JPNS 1010
Dialogue for
Presentation 4
(Supplements for
the textbook
Genki: An Integrated Approach, Vol. 1)
Click here to listen to the
entire dialogue.
Click on the links below
to listen to each individual sentence.
John wants to make a
call in the hospital and is looking for a public phone. (Public phones are becoming increasingly
rare in Japan with everyone owning cell phones!)
ジョン: あの、すみません。こうしゅうでんわはどこですか。
Stranger: こうしゅうでんわですか。おてあらいのそばにありますよ。
Stranger: まっすぐ行って、左にまがってください。
ジョン: そうですか。ありがとうございます。
* New vocabulary
こうしゅうでんわ public
phone
Notes
John approaches a stranger and asks where a public phone is
located. The stranger uses an echo
question to confirm that he is talking about a public phone, then tell him that
it is in the vicinity (そば) of the restroom (おてあらい). The word おてあらい literally means “hand-washing
[place],” but it is a euphemism for the restroom. (Of course, you are supposed to wash
your hands in the restroom, in addition to whatever else you might do there!)
John uses an echo question, then asks where the restroom is.
The stranger tells him to go straight (まっすぐ=straight ahead) then to turn left (左). The verb meaning “turn” in
Japanese is まがる
(まがります
in the long form, まがって
in the –te
form). Notice that when you say a
sequence of things in Japanese (do X then do Y), you use the –te form
for all but the last verb.
For instance….
日本ごをべんきょうして、ばんごはんをたべます。
I
will study Japanese, then eat dinner.
本をよんで、うちにかえります。
I
will read the book, then go home.
In the following sequence of three things, again one would use
the –te
form for all but the last verb.
おきて、あさごはんをたべて、がっこうにいきます。
I
will get up, eat breakfast, then go to school.
This works for past tense sentences too. You only need to put the FINAL
verb in the past tense and the whole sentence becomes past tense.
きのう、ここにきて、テレビをみました。
Yesterday,
I came here, then watched TV.
しゅうまつ、ともだちにあって、えいがをみました。
On
the weekend, I met a friend, then watched a movie.
Also, as you see in today’s dialogue, this works for
commands. Note that the final verb
is put in the –te
form and combined with ください。
まっすぐいって、左にまがってください。
Go
straight, then turn left.
ここにきて、べんきょうしてください。
Come
here, then study.
In the final line of the dialogue, John thanks the
stranger.
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of Jeffrey Angles
Updated September 17, 2008