第10課: Copular Sentences II: Polite Speech　コピュラ文（丁寧体）

Whereas Lesson 9 was about how to make basic copular sentences in plain speech, this lesson will be about
making those same sort of sentences in polite speech. Although this is the typical starting point in most people's
language instruction, the reason why we are seeing this second here is to follow a learning pattern that matches
language acquisition of native speakers. 

Polite speech (teineigo 丁寧語) is actually quite difficult to master despite how textbooks are jampacked with
expressions in them for students to use. The first struggle is knowing when to use polite speech. Polite speech
is used in most everyday interactions with people who are neither family nor close friends. Polite speech, at
times, can also be used to distance oneself from one's listener(s), and it is frequently used to set formality. For
instance, the majority of news articles are written in polite speech just as how the news would be given on air. 

Before jumping in just yet into the main discussion, let's recap with the grammar terms you'll need to have down.
You'll notice most of them from Lesson 9, but some more have been added to help with this lesson's content.

Subject: The person/thing that performs the action or exhibits the description found in the predicate.
Predicate: The part of a sentence that makes a statement about the subject. 
Copula: A word used to link the subject and predicate of a sentence.

Noun: In its most basic definition, a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality. 
Auxiliary: An ending that helps construct verbal conjugations.
Independent Clause: A phrase that stands alone as a complete sentence.
Plain Speech: Jōtaigo 常体語 refers to the entire plain speech register in Japanese grammar.
Plain Style: Jōtai 常体 is the plain speech rendition of any given phrase.
Plain Form: Kihonkei 基本形 is the basic form of any given phrase: a.k.a, its plain form.
Polite Speech: Teineigo 丁寧語 refers to the entire polite speech register in Japanese grammar.
Polite Style: Teineitai 丁寧体 is the rendition of polite speech with any particular phrasing.
Polite Form: Teineikei 丁寧形 refers to polite speech conjugations.

The rule of thumb is that the longer a phrase is, the politer it is. Meaning, if there are two or more options when
conjugating for something in polite speech, the longer phrase will always be the politer version.

The Copula Verb Desu です

Just like its plain form da だ, desu です attaches directly after nouns and can be translated as "is," "are," "to be,"
"will be," etc. The basic noun-predicate sentence in polite speech, thus, is "X wa は Y desu です."

Aside from です being used in different social environments than だ, there aren't any other differences between
the two when the predicates they are a part of consists of them and nouns. In Lesson 13, we'll learn a crucial
difference between them regarding their relation or lack thereof with adjectives, but for the time being, we'll
focus on learning more words with grammar that should already be familiar.
Pronunciation Note: In Standard Japanese, the "u" sound in です is typically devoiced. It is still perceived as
two morae, however, resulting in it being phonetically rendered as /de.s/. To the Japanese ear, the /u/ isn't
necessarily dropped altogether as the mouth is still articulated in the same shape as if it were truly pronounced.
However, speakers outside of East Japan don't share this phenomenon and tend to fully articulate both "de" and
"su," but it is also worth noting that these speakers display non-standard intonation in the entirety of their
speech. In standard speech, devoicing is less likely to happen in more formal sentences and is more likely to
occur the faster someone is talking.

The Non-Past Form (Polite)　非過去形（丁寧体）

The non-past form (hikakokei 非過去形) covers the same semantic range as English's present (genzaikei 現在形 )
and future tenses (miraikei 未来形), but it is imperative that some form of context is included in the sentence or
greater context for a future sentence to be interpreted as such. For instance, phrases like "at 10 AM," "surely,"
etc. used in conjunction with any verbal phrase will cause it to be read as the future tense rather than the present
tense. Since we have already seen how this works with だ, our goal will mostly be to try to learn more new words
while also getting used to using です.

Terminology Note: The non-past polite form です would never be referred to as the kihonkei 基本形 (base
form) as that role is held by だ. Rather, to say ”non-past polite form," you would say hikako-no-teineikei 非過去
の丁寧形.

Non-Past: Present

1. ここは神社です。

Koko wa jinja desu.

2. 李さんは台湾人です。

Rii-san wa Taiwanjin desu.

