PuniPuni Grammar Lesson 1: A is B – Review Notes

Today we learned the basic sentence pattern A は B です (A wa B desu), or A is B. In this
review we will go over the sentences we learned in the video. We will also give additional
examples of ways to use this pattern, and a list of vocabulary to get you started!

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Today’s Grammar Point:

★　Today we learned the basic Japanese sentence pattern A は B です, or A is B.

★　You can use this sentence pattern to say many different things, including name, age, and
occupation.

★　In addition, you can use this pattern to talk about other people or objects.

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Video Example 1:

★　In the video, we learned that you can use this pattern to say your name.

★ 　 When introducing yourself in Japanese, it is also possible to drop the first part, the
topic (watashi wa), and say simply “Tom desu.” In Japanese, the topic is often dropped
when it is obvious what they are talking about. You can think of it as being like someone
introducing themselves in English with just a handshake, saying “Tom.”
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Video Example 2:

★　We also learned that you can use this pattern to identify or describe other people. This
could include nationality, physical features, or anything else that you could identify or
describe someone with.

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Grammar Explanation:

★　In the basic sentence A は B です, A is both the topic and the subject of the
sentence. A is a noun, such as a person, place, animal, or object. If you have a list of
nouns, you can plug them into A to make different sentences.

★　は (wa) is grammatically what they call a “topic marking particle.” It comes right after
the topic of the sentence. Although は does not literally mean “is,” it might be easier to think
of it that way when you are starting out.

★　B can be a noun or an adjective. It is the thing that we are identifying A as.

★　です (desu) is called the “copula.” It is the equivalent to the English verb “to be.” This is
the part of the sentence that technically means “is” or “am.” It also carries a level of
politeness or formality with it.

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Telling your age:

You can use this same structure to tell your age. All you need are the words for
“I” (watashi) and your age (listed below). Plug these into the formula and you can say
your age!

私は１５さいです。

Watashi wa jūgosai desu.

I am 15 years old.

Age list:

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Telling your occupation:

You can also tell your occupation using the pattern A は B です, or A is B. For example,

私は学生です。
 watashi wa gakusei desu.

I am a student.

Vocabulary list:

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Talking about other people or things:

You can use this same pattern to talk about other people or things. The following nouns are
some of the words that could be used in place of A.

Example 1:
 彼は大学生です。

Kare wa daigakusei desu.

He is a college student.

Example 2:

これはペンです。

Kore wa pen desu.

This is a pen.

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Conclusion:

Today we learned that we can make a lot of different sentences by using the pattern A は
B です, or A is B. Some of the things we learned to say using this pattern include, how to
say our age, our occupation, and our name, and how to talk about other people or things.