For us to be able to be able to construct, translate, and communicate sentences, let us

start with being familiar with some vocabulary. Are you ready? Here we go!   
Watashi   I       
Anata  You     
Watashi tachi    We     
Kare He     
Kanojou She      S
ensei   Teacher     
Gakusei  Student     
Tomodachi   Friend 
Nihonjin Japanese
Amerikajin  American   
Chuugokujin  Chinese 
 Firippinjin  Filipino         
  Eigo  English language   
Firippingo  Tagalog 
SENTENCE STRUCTURES
The Japanese language simply follows a series of patterns that you can follow and in no
time at all, you can construct as many sentences as you want! 
DECLARATIVE SENTENCES are sentences that end in period. In Japanese, the basic
pattern for DECLARATIVE SENTENCES is:
SUBJECT+WA+PREDICATE+DESU
Example    Watashi + wa + sensei + desu.    Translation   I am a teacher.
The particle   (wa) indicates that the word before it is the subject of the sentence.
When we write the PARTICLE WA, we use the HA SYMBOL but pronounce it as WA.
We only pronounce it as WA for this particle. All the rest of the words that has the HA
SYMBOL is pronounced as HA. AS LONG AS THERE IS A SUBJECT IN THE SENTENCE,
AFTER THE SUBJECT COMES PARTICLE WA. ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT.
(desu) is a sentence ender. It conveys that the speaker is being polite towards the
listener. Also, nouns used with  desu  work as predicates. After DESU, the Japanese
usually end writing a sentence with a small maru (◦) as their period.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES are sentences that end in a question. In English, we use
the (?) symbol. In Japanese, this symbol is translated as KA. The basic pattern for
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE is:

SUBJECT + WA + PREDICATE +  desu KA

Example     Anata + wa + gakusei + desu + ka       translation    Are you a student?

AFFIRMATIVE STRUCTURE (YES)
The basic pattern that we use for AFFIRMATIVE STRUCTURE is:

HAI (YES) + SUBJECT + WA + PREDICATE + DESU

 
To simply put it, we just add HAI at the start of the sentence.
Example        Hai + Watashi + wa + sensei + desu.          Translation    Yes,  I am a teacher.
 
NEGATIVE STRUCTURE (NO)
 
The basic pattern that we use for NEGATIVE STRUCTURE is:
 

IIE (NO) + SUBJECT + WA + PREDICATE + JA ARIMASEN

 
To simply put it, we just add IIE at the start of the sentence and change DESU to JA
ARIMASEN.
example   Iie + Watashi + wa + gakusei + ja arimasen.      Translation  No, I am not a
student.
Ja arimasen is the negative form of desu.  
name     namae     
hobbies   shumi
friend     tomodachi 
classmate      dokyusei   
 foreigner       gaijin       
 child      kodomo
man        otoko         
  woman    onna         
 reading  dokushou           
cooking   ryouri                 
they  karera       
person  hito
The most common particle and which we have just discussed is the particle WA. Now,
let’s learn the other particles!
            Particle          (mo)
Particle (mo) is used after a topic instead of  (wa) when the statement about the topic is
the same as the previous topic. The particle
 (mo) can be translated as “both,” “too” and “also” in English.
Example:
I am a Filipino.                                  Watashi wa Firippinjin desu.
Ms. Santos is also a Filipino.       Santos san mo Firippinjin desu.
Notice that the basic pattern slightly changed. In this particular structure, when we use
the PARTICLE MO, we OMIT the PARTICLE WA.
Other forms of Particle MO:
BOTH
Example:

Eigo Nihongo

Jack and Jill are Both Americans JAKUSAN MO JIRUSAN MO AMERIKAJIN DE

 
Notice that the subject in this sentence is Jack and Jill and so we translate that first
together with the particle MO and then followed by the word Americans and we end
with desu.
When we use the word BOTH, we also translate MO twice. This is ALWAYS THE CASE.
TOO
Example:

Eigo Nihongo

Ms. Mei is a teacher too MEISAN MO SENSEI DESU

 
Again, notice that the PARTICLE WA is OMITTED in the basic pattern. We translated the
subject Mei first followed by the particle MO and then followed by teacher and we end
with desu.
Particle   (to)
The particle  (to) is used to enumerate all items. This particle could be translated as ‘and.’ 
 Example:
Yuki and Mei are not teachers.         Yuki san to Mei san wa senseitachi ja arimasen.
-TACHI is added at the end of nouns and pronouns to make it plural.  This is strictly used
for persons only.  
Particle          (no)
     (no) is used to connect two nouns wherein N1 modifies N2. The particle  (no) explains
what N2 is about. Also, particle (no) denotes ownership or possession.
Example:
John is an English Teacher.      John san wa Eigo no sensei desu.
Notice the above example. N1 is John and N2 is English teacher.
Particle   (no)
Denotes ownership or possession.
Example:

NOUN POSSESSION TRANSLATION (NIHONGO)

I my WATASHI NO

You your ANATA NO

He
his KARE NO
 

She her KANOJO NO

Person Person’s HITO NO

 
To simply put it, just add the PARTICLE NO after the NOUN to turn it into possession.
When we use it in a sentence, we follow this same pattern.
Example:
My hobby is bowling.    Watashino shumi wa bowling desu.
Notice that our subject is My hobby. So we translate that first using NO since My is
possession and then followed by hobby which is shumi and then the particle wa which is
a subject indicator and then bowling and we end with desu.
Particle   (kara)
 (kara) is used as an indicator of location or place or origin. The particle is translated as
‘from’ in English.
Example:
The English teacher is from America.  Eigo no sensei wa Amerika kara desu.
When we use the PARTICLE KARA in a sentence, we translate it after the location/place
unlike in English. Basic pattern is: LOCATION/PLACE + KARA.

Basho Place

Gakko School

Ie House

Kyoushitsu Classroom

Toshokan Library

Shokudou Canteen

Kyoukai Church

Ginkou Bank

Byouin Hospital

Jimusho Office

Koen Park

Makēto Market

Mise Store/ Shop

Toire Restroom

 
Demonstratives       (koko  soko  asoko)
  (koko  soko  asoko) are demonstratives that refer to a place.  (koko) refers to the place
near the speaker;  (soko) refers to the place near the listener; and,   (asoko) refers to the place
far from both the speaker and the listener. To simply put it, KOKO means HERE, SOKO means
THERE, and ASOKO means OVER THERE.
                        Noun + wa + kosoado + desu.        or       kosoado   +  wa + noun + desu.
 Example:

Toshokan wa koko desu.

The library is here.

Anata no kyoushitsu wa soko desu ka.

Is your classroom there?

Kyoukai wa asoko desu ka.

Is the church over there?

 (doko desu ka)   (doko)  is used to ask the question ‘WHERE.’

Example:     Where is the school?     Gakkou wa doko desu ka.
Again, notice that when we use an INTERROGATIVE WORD in Japanese, we translate it
at the last part of the question unlike in English where we find it at the start of the
question.
Demonstratives  Kochira, sochira and  achira are also used to refer to a place, in which
case, they are politer than koko, soko, and asoko. To simply put it, KOCHIRA is THIS
WAY, SOCHIRA is THAT WAY OR THAT IS THE WAY and ACHIRA is THAT WAY
OVER THERE.
 Example:

Kochira kudasai.
This way please.

Sochira wa shokudou no toire desu.

That is the way to the canteen’s restroom.

Achira wa sensei no jimusho to gakusei no kyoushitsu desu.

That way over there is the teacher’s office and the student’s classroom.

 (dochira desu ka)    (dochira) means ‘which direction’ and can also mean ‘where.’
This is a polite way to ask the question ‘where.
Example:

Byouin wa dochira desu ka.

Where is the hospital?

You have been introduced with INTERROGATIVE WORDS in the previous lessons. Do
you still remember the rule when using interrogative words in a question?
Here are the rest of the INTERROGATIVE WORDS
 (dare desu ka)   (dare) is used to ask the question ‘who.’
Example:

Anata no tomodachi wa dare desu ka.

