Lesson 8

Adjectives

Grammar
Pattern 1 · [N] は [な-adj] です / じゃ ありません
な-adj predicatenegative じゃ ありません
[N] is [adj] / is NOT [adj]. な-adjectives use じゃ ありません for negation — same negative form as nouns (L01).
Examples

Osaka noun particle lively (na-adj) na-adjective copula 。

Osaka is lively.

Sakura University noun particle famous (na-adj) adjective is not (na-adj negative) copula 。

Sakura University is not famous.
Pattern 2 · [N] は [い-adj] です / [い-adj]くない です
い-adj predicatenegative -くない
[N] is [adj] / is NOT [adj]. い-adjectives drop the final い and add くない. The verb です STAYS.
Examples

Beijing noun particle now noun cold (i-adj weather) adjective copula 。

Beijing is cold right now.

this PC noun particle not good (irregular) irregular い-adj (いい → よくない) copula 。

This PC is not good. (いい → よくない — irregular)
Pattern 3 · Modifier — [adj][な or nothing] [N]
modifier [adj]なmodifier [adj]い
When the adjective modifies a noun: な-adj inserts な before the noun, い-adj attaches as-is with no な. The single biggest L08 mechanic.
Examples

Nara noun particle quiet (na-adj) adjective na-attachment (modifier slot) na-adj attachment town noun copula 。

Nara is a quiet town. (na-adj → adds な)

Mt. Fuji noun particle tall (i-adj) adjective mountain noun copula 。

Mt. Fuji is a tall mountain. (i-adj → no な)

wonderful (na-adj) adjective na-attachment adjective present noun particle verb 。

I received a wonderful present.
Pattern 4 · とても / あまり — polarity-locked intensifiers
とても (very)あまり (not very)
Very [adj] / Not very [adj]. とても pairs ONLY with positive forms; あまり pairs ONLY with negative forms. Never mixed.
Examples

noun particle very · positive-only adverb (totemo) delicious adjective copula 。

This tea is very delicious.

Shanghai noun particle not very · NEGATIVE-only adverb (amari) not cold adjective copula 。

Shanghai is not very cold.
Pattern 5 · Connectors — [adj] です が、… / [adj] です。そして、…
が (but, contrast)そして (and also)
が = "but" (contrast within same sentence). そして = "and (also)" (parallel additions, NEW sentence). Pick by relationship.
Examples

dormitory noun particle old adjective copula but (contrast) conjunction (ga) 、 convenient (na-adj) adjective copula 。

The dorm is old, but convenient.

adjective adjective noun copula 。 and also (parallel) adverb (soshite) 、 adjective noun copula 。

It’s a beautiful house. And it’s a big house.
Pattern 6 · どう / どんな — impression vs feature
どう (how)どんな (what kind)
どう asks "How is [N]?" — open impression. どんな + N asks "What kind of [N]?" — specific feature. Different question, different answer shape.
Examples

the university dorm noun particle how / what is it like noun copula particle 。

What’s the university dorm like?

Mr. Matsumoto’s house noun particle what kind of adjective house noun copula particle 。

What kind of house is Mr. Matsumoto’s?

