This is part 2 of the て form series, part 3 of the verbs series, and part 7 of the core grammar series! What a mouthful! If you enjoyed this video and would like to get access to bonus content like worksheets and lessons, consider supporting me on Patreon! www.patreon.com/JouzuJuls Also we've recently rebranded the Discord server so come on over to be part of the Jouzu Gumi community! discord.gg/UaDRc9fR4U
I am very lucky that my native language is Turkish, there are so many similarities in grammatical reduplications that while Europeans deal with grammar, we only memorize words and pronunciation :) ぴかぴか - pırıl pırıl きらきら - cıvıl cıvıl ふわふわ - yumuşak yumuşak ぐるぐる - döne döne しとしと - hafif hafif ちょろちょろ - cıvıl cıvıl もりもり - bol bol さくさく - gevrek gevrek
The way you explain stuff just makes it work in my brain. This method is so much more easier to understand than forcing english meanings on them! Thank you for making these videos
I love these Cure Dolly-like explanations. 😭 I hate how westerners force Indo-European grammar onto Japanese and make it look so complicated and illogical, when it's nothing like that. Japanese grammar is extremely logical and easy. What usually throws us off is the expression strategy which in Japanese can be completely different than what we're used ot.
"Expression Strategy" is the key word here! Glad you picked up on the most important thing! Once we understand that what's natural in Japanese is not necessarily what's natural in English, it really does allow Japanese to stand by itself in our minds! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I also love Cure Dolly’s explanations and I’ve learned a lot about Japanese structure with her book and videos. The only issue I have is that she equates “western grammar” with English grammar and takes concepts at a micro level. Grammar constructs are much more abstract than just words. An example that still rubs me is when she would insist that there is no passive in Japanese. Actually, there are no know human natural language that do not have passive. But it does show up many different ways in different languages. Some have specific verbal forms, others use word order or different strategies, but they still have a passive form. Another example is insisting there are no conjugation in Japanese and then immediately go on and conjugate verbs. When you understand the concept of conjugation at a higher level as simply changing a verb to modify its meaning or to connect it (and nothing else) then it’s obvious Japanese has conjugation (the vowel changes of go-Dan verbs are conjugations). When you understand the base particles as Japanese manifestation of a case system, there is no need to imagine an exotic system (ga is a genitive, wo is an accusative, etc….).
i saw the train and instantly was reminded of Dolly-sensei. and then i saw her mentioned in the video. RIP. i miss her so much. but glad her legacy is living on.
As such a fundamental grammar concept, this is one of those things that once you understand, it really opens up so many doors in Japanese! Glad I was able to explain this to you clearly!
There have been a lot of YT videos* who hit me like that. E.g. for graphics programmers: Acerola explained the rendering process for any CGI better than the entire module of my 1st year at Uni in a 30min long video.
Cause your japanese teacher can't speak english and you speak english. Imagine that you are fluent in japanese and listening your japanese teacher explains this topic in japanese. You will understand well
I remember she said she has to take a break, I didn't know she's gone, really sad to hear, I hope you're wrong but, you probably aren't :( . I recognized the train metaphor and thought it's stolen but you gave credit so that's ok, Hope you keep reminding of her, I never heard anyone to have such a different and advanced way of explaining the language before her.
Wrt the English "ing" stuff around 3:44... I mean we can do "I was watching" or "I will be watching." Isn't that effectively the same thing? We are conjugating an auxiliary verb to convey some information in addition to the continuous aspect that is being expressed.
You’re exactly right, it’s the past progressive tense. It was a bit frustrating that he overlooked such a basic English grammar point. I still enjoyed the video though since I’m using it to learn Japanese, not English 😅
Learning Japanese, it blows my mind just how complicated English actually and how 80% of Americans don’t even think much about it, thanks for your videos!
Not just Americans, but like 99% of native speakers (myself included) do not really think much about their native language! Learning Japanese has also really opened my eyes to how complicated English is- and in a way, also how fascinating it is. Though I'm much happier that I already know English and I'm learning Japanese- I can't imagine trying to learn English as an adult 😭😂
Yeah I can confirm. If I stop a second to think I realize that something in my native language will sound difficult for non natives, cause every language is different. Being a native of a romance language, sometines japanese grammar looks weird, but for sure it's the same way for them to learn mine
@@canalesenzanome4830 The secret is to not assume that what's natural in Japanese is what's natural in your native language as well. By understanding that they have an entirely different way of expressing even the most simple things- and understanding how that works in our native language (but may be unnatural)- we can really begin to understand the beauty of how different languages express the same thing! 😁😁
Stop. It's well known if you look at the data that English is one of the easiest languages to learn for a reason. Meanwhile languages like Japanese have some of the hardest grammar and Concepts to understand which is why it takes of the two years to get fluent and that's assuming that you're really good and that's what the state department data says from the FSI. So while you may feel that English is more difficult, the reality is it's just not.
@@JouzuJuls Yeah that's the thing about learning another language. It seem so hard, yet you usually don't realize that you already have mastered a difficult language (your native one) and know everything about it, including all the difficult stuff.
I'm so happy to hear that the video helped you understand the て-form! It's a shame so many teachers present it to be a tricky concept when in reality it's just this simple! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've watched so many grammar classes but none of them were as good as this one. The way you're connecting the points makes it so much more instinctive to understand and easier to remember. Usually it felt like the grammar rules were isolated and I could only understand one at each class, but this just showed how benefitial it is to have them relating to each other, I'm really impressed at how well you explained it all
Didn’t expect Cure Dolly to be mentioned. I truly loved her. Her approach on teaching Japanese was so unique, I was heartbroken when I heard she passed away. So seeing her being mentioned like this and being given credits and keeping her approach alive is a very pleasant thing to see. I subscribed right away lol
I was just rewatching some of your other videos wondering when this would be released, thank you for continuing in the footsteps of Cure Dolly sensei to teach us Japanese in its natural form. Your videos along with her’s make it so much easier to understand the structure and grammar of Japanese
Great timing huh! 😂 . Thank you very much for watching and commenting! Very glad to continue sharing Dolly Sensei's system with more people- without her, there would be no me! 😎
Your videos have been so helpful! Not only is your editing out of this world, you also manage to explain seemingly complex subjects in an effortlessly clear manner. The use of colours for different conjugations is genius, it really helps to differentiate them instantly. I also appreciate how you translate the example sentences in a literal way, using the same train compartments Cure Dolly sensei used. This shows the underlying structure of the Japanese language and it makes so much sense! I've discovered your channel just recently, and I was shocked to see you didn't have +100K subscribers, even though the content and the quality of your videos is off the charts. I feel like UA-cam doesn't know how to categorise your videos properly, leading to them getting buried by the algorithm. It's such a shame! So here I am, liking and commenting to boost engagement in the hope that more people can find your amazing channel. Don't get discouraged, I'm sure you'll grow to greater heights! And thank you for continuing Cure Dolly's legacy, she will be missed.
Thank you so much for your incredibly kind and detailed feedback! Your words mean a lot to me. I'm glad you find the editing and explanations helpful, and I appreciate your recognition of the way I used colors (esp over the course of the past few videos). Trying to make these color codes consistent and mark different things was quite difficult! The UA-cam algorithm really do be like that, but comments like yours really encourage me to keep going. I'm honored to continue Cure Dolly's legacy. Your support is invaluable-thank you! 🙏
@@JouzuJuls Your hard work is definitely paying off! Details such as imagery, sound effects, font choice and memes may seem minor, but undoubtedly add up to a more interesting, memorable and fun learning experience. I'm looking foward to see what topics you'll cover next. Keep up the good work!
At first I was like "I feel like I have heard a similar explanation before", then I saw the trains and saw the reference to Cure Dolly in the description, and finally the direct shout out. What a fun experience. I am happy to have found another channel that can give logical explanations on grammar, even if they happen to be based on the same person.
I've watched all of Cure Dolly's videos, but when you said は = 'exclusive topic marker' and も = 'inclusive topic marker' that was such a concise and elegant way to sum up all the は/も thing. It also cleared up to me the ては and ても use, seeing it as は/も applies to the clause and て existing as a clause connector anyway as it would usually do. They are not applying to a noun but they really are doing what they are doing. The whole video and the て/い-stem comparison, it really is great. You're able to follow in Cure Dolly's footsteps and continue her work, thank you for all of it.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! What you've experienced the perfect example of what I was talking about at 12:05. Once what was REALLY going on was explained clearly, everything immediately clicks into place! The same experience happened for me when Dolly explained it to me for the first time too. I'm honored to continue Cure Dolly's work and legacy. Being recognized as a worthy successor truly means a lot! Thank you!
@@stephendeslandes5216 look in the language settings of your computer/phone/whatever you use. there should be a dropdown which will allow you to select japanese as a language on your device. note that there might be a short download time, but otherwise no real obstacles
16:50 small correction, the なさい imperative form goes with the verb stem, so you'd actually have 待ちなさい there. "待ってなさい"or "待っていなさい" would actually be the grouping of "待っている" in the continuous sense and "なさい", so that could be translated as "continue to wait" (as you were already doing).