Who is your friend?

Eigo no sensei wa dare desu ka.

Who is your English teacher?

dare no desu ka)  the question  (dare) used with the particle  (no) is used to ask the
question ‘whose.’ or who owns
Example:

Eigo no jishou wa dare no desu ka.

Who owns the English dictionary?

Keisanki to kamera wa dare no desu ka.

Who owns the calculator and the camera?

(nan desu ka)  what it is ? can also be used to ask the question NANI as an INFORMAL
FORM.
Example:

Sore wan nan desu ka.

What is that?

Kore wa nan desu ka.

What is this?

(nanno N desu ka)  The question (nan) plus the particle (no) asks the question ‘what kind
of?’ or ‘what sort of?’ This interrogative word is always followed by a noun.
Example:

Sono shinbun wa nanno shinbun desu ka.

What kind of newspaper is that newspaper?

Sore wa nanno jishou desu ka.

What sort of dictionary is that?

 
There are many counters used by Japanese.  When Japanese count:
Persons    #  +  NIN
Time         #  +  JI
Cars          #  +  DAI
Age           #   +  SAI
Month      #   +  GATSU
Year           #  +  NEN
Date          #   +  NICHI
There are still many counters and there are many exceptions also especially from
numbers 1 - 10.
TIME  PATTERNS

1. Hour: #         +          - ji

Example:
12:30 PM gogo juuniji han

Approximately 6:00 AM gozen rokuiji goro

Exactly 10:00 PM choudo gogo juuji

 
The Pattern for Time is we translate AM/PM first, followed by hour, minutes, and
seconds.
When we want to use the word approximately, we translate AM/PM first, followed by
hour, then minutes, then seconds and then the word approximately is translated last.
When we want to use the word exactly, we translate the word exactly first, followed by
AM/PM, and then hour, then minutes, then seconds.
Exemptions: 

4:00* yoji

7:00* shichiji

9:00 AM* gozen kuji

Jikan Time

- Ji Suffix for Hour

- Fun / - Pun Suffix for Minutes

- Byou Suffix for Seconds

Gozen AM

Gogo PM

Choudo Exactly

Goro Approximately

Han 30 minutes

1. Minute: #         +          -fun/ -pun

 
1 minute ippun

2 minutes nifun

3 minutes sanpun

4 minutes yonpun

5 minutes gofun

6 minutes rokufun

7 minutes nanafun

8 minutes happun

9 minutes kyufun

10 minutes juupun

- ban counter for Number

- nin counter for People

- sai counter for Age

- nen counter for Year

- gatsu counter for Month

- nichi counter for Calendar Days

- youbi suffix for days of the week

Getsyoubi Monday

Kayoubi Tuesday

Suiyoubi Wednesday

Mokuyoubi Thursday

Kinyoubi Friday

Doyoubi Saturday

Nichiyoubi Sunday
Tanjoubi Birthday

 The Japanese Numbers are perhaps the easiest to learn in the Japanese language. This is
because the Japanese simply uses patterns to be able to translate numbers! Ready to
learn numbers? Here we go! 
In English, a large number is divided into three-digit groups - base group and subsequent
groups of thousand, million,billion etc.  In Japanese, the counting method from 1 - 999 is
repeatedly used for each group.
COUNTING  PATTERNS

1. Eleven to Nineteen (11 - 19)

                        10        +          #
Example:

11 10 + 1 juuichi

  juu   ichi  

18 10 + 8 juuhachi

  juu   hachi  

One Hundred to Nine Hundred Ninety-nine (100 - 999)

                         (#)100            +          (#)10              +          #
Example:

400 (4) 100 + - - +   yonhyaku

  yon hyaku            

937 (9) 100 + (3) 10 + 7 kyuuhyaku sanjuu nana

  kyuu hyaku   san juu   nana  

 
               Exceptions:            300 - sambyaku
                                                 600 - roppyaku
                                                 800 - happyaku
 
One Thousand to Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-nine (1,000 – 9,999)
                         (#)1 000         +          (#)100            +          (#)10              +          #
Example:

2000 - - - - -
1000
(2) ni + + + nisen
  sen          

9021 (9) -               -               kyuusen

1000 10
+ + (2) ni + 1 ichi
  kyuu sen -               -               juu nijuu ichi

 
               Exceptions:           3 000 - sanzen
                                                 8 000 - hassen
When you know how to translate numbers, it is now easy for you apply them in daily
conversations! Are you ready to apply numbers in daily life?
 

