い and な adjectives
There are two classes of adjective and they conjugate differently, so mixing them up is heard at once. い-adjectives (高い, 寒い) carry the conjugation inside: 高くない (not expensive), 高かった (was expensive), never 高いでした. な-adjectives (静か, 親切) behave like nouns: they swap です for でした and for じゃない, and only add な before a noun: 静かな町 but この町は静かです. Two words deceive because they end in い and are な: きれい (pretty, clean) and 嫌い (disliked). And one memorable exception: いい (good) conjugates through its older form よい, so its negative is よくない, not いくない.
Where this sits
- Comes after
- Particles: は, が, を, に, で
Exercises from this rung
Generated by the app, from easiest to hardest
私は日本の音楽___好きです。
- に
- を
- は
- が
Why 好き is an adjective, not a verb, so what is liked is the subject and takes が. The same holds for 嫌い, 上手, 下手 and 欲しい.
easierこの店はあまり___。
- 高かったです
- 高いです
- 高くてです
- 高くないです
Why あまり requires a negative verb or adjective: あまり高くない. Without the negative the sentence is left hanging.
in between電車___バスより速いです。
- のほうが
- からが
- のほうは
- よりが
Why The comparison is AのほうがBより: the winner takes のほうが and the yardstick takes より. The order can be swapped, but neither piece leaves its word.
harder