In Lesson 21, we learned honorific expressions (i.e. honorific verbs, adjectives, nouns, and honorific request/advice).  Honorific expressions, known as 尊敬語(そんけいご) in Japanese, describe the actions, attributes, possessions, etc. of people to whom the speaker expresses respect by bestowing honors on or exalting them.  Therefore, honorific expressions should not be used to talk about yourself.

We can also indicate respect to the people we are talking to and/or referring to by describing our own actions (or actions of our in-group member(s) when talking to out-group member(s)) in a modest or humble way.  Depending on whether the speaker’s action involves the person to whom s/he wants to show his/her respect, they are divided into (a) humble expressions () and (b) extra-modest expressions.

(a) Humble Expressions (known as 謙譲語 ( けんじょうご ) )

The speaker can use humble expressions when the actions s/he performs involve the person(s) to whom s/he wants to show respect (such as visiting, speaking and giving to other people, etc. or hearing and receiving from other people, etc.). The following are verbs with a special humble form:

	English		Neutral Forms		Humble Forms
	go		行く		[u] うかがう
	come		来る		[u] うかがう
	ask		聞く		[u] うかがう
	receive		もらう		[u] いただく
	give (to others)		あげる		[ru] さしあげる
	say (to others)		言う		[ru] もうしあげる
	know		知っている		[sp] ぞんじあげています or ぞんじております
	do not know		知らない		[sp] ぞんじません

Note that three basic verbs (行く, 来る and 聞く) have the same special humble form (うかがう):

• きのう、部長のおたくにうかがいました。
  I humbly visited (= went to) the division manager’s home yesterday.
  
  
• 来週の月曜日にまたこちらにうかがいたいんですが。
  I would like to visit (= come) here again humbly next Monday. [Is it all right?]
  
  
• ちょっとうかがいたいことがあるんですが。
  There is something I would like to ask you (humbly).

もらう and あげる also have special humble forms, いただく and さしあげる, respectively.

• 先生に辞書(じしょ)をいただきました。
  I humbly received a dictionary from my teacher.
  
  
• 田中せんぱいにさしあげるプレゼントをもう決(き)めましたか。
  Did you decide the present you are going to give to our senior member, Mr. Tanaka, yet?

The humble forms of 言う ("say") and 知っている ("know") are also special.

• こんな時は部長に何ともうしあげたらいいんでしょうか。
  What should I humbly say to the division manager in this kind of case?
  
  
• 斎藤(さいとう)先生: スミスさんは東大の上田先生を知っていますか。
  　　　　　Mr. Smith, do you know Prof. Ueda of Tokyo University?
  スミス： ええ、ぞんじあげています (or ぞんじております)。
  　　　　　Yes, I humbly know him/her.
  斎藤先生: ブラウン先生は？
  　　　　　How about Prof. Brown?
  スミス： いいえ、その方(かた)はぞんじません。
  　　　　　No, I don't know him/her.
  

For other verbs, you can create humble forms by applying the /お + verb stem + します/ pattern.

	English		Neutral Forms		Humble Forms (): /お V-stem する/
	meet		会う		お会いする
	lend		貸(か)す		お貸(か)しする
	hold/carry		持(も)つ		お持(も)ちする
	borrow		借(か)りる		お借(か)りする
Exception:
	see		見る		拝見(はいけん)する

• かさをお貸(か)ししましょうか。
  Shall I lend you an umbrella?
  
  
• 先週、パーティーで社長のおくさまにお会いしました。
  I met our company president’s wife at the party last week.
  
  
• 私がそれをお持ちします。
  I will carry that one (you are carrying).
  
  
• この本をお借りしてもよろしいでしょうか。
  Would it be all right if I borrow this book of yours?
  
  
• 先生のプレゼンを拝見(はいけん)しました。
  I saw your presentation.

For the /N + する/ compound verbs, the humble form is /ご (or お) + N + します (or いたします)/. In most kanji compounds, the prefix ご (i.e., ごNする) is used. However, some /N + する/ compound verbs such as 電話する uses the prefix お.

	English		Neutral Forms		Humble Forms (): /ご or お N する/
	meet		紹介(しょうかい)する		ご紹介する or ご紹介いたします
	lend		連絡(れんらく)する		ご連絡する or ご連絡いたします
	show (around)/guide		案内(あんない)する		ご案内する or ご案内いたします
Exception:
	call		電話する		お電話する or ご電話いたします

Examples:

• ご紹介(しょうかい)(いた)します。こちらは日本大学の山下先生でいらっしゃいます。
  I humbly introduce (someone) to you. This is Prof. Yamashita of Nihon University.
  
  
• 後(のち) ほど (a polite version of 後(あと)で) 係(かかり)の者(もの)がごれんらく(いた)します。
  The person in charge will humbly contact you later.
  
