Unit 3 · だれの · Part 3

Softening and asserting

〜ね・〜よ

Goals

By the end of this part, you can…

Soften what you say with ね, when you expect agreement
Add よ, when you are telling someone something new

A conversation you can have in Japanese

YouThis is your bag, isn't it.

TanakaYes, it is mine.

YouThe company is over there, you know.

TanakaOh, thank you.

In this part

Warm-up — vocabulary

Say it in Japanese

Tap to check your answer

Grammar 1

Softening and asserting

ね and よ are how a sentence is aimed. ね expects the other person to agree — you both know it already. よ hands over something they did not know. Without either, a sentence can sound flat or blunt, so Japanese rarely goes without them.

Builds onSaying what something is (X は Y です)

1See how it works

Pattern

sentenceright?ねne /(telling you)よyoisn't it? / you know

Who already knows?ね assumes the listener agrees; よ assumes they do not yet know. Using よ where ね belongs can sound like correcting someone.

this oneこれkore(topic)はwaJapaneseにほんごnihongo(of)のnobookほんhon(polite)ですdesuright?ねneThis is a Japanese book, isn't it.the companyかいしゃkaisha はwaover thereあそこasoko ですdesu(telling you)よyoThe company is over there, you know.

2Build the pieceです → ですね / ですよ

e.g.わたしwatashiのnoですdesuit is mine→わたしwatashiのnoですdesuよyoit is mine, you know

1たなかさんtanakasanのnoほんhonですdesuit is Mr. Tanaka's book→たなかさんtanakasanのnoほんhonですdesuねne…isn't it2あそこasokoですdesuit is over there→あそこasokoですdesuよyoit is over there, you know3にほんじんnihonjinですdesuis Japanese→にほんじんnihonjinですdesuねneis Japanese, isn't it

3Say it in Japanese

That is your bag, isn't it. それsore はwa あなたanata のno かばんkaban ですdesu ねne。This one is mine, you know. これkore はwa わたしwatashi のno ですdesu よyo。

Summary

This part at a glance

Grammar 1

Softening and asserting

sentence ねne / よyo

これkore はwa にほんごnihongo のno ほんhon ですdesu ねneThis is a Japanese book, isn't it.

Drill — fill in the blank

Choose the right word

Tap to check your answer

1. This is a Japanese book, isn't it?これkoreはwaにほんごnihongoのnoほんhonですdesu 。ねne2. The company is over there, you know.かいしゃkaishaはwaあそこasokoですdesu 。よyo3. That is my bag, you know.あれareはwaわたしwatashiのnoかばんkabanですdesu 。よyo

Drill — translate

Write it in Japanese

Tap to check your answer

1. This is a Japanese book, isn't it?これkoreはwaにほんごnihongoのnoほんhonですdesuねne。2. The company is over there, you know.かいしゃkaishaはwaあそこasokoですdesuよyo。

Reading — read it aloud

たなかさんのですね

Ms. Suzuki checks what she has worked out, and gets one thing wrong.

すずきこれkoreはwaたなかさんtanakasanのnoかばんkabanですdesuねne。

たなかはい、わたしhai、watashiのnoですdesu。

すずきこのkonoとけいtokeiもmoたなかさんtanakasanのnoですdesuねne。

たなかいいえ、それiie、soreはwaあにaniのnoですdesuよyo。

すずきそうsouですかdesu ka。

たなかあにaniはwaいしゃishaですdesuよyo。

すずきかいしゃkaishaはwaあそこasokoですdesuねne。

たなかいいえ、かいしゃiie、kaishaはwaここkokoですdesuよyo。

Reading — questions

Answer in Japanese

Tap to check your answer

1. かばんkabanはwaだれdareのnoですかdesu ka。たなかさんtanakasanのnoですdesu。2. とけいtokeiはwaたなかさんtanakasanのnoですかdesu ka。いいえ、あにiie、aniのnoですdesu。3. かいしゃkaishaはwaどこdokoですかdesu ka。ここkokoですdesu。

By the end of this part, you can…

Say it in Japanese

Softening and asserting

This part at a glance

Choose the right word

Write it in Japanese

たなかさん の です ね

Answer in Japanese

たなかさんのですね