1. to notice ‘noun’; to realize that ‘sentence phrase’
「noun」+ に気がつく
「sentence phrase」+ ことに気がつく
*for な adj, use な as short-form particle for present tense
remember that こと can be translated in two ways: as a noun meaning ‘thing’ and as a nominalizer meaning ‘that’
試験が終わってから、答えを間違えたことに気がつきました。
After finishing the test, I realized that my answers were wrong.
家に帰って始めてかばんの中のさいふがなくなっていることに気がついた。
When I began to return home, I realized that my wallet inside of my bag wasn’t there.
2. to hope/pray that ‘x’ will become a reality
this is used in writing and formal situations and for one’s own hopes/desires
「verb in short form present tense」+ ように(と) 願う (to hope)/ 祈る (to pray)
子供達が幸せな 人生が送れるようにと願っています。
I hope that the kids can live a happy life.
多くの人々が早く世界が平和になるように願っています。
I hope a lot of people will become to live life in peace quickly.
3. some do ‘x’ and some do ‘y’; sometimes ‘x’ and sometimes ‘y’; ‘x’ and also ‘y’ as well
presents a parameter/category and the varieties within; this pattern expresses two similar varieties or can contrast the two varieties
「noun1」も「verb in ば form」、「noun2」も「verb」。
*using できる for both verbs is awkward, do not do
すしは好きな人もいれば、きらいな人もいます。
There are people who like sushi and other people who don’t like sushi.
category: sushi variety: people who like/dislike it
この教科書は、会話も練習できれば、文化も学べます。
This textbook has dialogue practice and can lean culture as well.
category: textbook variety: has both dialogue and culture studies
4. I wonder . . . why . . .
this is used in written form to express a question addressed to oneself; the spoken form is ~かなあ
「phrase in short form」+ のだろうか
*for nouns and な adj in short form, use な
漢字を練習する時いつも、どうしてこんなにたくさん漢字があるのだろうかと思う。
Every time I practice kanji, I think why is there a lot of kanji?
田中さんは1月中咳をしている。 熱もあるようだ。病院に行かなくて大丈夫なのだろうか。
Tanaka has been coughing all January. It looks like he has the fever too. I wonder if he’ll be okay not going to the hospital.
5. that/this kind of ‘x’; ~like that/this
pattern: *this pattern is the more colloquial form vs こういう・そういう・ああいう ; remember that the topic can also be used as a emotional/mental distance as well
そんな [that; closer to the other person]
あんな [that; neither close to both]
こんな [this; close to the speaker/a stated fact]
A:田中さんは、将来日本の会社で働くのがゆめなんだって。
B:ヘー、田中さんがそんなゆめを持っているなんて、全然分からなかった。
A: Tanaka’s dream is to work at a Japanese company in the future.
B: Really? I had no idea that Tanaka had that kind of dream.
絶対に怒らない人がいるのだろうか。私は絶対にそんな人はないと思う。
I wonder if there is a person that absolutely never gets angry. I think there isn’t that kind of person, at all.
6. each ‘x’; one’s own ‘x’; in one’s own way
それぞれ can act as a predicate or to describe a noun;
それぞれ + の + noun
学校が終わって、子供はそれぞれ自分の家に帰って行った。
Once school ends, the kids go back home by themselves.
ここはセルフサービスですから、それぞれ自分の好きな食べ物を取って食べて下さい。
This is a self service, so please take your favorite food by yourself.
7. seem; apparently; I heard that~; it looks like
「short form phrase」+らしい
*for nouns and な adj, there is no particle
らしい is an い adj and expresses the speaker’s guess based on observation/from hearsay of others
so far, other learned patterns that are similar: そうだ、みたい、ようだ
来月山田先生が結婚するらしいですよ。
It seems that Professor Yamada will get married next month.
-similar to みたい IF it was based on observation, like seeing an engagement ring
昨日、日本で大きいじしんがあったらしいですね。田中さんのご家族は大丈夫でしょうか。
Yesterday, it seems that Japan had an earthquake. Is Tanaka’s family alright?
-similar to そうだ IF it was based on hearsay, like hearing the news on the radio
-similar to ようだ IF it was based on observation and from one’s guess, like seeing it on TV
8. continue to do ‘verb’; continue ‘verb’-ing’; keep on ‘verb’-ing
expresses what one does out of choice/one’s will
「verb stem form」+ 続ける
外国語が上手になりたかったら、あきらめないで毎日勉強し続けることが大切です。
Because I wanted to become good at speaking a foreign language, it’s important to continue to study everyday without giving up.
朝から晩までコンピュータのスクリーンを見続けているので、目が悪くなってしまった。
Because I continue looking at the computer screen from morning till evening, my vision has regrettably become bad.
9. nothing but/only; always/all the time
it can imply that someone does nothing else but ‘x’ or chooses to do nothing else but ‘x’ as in だけ; in turn, it can be that someone always does ‘x’ or chooses to always do ‘x’ as in いつも- based on the context of the sentence, it can be identified which one is being used
i. 「noun」+ irreplaceable particle (に・へ・と) + ばかり + 「verb」。
アニメばかり見る;田中とばかり踊る (dance)
ii. 「the noun of (noun +する) verbs」+ ばかりする。
(勉強する)ー> 勉強ばかりする
iii. 「verb in て form」+ ばかりいる。
(遊ぶ)ー> 遊んでばかりいる
*thinking from an American-English standpoint, we would generally say:
“Tanaka always plays games” and “Tanaka does nothing else but play games”
‘always’ is used as an adverb-subjective verb and ‘nothing’ is used as an adverb-objective verb
田中さんはゲームばかりする can be expressed as Tanaka does nothing else but play games while 田中さんはゲームしてばかりいる is a bit ambiguous, but most likely it is Tanaka is always playing games.
the colloquial/spoken of ばかり is ばっかり
たけしさんはへコンピュータゲームばかりしていて全然勉強しないそうです。
It seems like Takeshi is always playing games and never studies.
勉強ばかりして運動しないというのは健康によくありませんよ。
To always study and not workout is not healthy.
credits: Tobira textbook