Although のに

A close cousin to ので (above), is のに. It is often used to show disappointment in the current situation.

Just add it after an adjective... 一生懸命勉強したのに、テストを落ちた。 isshou kenmei benkyou shita noni, tesuto o ochita. Even though I studied really hard, I flunked the test.

Because II ので

We have looked at some 'becauses' that mainly act as a preposition. ので comes at the end of the phrase.

In English we start the phrase with `because`; in Japanese you often say the reason first and then the because...

Just add it after an adjective...
そのかばんは高いので、ずっと使うつもりです。
sono kaban wa takai node, zutto tsukau tsumori desu.
Since that bag was expensive, I plan on using it for a long time.

Just add it to the simple form of any verb
ゴジラが来るので、東京は怖いところです。
gojira ga kuru node, toukyou wa kowai tokoro desu.
Since Godzilla comes, Tokyo is a scary place.

After a noun or a -na adjective add a NA before NODE...
私はまだ学生なので、お金がない。
watashi wa mada gakusei na node, okane ga nai .
Because I am still a student, I don`t have any money.

Easy to... ～やすい

It's easy to add "easy to" to verbs!  Consider the following verbs in the masu form:

たべ ます tabe masu [to eat]　　たべ やすい tabe yasui [easy to eat]

Did you see that?  If you know the -masu form of the verb, you can easily drop the -masu and add a yasui.  

わかり ます wakari masu [to understand]　　わかり やすい wakari yasui [easy to understand]

Hard to... ～にくい

If "easy to" is easy to use (see above) then you would think that "hard to" would be hard to use.  Well, they had to go and make it easy as well.  Usage is the same as -yasui (easy to)

たべ ます tabe masu [to eat]　　たべ にくい tabe nikui [hard to eat]

 If you know the -masu form of the verb, you can easily drop the -masu and add a nikui.  

わかり ます wakari masu [to understand]　　わかり にくい wakari nikui [hard to understand]

How... どう

Here is a very useful question word -- どう　dou -- Let's look at ways of using dou.

どう　です　か？ dou desu ka?  How is (it)? [Use this for asking about food, or anything that is being done now] どう　でした　か？ dou deshita ka? How was (it)? [Use this to find out about past experiences - movie, last night's date, molded pizza you just ate...]

OTHER WAYS!

どうやって？ dou yatte? How do you do it? [Ask this when you are not sure how to do something]  どう　しました　か？ dou shimashita ka? What happened? [Ask this if someone looks sad or something has happened] どうしよう dou shiyou What shall (I or we) do? [This is often used when you can't make a decision and want help... doushiyou, ne!] どう　する　の？dou suru no? What will you do? [When you want to encourage someone to make a decision -- Well, what will you do?]

Isn't it? でしょう

If you want to state your opinion and then encourage someone to agree, use deshou. 

フィリピンは暑いでしょう?
firipin wa atsui deshou? 
The Philippines is hot, isn't it?
[You are expecting a 'yes' answer]

痛いでしょう？
itai deshou?
It hurts, doesn't it?
[You see someone who has just slammed their head in the low doorway]  

But usually でしょう is used to mean 'probably':

雨が降るでしょうね。
Ame ga furu deshou ne. 
It will probably rain, don't you think?

And another common usage is どうでしょう meaning 'how about...' or 'what do you think about'

うどんはどうでしょう？
udon wa dou deshou? 
How about some Udon?

Negative adjectives

we say `not red` to show an absence of that color in English. In Japanese as with the verbs, the adjective`s ending is modified with a negative ending. You will notice a great similarity with the verbal endings.

With `i` adjectives the `i` changes to a `ku` before adding the `nai`... そのりんごは赤くない。sono ringo wa akakunai. That apple isn`t red. `na` adjectives simply drop the `na` (which is really only used before nouns) and add `ja nai` or `ja arimasen` (or dewa nai & dewa arimasen)... 私は、きれいじゃない。watashi wa kirei ja nai. I am not pretty.

To learn more about adjectives click here.

Negative verbs

It isn't a sin to be negative. Interesting I should say that... 'sin' sounds like 'sen' which marks the negative in Japanese in the -masu form. (Ok, so I set that one up...)

話せます hanasemasu - can speak becomes...

私は、日本語が話せません。
watashi wa nihongo ga hanasemasen.
(I) can`t speak Japanese.

分かります wakarimasu - understand becomes...

私は、英語が分かりません。
watashi wa eigoga wakarimasen.
(I) don`t understand English.

If you can make the -masu form, just drop the す and add the せん。

You may have noticed there are no `no` words needed to make a negative like in English. You simply modify the verb`s ending.

To make the negative in the plain, or simple, form by taking the basic stem and adding ない to it.