[Mr./M(r)s.] Lee is Taiwanese.

3. あなた出番です！

Anata deban desu!

Hey you, [you're up/it's your turn]. 

Phrase Note: あなた出番です！ was once even the name of a popular variety show in the 1960s. 出番 means
"turn" and the phrase in Ex. 3 essentially tells the person that it's their time on stage. The use of あなた here is
more like "hey you." If you wanted to more literally say, "it's your turn," you would say, anata no deban desu あ
なたの出番です.
4. えっと、あの人は日本人です。

Etto, ano hito wa Nihonjin desu.

Um, that person over there is Japanese.

Phrase Note: えっと, also eeto ええと is one of the ways to say "um/uh" in Japanese. Another common way is
ano あの, which has a rising then following intonation. It is often elongated as anō, which has several different
spellings are pronounced the same way: あのう・あのー・あのぉ .

5. それは蛇ですよ。

Sore wa hebi desu yo.

That's a snake.

Grammar Note: The use of それ instead of あれ indicates that the snake is closer to the listener than the
speaker. Or, it could indicate that the speaker and listener are looking at a photo of a snake that is unknown to
the listener. 

Grammar Note: The particle yo よ is a final particle. Final particles indicate various emotions at the end of the
sentence, and they don't alter conjugations that precede them. よ is used to indicate information that the speaker
thinks is new to the listener. Try not to overuse it, though, as it may give the impression that you're downplaying
the listeners intelligence.

Pronunciation Note: The "u" in desu yo ですよ is actually fully pronounced because the vowel is being
followed by a voiced sound, the consonant y.

6. はい、そうです。

Hai, sō desu.

Yes, that’s right.

Grammar Note: Sō そう is an adverb meaning "so," although the coincidence really just ends there. It often
stands for "that is so" and may also indicate degree as in "like that." In Ex. 6, though, it's just a typical adverb
literally meaning "so" modifying the very verb-like です. Remember how we learned that modifiers always go to
the left? The basic word order of this sentence also happens to be V. 

Phrase Note: Hai はい is the Japanese equivalent to "yes" in "yes/no" contexts, but a lot of the time it is simply
used to indicate that one is listening to the speaker. This is a cultural practice expected of listeners, so you may
have noticed this before in anime or watching Japanese speakers interact. We'll take a closer look at this word
and other similar phrases later on.

Non-Past: Future

As can be deduced from the examples, English also shows fluctuation between "is" and "will be" in certain
contexts, especially when referencing established dates.

7. 卒業式は今週です。

Sotsugyōshiki wa konshū desu.

Graduation [is/will be] this week. 

8. 会合は明日です。

Kaigō wa ashita desu.

The assembly [is/will be] tomorrow.

9. 終了日は木曜日です。

Shūryōbi wa mokuyōbi desu.

The end date [is/will] be Thursday.

10. もうすぐです。

Mō sugu desu.

It’ll be soon.

Grammar Note: Mō sugu もうすぐ is also an adverb, but the grammar is the same as in Ex. 6.

Omitting Desu です

Because です marks politeness, it is rarely ever removed from the sentence, but it is not unconceivable to think of
contexts in which its absence is warranted. If the speaker and listener are on respectful but familiar terms, it is at
times possible to hear です get dropped. Great care must be taken, however, to insure that the resultant phrase is
not too direct as it is です that provides that cushion.

11. それは一緒（です）。

Sore wa issho (desu).

That's the same.

Grammar Note: Issho is an adjectival-noun which usually means "together," but here it is used in its second
most used meaning "same/identical." We'll learn more about adjectival-nouns in Lesson 14, but grammatically
the function just like nouns. 

The Past Tense (Plain/Polite)　過去形（常体・丁寧体

The past tense form of desu です is deshita でした. As you can see, the ending -TA makes its appearance
once
more. Let's recap our tense conjugations of the copulas だ and です.

 Conjugation Recap

Non-Past  Past

だ (plain)  だった (plain)

 です (polite)  だったです △ (polite, dialectal)

     でした (polite)

△: This symbol indicates unnatural but not necessary ungrammatical speech.

