1. Giving Permission with –te mo ii desu Expressing Prohibition with –te wa ikemasen Rejecting Indirectly The Conjunction desu kara Expressing Obligation with nakute wa ikemasen Expressing Discretion with nakute mo ii desu Japanese 1100-L15a-07-21-20121 Class Session 15a Chapter 10

2. Japanese 1100-L15a-07-21-20122 Giving Permission with –te mo ii desu To give permission to someone to do something, use the verb in the te-form, the particle mo, the adjective ii and the copular verb desu: tabete mo ii desu. It is okay to eat. You may eat. Permission sentences are often followed by the sentence ending particle yo to indicate a friendly reminder, offer, or encouragement: Tabete mo ii desu yo. It is okay to eat ! (Go ahead.) In this context yo conveys the speaker’s enthusiasm

3. Japanese 1100-L15a-07-21-20123 Expressing Prohibition with –te wa ikemasen To express prohibition use the verb in the te-form and add wa ikemasen: tabete wa ikemasen It is not okay to eat You may not eat. eigo de hanashite wa ikemasen. You may not speak English.

4. Japanese 1100-L15a-07-21-20124 Rejecting Indirectly Japanese prefer not to give a direct negative reply or rejection to others (unless they are talking about specific rules, instructions, and disciplines): sore wa chotto komarimasu. It is a bit of a problem. You may also say chotto (a little bit) with a hesitant intonation

5. Japanese 1100-L15a-07-21-20125 The Conjunction desu kara You can start a sentence with the conjunction desu kara, if it expresses the conclusion from the previous statement: kore wa tesuto desu. desu kara, jisho o tsukatte wa ikimasen. This is a test. So you may not use a dictionary. kore wa tesuto ja arimasen. desu kara, jisho o tsukatte mo ii desu. This is not a test. So you may use a dictionary. kyōwa shukudai ga takusan arimasu. desu kara, terebi wa mimasen. I have a lot of homework today. So I will not watch television.

6. Japanese 1100-L15a-07-21-20126 Expressing Obligation with nakute wa ikemasen To express obligation use the negative te-form + wa ikemasen: tabenakute wa ikemasen. It is not okay if you don’t eat. You must eat. nakute, in this context, can also be nakereba 1 (if (you) do not) --------------------------------------- 1 This is a conditional form discussed in Chapter 18 in Japanese 1105.

7. Japanese 1100-L15a-07-21-20127 Expressing Discretion with nakute mo ii desu When something is not obligatory, it is optional or under discretion Discretion is expressed by converting a permission sentence (... te mo ii desu) to the negative te-form: tabete mo ii desutabenakute mo ii desu. You may eat.You need not eat.