Parts of Speech IV- Demonstratives

doyoueven-japanese:

Demonstratives show which noun is being spoken about, such as “This student” and “That student" 
There are a set of demonstratives that are followed by a noun, and a set that is followed by the particle ‘wa’.

These are followed by a noun:

• この ko-no   This
• その so-no   That
• あの a-no   That over there
• どの do-no   Which
• こんな ko-n-na   This kind
• そんな  so-n-na   That kind
• あんな  a-n-na   That kind over there
• どんな do-n-na   What kind

These are not to be confused with pronouns. 

Example sentences:

このほんはいいです。ko-no ho-n wa i-i de-su
This book is good.

そのほんはおおきい。 so-no ho-n wa o-o-ki-i
That book is big.

あのたてものはぎんこうだ。a-no ta-te-mo-no wa gi-n-ko-u da
That building over there is a bank.

どのすしはおいしいですか。do-no su-shi wa o-i-shi-i de-su-ka
Which sushi is tasty?

こんながくせい　konna gakusei
This kind of student

どんなひと   donna hito
What kind of person

These are followed by the particle ‘wa’

• これ ko-re  This
• それ so-re  That
• あれ a-re   That over there
• どれ do-re   Which

Example sentences:

これはほんだ。kore wa hon da
This is a book.

それはドアです。 sore wa DOA* desu
That is a door.

あれはきっさてんだ。are wa kissaten da
That over there is a café

どれはいいがくせいですか。  dore wa ii gakusei desu ka
Which is a good student?

*DOA (Door) is in caps because it is in Katakana.

There are other words that follow the ‘Ko, So, A, Do’ pattern. Such as:

• ここ　ko-ko  Here
• そこ   so-ko  There
• あそこ   a-so-ko  Over there
• どこ   do-ko   Where
• こちら  ko-chi-ra   This way
• そちら   so-chi-ra   That way
• あちら   a-chi-ra    That way over there
• どちら   do-chi-ra   Which way
• こう  ko-u   Like this
• そう  so-u  Like that
• ああ  a-a   Like that over there
• どう   do-u  Like what/ How

A common expression in Japanese is そうです (soudesu) or　そうですか (soudesuka), meaning “It’s like that.”/ “That’s right.”  and “Is that so?” respectively.

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