形Verbs and descriptions
Describing things
Japanese has two kinds of adjective. い adjectives change form themselves, and な adjectives lean on です.
The two kinds
Tell them apart by what comes before a noun
a tall mountain
い adjectives end in い.
a quiet town
な adjectives add な before a noun.
い adjectives
高い: change the ending
The irregular one is いい, “good”: its other forms are よくない, よかった and よくて.
| Plain | Polite | |
|---|---|---|
| Now | 高い | 高いです |
| Not | 高くない | 高くないです |
| Past | 高かった | 高かったです |
| Not, past | 高くなかった | 高くなかったです |
| Joining | 高くて | |
| With a verb | 高く |
な adjectives
静か: the same endings as nouns
| Plain | Polite | |
|---|---|---|
| Now | 静かだ | 静かです |
| Not | 静かじゃない | 静かじゃありません |
| Past | 静かだった | 静かでした |
| Not, past | 静かじゃなかった | 静かじゃありませんでした |
| Joining | 静かで | |
| With a verb | 静かに |
In use
Common adjectives
This shop is cheap.
It was cold yesterday.
This room isn't big.
He's kind.
The train was convenient.
What a lively child!
A pattern in the words
しい often signals a feeling
Many い adjectives ending in しい describe something you can't measure with a ruler, such as feelings and impressions: 楽しい (fun), 悲しい (sad), うれしい (glad), 難しい (difficult), おいしい (tasty). Adjectives you could measure, like 高い and 長い, don't usually have it.
Careful with きれい and きらい: they end in い but are な adjectives, so you say きれいな花.
Check yourself
Which kind of adjective is this?
This book is interesting.
Your turn
Pick the right form
It's a quiet park.
Find the mistake
Tap the part that's wrong.
。
Say it yourself
Your town
Someone asks about your town. Describe it with one positive thing and one thing it isn't.
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