3:45 “I was watching TV” is NOT an “A is B” sentence. “Was” Is a helping verb for “watching”. In this scenario, watching is a verb, not a gerund. So it seems to me “is/was” and “て” have a lot more in common than you think. But besides that, this video is brilliant. I had my “でも” revelation a few months back, but this helps me cement the idea into my smooth brain. Subscribed.
i cannot explain how much i loved this video. Ive been learning japanese on and off for four years and I knew most of these points, but explained like this they make so much more sense and theyre so so easy to comprehend. i saw another comment here about how they try to convert japanese grammar to indo european grammar points and how japanese is perfectly logical in and of itself, and i couldnt agree more. i wish this video had been there when i was just finding out about ている, would've saved me so much trouble. new sub for sure. ありがとうございます
You have a very concise way of explaining complicated subjects. Thank you, it really does help a lot. Greetings from Mexico, and congratulations on reaching N1.
Thank you! It's not that the subject is that complicated- it's just that many people teach it in a very complicated way for no reason! I'm just showing the reality of how simple it really is! 😁😁
Thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot to hear that you enjoy my videos. I'll definitely keep going and sharing more content! Thanks for your support!
This has made the て form so much easier to understand it actually blows my mind haha. Within 2 minutes of the video I already had a full page of comprehensive notes. Incredible video, very informative! Within an hour I was able to construct and understand more sentences with understanding! ほんとにありがとうございます！上手先生！サブスクライバーして！
Duuuude...this is the first video I found of yours....and bless your heart for carrying on Cure Dollys style and honoring her...she helped me soooo much when I felt like I was lost in sentence structure....respect
Thank you so much! I only have the gift of editing videos, the explanations are are all thanks to my teacher Cure Dolly sensei- without her, I would've not known any of this myself either!
Whoa i finally found a channel that explains the grammar like a grammar teacher would. I’ve been looking for something like this. Will definitely check out more of your videos
I am brushing up on grammar because I have so many gaps in my knowledge despite having passed N3. This video is so useful for me, thank you! I subscribed and can't wait to watch the rest of your videos on the topic as well as see you post new ones! 教えてくれてありがとうございます 🙇♂️
This is actually a GREAT explanation. This has actually solved my problem! I love how you explained it and i never did think of it. "Iru" is simply the existence of something! how did I not realize that before?
Thank you very much for your kind words! Mental health I'm doing a lot better, but I'm still dealing with the insomnia 😖. Really appreciate the support!
I love the way you present information and the way that you think. I despise grammar and all my friends know this. I for sure enjoy learning from your videos tho.
Thanks! Glad you appreciate the editing and found the video helpful! Be careful with Tofugu's guide as they make the mistake mentioned at 3:45 and confuse "A does B" sentences with "A is B" sentences- essentially flipping nouns with verbs and verbs with nouns, and also not being consistent with what the Copula is.
It takes me quite a long time to make vids (especially in the style of this one- this particular one took 1 month!) . So the hint to solve this is to ignore words like "transitive" and "intransitive" and treat the Japanese as Japanese. Really think about the Kanji that's used in 他動詞 and 自動詞 and that's the secret to unlocking this part of Japanese!
Thank you so much! It's awesome to hear that my videos have helped you appreciate Japanese grammar! It really is pretty logical and simple once you break it down huh?😎 Thanks for watching and commenting!
i was not expecting stumbling across a literal diamond mine clicking this video… you’ve terrorized me and broken everything i’ve worked on down but i’m somehow very grateful
Hi, great job on the explanation. I'm new to the channel, so I don't know what your stance is on covering colloquial speech. But I think in this case it's worth mentioning that ている often gets shortened to てる in spoken Japanese. (Similarly, ていく gets shortened to てく, but this is less common). People are definitely going to come across this shorter form, and might not realize it's the same thing.
Hello! Thanks for watching and commenting! I've actually written a note about this on screen at 1:51. I had written in my notes to also include てく on screen too but seems I forgot to do so while editing! 😭
Just realized this is a concept I had already broken down unknowingly through years of listening. It's really affirming to have it explained like this!! You've successfully inflated my ego and inspired me to study more lol
That's awesome to hear! Glad I was able to put into words what you've intuitively grasped! Thanks for watching and commenting, hope to see you around here more as you continue to study!
This is literally the third video that I've watched from your channel and surely the UA-cam algorithm must be drunk your videos are so well made and you deserve much more reconnection for that By the way new subscriber here That video of yours about Japanese language verbs got my atention Thanks 👍
Thank you so much for checking out my other videos too! The UA-cam algorithm can be a bit funny sometimes, so I'm really grateful for your support. Can't wait to share more content with you!
Thank you for breaking down the grammar this way. I'm a very analytical learner, and I've been stumped by the basic grammar for a while and have been getting by just accepting and having memorized it, but being able to properly comprehend each part of these constructions is a breath of fresh air. I would disagree that English doesn't have a 〜ていた form, however. With the past and past perfect continuous (or past/past perfect progressive) form of our verbs, we absolutely can have been watching TV: "was watching" and "had been watching" (both in a state of "watch" in the past, each with different reference points). This is not an "A is B" sentence, as you phrase it (what is called "stative" in grammar), because the verb is not a linking verb, but an action verb. "Was" or "had been" function not as the main verb but as auxiliaries. While "watching" can be described as a noun in certain contexts, it functions here as part of an entire verb phrase; "was watching" or "had been watching" are the complete verb phrases. To be fair, although this seems like a fairly petty point, even we (native English speakers) didn't get into the terminology and logistical construction of verb structures with any intensity until early university. (The _Little, Brown Handbook_ is the gold standard if you're interested in that level of depth, but it is geared toward an academic audience and, sadly, isn't cheap.) Understanding them on this level is almost necessary when you start getting to the more gnarly tense constructions and broader linguistic concepts of the Indo-European family of languages.
I'd really like more clarification from Jouzu Juls on why ~ていた doesn't work the way you described for the same reason. I feel that because the "was" in "I was watching TV" functions as an auxiliary verb, it cannot be separated on its own from "watching." A stative/A is B sentence for that would be "I (subject/noun) was (verb, past to be) watching (noun, a state of watching.) An A does B sentence in English is "I (subject/noun) was (auxiliary verb "is", conjugated and functioning like いた) watching (見て) TV (テレビを） Alternatively, I had been watching TV is something you can do that matches ~ていた as well, at least I thought so and would like to know more why it doesn't work.
Yeah my friend group has completely ruined my perception of the word “come” and subsequently the ability to watch a video like this like a mature and functioning adult.
I once had a chat with someone where I used "coming" as an example and said it was "来る". They responded by asking me "wait I thought it was イク" I said "different coming"
Just a humble Senpai* sharing what I've learned too! 他動詞 and 自動詞 are actually REALLY big but not that hard to grasp at all! Soon to come! Thanks for watching and commenting!
As a non-english native speaker, I liked cure dolly sensei's content, but had a hard time following her robotic voice. You give a second breath to her ideas, which is awesome. I even understand things I didn't understand at the time, either because I wasn't ready at the time, or thanks of the S tier quality of your videos. Thank you.
Thank you for making this video. I paused learning Japanese for awhile now and this video really motivates me to come back. You explained it very well and I immediately subscribed. 👍🏻🙇🏻
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm really glad to hear that my video has motivated you to continue learning Japanese. Welcome back to your language journey, and thanks for subscribing! 👍🏻🙇🏻 Keep up the great work!
thanks, i love your videos on japanese grammar. they really help and usually save up a bunch hours of studying (even though i might spend hours rewaching the video)
Thanks! I’m glad my videos help you with your studies. Rewatching is definitely a great way to allow more/different info to stick each time. Even these days I sometimes return to Dolly Sensei's videos and learns something new too!
I have watched a few Cure Dolly videos but my ADHD brain has difficulty concentrating on them for some reason. These are a lot easier for me to follow. I really appreciate you making them!
