連Longer sentences
Describing with a whole sentence
To say “the book I bought”, Japanese puts a whole sentence in front of the noun. No word for “that” or “who” is needed.
The pattern
The description comes first
A whole sentence, in plain form
昨日買ったKinou kattabought yesterday
The noun it describes
本Honthe book
Forms
Plain forms, with two changes
だ becomes な after な adjectives, and の after nouns.
| Before the noun | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | 読む本, 読んだ本 | a book I read |
| い adjective | 高い本 | an expensive book |
| な adjective | 静かな人 | a quiet person |
| Noun | 医者の人 | a person who's a doctor |
Building it
How a sentence becomes a description
My friend wrote a book.
the book my friend wrote
Take out 本 and its particle, move it after the verb, and use the plain form.
people who live in Tokyo
the town where I was born
The noun can be a place.
the person who married Tanaka
Particles such as と stay.
Subject particle
は turns to が, and が can turn to の
the car I bought
Never は inside the description.
a person with big eyes
Short descriptions can use の for が.
Other kinds
Nouns explained by the sentence
I can smell fish grilling.
The noun is something the event produces.
It's a plan to go to Hokkaido.
The sentence tells you what the plan is.
Check yourself
What does the description tell you?
Your turn
が or は?
It's the letter I wrote.
Put it together
This is the cake my mother made.
Say it yourself
Recommend a place
A friend asks for a restaurant. Tell them about the restaurant you went to last week, and that the person who cooks there is your friend.
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