Linguaを marks what the verb acts on
を – written with a kana that appears nowhere else and read o – comes after the thing the action is done to: ごはんをたべます, ほんをよみます, おんがくをききます. The order of a full sentence is topic, time, place, object, verb, and the verb never moves. Only one を appears in a sentence, because a verb acts on one thing.
| Topic | Time | Object | Verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| わたしは | まいあさ | パンを | たべます |
| ちちは | よる | テレビを | みます |
| あねは | まいにち | おんがくを | ききます |
| ともだちは | きのう | ざっしを | よみました |
Six verbs cover most of a day
たべます eat, のみます drink, みます watch or look at, ききます listen or ask, よみます read, かいます buy. Two of them cover more ground than their translations suggest: みます is used for a film, a television programme and a doctor examining a patient, and ききます means both listening to music and asking a question – which is why せんせいにききます is to ask the teacher.
まいあさパンをたべますI eat bread every morning.
としょかんでざっしをよみますI read a magazine at the library.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| を | marks the object | しんぶんをよみます I read the newspaper. |
| たべます | to eat | まいあさパンをたべます I eat bread every morning. |
| のみます | to drink | よるはおちゃをのみます In the evening I drink tea. |
| みます | to watch, to look at | テレビをみます I watch television. |
| ききます | to listen, to ask | おんがくをききます I listen to music. |
| よみます | to read | ざっしをよみます I read a magazine. |
| かいます | to buy | えきでしんぶんをかいます I buy a newspaper at the station. |
| ごはん | meal, cooked rice | ごはんはもうたべました I have already eaten. |
| おんがく | music | しずかなおんがくがすきです I like quiet music. |
| えいが | film | にほんのえいがをみました I watched a Japanese film. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 2
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which particle marks the thing the verb acts on?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.