| Grammar Notes: Lesson: Analysing the Japanese Sentence Sentence 1: アルジェリアにある史跡。 (Arjeria ni aru shiseki.) - アルジェリア (Arjeria) – noun. "Algeria" (the country). A loanword from English. - に (ni) – particle. Marks location or destination. Here, "in" or "at". - ある (aru) – verb (infinitive: ある). "To exist" (for inanimate objects). Present tense, plain form. - 史跡 (shiseki) – noun. "Historical site" (shi = history, ato/iseki = ruins/site). Grammar: This is a noun phrase. The clause "アルジェリアにある" (Arjeria ni aru) modifies "史跡" (shiseki), meaning "a historical site that is in Algeria". The verb ある is used for existence of non-living things. Sentence 2: 木々が生い茂り、数人が近くを歩いている。 (Kigi ga oishigeri, sūnin ga chikaku o aruite iru.) - 木々 (kigi) – noun. "Trees" (plural form of 木 [ki], reduplicated for emphasis/plurality). - が (ga) – particle. Marks the subject of the verb. - 生い茂り (oishigeri) – verb (infinitive: 生い茂る [oishigeru]). "To grow thickly / to be overgrown". This is the 連用形 (ren'yōkei / continuative form), used to connect clauses (like a comma or "and"). - 、 – comma. Separates the two clauses. - 数人 (sūnin) – noun. "Several people" (数 [sū] = number/several, 人 [nin] = people). - が (ga) – particle. Marks the subject of the second clause. - 近く (chikaku) – noun/adverb. "Nearby" (from adjective 近い [chikai] = near, turned into noun/adverb form). - を (o) – particle. Marks the direct object of a transitive verb. Here, it marks the path/space being walked through. - 歩いている (aruite iru) – verb phrase. "Are walking". 歩く (aruku, infinitive: "to walk") in て-form (歩いて [aruite]) + いる (iru, "to be" for animate objects, present continuous). This means "walking (right now)". Grammar: This is a compound sentence. The first clause ends with the continuative form of the verb (生い茂り), acting like "and". The second clause uses the ている form to show an ongoing action. General Grammar Tip & Related Words Tip: The て-form + いる (te-iru) is the standard way to express an ongoing action in Japanese (present progressive). For movement verbs like 歩く (aruku), it often means "is walking" or "is in the state of walking". For state-change verbs (e.g., 死ぬ [shinu, to die]), it means "has died" (resultant state). Related words (not yet explained): - 茂る (shigeru) – "to grow thickly" (similar to 生い茂る, but without the "overgrown" nuance). - 歩く (aruku) – "to walk" (infinitive). - 走る (hashiru) – "to run" (infinitive). Can be used in the same pattern: 走っている (hashitte iru) = "is running". - 立つ (tatsu) – "to stand". 立っている (tatte iru) = "is standing". |