Thank you very much! In order to speak Japanese as close to a native as possible, it requires a lot of time and consistent effort. The main thing you'll need to get lots and LOTS of comprehensible input. Grammar videos like these are only a supplement to your learning, you can watch all my grammar videos but still never truly acquire the language if you don't immerse. To see how I got started and what I did on my first year, please watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/Jp92ZHyR_rw/v-deo.html
Hello. Thank you for your new great video. Overall, I agree with your explanations (except some things like your interpretation of the は particle in your "bread example" that I disagree, as I've already explained it by commenting another video). Indeed, we can understand ている structure as "being/existing in the state of...", an interpretation I understood thanks to some textbooks I've read. Thanks to that, I could understand many sentence patterns, like 起きています or 死んでいる. Yes, understanding basic structures lets us understand more complex ones that use those more basic "jigsaw pieces". But there are some limits. You already talked about the ていく structure: the first time we see it, we can't guess for sure that it can have a "figurative meaning", so we have to learn that meaning. As for ては pattern, even if we know the meanings of て and は, first time we can't guess that this pattern expresses some "negative consequences" (and that is why this is also used in order to express obligation or prohibition, an "if we don't do that, something bad would occur" meaning), so we have to learn it. About your パンは食べた example, as I've already explained it, I disagree: I think it does not mean "Bread is the only thing I ate", but rather "What I did to the bread is eating it", which does not necessarily means that I ate bread only. If bread was the only thing I ate, instead of は particle, we should have used だけ or しか. However, there is indeed an "exclusive" feeling when using the は particle, but not on the way you said: it just means that the "eating" information in that sentence is in the limit of "bread" field, but one more time, I think that does not mean that bread is the only thing I ate, because after this sentence, I could add other sentences, like チーズも食べた ("I ate cheese too"). This は particle acts like a "pointer" thing, like a laser pointer, that shows us who or what is concerned by the information I give at the end of the sentence, but in my opinion that does not mean that I ate only the thing I pointed on. By doing that, we focus on the information we give about that bread, without necessarily saying bread is the only thing that is concerned by this information of having being eaten. About "compound words" and more specifically "compound verbs", some "て + verbs" are considered as "verbs", like 出てくる, 持っていく, etc. So, I'm not sure this is a real difference between "ren'yôkei + verb" and "te + verb" patterns. In fact, what we call "te form" does not really exist itself, because we get this pattern by adding て on the 連用形 (ren'yôkei) form of verbs. For example, ren'yôkei of 話す is 話し, so when we add て (*), we have 話して. As for so-called "irregular verbs" する and くる, their "te form" is actually completely "regular": their ren'yôkei are し and き respectively, which gives して and きて. Same for the ichidan verbs: we get their ren'yôkei by dropping out their る okurigana, and then we add て. Same for the adjectives that end with "i" sound: their ren'yôkei ends with く, and then we add て, and it is also possible to link clauses inside a sentence with just the adjectives in their ren'yôkei without て, like 彼女は美しく、頭がいいです ("She is pretty and clever"). But as for the other Godan verbs that are not ending with す, they became "irregular" by getting an alternative ren'yôkei form by phonetic changes. There are even some compound words that are using those alternative ren'yôkei forms without て, like きっかけ (切っ掛け, instead of きりかけ) or ふんばる (踏ん張る, instead of ふみばる), or かいくぐる (掻い潜る, instead of かきくぐる), or おって (追っ手, instead of おいて, or shoud I say "instead of おひて" because the original form of 追う is 追ふ). The main difference between "ren'yôkei link" or "て link" when linking clauses in one sentence, is a stylistic one: て sounds more natural and "spoken language", whereas ren'yôkei sounds more literary and "written language". Of course, some patterns like ていく or ている cannot be replaced by just the ren'yôkei: て is mandatory. And like you said, some compound verbs that are using just ren'yôkei, cannot be replaced by their "te forms". Anyway, thank you for your video. I can't wait the next one! (*) And て itself is probably the ren'yôkei form of つ, an archaic auxiliary or jodôshi (助動詞) that describes a "completed" state or action. Nowadays, the auxiliary た (which comes from たり) "absorbed" all ancient "past/completion" auxiliaries of classical Japanese, as well as their functions.
Your vid was recommended to me randomly, and I gotta say this is great, definitely building on the cure dolly style , which is great, because I'm one of the people who couldnt get over the voice
I'm glad the video resonated with you! Even though I ended up being a student of Dolly’s, even I was kinda thrown off by her style when I first discovered her. Expanding on what she did and making all her knowledge more accessible to more people is exactly my goal. Thanks for watching!
this opens my mind on how complicated english is, english is not my first language, but my native language and english have similar phonology so i dont have a hard time speaking it even though i hardly speak it irl, its only the "th" sound, usually replaced with "t" or "d" when my mouth refuse to pronounce the "th" sound, im so glad now that i grew up watching english contents cuz id never want to go through the nightmare of learning english
Yea, a lot of us native English speakers really take English for granted. When I was younger, I always thought English was the easiest language in the world and wondered why the world didn't all just speak English. Now that I've learned Japanese, it really does open how complex languages truly are. In a way, I've learned to appreciate English as well!
there are a LOT of grammar points that doesn't exist.. thanks for showing this to the world lol, i wish people tought japanese in a better, simpler way like this...
Amazing! Agree. The other thing people MASSIVELY overcomplicate is verb declensions. They’ll say something like, in potential form, く goes to ける, む goes to める, るgoes to れる, etc etc but it’s all just one change: “-u to -eru”! Similar thing with other verb forms. Grammar books are often not written logically
Thank you very much! I would recommend double checking what you think about verbs using the verb stems video here: ua-cam.com/video/cGA6Tj9_lSg/v-deo.html
Click it does! Same thing happened to me when I first realized how everything pieces together so simply and logically too! Such is the magic of Cure Dolly Sensei!
Hey really like the video, I'll be subbing. I find that within some ている use cases it can be hard to determine when its natural for example it seems "神を信じます" is much more common than "神を信じています” although with my English brain, I would really lean towards thinking you are "in the state of believing". Additionally I think てくる and ていく have been rather confusing, within a lot of sentences they make complete sense, but it can become more abstract I think and end up confusing me. Take something like 静かになっていく vs 静かになってくる. One last one Is an example from Bunpro, they have this sentence. "お医者さんに行って、薬をもらっていくね" and translate it to "I am going to go to the doctor and get some medicine. (receive and go)". What I find odd about this is most times when you are referring to going to go do an action then come back, it should be てくる, no? Since we in Japanese are always speaking from the speakers perspective not the listeners (We cant say "I'll COME over", we have to say we will GO over etc if on the phone) Then doesn't a sentence like this get rather confusing? Is it that the first part of the sentence is establishing that we are going to the doctors, so our "reference" of where we are changes in the second half of the sentence and we now say ていく and not てくる as we will be leaving the doctors office? Are we placing ourselves in the doctors office for the second half of the sentence? Or am I completely misunderstanding something here. Sorry if this made no sense lol, hopefully you understand what I mean.
@@JouzuJuls I do agree with them, you pronounce ru weirdly, it's way too rounded and close to your English pronunciation (like some kind of "rwuh", very noticeable if you slow down the video) the lesson is still great
I've always thought that grammer points could be broken down. It's nice to see my suspicions confirmed. I love knowing the core of words. Like it blew my mind that かった is a contraction for く+あり. So like 寒かった is a contraction of 寒くあった. Stuff like that really helps me remember.
For sure! All modern languages in the world have evolved from something and it's always quite interesting to trace it back to where certain words came from. For stuff like かった being く＋ある, it's more of a fossil that doesn't really have an effect on modern day Japanese as かった can safely be treated as 1 object (especially since modern day Japanese adjectives are seen as adjectives and not verbs). But yes, it's still interesting fact nonetheless!
The infinite grammar points is why I struggled finding concrete sources for just particles to put on a cheat sheet. One reference would give me a selection and when I went looking for other example sentences or went to try and validate the ones I made, I was given a different answer and more/less points. But I had started to notice when I started N3 grammar that I would guess at what the point meant, I would get it right, and then the explanation would leave me scratching my head.
hey there - thanks for another super helpful video! as usual, the editing is 👌 have been lurking on your channel for awhile now, and wanted to lyk that you've singlehandedly restarted my japanese-learning journey after i hit a bit of a slump w not having the right resources, motivation, etc. to sufficiently self-teach. i'm still a beginner (only one year in), but thanks to you i've started watching cure dolly's videos (in lieu of the grammar guide i was previously using, which had many holes in it) and have found plenty of beginner-friendly resources to pick up where i left off. have since been motivated like never before, srsly anyways, i have a p similar language background to you (i'm chinese american) and i can't understate how helpful your channel has been. def only a matter of time before you blow up, so j wanted to leave my sincere thanks here - also, congrats on sitting the n1 exam! 加油! 頑張ってください！
This is a very well made and thought out video. Well done! It's great and explains the concept very well. One point I have is that the furigana is romaji while the rest of the sentence is hiragana. It just made the sentences feel a bit inconsistent considering there is no romaji furigana for the hiragana. I think it would be better if the furigana for the kanji was hiragana, or if there was romaji furigana placed over all characters to bring some consistency. Other than that this video is amazing.
@@buw0mp Thanks! That's a good point, I think the only reason I did romaji for the furigana was because I needed it to demonstrate the verb stem shifting in the stems video. But you're right! It's not really needed to be in Romaji after that video!
