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29. Dependent Clause
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Check the brief grammar notes and examples below for your review.
Grammar Note
⚫️ Verb Plain Form のは Noun です
meaning : It is Noun that …
This sentence pattern is like “cleft sentence” in English.
“Noun” is an information that you want to emphasize.
はなこは ケーキを つくりました。
hanako [wa] kēki [o] tsukuri-mashita.
↓↓↓
はなこが つくったのはケーキです。
hanako [ga] tsukutta [nowa] kēki-desu.
( It is a cake that Hanako is making. )
The clause of “-のは” is a dependent clause, and the subject in a dependent clause is marked by “が” not “は”.
わたしは パンを かいました
watashi [wa] pan [o] kai-mashita.
↓↓↓
わたしが パンを かったのはきのうです。
watashi [ga] pan [o] katta [nowa] kinō-desu.
( It is yesterday that I bought bread. )
Tense of the main clause is “Noun です ( Present )” in general, even though it happened in the past.
watashi [ga] nihon [ni] kita [nowa] kyū-sai [no] toki-desu.
( I came to Japan when I was 9 years old. )
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Look at the English sentences and try to say them in Japanese. Click “answer” to check the correct sentence and practice with the audio.
- It was in Tokyo that we met.
- It is tomorrow that the package will arrive.
package : にもつ / to arrive : とどきます
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