Minna No Nihongo Lesson 6 Grammar – Part 2

Minna No Nihongo Lesson 6 Grammar – Part 2

MINNA NO NIHONGO Lesson 6 (N5)
Grammar part 2

4. なん and なに (nan & nani)

Both なん and なに mean “what”.
a) なん is used in the following cases.
* When it precedes a word whose first mora is either in the た, だ, な

それは何ですか。
Sore wa nandesu ka?
What is that?

何の ほん(本) ですか。
Nan no hondesu ka?
What is the book about?

ねる(寝る) まえに、何といいますか？
Neru mae ni nan to iimasu ka?
What do you say before going to bed? (L.21)

* When it is followed by a counter suffix or the like.
テレサちゃんは 何歳 (なんさい)ですか。
Teresa chan wa nansai desu ka?
How old is Teresa?

b) なに is used in all other cases.
何をかいますか。
Nani wo kaimasu ka?
What will you buy?

5. N (place) で V
When added after a noun denoting a place, で indicates the place where an action occurs.
えき(駅) で しんぶん(新聞) を買います。
Eki de shimbum wo kaimasu
I buy the newspaper at the station.

*In previous lesson, another usage of で is tool.

Example:
はし で ラーメンを たべます.
Hashi de ramen wo tabemasu.
I will eat ramen using chopsticks.