ぶんぽう (Grammar)

The negative question form Vませんか is commonly used to invite someone to do something together. Although the verb is grammatically negative, Vませんか functions as a polite invitation, similar to “Would you like to...?” in English.

あした、えいがを 見ませんか。		Would you like to watch a movie tomorrow?
ケーキを 食べませんか。		Would you like to eat a cake?
きっさてんに行きませんか。		Would you like to go to a cafe?

To accept an invitation, you can respond with いいですね (“That sounds good”) and Vましょう (“Let's ...”).

A:	あした、えいがを 見ませんか。		Would you like to watch a movie tomorrow?
B:	いいですね。いきましょう。✅		Sure, that sounds good. Let's go!

✅ See below for Vましょう expression.

Declining an Invitation: ～はちょっと…

Japanese speakers often avoid directly saying “no” when declining an invitation. One common strategy is to select the part of the invitation that does not work for you, mark it with は, and follow it with ちょっと… (“a little…”). The sentence is deliberately left unfinished, allowing the listener to understand that there is a problem without stating the refusal directly. An apology such as ごめんなさい or すみません is also often added. For example, suppose someone invites you to see a movie downtown tomorrow. You could decline by focusing on different aspects of the invitation:

B:

(1) ごめんなさい。あしたは ちょっと… (2) すみません。ダウンタウンは ちょっと… (3) ごめんなさい。えいがは ちょっと… (4) すみません。えいがを見るのは ちょっと… (5) ごめんなさい。(それは)ちょっと…

Sorry, tomorrow is a little difficult... I'm sorry, downtown is a little difficult... Sorry, a movie is a little... I'm sorry, watching a movie is a little... Sorry, that's a little...

The listener normally understands ～はちょっと… as a polite refusal even though the speaker never explicitly says “I can't” or “I don't want to.”

A:

それは ざんねんですねえ。

That's too bad.

In this lesson, we will learn another use of the particle に. The structure [V-stem + に + motion verb] expresses the purpose of going or coming somewhere. The V-stem + に part tells us what someone goes or comes somewhere to do. The verb stem (V-stem) is the ...ます form of a verb without ます. For example, 食べ is the verb stem of 食べます, and かい is the verb stem of かいます.

Destination	V-stemに	Motion V
うちに	おひるを 食べに	帰りました。	He went home to eat lunch.
本やに	本を かいに	行きます。	I will go to the bookstore to buy books.
ここに	何(なに)を しに	来ましたか。	What did you come here for?
ここに	また あそびに	来て下さい。	Please come visit here again.
Destination	Nounに	Motion V
としょかんに	べんきょうに	行きました。	I went to the library to study.
学生かいかんに	ひるごはんに	行きます。	I'm going to the student center for lunch.

Caution: The Vて form cannot be used with the purpose statement.

✽ おひるごはんを 食べてに 帰りました。[Ungrammatical]

We can use the structure [Place で + Event が あります] to say that an event or activity takes place at a particular location. The particle で marks the location where an event or activity occurs. Do not use に for the location in this structure. Recall that に marks the location where a person or object exists, while で marks the location where an activity or event takes place.

Time	Placeで	Eventが	あります。
土曜日に	パリで	コンサートが	ありました。	There was a concert in Paris on Saturday.
１１時に	オフィスで	かいぎが	あります。	There will be a meeting at the office at 11:00.
９時から	大学で	クラスが	あります。	There is a class at the university starting 9:00.

In conversation, Xって？ is often used to ask what an unfamiliar word or expression means. The particle って is a conversational quotation/topic marker. The rest of the question is left unstated because its meaning is clear from the context. For example,

• ナイターって？　“Nighter”?

This can be understood as a shortened form of:

• ナイターって なんですか。 What does ナイター mean?

In this example, ナイター is a type of カタカナ英語 (Japanese-coined English expression). It comes from the English word night and refers to a night game, especially a baseball game played at night. To answer this question, …のことです is commonly used.

• ナイトゲームのことです。 It means "night game."

This lesson introduces the polite volitional form, V-stem + ましょう. It is commonly used to suggest doing something together and corresponds to “Let's V” in English.