Variation Note:  Some speakers use datta desu だったです instead of deshita でした, but this is deemed
incorrect by most native speakers, and it is dialectal at best. As such, it is always best to use deshita でした. 

12. 日本人は2人でした。

Nihonjin wa futari deshita.

There were two Japanese people.

Grammar Note: The "there" in the English sentence is a filler subject for which there is no Japanese
equivalent.

13. 中国人は1人でした。

Chūgokujin wa hitori deshita.

There was one Chinese person.

14. あの男は警察官でした。

Ano otoko wa keisatsukan deshita.

That man was a policeman.

Grammar Note: As we learned in Lesson 9, it isn't always the case that the past tense should be taken literally.
In this example, the likely context has it that the speaker is simply telling the listener the occupation of a man
they saw. The same goes for Ex. 17 below.

15. ニュースでした。

Nyūsu deshita.

This has been the news.

Grammar Note: In Japanese, the past tense form also extends to perfect tenses (completion). 

16. あれはテロでした。

Are wa tero deshita.

That was terrorism.

17. あの子は男の子でした。

Ano ko wa otoko-no-ko deshita.

That child was a boy.

The Negative Forms (Plain/Polite)　否定形（常体・丁寧体）

When creating the negative

The first
method, which takes the least amount of effort, involves simply attaching です to [de wa/ja]
nai 【で
は・じゃ】ない. Essentially, you are following a form
of the copula with another form of the copula. Remember
that じゃ is the contracted form of では. Most grammarians agree that the です in the resultant です to [de
wa/ja]
nai desu【では・じゃ】ない 【では・じゃない】です functions solely as a
politeness-marking auxiliary
verb, having completely lost its copular meaning
of "to be."  The reason for this is that for です to be interpreted
as "to be" in a
predicate, it has to be paired with a noun, but the problem here is that ない acts as an adjectival
ending. You'll see
this same phenomenon reappear when we learn about adjectives in Lesson 13.

The second
method involves replacing ない with its proper polite form, which is arimasen ありません. The
resultant de wa
arimasen ではありません is
considerably politer, and its contracted form ja
arimasen じゃあり
ません is still
on par with a similar level of politeness. Do note, though, that if you are
speaking to someone
important, avoiding contractions altogether when possible
is usually a good call.

Conjugation Recap

Non-Past  Past  Negative

だ (plain)  だった (plain)  じゃない (plain, casual)

 です (polite)  だったです △ (polite, dialectal)  ではない (plain)

   でした (polite)  じゃないです (polite, casual)

     ではないです (polite, casual)

     じゃありません (polite, spoken)

     ではありません (formal)
△: This
symbol indicates unnatural but not necessary ungrammatical speech.

You may be
wondering how one gets ありません out of ない. The answer to this is that ない is the negative form
of aru ある. This verb is the basic existential
verb in Japanese, and it is in fact embedded in the etymologies of all
copular
phrases in Japanese. ない had always
been the exact opposite of ある, which is
why it is viewed as its
negative form. The ん seen in ありません is a remnant of how negation was once
formed, being still used in
polite speech due to it sounding refined.

In formal
writing written in polite speech, conjugations are avoided, which is why じゃないです and じゃありま
せん are both more likely to appear in
conversation rather than in written documents. However, you may still see
them
in situations such as social media posts. 

18. 私は中学生ではないです。

Watashi wa chūgakusei de wa nai desu.

I am not a junior high student.

19. 彼女はお医者さんではないです。

Kanojo wa o-isha-san de wa nai desu.

She is not a doctor.

20. 彼は高校生ではないです。

Kare wa kōkōsei de wa nai desu.

He is not a high school student.

21. 健太君は小学生じゃないです。

Kenta-kun wa shōgakusei ja nai desu.

Kenta-kun isn’t an elementary student.

Grammar Note: -kun 君 is often added affectionately to male names. Ironically, it is also used in the sense of
"Sir/Madam" in parliamentary speech.

22. あれはオオカミじゃないです。

Are wa ōkami ja nai desu.

That isn’t a wolf.

23. 彼は議員ではありません。
Kare wa giin de wa arimasen.
He is not a legislator.

