Lesson 13 – Time Adverbs And How To Use Them

Introduction

Hello everyone! This lesson we’ll be discussing some a little bit off the standard path we’ve been taking so far. But, it can still be considered an essential part of language learning, especially in such an expressive language like Japanese. Today we’ll be looking at adverbs of time that you can use to express your Japanese more, naturally.  Adverbs are everywhere in Japanese and you’re bound to hear at least 2 of them in a structured sentence at any given point in time.

In This Lesson

You’ll learn a list of super helpful adverbs that can be used in just about any situation.

-Adverbs of Time

じかんのふくし

Adverbs of Time

Japanese Adverbs 副詞(ふくし) English Translation
1.      後(あと)で Later
2.      今(いま) Now
3.      前(まえ) Before
4.      まだ Still, Yet
5.      ここ Here
6.      そこ There
7.      あそこ Over There
8.     どこでも Everywhere
9.     どこか Anywhere
10.  どこにも~ない Nowhere
11.  今夜(こんや) Tonight
12.  昨夜(さくや) Last night
13.  今朝(けさ) This morning
14.  明日(あした) Tomorrow
15.  今日(きょう) Today
16.  昨日(きのう) Yesterday

In order to use adverbs of time, you have to be aware of sentence order. Good thing for you is that sentence order in Japanese doesn’t really matter once your sentence makes coherent sense (this is another lesson entirely).

Example of Using Adverbs of Time

勉強(べんきょう)をする後(あと)寝(ね)ます。

I will go to bed after studying

ここにいます。

I’m here now.

彼(かれ)はどこでもどこにもない

He is everywhere and nowhere.

Do you see what I mean when I say that adverbs can go どこか in a sentence? Just be sure they make sense at the end of the day and that your grammar is correct.

When To Use Adverbs of Time In Japanese

I’m sure as some of you may be aware, Japanese is a language where saying less means saying more. The more concise you be while using as little detail as possible will work out to your benefit. Meaning that if you choose to use a time adverb you’ll be contracting the details of what you want to say or write. Here are some examples.

八時午後(はちじごご)に公園(こうえん)に歩(ある)きました。= 今夜公園(こんやこうえん)に歩(ある)きます。

At 8 pm I am walking to the park = Tonight I am walking to the park.

Substituting the exact time for a general portion of the day may be less precise, but it still gets your message across.

かどでテーブルにいます。= あそこのテーブルにいます

I’ll be at the table in the corner = I’ll be at that table over there.

Another way you can use adverbs of time is to replace a specific location with a general direction.

 

Homework

Now that you’ve learned some of the basics to time adverbs, you should be able to find your way around a conversation with our good friends Takeshi and Mary.

Find the time adverbs used in the following dialogue. After finding the adverbs, do your best to accurately translate the scenario.

メアリ:ね、たけしさん、何でいつだって勉強するあとで寝ますか?

たけし:ずるいだ!今回(こんかい)だっけ、明日(あした)は期末試験(きまつしけん)がありました。

メアリ:ああ、そうですか。じゃ、今何をしていますか。

たけし:あの。。。今夜(こんや)デ(で)ート(と)をします。だから、今準備(いまじゅんび)をします。

メアリ:えええええ!デートだと?じゃ、本当に信じいられないので、準備後(じゅんびあと)でこの人(ひと)の写真(しゃしん)を私(わたし)に現(あらわ)れせてもらってください。

Okay, Mary and Takeshi are a bit of a handful in this scenario, so if you don’t understand some of the words they are using I’m here to help!

現(あらわ)れせてもらってください – Please show me

準備(じゅんび) – Preparations

期末試験(きまつしけん) – Final Exam

kimatsushiken

 

 

Answer Key

メアリ:ね、たけしさん、何でいつだって勉強するあとで寝ますか?

たけし:ずるいだ!今回(こんかい)だっけ、明日(あした)は期末試験(きまつしけん)がありました。

メアリ:ああ、そうですか。じゃ、何をしていますか。

たけし:あの。。。今夜(こんや)デ(で)ート(と)をします。だから、準備(じゅんび)をします。

メアリ:えええええ!デートだと?じゃ、本当に信じいられないので、準備後(じゅんびあと)でこの人(ひと)の写真(しゃしん)を私(わたし)に現(あらわ)れせてもらってください。

メアリ:Takeshi, why do you always go to sleep after you study?

たけし:That’s not fair! It was that one time only. Besides, yesterday I had a final exam.

メアリ:Oh, is that so. Well, what are you up to now?

たけし:Well…. I have a date later so I’m getting ready.

メアリ:REALLLYYYY!!!??? Did you just say a date? Well after you’re done getting ready, you’ll have to show me a picture of this person’s face, because I really don’t believe you.

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