With the `ru` verbs you simply drop the る and add ない as in 忘れる wasureru (to forget)...

日本語を忘れない。
nihongo o wasurenai.
(I) don`t forget Japanese.

And for the `u` verbs we change the ending `u` sound to a `a` sound as in 書く kaku -> 書か...

手紙を書かない。
tegami o kakanai.
(I) don`t write letters.

Finally we come to する and the other irregular verbs.

する is しない in the simple form and しません in the polite form

スカイダイビングをしません。
sukaidaibingu o shimasen.
(I) don`t do sky diving.

And 来る kuru is 来ない konai and 来ません kimasen in the formal...

ゴジラが来ない。
gojira ga konai.
Godzilla doesn`t come.

To review the 3 types of verbs click here.

Plan to 予定、つもり

If you plan on speaking Japanese these two words are very useful.予定 yotei and つもり tsumori

予定 yotei and つもり are very similar in meaning and usage. 予定 conveys more of a `schedule` feel whereas つもり is more of a `conviction of doing something. All you have to do is to stick either on the end of a verb (simple form)...

To add つもり or 予定 to any verb just find the simple form...

日本に行くつもり/予定です。
nihon ni iku tsumori (or yotei) desu.
I intend to go to Japan.
[if you use tsumori, you `intend` to go one way or another; if you use yotei you already have a hard schedule set to leave at a certain time.]

Here is how you add it to a する verb

あなたと結婚するつもり/予定です。
anata to kekkon suru tsumori (or yotei) desu.
I intend to marry you.

You can also use it with nouns by sticking a の before the tsumori and after adjectives. But for now concentrate on the verb usage.

Punctuation 。、「」

Punctuation is in many ways similar to English. You have a comma, called a てん and a period at the end of a sentence called a まる.

Let`s quickly go over some common Punctuation thingies:

。	the まる acts just like our period by ending the sentence. It looks like a ball - maru
、	the てん acts like a comma. This is often found after は as in わたしは、あなたが好きです。 (I, like you)
「 and 」	These brackets hold quotations and work like our "" marks

Should/Must はず

You should know はず. It is easy and useful, therefore you have no excuse :)

Hazu shows an expectation that something should happen. In other words, you are pretty sure something is true. Let`s see how it works...

To add はず to any adjective just add it...

そのかばんは、高いはずです。
sono kaban wa, takai hazu desu.
That bag must be expensive.
[It is expected to be expensive]

Just add it to the simple form of any verb

あなたは、ゴジラを知っているはずです。
anata wa, gojira o shitteiru hazu desu.
You should/must know Godzilla.

Using 何

This is a very useful add-on.

Use it as a counter: 何人 nan nin how many people 来るのは何人ですか？kuru no wa nan nin desu ka? - How many people are coming? 何年 nan nen how many years 何年アメリカに住んでいましたか？ nan nen amerika ni sunde imashita ka? - How many years did you live in America? 何番 nan ban what number 次は何番ですか？ tsugi wa nan ban desu ka? - What is the next number? 何度 nan do what`s the temperature 温度は何度ですか？ ondo wa nando desu ka? - What is the temperature at? 何曜日 nan you bi what day of the week 今日は何曜日ですか？ kyou wa nan youbi desu ka? - What is the day of the week? 何日 nan nichi which day パーティーは何日？ pa-ti wa nan nichi? - What day is the party? 何個 nan ko how many pieces ジェリービーンを何個ほしいですか？ jeri-bi-n o nanko hoshii desu ka? - How many jelly beans do you want? And the following are a few of the adverbial usages of 何 何か nani ka something 何か飲みたい。 nanika nomitai - I want something to drink 何でも nan demo anything, whatever 何でもいいです。 nandemo ii desu. - Anything is fine. 何と nan to how...! 何とすばらしい日。 nan to subarashii hi. - What a wonderful day! 何のため nan no tame what for ここに来たのは、何のためですか？ koko ni kita no wa nan no tame desu ka? - Why did you come here? 何となく nantonaku somehow, in some way 何となく分かる。 nantonaku wakaru. - I somehow understand.

said といいました

Meet the wonderful 'と to.' Mr. と can act as a quotation marker ("). Don't confuse this with the と that means 'and.' Very often if you are quoting someone or some source. This is best shown with examples:

「俺はスーパマン」と言いました。
ore wa su-paman to iimashita.
He said, "I am Superman."

あの絵は十世紀に作ったと書いてあります。
ano e wa juu seiki ni tsukutta to kaite arimasu.
The book says (it is written) that this painting was made in the 10th century.

It can also be used to mark sound effects of things or animals:

あの犬は「ワン」と言いました。
ano inu wa 'wan' to iimashita.
That dog barked, "bark"

There are many other usages for 'to.' Paying attention to each usage will help you get a good grasp.