Me watching the whole video with my N2 -_- and even though I understand anime without subs, what a great video man, I still go back to fundamental basics not because I forget them, but to check other explanations and you are the GOAT man, I wish I knew your channel in my early days with JPN. in the beginning treating JPN grammar like ENG's really fkd me up for a long time until I said "u know what? fk it I will try to breakdown JPN sentences to understand them my way" and by that I removed this barrier that was confusing me and telling me whenever I hear something in JPN I have to make it to ENG then understand (even though ENG is not my native) I just continued immersing, and thank god I am good in reading so I started looking for explanations in Japanese and here I am still checking basics every now and then :)
I will say that this really is a good video at pointing out the fact that most grammar points are just words we know but smushed together only, it really does make Japanese a lot simpler when you look at it from that way. I really do think that it’s a shame that most learners will learn the wrong way per say, I don’t get why it’s common to create textbooks or websites that don’t actually teach these kinds of ways. I almost gave up at multiple points until I finally decided to bite the bullet and give cure dolly sensei a try and it was the best decision ever, you too are great at making light of the fact too since many people like the old me think that her voice was strange, really creepy avatar and just not as “interactive” as videos nowadays so I hope that you can be like the modern day cure dolly sensei, it can definitely be hard to watch some of her videos since it kinda slow and stuff but with your editing skills, I feel like you can keep people’s attention way more. Also I would like to ask a question about でしょう ,だろう. I know that it’s the volition form of です and だ but what does it actually mean, can’t get that wrapped around my head and also about the ていた point in the video, you said that we can’t treat it as “was watching tv” since it’s a A is B sentence whereas the Japanese one it the other one, but the FUNDAMENTAL MEANING is still “was watching tv” right? If so then can I treat it like it’s that? I do know that the structure is different but the meaning is still the same.
Thank you for your detailed feedback and questions! I'm glad you find the perspective of Japanese grammar as core elements clumped together helpful-it's simply how it works and can definitely simplify things! Regarding でしょう and だろう, they are indeed the お-stem (volitional form) of です and だ。Dolly has a lesson on this in case you haven't seen it already: ua-cam.com/video/ymJWb31qWI8/v-deo.html In summary, the お-stem expresses the "will" to do something. But since だ and です are not verbs in the 3 engine structure system, we have no reason to treat them as such. Or rather, because they don't act in the ways other verbs do, that's the reason the 3 engine structure treats the Copula separately from other verbs. As such, if you reference the Bloated Grammar sheet that I provided, だろう and でしょう are marked as "treat as separate". As for the ていた question, I get what you're saying- but "fundamental meaning" or what I call "the idea" cannot be expressed using English, as that would make it the "English way of expressing something". It is not just that "the structure is different"- the "way of expression" is also different. We can take an "idea" and express it naturally in Japanese. We can also take that "idea" and express it naturally in English. But Japanese is not English, so what is natural in Japanese may not necessarily be natural in English and vice versa. It is important to not take Japanese and turn it back into it's "idea", then needlessly turn it back into an English way of expression- since that is inherently seeing Japanese through an English lens. Instead of going "Japanese -> Idea -> English", we can instead do "Idea -> Japanese -> English". Which will usually leave us with broken English that more accurately represents what the Japanese expression of the idea is. Doing so is the speedrun strategy to get to the higher level of simply doing "Idea -> Japanese" and not needing English at all.
@@JouzuJuls I think I need a bit more time to think about it, thank you for responding. Also about your lesson on んです, I want to say that it was a good video but just not clear enough. Your video and cure dolly sensei's video on it were great but both of you just missed that tiny extra detail that would have made it so much simpler.I had to rewatch both of your videos multiple times before finally noticing that both have left out a crucial detail about it. I think that extra detail would have made us that didn't start learning Japanese this way a lot more clearer. I do think that video was great but just needed an extra more explanation for us that have the "wrong" interpretation of Japanese
ている is surprisingly similar to the verb "estar" in portuguese, down to it also being used as an auxiliary verb in a very similar capacity. This video putting light to it helped me in a way you couldnt imagine, 本当にありがとうー :333
And to add to this, "(eu) vou voltar" and "行ってきます" both translate to the same thing and are used in similar ways, main difference being "vou voltar"'d be too direct or literal to be used in the context of leaving home, "já volto" would be used instead, with the exact same meaning and usage as the japanese.
correction: not sure what i was smoking but "voltar" means to come back, not to come. nonetheless "já venho" is a valid alternative, even if less common. "Vou vir" meanwhile means something more close to "will come". This also showcases one of a very big thing that tripped me up when learning about ていく, "Ir" thus, "to go" in portuguese also gets, when as an auxiliary verb, the same functions as "will". ていく rather than meaning something that is going to do meaning something that does *and* will do is either a weird way of explaining it or something i'll have to wrap my head around. I think the lack of a future form and other ways to show futureness may have something to do with it?
You're welcome! As usual, I recommend immersion as the main source of learning- all of these lessons are only supplementary. When mining sentences from your immersion, if you ever notice sentences that use any of the て form in use, you can think about how it works before making an Anki card out of it. Or, if you're already using Anki, any time an example sentence in Anki uses て, you can stop and think about what's going gon there as well. In case you're unfamiliar with Anki, please see here: ua-cam.com/video/DcY2Svs3h8M/v-deo.html
This is part 2 of the て form series, part 3 of the verbs series, and part 7 of the core grammar series! What a mouthful!
If you enjoyed this video and would like to get access to bonus content like worksheets and lessons, consider supporting me on Patreon! www.patreon.com/JouzuJuls
Also we've recently rebranded the Discord server so come on over to be part of the Jouzu Gumi community! discord.gg/UaDRc9fR4U
I am very lucky that my native language is Turkish, there are so many similarities in grammatical reduplications that while Europeans deal with grammar, we only memorize words and pronunciation :)
ぴかぴか - pırıl pırıl
きらきら - cıvıl cıvıl
ふわふわ - yumuşak yumuşak
ぐるぐる - döne döne
しとしと - hafif hafif
ちょろちょろ - cıvıl cıvıl
もりもり - bol bol
さくさく - gevrek gevrek
The way you explain stuff just makes it work in my brain. This method is so much more easier to understand than forcing english meanings on them! Thank you for making these videos
Thank you very much! 100%, trying to treat Japanese as if it were natural English is just a recipe for disaster!
I love these Cure Dolly-like explanations. 😭 I hate how westerners force Indo-European grammar onto Japanese and make it look so complicated and illogical, when it's nothing like that. Japanese grammar is extremely logical and easy. What usually throws us off is the expression strategy which in Japanese can be completely different than what we're used ot.
"Expression Strategy" is the key word here! Glad you picked up on the most important thing! Once we understand that what's natural in Japanese is not necessarily what's natural in English, it really does allow Japanese to stand by itself in our minds!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I also love Cure Dolly’s explanations and I’ve learned a lot about Japanese structure with her book and videos. The only issue I have is that she equates “western grammar” with English grammar and takes concepts at a micro level. Grammar constructs are much more abstract than just words. An example that still rubs me is when she would insist that there is no passive in Japanese. Actually, there are no know human natural language that do not have passive. But it does show up many different ways in different languages. Some have specific verbal forms, others use word order or different strategies, but they still have a passive form.
Another example is insisting there are no conjugation in Japanese and then immediately go on and conjugate verbs. When you understand the concept of conjugation at a higher level as simply changing a verb to modify its meaning or to connect it (and nothing else) then it’s obvious Japanese has conjugation (the vowel changes of go-Dan verbs are conjugations). When you understand the base particles as Japanese manifestation of a case system, there is no need to imagine an exotic system (ga is a genitive, wo is an accusative, etc….).
I miss Dolly sensei. 😢
exactly
i saw the train and instantly was reminded of Dolly-sensei. and then i saw her mentioned in the video. RIP. i miss her so much. but glad her legacy is living on.
日本語が母語で、英語を第二言語として習得しようとしている身として、逆の立場の人がどういう理解で日本語を身につけて行くかが知れて、とても面白かったです！(Notice how many times i used the grammar points explained in this video!)
this video explained て-form better than my Japanese teacher LMAO
As such a fundamental grammar concept, this is one of those things that once you understand, it really opens up so many doors in Japanese! Glad I was able to explain this to you clearly!
The dude is a maestro
There have been a lot of YT videos* who hit me like that. E.g. for graphics programmers: Acerola explained the rendering process for any CGI better than the entire module of my 1st year at Uni in a 30min long video.
Can you suggest me any online Japanese language school ?
Cause your japanese teacher can't speak english and you speak english. Imagine that you are fluent in japanese and listening your japanese teacher explains this topic in japanese. You will understand well
My favorite thing in language learning is understanding the WHY, thank you very much for this video please make more!!!
and most people fail at explaining. Not him.
Thank you for carrying the legacy of Cure Dolly sensei. She left enormous shoes to fill, but you doing a spectacular job filling them.