食べましょう。	Let's eat!
今日は三時に帰りましょう。	Let's go home at 3:00 today!
オーストラリアへ行きましょう。	Let's go to Australia!

Making Suggestions: V-stem + ましょうか

The pattern Verb-stem + ましょうか can be used to ask for a suggestion or propose doing something together.　Depending on the context, it corresponds to “Shall we...?” or a question such as “Where/What shall we...?” A and B below are deciding on where to go for coffee.

A:	どこにコーヒーを飲(の)みに行きましょうか。	Where shall we go for coffee?
B:	スタバで飲みましょう。	Let's have it at Starbucks.

A and B are talking about studying together.

A:	今日の午後 どこで べんきょうしましょうか。	Where shall we study this afternoon?
B:	としょかんで しましょう。	Let's study at the library.

A and B have agreed to do something together on Friday.

A:	金曜日に何(なに)を しましょうか。	What shall we do on Friday?
B:	こうえんへ でかけましょうか。	Shall we go to the park?
A:	ええ、そう しましょう。	Yes, let's do that.

Offering to Do Something: V-stem + ましょうか

We previously learned V-stem + ませんか for inviting someone to do something. In response to an invitation or in other situations where something needs to be done, V-stem + ましょうか can also be used to offer to do something yourself. In this use, it means “Shall I V?”

A:	こんばん、どこかで会(あ)いませんか。	Would you like to meet somewhere tonight?
B:	いいですね。 私が田中さんの家へ行きましょうか。	That sounds good. Shall I come to your house?
A:	ええ、おねがいします。	Yes, please.
B:	じゃ、何時(なんじ)に行きましょうか。	Then, what time shall I come?
A:	７時半(しちじはん)は どうですか。	How about 7:30?
B:	いいですね。	That sounds good.

The context -- and especially a subject such as 私が -- helps indicate whether ...ましょうか means “Shall we...?” or “Shall I...?”

Adding か to a question word creates an indefinite expression, referring to a person, thing, place, time, or choice that is not specifically identified.

どこか	somewhere
なにか	something
いつか	someday, sometime
だれか	someone
どれか	one of the them (three or more)
どちらか	either one (of the two)
どうか	somehow, in some way
なぜか	for some reason

Particles after Question Word + か

When が or を follows a Question Word + か expression, it can often be omitted. Other particles, such as に, へ, で, と, and から, cannot normally be omitted and must be kept. いつか, when it means “someday/sometime,” normally does not require a time particle.

どこかに どこかへ	行きませんか	Would you like to go somewhere?
どこかで	食べませんか	Would you like to eat somewhere?
なにか(を)	食べませんか。	Would you like to eat something?
いつか	えいがを見に行きましょう。	Let's go to see a movie sometime.
だれかに	会(あ)いました。	I met someone.
だれかと	話しました。	I spoke with someone.
だれか(が)	いますよ。	Someone is there.
だれかから	電話(でんわ)がありましたか。	Was there a phone call from someone?
どれか(を)	かいましょうか。	Shall we buy one of them?
どちらかに	します。	I will choose one of the two.
どうか	おねがいします	Please, I beg you.

To give a completely negative response to a QW + か question, we commonly replace か with も and use a negative predicate. This creates meanings such as “nothing,” “no one,” “nowhere,” and “neither.”

	A: テーブルの上に何(なに)かありますか。	Is there something on the table?
	B:いいえ、何もありません。	No, there isn't anything on the table.

Notice that expressions such as 何も and だれも do not mean “nothing” or “no one” by themselves. The negative meaning is created by combining QW + も with a negative predicate. When another particle is required, も generally follows that particle, as in どこにも, どこへも, and だれにも.

