はなしたい文があるけど。。。

[Girumon]

Ignore that last post, I dont really care anymore.

Anyway today I was about to say "I learned about 200 new words over the weekend." but then I realized that when talking about how many words there are you need a number counter. I was going to say "私は週末に二百くらい言葉を学びました。"

Whats the right way?

[Bueller_007]

ありがとう。

No worries.

2 questions.

1. Can you use kara or dakara at the end of a sentence without anything after it? I learned that with dakara it can only be at the beginning and if you use kara there has to be something after it (otherwise you would begin with dakara) but Im pretty sure Ive heard kara at the end on its own, and I think maybe dakara too...

Yes, "dakara" can be used at the end of a sentence. So can "kara". "Dakara" can be used at the beginning of a sentence. "Kara" *cannot* be used at the beginning of a sentence because it is only a particle, and particles are postpositions in Japanese. So, it needs another word to precede it, like "sou", "sore", "da", etc. Remember that "da" is a stand-alone word: the copula.

There is a difference between sentence-ending "kara"/"dakara" and sentence-beginning "dakara": The first is the same as the English "so" (reason -> effect), the second is the same as the English "because" (effect -> reason).

When looking at the following examples, keep in mind that you don't use the "da" copula directly after -i adjectives.

値段が高いから、買わない。It's expensive, so I won't buy it.
値段が高い。だから、買わない。It's expensive. So, I won't buy it.

買わない。値段が高いから。I won't buy it. [Because] It's expensive.
買わない。無用な物だから。I won't buy it. [Because] It's just a useless trifle.

2. Cant quite grasp the meaning of this sentence: サム, 僕たちは友達。友達って僕よくわからない, でもきっと僕が今サムはサムだって思っている気持ち、そうなんだと思う。
Something like "Sam, were friends. I dont really know what a friend is, but now Im me and Sam is Sam...feeling happy. I think thats what it is."

I changed "botachi" to "bokutachi" because I assumed it was a typo. Then I converted it to kanji, because kana sucks.

To be honest, I don't fully understand this either. It sounds manga-ish, and I avoid that stuff like the plague. It's very informal, and there are particles missing etc.

Based on the context that you've given, I'd say it means something like:

"Sam, we're friends. I don't really know what a 'friend' is, but what I do know is that you're you."

Something like that, maybe.

[Bueller_007]

Ignore that last post, I dont really care anymore.

Too late. Did you really post that two weeks ago? Strange I didn't notice it until right now, and nobody else got around to answering it...

Anyway today I was about to say "I learned about 200 new words over the weekend." but then I realized that when talking about how many words there are you need a number counter. I was going to say "私は週末に二百くらい言葉を学びました。"

Whats the right way?

The counter for words is easy to remember. 語 ("go"). You also might be able to get away with ワード in a pinch.

[Girumon]

Actually, I was thinking less about what the number counter is and wondering more about how to use a number counter with くらい。

Is it just 私は週末に言葉を二百語くらい学びました。?

Also, thats a little boring. How would one say "I learned and then promptly forgot about 200 words over the week."

To be honest, I don't fully understand this either.

Heh. Funnily enough, after that, Sam complemented him for being able to speak so clearly. I was like "Ummmm...ok." Oh well.

[Bueller_007]

Actually, I was thinking less about what the number counter is and wondering more about how to use a number counter with くらい。

Is it just 私は週末に言葉を二百語くらい学びました。?

Remember that you use a counter in combination with くらい every time you talk about time. 十分ぐらい = "around ten minutes", with a counter 分 and ぐらい.

I'd say ぐらい is better than くらい in your sentence, because it's a suffix, and it just seems to roll off the tongue easier.

Also, thats a little boring. How would one say "I learned and then promptly forgot about 200 words over the week."

Just use the -te form for learn, and then add 忘れた. Otherwise, you could just say "I remembered them, BUT I forgot them right away."

[Girumon]

Ok. So something like 私は週に言葉を二百ぐらい学ぼうとしましたけどすぐに忘れてしまいました　would be acceptable?

[Bueller_007]

Ok. So something like 私は週に言葉を二百ぐらい学ぼうとしましたけどすぐに忘れてしまいました　would be acceptable?

Probably want to use something like 今週 or 先週 instead of just 週, but yeah, it looks okay to me. (You forgot to use the counter again though: 語)

Two things I'm not sure about:

Use of 学ぶ, as I'm not sure of the nuance of the word, as compared with 習う or 覚える. One of those might be better.

Use of the うとする form might not be necessary (or even sound awkward) for some of those, as it means "tried to, but failed". If you tried to learn something, but failed, then it's impossible to forget it soon thereafter, because you never learned it in the first place.

I'd probably just go with:
先週、言葉を二百語ぐらい習いましたけど、すぐに忘れてしまいました。

It's easiest.

[Girumon]

Um, for the previous thing, is saying すぐに全部を忘れてしまった。 ok?

[Bueller_007]

Um, for the previous thing, is saying すぐに全部を忘れてしまった。 ok?

I'd say so... I wouldn't use the を, but maybe that's just me.

[Jason]

Um, for the previous thing, is saying すぐに全部を忘れてしまった。 ok?

I'd say so... I wouldn't use the を, but maybe that's just me.

全部 can be both a noun or adjective, so either way works. I'm not really sure if either would sound more natural than the ohter.

[Bueller_007]

Um, for the previous thing, is saying すぐに全部を忘れてしまった。 ok?

I'd say so... I wouldn't use the を, but maybe that's just me.

全部 can be both a noun or adjective, so either way works. I'm not really sure if either would sound more natural than the ohter.

Japanese is great, because everything can be used as everything.

[Girumon]

You know, Ive determined that my Japanese teacher says you cant do a lot of stuff that you actually can and also says some things are wrong that are actually right.

Just today she said you can never put に after どこか and apparently any sentence that doesnt have a verb that ends in ます (or です） is wrong. She also said that theres no way to conjugate from the base form to the masu form.

This doesnt have anything to do with anything, but whatever.

[Bueller_007]

Just today she said you can never put に after どこか

I would have agreed with this, having used どこかへ almost exclusively myself (except when using the verbs ある or いる), but Google turns up lots of hits. That doesn't necessarily mean it's "proper" Japanese though.

and apparently any sentence that doesnt have a verb that ends in ます (or です） is wrong. She also said that theres no way to conjugate from the base form to the masu form.

Your teacher sounds pretty crappy, and apparently, has never had a friend or read a book. I suggest you get a new one.

[Girumon]

While there are a few times where Ive thought "Uh...are you sure about that?" She is native Japanese. I think she just told us that to not confuse us or something. Theres no way she never at least noticed a conjugation pattern...

Regardless, her teaching is a bit slow...its been 2 years and she has yet to even mention the existence of the dictionary form of verbs, actually...I think she wants us speaking politely forever.

[annie]

i've taken beginning japanese classes in a few different places, and they do tend to focus on the polite way to speak japanese. We asked about it once, and were told that it's because the teacher didn't want us going to Japan and making fools out of ourselves/speaking rudely to people.

Though, I would think that after two years, you should at least be introduced to casual Japanese. But really, I only spend about a quarter of my Japanese speaking time using non ます verbs. And, it's only that high because I spend a lot of time talking to kids.