Notes

Two types of adjectives — い and な
Japanese splits adjectives into two morphological groups. You cannot "feel" which group an adjective is in — you memorize. い-adj: ends in い (with some exceptions). Predicate: [adj]い です. Modifier: [adj]い [N]. Negative: [adj]くない です. な-adj: does NOT end in い (or ends in い but is exceptional). Predicate: [adj] です. Modifier: [adj]な [N]. Negative: [adj] じゃ ありません. The difference shows up most clearly in MODIFIER position: な-adj needs な; い-adj does not.
The kirei trap — sounds い, is な
The most-repeated L08 mistake. きれい (beautiful) ENDS in い but is a な-adjective. ✓ きれい です (predicate — no change). ✓ きれい じゃ ありません (negative — じゃ ありません, NOT くない). ✓ きれいな はな です (modifier — needs な). × きれいい / きれくない / きれい はな (all wrong). Other な-adj that end in い: ゆうめい (famous) shares the trap. If in doubt: glossaries write な-adj as `きれい (な)` — the parenthetical な signals "I am a な-adj." い-adj are written without parentheses: `おいしい`.
Negative forms — two different rules
な-adj: swap です → じゃ ありません. Same rule as nouns from L01. にぎやか です → にぎやか じゃ ありません. い-adj: drop the final い → add くない です. たかい です → たかくない です. The verb です STAYS. The いい trap: "good" has two forms — いい (casual) and よい (formal/written). The negative ONLY uses the よ stem: いい です → よくない です (NOT いくない です). Single biggest L08 lock. Memorize: いい → よくない.
Modifier rule — when な, when nothing
When the adjective ATTACHES to the front of a noun: い-adj: use as-is — おおきい うち (big house). な-adj: add な — しずかな まち (quiet town). いい (exception): no な, use いい directly — いい せんせい (good teacher). Think of な as part of the adjective’s modifier form, not a separate word. Some textbooks list な-adj WITH the な already (きれいな, ゆうめいな) to keep this front of mind.
とても / あまり — the polarity rule (LOCKED)
These two adverbs are POLARITY-LOCKED. They are NOT symmetric. とても pairs ONLY with positive: とても おいしい です (very delicious). あまり pairs ONLY with NEGATIVE verb/adjective: あまり おいしくない です (not very delicious). You CANNOT say あまり おいしい です — it is grammatically wrong. The あまり ALWAYS pairs with a negative form. For "not at all" use ぜんぜん (later lesson). In live drilling the polarity rule is hammered every session — if you produce あまり [positive] your sensei will catch it immediately.
Connecting adjectives — が (but) vs そして (and also)
When you have two adjectives to describe one thing, pick the connector by RELATIONSHIP. そして = "and (also)" — adds a PARALLEL adjective (both positive, or both negative). Starts a NEW sentence: にほん の ちかてつ は べんり です。そして、きれい です。 が = "but" — joins two adjectives with CONTRAST. Same sentence, comma-が: にほん の くるま は たかい です が、いい です。 Rule of thumb: two positives that agree → そして (new sentence). One positive + one negative observation → が (same sentence). が is the high-utility contrast pattern.
どう vs どんな — open impression vs specific feature
Both are question words but ask DIFFERENT things and produce DIFFERENT answer shapes. [N] は どう です か = "How is [N]?" — open impression. Answer: [N] は [adj] です (adjective in PREDICATE). [N] は どんな [N] です か = "What kind of [N] is [N]?" — specific feature. Answer: [adj]な/[adj]い [N] です (adjective in MODIFIER). Example: にほん の せいかつ は どう です か → たのしい です. これ は どんな えいが です か → おもしろい えいが です.
Adjectives modifying objects of verbs
Once you can put an adjective in front of a noun, you can use that combo as the OBJECT of any verb. The grammar layers cleanly: [adj]な/[adj]い [N] を Vます. きれいな はな を かいました (I bought beautiful flowers). つめたい ぎゅうにゅう を のみました (I drank cold milk). すてきな プレゼント を もらいました (I received a wonderful present). The を marks the WHOLE modified noun group, not just the noun.
Colours — adjectives vs nouns
Some colours have an い-adjective form (use as adjectives directly): あかい (red), あおい (blue), しろい (white), くろい (black), きいろい (yellow), ちゃいろい (brown) — follow い-adj rules. Others are noun-only (use の to attach to nouns): みどり (green), むらさき (purple), ピンク (pink), オレンジ (orange). Adjective forms: あかい かばん (red bag). Noun forms: みどりの き (green tree), ピンクの はな (pink flower) — same の as L02 connector.
The home-visit farewell script — closes the L07/L08 arc
L07 introduced the arrival/welcome script. L08 introduces the FAREWELL script — polite exit from someone’s home. Fixed sequence, memorize as a unit. Host re-offer: コーヒー、もう いっぱい いかが です か。 Guest decline: いいえ、けっこう です。 Guest notice time: あ、もう [time] です ね。 Guest signal exit: そろそろ しつれい します。 Guest thank: きょう は どうも ありがとう ございました。 Host close: いいえ。また いらっしゃって ください。 けっこう です here is "no thank you" — NOT "fine." Tone matters; pair with a smile. そろそろ しつれい します literally "I’ll commit an incivility soon" — the Japanese way of starting a goodbye is to acknowledge that leaving is itself a small rudeness.

Practice

Q1 Tap to reveal
Answer Osaka is a lively city.
Q2 Tap to reveal
Answer Mt. Fuji is a tall mountain.
Q3 Tap to reveal
Answer Beijing is very cold.
Q4 Tap to reveal
Answer Shanghai is not very cold.
Q5 Tap to reveal
Answer The dorm is old, but convenient.
Q6 Tap to reveal
Answer Yesterday I watched an interesting movie.
Q7 Tap to reveal
Answer What kind of person is Mr. Santos?
Q8 Tap to reveal
Answer He is a kind person.