QW か	QW も + Negative		Examples
どこか	どこも + Neg.	nowhere, not anywhere	どこも行きませんでした =どこにも行きませんでした I went nowhere. どこもこんでいません Nowhere is crowded.
どこかに	どこにも + Neg.	not anywhere	どこにもないです
どこかに どこかへ	どこにも + Neg. どこへも + Neg.	to nowhere to nowhere	どこにも行きません どこへも行きません
なにか	なにも + Neg.	not anything	なにも食べません
だれか	だれも + Neg.	not anyone	だれもいません
だれかに	だれにも + Neg.	not to anyone	だれにもいいません
どれか	どれも + Neg.	not any one of them	どれもつかいません
どれかに	どれにも + Neg.	not to/on any of them	どれにもしません
どちらか	どちらも + Neg.	not either of the two	どちらもすきじゃないです
どちらかに	どちらにも + Neg.	to neither of the two	どちらにもしません

Some QW + も expressions do not have the expected meaning. The following are special.

どこかで	どこでも + Neg.	not everywhere	コンビニはどこでもありません They are not (necessarily) everywhere.
いつか	(There is already いつも "always.")

Nにします: Making a Choice

When choosing or deciding on something from available options, we commonly use Nにします, meaning “I'll have N,” “I'll take N,” or “I'll choose N.”

Q:	何にしますか。	What will you have?
A:	ハンバーグに します。	I'll have a hamburger steak.
	あ、やっぱりエッグサンドに します。	Oh, on second thought, I'll have an egg sandwich.

The particle に marks the option that the speaker decides on.

Nでいいです: Saying an Option Is Acceptable

When indicating that a particular option is acceptable or satisfactory, we can use Nでいいです, meaning “N is fine” or “N will be fine.”

Q:	何にしますか。	What will you have?
A:	エッグサンドにします。	I'll have a hamburger steak.
Q:	すみません。エッグサンドは ありません。	I'm sorry. We don't have egg sandwiches.
A:	じゃ、やさいサンドでいいです。	OK, then, a vegetable sandwich is fine.

Here, the speaker originally wanted an egg sandwich but accepts a vegetable sandwich as an alternative. Thus, Nでいいです often suggests “N is good enough / N will do,” whereas Nにします more directly expresses the speaker's choice. Compare:

1. やさいサンドに します。 I'll have the vegetable sandwich. → The speaker chooses it.
2. やさいサンドで いいです。 The vegetable sandwich is fine. → The speaker says that this option is acceptable.

Grammatically, で in Nでいいです is the て-form of the copula です. The expression can be understood literally as “With N, it is fine.”

Other Common Uses of Nにします

Nにします also occurs in some common expressions:

1. 食事(しょくじ)に しませんか。 Would you like to have a meal?
2. コーヒー／おちゃに しましょう。 Let's have a coffee/tea break.

The phrase particle だけ has the meaning of "only" or "just." It follows the word or phrase that it limits.

A:	ほかに何か。	Anything else? (Lit. Something besides [that]?) [ほか: other; ほかに: besides; 何か: something]
B:	それだけです。	That's all. (Lit. That is the only thing.)

When だけ is attached to a phrase marked by が, を, or は, these particles can often be omitted. If they are retained, they come after だけ.

A:	レタスとピーマンを買(か)いましたか。	Did you buy both lettuce and green pepper?
B:	いいえ、レタスだけ(を)買いました。	No, I bought only lettuce.

A:	みんな行きますか。	Will everyone go?
B:	田中さんだけ(が)行きます。	Only Ms. Tanaka will go.

A:	みんな行きますか。	Will everyone go?
B:	田中さんだけ(は)行きません。	Only Ms. Tanaka won't go.

Other particles, such as に, と, で, and の, cannot simply be dropped. Depending on what だけ limits, it may come either before or after some of these particles.

A:	どこにありますか。	Where is it?
B:	とうきょうだけにあります。 (or とうきょうにだけあります。)	It's only in Tokyo.

A:	だれと話しましたか。	Who did you talk with?
B:	田中さんだけと話しました。 (or 田中さんとだけ話しました。)	I talked only with Mr. Tanaka.

A:	何語(なにご)で書きましたか。	In what language did you write?
B:	日本語だけで書きました。 (or 日本語でだけ書きました。)	I wrote only in Japanese.

A:	みんなのケーキですか。	Is this a cake for everyone?
B:	田中さんだけのケーキです。	It's a cake only for Ms. Tanaka.