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3.4: Dialogue 4

  • Page ID
    31521
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    In the office, Michael has just finished creating a file.

    Michael:来月 らいげつ からのスケジュールですけど、ちょっと見 み ていただけませんか。 Raigetsu kara no sukejuuru desu kedo, chotto mite itadakemasen ka.

    About the schedule for next month (and after), can I have you look at it for me?

    Tanaka:いいわよ。ファイルを、送 おく って。 Ii wa yo. Fairu o okutte.

    Sure. Please send me the file.

    Michael: はい、よろしくお願 ねが いします。 Hai. Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu.

    Got it. Thanks in advance.

    Later

    Tanaka: スミス君 くん 、例 れい のファイルは? Sumisu-kun, rei no fairu wa?

    Mr. Smith, what about that file (you mentioned)?

    Michael:あれ?一時間 じかん 前 まえ に送 おく りましたけど. Are? Ichi-jikan mae ni okurimashita kedo.

    What? I sent it an hour ago but…

    Tanaka:変 へん ねえ。 Hen nee. That’s odd, isn’t it.

    Michael:もう一度 ど 、送 おく ります。 Mou ichi-do okurimasu. I’ll send it again.

    Vocabulary

    raigetsu らいげつ 来月 next month
    +shiryou しりょう 資料 documents, materials, data
    +repooto レポート report
    itadakemasen ka いただけませんか can I have?
    Mite itadakemasen ka. みていただけませんか
    見ていただけませんか can I have you look?
    okurimasu おくります 送ります send
    okutte kudasai おくってください 送ってください please send
    rei れい 例 (X) in question, (X) discussed earlier
    are? あれ? What? Huh? (I’m puzzled)
    hen (na) へん(な) 変 odd, strange

    Grammar Notes

    ~te itadakemasen ka More on Requests

    We have learned how to request things using kudasai and onegai-shimasu. We will now add a slightly more polite way of asking, itadakemasen ka, which means ‘can’t I have X?’ So, you can request for coffee in the following three ways.

    コーヒー、ください。 Koohii kudasai.

    コーヒー、お願 ねが いします。 Koohii onegai-shimasu.

    コーヒー、いただけませんか。 Kohii itadakemasne ka.

    When requesting an action, you have leaned to use a ~te form alone (informal) or a ~te form plus kudasai. You can also substitute itadakemasen ka for kudasai to make a more polite request. So, you can ask for help in the following three ways now.

    てつだ って。 Tetsudatte.

    手伝 てつだ ってください。 Tetsudatte kudasai.

    手伝 てつだ っていただけませんか。 Tetsudatte itadakemasen ka.

    These are the most common request forms in Japanese, but there are many more—dozens, perhaps. It’s important to choose a right request form for each situation. The choice is made based on the elements such as the relationship between the speakers, the nature of the request you are making, the setting, etc.

    Relative Time Words

    Time expressions such as san-ji ‘3 o’clock’ and mik-ka ‘the 3rd’ indicate specific times. In contrast, expressions such as kyou ‘today’ and ima ‘now’ refer to relative times defined by their relationship to the timing of an utterance. These relative time words usually do not require the time particle に while specific time expressions do.

    あした、します。 Ashita shimasu. I’ll do it tomorrow.

    土曜日 どようび に、します。Doyoubi ni shimasu. I’ll do it on Saturday.

    In the chart below, note the regular elements such as mai~ 毎 ‘every X’, sensen~ 先々 ‘X before last’, sen~ 先 ‘last X’, kon~ 今 ’this X’, rai~ 来 ‘next X’, sarai~ 再来 ‘X after next’. Watch out for the irregular items, marked in yellow below.

    clipboard_eb4bf02a7f92dcf4393fc6a851ef29403.png

    来月からのスケジュール Noun + Particle as a Noun Phrase

    A noun + certain particles can constitute a noun phrase. The particles include kara, made, de, e, and to. Just like a regular noun phrase, the resulting combination can be followed by desu and its variants and can be connected to another noun by particle no.

    イギリスからです。 Igirisu kara desu. It is from England.

    友 とも だちとじゃないです。 Tomodachi to ja nai desu. It’s not with a friend.

    イギリスからのおみやげ Igirisu kara no omiyage a souvenir from England

    友 とも だちとの旅行 りょこう です。 Tomodachi to no ryokou desu. It’s a trip with a friend.

    Note the difference in the following:

    来月 らいげつ から 出 張 しゅっちょう です。Raigetsu kara shucchou desu. From next moth, I have a business trip.

    来月 らいげつ からの 出 張 しゅっちょう です。Raigetsukara no shucchou desu. It is [a business trip from next month].

    The first sentence answers the question of ‘what does your schedule look like?, for example, while the second one answers ‘which business trip are you talking about ?’


    This page titled 3.4: Dialogue 4 is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Emiko Konomi (Portland State University Library) .

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