Thank you very much! Comments like this are really rewarding for me as it shows I'm doing the right thing in keeping Dolly's legacy going! 😊
I remember she said she has to take a break, I didn't know she's gone, really sad to hear, I hope you're wrong but, you probably aren't :( . I recognized the train metaphor and thought it's stolen but you gave credit so that's ok, Hope you keep reminding of her, I never heard anyone to have such a different and advanced way of explaining the language before her.
@@valentinursu1747
>. I recognized the train metaphor and thought it's stolen
same
Wrt the English "ing" stuff around 3:44... I mean we can do "I was watching" or "I will be watching." Isn't that effectively the same thing? We are conjugating an auxiliary verb to convey some information in addition to the continuous aspect that is being expressed.
You’re exactly right, it’s the past progressive tense. It was a bit frustrating that he overlooked such a basic English grammar point. I still enjoyed the video though since I’m using it to learn Japanese, not English 😅
Learning Japanese, it blows my mind just how complicated English actually and how 80% of Americans don’t even think much about it, thanks for your videos!
Not just Americans, but like 99% of native speakers (myself included) do not really think much about their native language! Learning Japanese has also really opened my eyes to how complicated English is- and in a way, also how fascinating it is.
Though I'm much happier that I already know English and I'm learning Japanese- I can't imagine trying to learn English as an adult 😭😂
Yeah I can confirm. If I stop a second to think I realize that something in my native language will sound difficult for non natives, cause every language is different. Being a native of a romance language, sometines japanese grammar looks weird, but for sure it's the same way for them to learn mine
@@canalesenzanome4830 The secret is to not assume that what's natural in Japanese is what's natural in your native language as well.
By understanding that they have an entirely different way of expressing even the most simple things- and understanding how that works in our native language (but may be unnatural)- we can really begin to understand the beauty of how different languages express the same thing! 😁😁
Stop. It's well known if you look at the data that English is one of the easiest languages to learn for a reason. Meanwhile languages like Japanese have some of the hardest grammar and Concepts to understand which is why it takes of the two years to get fluent and that's assuming that you're really good and that's what the state department data says from the FSI. So while you may feel that English is more difficult, the reality is it's just not.
@@JouzuJuls Yeah that's the thing about learning another language. It seem so hard, yet you usually don't realize that you already have mastered a difficult language (your native one) and know everything about it, including all the difficult stuff.
This video is too powerful.
I've been struggling to understand this て-form for a long time, but this 18 minute video made me understand it.
I'm so happy to hear that the video helped you understand the て-form! It's a shame so many teachers present it to be a tricky concept when in reality it's just this simple! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've watched so many grammar classes but none of them were as good as this one. The way you're connecting the points makes it so much more instinctive to understand and easier to remember. Usually it felt like the grammar rules were isolated and I could only understand one at each class, but this just showed how benefitial it is to have them relating to each other, I'm really impressed at how well you explained it all
THE GOAT IS BACK
🐐time to rename myself to 山羊
Didn’t expect Cure Dolly to be mentioned. I truly loved her. Her approach on teaching Japanese was so unique, I was heartbroken when I heard she passed away. So seeing her being mentioned like this and being given credits and keeping her approach alive is a very pleasant thing to see. I subscribed right away lol
I was just rewatching some of your other videos wondering when this would be released, thank you for continuing in the footsteps of Cure Dolly sensei to teach us Japanese in its natural form. Your videos along with her’s make it so much easier to understand the structure and grammar of Japanese
Great timing huh! 😂
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Thank you very much for watching and commenting! Very glad to continue sharing Dolly Sensei's system with more people- without her, there would be no me! 😎
My Japanese grammar knowledge is always so much better after watching theses videos. Great job 👍
Thanks for watching! Glad my videos are helpful in increasing your grammar knowledge! Now go out there and apply it with some immersion! 😎😎
Your videos have been so helpful! Not only is your editing out of this world, you also manage to explain seemingly complex subjects in an effortlessly clear manner. The use of colours for different conjugations is genius, it really helps to differentiate them instantly. I also appreciate how you translate the example sentences in a literal way, using the same train compartments Cure Dolly sensei used. This shows the underlying structure of the Japanese language and it makes so much sense!
I've discovered your channel just recently, and I was shocked to see you didn't have +100K subscribers, even though the content and the quality of your videos is off the charts. I feel like UA-cam doesn't know how to categorise your videos properly, leading to them getting buried by the algorithm. It's such a shame! So here I am, liking and commenting to boost engagement in the hope that more people can find your amazing channel. Don't get discouraged, I'm sure you'll grow to greater heights! And thank you for continuing Cure Dolly's legacy, she will be missed.
Thank you so much for your incredibly kind and detailed feedback! Your words mean a lot to me.
I'm glad you find the editing and explanations helpful, and I appreciate your recognition of the way I used colors (esp over the course of the past few videos). Trying to make these color codes consistent and mark different things was quite difficult!
The UA-cam algorithm really do be like that, but comments like yours really encourage me to keep going.
I'm honored to continue Cure Dolly's legacy. Your support is invaluable-thank you! 🙏
@@JouzuJuls Your hard work is definitely paying off! Details such as imagery, sound effects, font choice and memes may seem minor, but undoubtedly add up to a more interesting, memorable and fun learning experience. I'm looking foward to see what topics you'll cover next. Keep up the good work!
At first I was like "I feel like I have heard a similar explanation before", then I saw the trains and saw the reference to Cure Dolly in the description, and finally the direct shout out. What a fun experience. I am happy to have found another channel that can give logical explanations on grammar, even if they happen to be based on the same person.
The quality of this video is pretty much unmatched by any grammar videos out there! Thanks for this explanation!
Thank you so much! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed my presentation style. Thanks for watching!
I've watched all of Cure Dolly's videos, but when you said は = 'exclusive topic marker' and も = 'inclusive topic marker' that was such a concise and elegant way to sum up all the は/も thing. It also cleared up to me the ては and ても use, seeing it as は/も applies to the clause and て existing as a clause connector anyway as it would usually do. They are not applying to a noun but they really are doing what they are doing. The whole video and the て/い-stem comparison, it really is great. You're able to follow in Cure Dolly's footsteps and continue her work, thank you for all of it.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!
What you've experienced the perfect example of what I was talking about at 12:05. Once what was REALLY going on was explained clearly, everything immediately clicks into place! The same experience happened for me when Dolly explained it to me for the first time too.
I'm honored to continue Cure Dolly's work and legacy. Being recognized as a worthy successor truly means a lot! Thank you!
TIL でも is just で (the て form of です) and も (as in "also"). Mind blown.
@@tiglionabbit it's evolved a little bit and can be safely treated as it's own thing in modern Japanese, but yes, that's how it came to be!
Note that _de_ actually came first. _desu_ and _da_ are both contractions of _de_ + _aru_ (the original Japanese existence verb).
how do you switch between hiragana and English like that?
@@stephendeslandes5216 look in the language settings of your computer/phone/whatever you use. there should be a dropdown which will allow you to select japanese as a language on your device. note that there might be a short download time, but otherwise no real obstacles
@@stephendeslandes5216Japanese keyboards on mobile, Input Methods everywhere else.
It’s amazing how you took cure dolly lessons and made them much more understandable
Thank you man!
16:50 small correction, the なさい imperative form goes with the verb stem, so you'd actually have 待ちなさい there. "待ってなさい"or "待っていなさい" would actually be the grouping of "待っている" in the continuous sense and "なさい", so that could be translated as "continue to wait" (as you were already doing).
3:45 “I was watching TV” is NOT an “A is B” sentence. “Was” Is a helping verb for “watching”. In this scenario, watching is a verb, not a gerund. So it seems to me “is/was” and “て” have a lot more in common than you think.
But besides that, this video is brilliant. I had my “でも” revelation a few months back, but this helps me cement the idea into my smooth brain. Subscribed.
7:24
すげえ, amazing example!
It's pretty crazy how some things just work in multiple languages like that huh!
i cannot explain how much i loved this video. Ive been learning japanese on and off for four years and I knew most of these points, but explained like this they make so much more sense and theyre so so easy to comprehend. i saw another comment here about how they try to convert japanese grammar to indo european grammar points and how japanese is perfectly logical in and of itself, and i couldnt agree more. i wish this video had been there when i was just finding out about ている, would've saved me so much trouble. new sub for sure. ありがとうございます
You have a very concise way of explaining complicated subjects. Thank you, it really does help a lot. Greetings from Mexico, and congratulations on reaching N1.
Thank you! It's not that the subject is that complicated- it's just that many people teach it in a very complicated way for no reason! I'm just showing the reality of how simple it really is! 😁😁
oh my, watching your grammar guide feels like watching a movie, I can watch it all day lol. Thanks a lot for the video. Subscribed!
These instruction videos are amazingly good, simplifying Japanese language to a very understandable form. Thank you!
wow now I understand this 行て来ます！is great the way you connect stuff, please make more videos about gramar! I think I must enter the panteon latter
My friend Jouzu, I can't understand why you don't have more followers, your videos are amazing I'm just stunned. Please keep it going!
Thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot to hear that you enjoy my videos. I'll definitely keep going and sharing more content! Thanks for your support!
This has made the て form so much easier to understand it actually blows my mind haha. Within 2 minutes of the video I already had a full page of comprehensive notes. Incredible video, very informative! Within an hour I was able to construct and understand more sentences with understanding! ほんとにありがとうございます！上手先生！サブスクライバーして！
Duuuude...this is the first video I found of yours....and bless your heart for carrying on Cure Dollys style and honoring her...she helped me soooo much when I felt like I was lost in sentence structure....respect
Jouzu Juls has a gift for explaining Japanese grammar in a clear, engaging and entertaining manner!
Thank you so much! I only have the gift of editing videos, the explanations are are all thanks to my teacher Cure Dolly sensei- without her, I would've not known any of this myself either!
3:49 "I am watching TV" is also a A is B sentence, though.
you have no idea how much your videos help me with grammar I swear. thank you so much for the hard work to make them 🫶
Very happy to hear that my videos are helpful for you! Thank you for your kind words and support!
one of the very few channels where I clicked "all" on the notification bell. Everything in these videos are just perfect. THANK YOU
Whoa i finally found a channel that explains the grammar like a grammar teacher would. I’ve been looking for something like this. Will definitely check out more of your videos
I am brushing up on grammar because I have so many gaps in my knowledge despite having passed N3. This video is so useful for me, thank you! I subscribed and can't wait to watch the rest of your videos on the topic as well as see you post new ones! 教えてくれてありがとうございます 🙇♂️
This is actually a GREAT explanation. This has actually solved my problem! I love how you explained it and i never did think of it. "Iru" is simply the existence of something! how did I not realize that before?
I didn't realize your channel grew so much since last time I checked, you deserve it all, keep it up!
I knew something felt nostalgic when i saw those train cars! Happy to have found this channel !
THANK YOU! Finally a good guide on te-form. I've been looking for this. Thank you Jouzu.
You're very welcome! I'm glad this te-form guide was helpful for you 😎
Thanks for watching and commenting!
that changing te-form to combine words with mi or ri for example expanded my japanese knowledge like a sledgehammer opens up a wall.
Thanks for all of your hard work that goes into these videos. I hope your mental health has seen an improvement in these last few months ♥️
Thank you very much for your kind words!
Mental health I'm doing a lot better, but I'm still dealing with the insomnia 😖. Really appreciate the support!
This is the most informative Japanese video I've seen literally ever. Seriously, great job 👍
I love the way you present information and the way that you think. I despise grammar and all my friends know this.
I for sure enjoy learning from your videos tho.
Finally, the lessons that actually help to learn japanese, thank you.
Bro's editing goes hard as always. Thanks for the vid! Has helped me after reading Tofugu's grammar guide on ている
Thanks! Glad you appreciate the editing and found the video helpful!
Be careful with Tofugu's guide as they make the mistake mentioned at 3:45 and confuse "A does B" sentences with "A is B" sentences- essentially flipping nouns with verbs and verbs with nouns, and also not being consistent with what the Copula is.
I can't wait for u to explain 他動詞 and 自動詞, cuz im curious wat the difference between 止める and 止まる
teaser:
止める I stopped the car.
止まる The car stopped.
Perfect teaser 😎
It takes me quite a long time to make vids (especially in the style of this one- this particular one took 1 month!)
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So the hint to solve this is to ignore words like "transitive" and "intransitive" and treat the Japanese as Japanese. Really think about the Kanji that's used in 他動詞 and 自動詞 and that's the secret to unlocking this part of Japanese!
This dude has made me appreciate Japanese Grammar.... which I thought I would never understand... thanks Jouzu Juls
Thank you so much! It's awesome to hear that my videos have helped you appreciate Japanese grammar! It really is pretty logical and simple once you break it down huh?😎
Thanks for watching and commenting!
After watching this, the 2 previous videos, then this video again, I feel like my comprehension has increased ever so slightly.
i was not expecting stumbling across a literal diamond mine clicking this video… you’ve terrorized me and broken everything i’ve worked on down but i’m somehow very grateful
You got me into using your anki set and i've never progressed so quickly, thanks
いつも通り マジでありがとうございます
いえいえ、こちらこそ見てくれてありがとうございます！(Hey look! てくれて !)
Hi, great job on the explanation. I'm new to the channel, so I don't know what your stance is on covering colloquial speech. But I think in this case it's worth mentioning that ている often gets shortened to てる in spoken Japanese. (Similarly, ていく gets shortened to てく, but this is less common). People are definitely going to come across this shorter form, and might not realize it's the same thing.
Hello! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've actually written a note about this on screen at 1:51.
I had written in my notes to also include てく on screen too but seems I forgot to do so while editing! 😭
@@JouzuJuls aw shucks, I missed that.
ておく→とく is also very common and probably less recognizable
This is massively helpful, thank you
man... you brought up soooo many clicks in this video that's insane. Thank you so much
Just realized this is a concept I had already broken down unknowingly through years of listening. It's really affirming to have it explained like this!! You've successfully inflated my ego and inspired me to study more lol
That's awesome to hear! Glad I was able to put into words what you've intuitively grasped! Thanks for watching and commenting, hope to see you around here more as you continue to study!
This is literally the third video that I've watched from your channel and surely the UA-cam algorithm must be drunk your videos are so well made and you deserve much more reconnection for that
By the way new subscriber here
That video of yours about Japanese language verbs got my atention
Thanks 👍
Thank you so much for checking out my other videos too!
The UA-cam algorithm can be a bit funny sometimes, so I'm really grateful for your support.
Can't wait to share more content with you!
Thank you for breaking down the grammar this way. I'm a very analytical learner, and I've been stumped by the basic grammar for a while and have been getting by just accepting and having memorized it, but being able to properly comprehend each part of these constructions is a breath of fresh air.
I would disagree that English doesn't have a 〜ていた form, however. With the past and past perfect continuous (or past/past perfect progressive) form of our verbs, we absolutely can have been watching TV: "was watching" and "had been watching" (both in a state of "watch" in the past, each with different reference points). This is not an "A is B" sentence, as you phrase it (what is called "stative" in grammar), because the verb is not a linking verb, but an action verb. "Was" or "had been" function not as the main verb but as auxiliaries. While "watching" can be described as a noun in certain contexts, it functions here as part of an entire verb phrase; "was watching" or "had been watching" are the complete verb phrases.
To be fair, although this seems like a fairly petty point, even we (native English speakers) didn't get into the terminology and logistical construction of verb structures with any intensity until early university. (The _Little, Brown Handbook_ is the gold standard if you're interested in that level of depth, but it is geared toward an academic audience and, sadly, isn't cheap.) Understanding them on this level is almost necessary when you start getting to the more gnarly tense constructions and broader linguistic concepts of the Indo-European family of languages.
I'd really like more clarification from Jouzu Juls on why ~ていた doesn't work the way you described for the same reason. I feel that because the "was" in "I was watching TV" functions as an auxiliary verb, it cannot be separated on its own from "watching."
A stative/A is B sentence for that would be "I (subject/noun) was (verb, past to be) watching (noun, a state of watching.)
An A does B sentence in English is "I (subject/noun) was (auxiliary verb "is", conjugated and functioning like いた) watching (見て) TV (テレビを）
Alternatively, I had been watching TV is something you can do that matches ~ていた as well, at least I thought so and would like to know more why it doesn't work.
Yeah my friend group has completely ruined my perception of the word “come” and subsequently the ability to watch a video like this like a mature and functioning adult.
I once had a chat with someone where I used "coming" as an example and said it was "来る".
They responded by asking me "wait I thought it was イク"
I said "different coming"
@@JouzuJuls well thanks for teaching me a new word 😂
These videos make me proud of callign Juls sensei! Can't wait for the next. I Couldn't understand Dolly's video on Tadoushi and Jidoushi :b
Just a humble Senpai* sharing what I've learned too! 他動詞 and 自動詞 are actually REALLY big but not that hard to grasp at all! Soon to come! Thanks for watching and commenting!
As a non-english native speaker, I liked cure dolly sensei's content, but had a hard time following her robotic voice. You give a second breath to her ideas, which is awesome. I even understand things I didn't understand at the time, either because I wasn't ready at the time, or thanks of the S tier quality of your videos.
Thank you.
Cure Dolly mention shocked me, your video reminded me of how she taught and seeing that out of no where was a welcoming surprise. RIP.
Thank you for making this video. I paused learning Japanese for awhile now and this video really motivates me to come back.
