ku nak-atta-desu/ as well, where /nak-atta/ is ‘was not’, and the form /desu/ ‘is [Linking Verb]’ attaches to the clause at the end to get the polite style. See footnote 1 and N.B. on p. 3.