24. 花田さんは大学生ではありません。
Hanada-san wa daigakusei de wa arimasen.
Mr. Hanada is not a college student.

25. あれは偽物ではありません。
Are wa nisemono de wa arimasen.
That is not a fake.

25. 彼は英雄じゃありません。
Kare wa eiyū ja arimasen.
He isn’t a hero.

26. それは間違いじゃありません。
Sore wa machigai ja arimasen.
That isn’t a mistake.

27. いいえ、そうじゃありません。
Iie, sō ja arimasen.
No, that isn’t so.

The Negative-Past Forms (Plain/Polite)　過去の否定形（常体・丁寧

The same two routes to make the

To make the
casual polite 【じゃ・では】ないです into the
past tense, you conjugate nai ない to nakatta なかっ
た, resulting in [dewa/ja]
nakatta desu【じゃ・では】なかったです.

 To
make the politer negative forms【じゃ・では】ありません into the past tense, you attach でした to ありませ
ん, resulting
in ありませんでした. This
conjugation is very exceptional and doesn't follow typical verb
conjugation
norms. This is because the ん is a relic
of older grammar, and so simply attaching でした which
already has the past tense accounted for it was thought of as the best way to
modernize the expression.

Now that
we've added the negative past forms to our arsenal, let's include them into our
conjugation chart.

 Conjugation
Recap

Non-Past Past   Negative  Negative-Past

 じゃなかった
だ (plain)  だった (plain)  じゃない (plain, casual)
(plain, casual)

 です (polite)  だったです △ (polite, dialectal)   ではない (plain)  ではなかった (plain)

 じゃないです  じゃなかったです
   でした (polite)
 (polite, casual) (polite, casual)

 ではないです  ではなかったです
   
(polite, spoken) (polite, spoken)

 じゃありません
 じゃありませんでした
   
(politer, spoken)  (politer, spoken)

 ではありませんでした
     ではありません (formal)
(formal)

29. 昨日は休みではなかったです。
Kinō wa yasumi de wa nakatta desu.
Yesterday was not a holiday.

30. 昨日は日曜日ではなかったです。
Kinō wa Nichiyōbi de wa nakatta desu.
Yesterday was not Sunday.

31. それは五円玉ではなかったです。
Sore wa goendama de wa nakatta desu.
That wasn’t a five-yen coin.

32. これは模擬試験じゃなかったです。
Kore wa mogi shiken ja nakatta desu.
This wasn’t a mock exam.

33. 冗談じゃなかったですよ。
Jōdan ja nakatta desu yo.
It wasn’t a joke.

34. 奇跡じゃなかったですよ。
Kiseki ja nakatta desu yo.
It wasn’t a miracle.

35. （そこは）食堂ではありませんでした。

(Soko wa) shokudō de wa arimasendeshita.

(That/it) was not a diner.

36. 田中さんは先生ではありませんでした。
Tanaka-san wa sensei de wa arimasendeshita.
Mr. Tanaka was not a teacher.

37. 小田さんは住民ではありませんでした。
Oda-san wa jūmin de wa arimasendeshita.
Mr. Oda was not a resident.

38. 昼ご飯はお握りじゃありませんでした。
Hirugohan wa onigiri ja arimasendeshita.
Lunch wasn’t onigiri.

39. それはコーヒーじゃありませんでした。
Sore wa kōhii ja arimasendeshita.
That wasn’t coffee.

40. あれは猿じゃありませんでした。
Are wa saru ja arimasendeshita.
That wasn’t a monkey.

In Conclusion 最後に...

This lesson demonstrates how polite speech is rather complicated in that the nature of polite speech has resulted
in variation that reflects how far one is trying to be polite. This is similar to how English speakers watch how they
word things in polite situations with the primary difference being that politeness level has a direct impact in
conjugation in Japanese. 

Perhaps the most important grammar note to be had about polite speech is how one never marks a word with で
す in the middle of a sentence. Better yet, no polite verbal ending is meant to be used anywhere but the end of the
sentence. This principle will prevent a lot of mistakes for you as a beginner. 

Our next lessons will focus on two of the most important particles that have already made their way into the
basic examples used thus far, and then after that, we'll return to learning more about conjugation!