You explained it very well and I immediately subscribed. 👍🏻🙇🏻
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm really glad to hear that my video has motivated you to continue learning Japanese. Welcome back to your language journey, and thanks for subscribing! 👍🏻🙇🏻 Keep up the great work!
thanks, i love your videos on japanese grammar. they really help and usually save up a bunch hours of studying (even though i might spend hours rewaching the video)
Thanks! I’m glad my videos help you with your studies. Rewatching is definitely a great way to allow more/different info to stick each time.
Even these days I sometimes return to Dolly Sensei's videos and learns something new too!
I have watched a few Cure Dolly videos but my ADHD brain has difficulty concentrating on them for some reason. These are a lot easier for me to follow. I really appreciate you making them!
The trains really add to the learning experience. Thank you.
As well as the Minecraft sounds 👌
Thank you so much, i love this. Not only the explanation, but the video in itself is extremely well done!
Thank you for the video! Clearly broke down how te form works. Going to give your other videos a watch and use as study resource alongside my classes.
あなた が 思い方 いい です よ! I love your content, please tell me the best methods to learn how to speak japanese naturally as a native
Thank you very much! In order to speak Japanese as close to a native as possible, it requires a lot of time and consistent effort.
The main thing you'll need to get lots and LOTS of comprehensible input. Grammar videos like these are only a supplement to your learning, you can watch all my grammar videos but still never truly acquire the language if you don't immerse.
To see how I got started and what I did on my first year, please watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/Jp92ZHyR_rw/v-deo.html
Another fantastic video. I am constantly getting aha! moments from your grammar videos.
1:21 i come 😭
Broo i cant watch this video without laughing at that
Hello. Thank you for your new great video. Overall, I agree with your explanations (except some things like your interpretation of the は particle in your "bread example" that I disagree, as I've already explained it by commenting another video). Indeed, we can understand ている structure as "being/existing in the state of...", an interpretation I understood thanks to some textbooks I've read. Thanks to that, I could understand many sentence patterns, like 起きています or 死んでいる.
Yes, understanding basic structures lets us understand more complex ones that use those more basic "jigsaw pieces". But there are some limits. You already talked about the ていく structure: the first time we see it, we can't guess for sure that it can have a "figurative meaning", so we have to learn that meaning. As for ては pattern, even if we know the meanings of て and は, first time we can't guess that this pattern expresses some "negative consequences" (and that is why this is also used in order to express obligation or prohibition, an "if we don't do that, something bad would occur" meaning), so we have to learn it.
About your パンは食べた example, as I've already explained it, I disagree: I think it does not mean "Bread is the only thing I ate", but rather "What I did to the bread is eating it", which does not necessarily means that I ate bread only. If bread was the only thing I ate, instead of は particle, we should have used だけ or しか. However, there is indeed an "exclusive" feeling when using the は particle, but not on the way you said: it just means that the "eating" information in that sentence is in the limit of "bread" field, but one more time, I think that does not mean that bread is the only thing I ate, because after this sentence, I could add other sentences, like チーズも食べた ("I ate cheese too"). This は particle acts like a "pointer" thing, like a laser pointer, that shows us who or what is concerned by the information I give at the end of the sentence, but in my opinion that does not mean that I ate only the thing I pointed on. By doing that, we focus on the information we give about that bread, without necessarily saying bread is the only thing that is concerned by this information of having being eaten.
About "compound words" and more specifically "compound verbs", some "て + verbs" are considered as "verbs", like 出てくる, 持っていく, etc. So, I'm not sure this is a real difference between "ren'yôkei + verb" and "te + verb" patterns. In fact, what we call "te form" does not really exist itself, because we get this pattern by adding て on the 連用形 (ren'yôkei) form of verbs. For example, ren'yôkei of 話す is 話し, so when we add て (*), we have 話して.
As for so-called "irregular verbs" する and くる, their "te form" is actually completely "regular": their ren'yôkei are し and き respectively, which gives して and きて.
Same for the ichidan verbs: we get their ren'yôkei by dropping out their る okurigana, and then we add て. Same for the adjectives that end with "i" sound: their ren'yôkei ends with く, and then we add て, and it is also possible to link clauses inside a sentence with just the adjectives in their ren'yôkei without て, like 彼女は美しく、頭がいいです ("She is pretty and clever").
But as for the other Godan verbs that are not ending with す, they became "irregular" by getting an alternative ren'yôkei form by phonetic changes. There are even some compound words that are using those alternative ren'yôkei forms without て, like きっかけ (切っ掛け, instead of きりかけ) or ふんばる (踏ん張る, instead of ふみばる), or かいくぐる (掻い潜る, instead of かきくぐる), or おって (追っ手, instead of おいて, or shoud I say "instead of おひて" because the original form of 追う is 追ふ).
The main difference between "ren'yôkei link" or "て link" when linking clauses in one sentence, is a stylistic one: て sounds more natural and "spoken language", whereas ren'yôkei sounds more literary and "written language". Of course, some patterns like ていく or ている cannot be replaced by just the ren'yôkei: て is mandatory. And like you said, some compound verbs that are using just ren'yôkei, cannot be replaced by their "te forms".
Anyway, thank you for your video. I can't wait the next one!
(*) And て itself is probably the ren'yôkei form of つ, an archaic auxiliary or jodôshi (助動詞) that describes a "completed" state or action. Nowadays, the auxiliary た (which comes from たり) "absorbed" all ancient "past/completion" auxiliaries of classical Japanese, as well as their functions.
Terima kasih banyak atas penjelasannya, 大変役に立つ！And thank you for continuing the legacy of Cure Dolly Sensei.
役に立ってよかったです！Continuing Dolly Sensei’s legacy is an honor for me as well 😇. Thanks for your support!
Your vid was recommended to me randomly, and I gotta say this is great, definitely building on the cure dolly style , which is great, because I'm one of the people who couldnt get over the voice
I'm glad the video resonated with you! Even though I ended up being a student of Dolly’s, even I was kinda thrown off by her style when I first discovered her. Expanding on what she did and making all her knowledge more accessible to more people is exactly my goal. Thanks for watching!
this opens my mind on how complicated english is, english is not my first language, but my native language and english have similar phonology so i dont have a hard time speaking it even though i hardly speak it irl, its only the "th" sound, usually replaced with "t" or "d" when my mouth refuse to pronounce the "th" sound, im so glad now that i grew up watching english contents cuz id never want to go through the nightmare of learning english
Yea, a lot of us native English speakers really take English for granted. When I was younger, I always thought English was the easiest language in the world and wondered why the world didn't all just speak English.
Now that I've learned Japanese, it really does open how complex languages truly are.
In a way, I've learned to appreciate English as well!
these are always so helpful
Glad they're helpful to you!
Thank you. I'm N2 level teaching my husband N5 (and soon N4 level) and this video will help him a lot!
Thank you, you re the new curedolly we needed.
there are a LOT of grammar points that doesn't exist.. thanks for showing this to the world lol, i wish people tought japanese in a better, simpler way like this...
Amazing! Agree. The other thing people MASSIVELY overcomplicate is verb declensions. They’ll say something like, in potential form, く goes to ける, む goes to める, るgoes to れる, etc etc but it’s all just one change: “-u to -eru”! Similar thing with other verb forms. Grammar books are often not written logically
Thank you very much! I would recommend double checking what you think about verbs using the verb stems video here: ua-cam.com/video/cGA6Tj9_lSg/v-deo.html
i could feel a physical 'click' in my brain when you explained the scenario with 繰り回す.
Click it does! Same thing happened to me when I first realized how everything pieces together so simply and logically too!
Such is the magic of Cure Dolly Sensei!
I've always been confused with past tense of teiru, I like how you explain it though.
Hey really like the video, I'll be subbing.
I find that within some ている use cases it can be hard to determine when its natural for example it seems "神を信じます" is much more common than "神を信じています” although with my English brain, I would really lean towards thinking you are "in the state of believing".
Additionally I think てくる and ていく have been rather confusing, within a lot of sentences they make complete sense, but it can become more abstract I think and end up confusing me. Take something like 静かになっていく vs 静かになってくる.
One last one Is an example from Bunpro, they have this sentence. "お医者さんに行って、薬をもらっていくね" and translate it to "I am going to go to the doctor and get some medicine. (receive and go)". What I find odd about this is most times when you are referring to going to go do an action then come back, it should be てくる, no? Since we in Japanese are always speaking from the speakers perspective not the listeners (We cant say "I'll COME over", we have to say we will GO over etc if on the phone) Then doesn't a sentence like this get rather confusing? Is it that the first part of the sentence is establishing that we are going to the doctors, so our "reference" of where we are changes in the second half of the sentence and we now say ていく and not てくる as we will be leaving the doctors office? Are we placing ourselves in the doctors office for the second half of the sentence? Or am I completely misunderstanding something here.
Sorry if this made no sense lol, hopefully you understand what I mean.
The way you pronounce る gives me psychic damage, but also the grammar is so good and clear I can't get mad
@@ToxicXNature the way I pronounce る is the same way natives do btw
@@JouzuJuls they do? In what dialect?
