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Grammar 2B

これ、それ、あれ、どれ
Personal Referents
Counting Numbers and Money (JSL p. 57)
Miscellaneous Notes

これ、それ、あれ、どれ

これ "this thing near me"
それ "that thing near you"
あれ "that thing over there"
どれ "which thing?"

れい (Examples)

  1. A: なんですか。
    A: What is it?

    B: これですか。ざっしです。
    B: You mean this? It's a magazine.

  2. A: いくらですか。
    A: How much is it?

    B: どれですか。
    B: Which one?

    A: それです。
    A: That one.

  3. A: きれいですねえ。
    A: It's pretty, isn't it?

    B: あれですか。ああ、きれいですねえ。
    B: You mean that one over there? Oh, it IS pretty.

れんしゅう (Exercises)

Respond to the following questions.

  1. なんですか。
    Is it this one?

  2. これですか。
    No, it is that one (near you).

  3. どれですか。
    It is that one over there.

  4. かいましたか。
    Which one is it?

  5. あれですか。
    No, it isn't that one. It's this one.

Answers

Personal Referents

Avoid using personal pronouns (such as "he", "she" or "you") as much as possible! Japanese use personal names instead of the pronouns.

れい (Examples)

  1. A: たなかさん、いきませんか。
    A: Mr. Tanaka, won't you go?

    B: わたしですか。いえ、ちょっと…
    B: Me? Well, no...

  2. A: すずきさんじゃありませんか。
    A: Isn't he Mr. Suzuki?

    B: そうですね。すずきさんですね。
    B: That's right. He is Mr. Suzuki.

れんしゅう (Exercises)

Express the following in Japanese.

  1. A: Do you understand?
    B: Yes, I do.

  2. A: Are you a student, Mrs. Saito?
    B: Yes, I am.

  3. A: Is she a teacher?
    B: No, she is a student.

  4. A: Aren't you Mr. Yamada?
    B: No. I'm Tanaka.

Answers

Counting Numbers and Money (JSL p. 57)

れい (Examples)

  1. A: いくらですか。
    A: How much is it?

    B: 154 (ひゃくごじゅうよ)えんです。
    B: It's 154 yen.

  2. A: いくらでしたか。
    A: How much was it?

    B: 3690 (さんぜんろっぴゃくきゅうじゅう)えんでした。
    B: It was 3690 yen.

れんしゅう (Exercises)

Express the following in Japanese.

  1. 17
  2. 71
  3. ￥44
  4. 460
  5. 659
  6. 100
  7. ￥800
  8. ￥1000
  9. ￥3377
  10. ￥8999

Answers

Miscellaneous Notes

  1. じしょ vs. じてん, e.g.

    えいわじてん "English-Japanese dictionary"
    わえいじてん "Japanese-English dictionary"

  2. Polite alternatives

    ともだち vs. おともだち "friend(s)"
    だれ vs. どなた "who"
    いくら vs. おいくら "how much"

  3. Usage of じゃ(あ) "well then; if that is the case", e.g.

    A: えいごですよ。
    A: It's English.

    B: じゃ、わかります。
    B: Well, if that's the case, I understand it.

  4. Personal Pronouns

    わた(く)し "I"
    ぼく "I", used only by men
    あなた "you"


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