  
• 部長(ぶちょう)： ミラーくん、お客様(きゃくさま)を会議室(かいぎしつ) (conference room) までごあんないして。
  　　　　　　　Mr. Miller, please (humbly) usher the visitors to the conference room.
  ミラー： はい。(to visitors) どうぞ、こちらへ。
  　　　　　Yes.  (to visitors) Please, (come) this way.
  
  
• 今晩(こんばん) 、お電話してもよろしいでしょうか。
  Is it all right to call you tonight?

Not all verbs can be changed to a humble form with the /お or ご ＋ V-stem + する/ pattern if the action does not involve other persons.

Also note that it is inappropriate to use the /V (て-form) + さしあげる/ pattern when you are speaking with your superior. This is because giving any impression of "doing a favor to your superior" makes your superior lose his/her face and sounds rude. In such a case, drop the giving verb. Instead, just use the /ご (or お) + noun + します (or いたします)/ pattern introduced above.

説明(せつめい)してさし上げましょうか。　→　ご説明(せつめい)いたします。
Shall I explain it for you?　　　　　　　I will explain.

(b) Extra-Modest Expressions (Briefly introduced as "business" forms in L.9/21)

Some verbs have special extra-modest forms.  Extra-modest expressions are used when you want to talk modestly of your own actions (or actions of your in-group members) which do not involve the person with whom you are speaking.

			Extra-modest expressions
	いる		おります
	行く		まいります
	来る		まいります
	言う		もうします
	する		いたします
	食べる		いただきます
	飲む		いただきます
	ある		ございます
	～ている		～ております
	noun + です		noun + でございます

• 今日は午後七時までオフィスにおります。
  I will be in my office until 7:00pm today.
  
  
• 先週の週末はデパートへ買い物にまいりました。
  I went to a department store for shopping last weekend.
  
  
• つぎの電車は10時にまいります。
  The next train is coming at 10 o’clock.
  
  
• 私(わたくし)、よこはま銀行の山田と申(もう)します。
  I'm Yamada of Bank of Yokohama.
  
  

• もうしわけありません。今すぐじゅんびをいたしますから、もう少々お待ちください。

  You have my apologies.  We will get ready right away.  Please wait a little bit longer.
  
  

• A：昼ご飯はめしあがりましたか。
  　　Did you eat lunch (yet)?
  B：はい、もういただきました。

  　　Yes. I already ate lunch.
  
  
• ふじんふく売り場は三階(かい)にございます。
  Women’s clothing department is on the third floor.
  
  
• 父は銀行につとめております。
  My father is working for a bank.
  
  
• ニューヨークに行く飛行機(ひこうき)はあちらでございます。
  The plane going to New York is that one over there.
  

Both humble expressions and extra-modest expressions are used to talk about yourself (or your in-group member) and almost always used in polite forms.

Caution: NEVER use humble forms to refer to the other's (= outgroup member's) action. Even though the following sentences end with a polite ます form or an honorific request form, they are extremely rude.

1.	ウェイター： 何を いただきますか。 [Rude/Unacceptable] Waiter: What would you humbly like to have?
2.	今すぐじゅんびを いたしてください。[Rude/Unacceptable] Please prepare for it right now.

Exercise: Think of a new situation in which the question in #1 above can be used acceptably.

This pattern expresses the idea of doing something (V2) without doing something else (V1). This expression is about the actions of the same person (i.e., The subject of V1 should be the same as that of V2).  For example,

• きのうはつかれていたので、おふろに入らないでねてしまいました。
  Because I was tired yesterday, I ended up going to bed without taking a bath.
  
  
• 朝ねぼうしたので、朝ご飯(はん)を食べないで大学に来ました。
  Because I overslept, I came to university without eating breakfast.
  
  
• 予約しないでレストランに行ったら、レストランはいっぱいだった。
  When I went to the restaurant without making a reservation, the restaurant was full.

When there are only two alternative actions, V1 and V2, this pattern expresses the occurrence of V2 instead of V1.

• 今日はさむいから、ねる前にシャワーをあびないでおふろに入(はい)ろうと思います。
  Since it’s cold today, I want to take a bath instead of taking a shower before going to bed.
  
  
• たいてい晩(ばん)ご飯(はん)を食べてから家に帰りますが、今日は食べないで帰ります。
  I usually eat dinner and go home, but today I will go home without eating.
  

In Lesson 12, we learned how to express statements said by other people, using an indirect quotation /plain pred + と言う/ pattern.

• せんぱいが山下先生のクラスはおもしろいと言っていました。
  My senior student said that Prof. Yamashita’s classes were interesting.
  
  
• ルームメートは今日はアルバイトがないと言っていました。
  My roommate said that he doesn't have a part-time job today.

In this lesson, we will learn how to embed a question within a sentence. Depending on whether the embedded question is a Wh-question (i.e. question with a question word) or a Yes-No question, you can embed it in the following way:

Embedded Wh-questions

Wh-Question (with plain-form)

か

pred.