@@ToxicXNature Standard 🤪
@@JouzuJuls I do agree with them, you pronounce ru weirdly, it's way too rounded and close to your English pronunciation (like some kind of "rwuh", very noticeable if you slow down the video)
the lesson is still great
@@JouzuJuls Your る does sound different from how natives say it. But anyways, I love this video!
Your edits make the videos so damn engaging
Thanks a ton! I'm glad you enjoy the edits. Making the videos engaging is a top priority for me!
I've always thought that grammer points could be broken down. It's nice to see my suspicions confirmed. I love knowing the core of words. Like it blew my mind that かった is a contraction for く+あり. So like 寒かった is a contraction of 寒くあった. Stuff like that really helps me remember.
For sure! All modern languages in the world have evolved from something and it's always quite interesting to trace it back to where certain words came from.
For stuff like かった being く＋ある, it's more of a fossil that doesn't really have an effect on modern day Japanese as かった can safely be treated as 1 object (especially since modern day Japanese adjectives are seen as adjectives and not verbs). But yes, it's still interesting fact nonetheless!
i like the way you use american style memes with the anime examples, this make the video so interesting and help me understand japanese more
Phenomenal video! Thanks for continuing cure dolly’s work 👍
Thank you! It’s an honor to continue Cure Dolly’s legacy. I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
The infinite grammar points is why I struggled finding concrete sources for just particles to put on a cheat sheet. One reference would give me a selection and when I went looking for other example sentences or went to try and validate the ones I made, I was given a different answer and more/less points. But I had started to notice when I started N3 grammar that I would guess at what the point meant, I would get it right, and then the explanation would leave me scratching my head.
hey there -
thanks for another super helpful video! as usual, the editing is 👌
have been lurking on your channel for awhile now, and wanted to lyk that you've singlehandedly restarted my japanese-learning journey after i hit a bit of a slump w not having the right resources, motivation, etc. to sufficiently self-teach.
i'm still a beginner (only one year in), but thanks to you i've started watching cure dolly's videos (in lieu of the grammar guide i was previously using, which had many holes in it) and have found plenty of beginner-friendly resources to pick up where i left off. have since been motivated like never before, srsly
anyways, i have a p similar language background to you (i'm chinese american) and i can't understate how helpful your channel has been. def only a matter of time before you blow up, so j wanted to leave my sincere thanks here -
also, congrats on sitting the n1 exam! 加油! 頑張ってください！
Ok,ok, i understood, i will go and watch everything from beginning ;)
This is a very well made and thought out video. Well done! It's great and explains the concept very well. One point I have is that the furigana is romaji while the rest of the sentence is hiragana. It just made the sentences feel a bit inconsistent considering there is no romaji furigana for the hiragana. I think it would be better if the furigana for the kanji was hiragana, or if there was romaji furigana placed over all characters to bring some consistency. Other than that this video is amazing.
@@buw0mp Thanks! That's a good point, I think the only reason I did romaji for the furigana was because I needed it to demonstrate the verb stem shifting in the stems video. But you're right! It's not really needed to be in Romaji after that video!
Me watching the whole video with my N2 -_- and even though I understand anime without subs, what a great video man, I still go back to fundamental basics not because I forget them, but to check other explanations and you are the GOAT man, I wish I knew your channel in my early days with JPN. in the beginning treating JPN grammar like ENG's really fkd me up for a long time until I said "u know what? fk it I will try to breakdown JPN sentences to understand them my way" and by that I removed this barrier that was confusing me and telling me whenever I hear something in JPN I have to make it to ENG then understand (even though ENG is not my native) I just continued immersing, and thank god I am good in reading so I started looking for explanations in Japanese and here I am still checking basics every now and then :)
I will say that this really is a good video at pointing out the fact that most grammar points are just words we know but smushed together only, it really does make Japanese a lot simpler when you look at it from that way. I really do think that it’s a shame that most learners will learn the wrong way per say, I don’t get why it’s common to create textbooks or websites that don’t actually teach these kinds of ways. I almost gave up at multiple points until I finally decided to bite the bullet and give cure dolly sensei a try and it was the best decision ever, you too are great at making light of the fact too since many people like the old me think that her voice was strange, really creepy avatar and just not as “interactive” as videos nowadays so I hope that you can be like the modern day cure dolly sensei, it can definitely be hard to watch some of her videos since it kinda slow and stuff but with your editing skills, I feel like you can keep people’s attention way more. Also I would like to ask a question about でしょう ,だろう. I know that it’s the volition form of です and だ but what does it actually mean, can’t get that wrapped around my head and also about the ていた point in the video, you said that we can’t treat it as “was watching tv” since it’s a A is B sentence whereas the Japanese one it the other one, but the FUNDAMENTAL MEANING is still “was watching tv” right? If so then can I treat it like it’s that? I do know that the structure is different but the meaning is still the same.
Thank you for your detailed feedback and questions!
I'm glad you find the perspective of Japanese grammar as core elements clumped together helpful-it's simply how it works and can definitely simplify things!
Regarding でしょう and だろう, they are indeed the お-stem (volitional form) of です and だ。Dolly has a lesson on this in case you haven't seen it already: ua-cam.com/video/ymJWb31qWI8/v-deo.html
In summary, the お-stem expresses the "will" to do something. But since だ and です are not verbs in the 3 engine structure system, we have no reason to treat them as such. Or rather, because they don't act in the ways other verbs do, that's the reason the 3 engine structure treats the Copula separately from other verbs.
As such, if you reference the Bloated Grammar sheet that I provided, だろう and でしょう are marked as "treat as separate".
As for the ていた question, I get what you're saying- but "fundamental meaning" or what I call "the idea" cannot be expressed using English, as that would make it the "English way of expressing something".
It is not just that "the structure is different"- the "way of expression" is also different.
We can take an "idea" and express it naturally in Japanese. We can also take that "idea" and express it naturally in English.
But Japanese is not English, so what is natural in Japanese may not necessarily be natural in English and vice versa.
It is important to not take Japanese and turn it back into it's "idea", then needlessly turn it back into an English way of expression- since that is inherently seeing Japanese through an English lens.
Instead of going "Japanese -> Idea -> English", we can instead do "Idea -> Japanese -> English". Which will usually leave us with broken English that more accurately represents what the Japanese expression of the idea is.
Doing so is the speedrun strategy to get to the higher level of simply doing "Idea -> Japanese" and not needing English at all.
@@JouzuJuls I think I need a bit more time to think about it, thank you for responding. Also about your lesson on んです, I want to say that it was a good video but just not clear enough. Your video and cure dolly sensei's video on it were great but both of you just missed that tiny extra detail that would have made it so much simpler.I had to rewatch both of your videos multiple times before finally noticing that both have left out a crucial detail about it. I think that extra detail would have made us that didn't start learning Japanese this way a lot more clearer. I do think that video was great but just needed an extra more explanation for us that have the "wrong" interpretation of Japanese
ている is surprisingly similar to the verb "estar" in portuguese, down to it also being used as an auxiliary verb in a very similar capacity. This video putting light to it helped me in a way you couldnt imagine, 本当にありがとうー :333
And to add to this, "(eu) vou voltar" and "行ってきます" both translate to the same thing and are used in similar ways, main difference being "vou voltar"'d be too direct or literal to be used in the context of leaving home, "já volto" would be used instead, with the exact same meaning and usage as the japanese.
correction: not sure what i was smoking but "voltar" means to come back, not to come. nonetheless "já venho" is a valid alternative, even if less common. "Vou vir" meanwhile means something more close to "will come".
This also showcases one of a very big thing that tripped me up when learning about ていく, "Ir" thus, "to go" in portuguese also gets, when as an auxiliary verb, the same functions as "will". ていく rather than meaning something that is going to do meaning something that does *and* will do is either a weird way of explaining it or something i'll have to wrap my head around. I think the lack of a future form and other ways to show futureness may have something to do with it?
10:56, great, now the image of a frustrated parent trying to tell their kid something and just yelling "サルでもわかる" at them lives rent-free in my head
Thank you so much, these lessons are really helpful. Could you please share where we can practice these concepts
You're welcome! As usual, I recommend immersion as the main source of learning- all of these lessons are only supplementary.
When mining sentences from your immersion, if you ever notice sentences that use any of the て form in use, you can think about how it works before making an Anki card out of it.
Or, if you're already using Anki, any time an example sentence in Anki uses て, you can stop and think about what's going gon there as well.
In case you're unfamiliar with Anki, please see here: ua-cam.com/video/DcY2Svs3h8M/v-deo.html
@@JouzuJuls Really grateful for the suggestion. Thank you @JouzuJules
7:44 I guess the closest translation might be "The rain has been moving on (but not yet)"? Is that right?
助かる！ありがとう！
こちらこそ、見てくれてありがとう！
Of course! Your videos are really well made and I can see all the effort you put in to make them. Salute to you man!