Making Sense of Japanese Grammar

59. Polite forms and direct forms

59 Polite forms and direct forms Early on in your study of Japanese, you learned polite verbal forms like the following: tabemasu I’ll eat. takai-desu It’s expensive. kirei-desu It is clean/beautiful. You also learned how to form direct forms like the following: taberu I’ll eat. tabenai I won’t eat. tabeta I ate. tabenakatta I didn’t eat. takai It’s expensive. takaku-nai It isn’t expensive. takakatta It was expensive. takaku-nakatta It wasn’t expensive. kirei-da It is clean/beautiful. kirei-ja-nai It isn’t clean/beautiful. kirei-datta It was clean/beautiful. kirei-ja-nakatta It wasn’t clean/beautiful. You might still be wondering where to use polite and direct forms. The distinction boils down to whether or not the situation calls for you to behave with a semblance of respect. Polite forms are interpersonally polite patterns. They are used when it is socially wise (or advantageous) for you to be polite. These include the following situations: when talking to a stranger when talking to a person socially “superior” to you (teacher, older acquaintance, etc.) when addressing an audience in public when addressing consumers (in an advertisement, an instruction, etc.) when writing letters (because you need to be slightly more formal when writing letters) By contrast, direct forms are used where acknowledgment of personal respect is 153 irrelevant or is not necessary, as in the following cases: when thinking or talking to yourself when writing for yourself (diary, notes, etc.) when talking to your friends or family privately and intimately when talking to a baby when talking to animal companions when writing a casual message to your friends or family when writing an objective article (academic report, newspaper article, term paper, thesis, etc.) when writing a literary narrative, such as a novel An objective article or a novel is judged on its own scientific or artistic merit, not on whether its writer demonstrates respect to readers appropriately. This is why direct forms are used for them. Interpersonal respect is most effectively conveyed at the end of a sentence. Inside a sentence, it becomes less visible and is not called for; direct forms suffice in the following: in a modifier of a noun (e.g., iku toki-ni “when going”; iku hito “person who goes”) before “source of information” markers and “likelihood” markers such as -soo-desu (unverified information), -yoo-desu (deduction), -deshoo “probably,” and -ka-mo shiremasen “may be” or “maybe” (e.g., iku yoo-desu “it looks like they are going”; iku-deshoo “I suppose they will go”) in embedded questions (e.g., iku-ka shirimasen “I don’t know if they will go”) for a thought inside a sentence (e.g., iku-to omoimasu “I think they will go”) Sentences containing polite forms in such contexts may be considered too compliant. It is therefore safer to avoid them. Polite and direct forms are optional in semi-independent clauses such as the following: Ashita shiken-ga {aru/arimasu}-kara, konban benkyoo-shimasu. “Because I have a test tomorrow, I am going to study tonight.” Ashita shiken-ga {aru/arimasu}-ga, benkyoo-shimasen. 154 “Although I have a test tomorrow, I am not going to study tonight.” Tanaka-san-wa ashita shiken-ga {aru/arimasu}-to iimashita. “Ms. Tanaka said that she has a test tomorrow.” Checking your comprehension: Which forms would you use, polite or direct, for the following situations? when you give a report in class when you take notes in class 155 For related topics, see also Units 52 and 58. ...