Embedded Yes-No questions

Question (with plain-form)

かどうか

pred.

When the predicate following the embedded question indicates the act of "asking," it becomes indirect quotation of questions.  As in indirect quotation of statements, the tense in the embedded question remain the same as in the original question.

• ルームメートに今日は何時ごろに帰るか聞きました。
  I asked my roommate (about) what time s/he would come home today.
  
  
• 友だちに今日も図書館で勉強するかどうか聞きました。
  I asked my friend whether (or not) s/he would study in the library today, too.

The predicates following embedded questions are not limited to those which expresses the act of "asking."

• 今日、田中さんが来るかどうか知っていますか。
  Do you know if Mr. Tanaka is coming today?
  
  
• おととい、何を着ていたかおぼえていません。
  I don’t remember what I was wearing the day before yesterday.

Please note that when predicate in the embedded question is a non-past affirmative な-adjectival or nominal predicate, だ is dropped.

• これが何語(なにご)か分かりません。(何語だ + か → 何語か)
  I don’t know what language this is.
  
  
• スミスさんのアパートがしずかかどうか知りません。(しずかだ + かどうか → しずかかどうか)
  I don’t whether Mr./Ms. Smith’s apartment is quiet or not.

When question ending in ～んですか is embedded, the embedded question ends in のか(どうか).

• メアリーさんにどうしてきのうパーティーに来なかったのか聞きました。
  I asked Mary why she didn't come to the party yesterday.

Please also note that the particle が (rather than は) is often used for the subject in the embedded questions.

• A: ささきさんがどこに住んでいるか教(おし)えて下さい。
  　　Please tell me where Mr/s. Sasaki lives. 　　
  B: 私はささきさんがどこに住んでいるか知りません。
  　　I don’t know where Mr/s. Sasaki is living now.

This structure is mainly used to indicate the name of an object N.  It can be used whether the item is an animate or inanimate object.

• 三時ごろ山下という人から電話がありました。
  There was a phone call from a person by the name Yamashita around 3 o'clock.
  
  
• 私はジョージア州(しゅう)のマリエッタという所に住んでいました。
  I used to live in the place called Marietta, GA.

In Japanese, it is possible to ask a question 何というX such as 何というレストランが一番(いちばん)おいしいですか. The phrase 何というレストラン (literally, "a restaurant called what") is embedded in a broader structure ～が一番おいしいですか that is asking for information about the "most delicious" restaurant. The translation of this question poses a challenge: The restaurant called what is the most delicious? A more natural translation is something like What’s the name of the most delicious restaurant? or Which restaurant is the most delicious restaurant? However, these translations lose the direct focus on the embedded clause. The structure is somewhat unique to Japanese, and conveying it naturally in English requires rephrasing to fit the logic and grammar of the language.

How do you ask the following questions in Japanese? Use the 何というX pattern.

• You want to know the name of anime someone likes the most.
  ⇒
  何というアニメが一番好きですか。
  
  
  
• You want to know the name of university someone is studying at.
  ⇒
  何という大学で勉強していますか。

Please familiarize yourself with the following words and expressions:

The particle を in expressions such as この道をまっすぐ行く, ～のかどを左にまがる, つきあたりを右にまがる, and ～のしんごうを右にまがる above does not mark the direct object. Instead, it marks the place through which the subject moves. This type of を is also used with intransitive verbs like さんぽする (e.g. 時々家の近くのこうえんをさんぽする) and 通(とお)る (e.g. ここに来る時に小学校の前を通った). The following is an example of giving directions.

A:	この近(ちか)くにコンビニがありますか。 Is there a convenience store nearby?
B:	ええ、この道をまっすぐ行って、二つ目のかどを左にまがったら、右に見えますよ。 Yes. If you go straight this way and turn left at the second corner, you will see it on your right.

You can express the idea that something is either "easy to do" or "difficult to do" by adding い-adjective ～やすい or ～にくい to a verb stem. The subject of this structure is not limited to the direct object of the verb. It may be a place, a tool, etc.

このくつはとても歩きやすいです。 These shoes are very easy to walk in. 田中先生は話しやすいです。 Dr. Tanaka is easy to talk to. あの人の話は分かりにくいです。 That person’s talk is hard to comprehend. このコンピュータは使いにくいです。 This computer is difficult to use.

FYI: There is another い-adjective ending, ～づらい, which can be attached to a verb stem to express the idea that something is difficult to do. This ～づらい expression is used when the difficulty arises from psychological reasons (e.g., この話は田中さんにちょっと言いづらい: This topic is a little difficult to talk about with Mr. Tanaka). The ～づらい comes from い-adjective つらい, which means psychologically painful.

The following sentences illustrate the differences between ～にくい and ～づらい:

この車はこわれにくい。 This car is hard to break down. この車はこわれづらい。 [Ungrammatical] This car is uncomfortable to break down.