Bango Number

Rei/ Zero Zero 0

Ichi One 1

Ni Two 2

San Three 3

Shi/ Yon Four 4

Go Five 5

Roku Six 6

Shichi/ Nana Seven 7

Hachi Eight 8

Kyuu Nine 9

Juu Ten 10
Hyaku Hundred 100

Sen Thousand 1 000

Man                                                                 Ten Thousand  10,000

 
Just like Japanese numbers and counters, we use basic patterns for existence words.
When you get confused with the use of many new words, simply go back to basic
patterns and you’ll never go wrong! Ready to learn them? Ok! Here we go! 
(imasu) is a verb which primary means “to be located.” It is used to indicate that living
things, whether animals or humans are present or existing. IMASU is STRICTLY USED for
ANIMALS or HUMANS only.
 (Arimasu)
(arimasu) is used to indicate objects or things that are inanimate are present or existing.
Things, plants and places belong in this category. When the word is neither animal nor
human, we automatically use ARIMASU.
 (arimasu) is also used to express the idea of “to have.”
SENTENCE  PATTERN                             __________ GA    IMASU.           
                                                                      __________ GA ARIMASU.
Example:

Kodomo ga imasu. There is a child.

Hon ga arimasu. There is a book.

 
This sentence pattern is used to indicate the existence or presence of an object, person
or animal. The object, person or animal in such a sentence is treated as the subject and
marked with particle  (ga).
This sentence pattern is also used to indicate possession (has or have). The verb is still
used to indicate animate objects or to indicate inanimate objects.
Example:

Kodomo wa inu ga imasu.

The child has a dog.
Watashi wa hon ga arimasu.
I have a book.

Doubutsu Animal

Ki Tree

Hana Flower

Usagi Rabbit

Inu Dog

Neko Cat

Tēburu Table

Isu Chair

This is the continuation of module 10 for IMASU AND ARIMASU.  As we have studied,
the verb IMASU is used to indicate animate or living things.  The verb ARIMASU is to
indicate inanimate or non-living things.
The sentence pattern A  is:  Place Ni _________ Ga IMASU.
                                               Place Ni __________Ga ARIMASU.
Particle NI is used to indicate the place where a person, animal or an object is located.
Example:  Kyoushitsu ni gakusei ga imasu.    There is a student in the classroom.
                  Kyoukai ni teburu ga arimasu.       There is a table in the church.
The sentence pattern B is:  _________ wa Place Ni IMASU.
                                              __________ wa Place Ni ARIMASU.
This sentence pattern is used to explain the location of the subject, marked by the
particle wa.
Example:  Sensei wa jimusho ni imasu.        The teacher is in the office.
                  Isu wa mise ni arimasu.                The chair is in the store. 
BASIC PATTERN FOR EXISTENCE WITH LOCATION: LAST WORD + NO + LOCATION
+ NI + NOUN + GA + IMASU/ARIMASU.
Example:

Te-buru no ue ni hon ga arimasu.

There is a book on top of the table.

Kyoukai no soto ni neko ga imasu.

There is a cat outside the church.

Ue Up/ Top/ Above/ Over/ On

Shita Down/ Bottom/ Under/ Below/

Shita Beneath

Hidari (Gawa) Left (Side)

Migi (Gawa) Right (Side)

Mae Front/ Before

Ushiro Back/ Behind

Mannaka Middle

Aida Between/ Among

Naka In/ Inside

Soto Outside

Soba Beside

Tsugi Next/ Following

Tonari Next/ Next Door

Machi Town/ Neighborhood

Michi Road/ Way/ Street/ Path