Category: Guides

Sam: Hi! Can I sit here?
Laura: Sure.
Sam: What’s your name?
Laura: I’m Laura, what’s your name?
Sam: I’m Sam. Nice to meet you.
Laura: Nice to meet you too! Where are you from?
Sam: I’m from Springfield, what about you?
Laura: I’m from Australia.
Sam: Wow, that’s really far away! How old are you?
Laura: I’m nineteen, you?
Sam: I’m twenty. What are you doing so far away from home?
Laura: Well, my parents and I moved to New York a few years ago. I graduated from high school and I wanted to stay in America for college.
Sam: What an adventure! This is my first time out of my hometown. Springfield is a small town and I have a lot of brothers and sisters so I always had to help take care of them.
Laura: How many siblings?
Sam: I have four sisters and three brothers.
Laura: Oh wow! That’s a lot! I can’t imagine. I’m an only child.
Sam: Well, it can be a handful sometimes but I love them all. It must be nice to have so much time to yourself at home.
Laura: It’s ok, I can practice my music whenever I want to so, that’s nice.
Sam: Music? What kind of music?
Laura: I play the clarinet, piano and guitar. I love to write music and then record myself playing it.
Sam: Wow that’s really cool! I like music too, but I can’t really play anything. I try to play to the bass guitar, but I’m not really that good.
Laura: Well, maybe we can play together sometime!
Sam: That would be really great! Thanks!
Laura: You’re welcome. Well, nice to meet you Sam. I gotta go now!
Sam: Ok Laura. See ya soon.
Laura: See ya!

Sue: Molly, how many brothers do you have?
Molly: I have two brothers. Do you have any brothers, Sue?
Sue: Yes, I have one brother. He is seven years old.
Molly: My brothers are eighteen and fourteen. My brothers are older than your brother.
Sue: Yes, my brother is young. He does not have homework yet from his school.
Molly: Oh, my brothers help with my homework. I really like their help.
Sue: Do your brothers finish their homework?
Molly: Yes, my brothers are both good students and I want to be a good student also.

Stacy: Is this a picture of your family?
Ellen: Yes, this is my family.
Stacy: Who is this?
Ellen: This is my brother, Sam. Do you have any brothers?
Stacy: Yes, I have two brothers. Their names are Alex and John.
Ellen: Oh! You have more brothers than I do. But these are my two sisters. Their names are Ann and Julie.
Stacy: I see. Julie is taller than Ann.
Ellen: Yes, and Julie is three years older than Ann.
Stacy: And these are your parents?
Ellen: Yes, this is my father. His name is Harry. My mother’s name is Judy.
Stacy: Oh, I see they both have brown hair.
Ellen: Yes, but my father’s hair is darker than my mother’s.
Stacy: Thank you for showing me your family.

Talking to a new friend at school.
Student 1: What’s your family like?
Student 2: I have a very big family. A mom, a dad, a grandma, two grandpas, an older brother, two younger sisters, one dog, and one goldfish.
Student 1: Wow, that is big! Do you live in a house or an apartment?
Student 2: We live in a house. Our grandparents live far away. What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Student 1: I’ve got a small family. It’s just my mom, my younger sister, my cat, and me. We live in an apartment in the center of town.
Student 2: What does your mom do?
Student 1: She’s a lawyer. She is thirty years old and she works very hard for us.
Student 2: It sounds like you have a nice family.
Student 1: You too, maybe I can meet them sometime!
Student 2: Sure, I want to meet your cat too!
Student 1: Okay!

Jon: Hi, how are you?
Dasha: I’m fine. What’s your name?
Jon: I’m Jon, and yours?
Dasha: My name’s Dasha, nice to meet you.
Jon: Nice to meet you too. Where are you from?
Dasha: I’m from Ukraine. Where are you from?
Jon: I’m from Australia.
Dasha: What language do you speak in Australia?
Jon: We speak English. What language do you speak in Ukraine?
Dasha: We speak Ukrainian and Russian.
Jon: Very interesting! How old are you?
Dasha: I’m 16, and you?
Jon: I’m 14. You speak English very well!
Dasha: Thank you, I study it in school.
Jon: Well, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.
Dasha: Ok, see you soon!

The ので grammar particle is used to indicate a reason or cause-and-effect relationship between two clauses in Japanese. It can be translated as “because” or “due to” in English. The particle is a combination of the possessive particle の and the particle で, which indicates the means or method by which something is done.

The ので particle is often used in situations where the speaker wants to explain the reason for something or to give an excuse for a particular action or behavior. Here are some examples:

明日はテストがあるので、今晩は勉強します。 (Ashita wa tesuto ga aru node, konban wa benkyou shimasu.)
I have a test tomorrow, so I will study tonight.

雨が降っているので、外に出かけられません。 (Ame ga futte iru node, soto ni dekakeraremasen.)
It’s raining, so I can’t go out.

彼女は風邪をひいたので、今日は休みます。 (Kanojo wa kaze wo hiita node, kyou wa yasumimasu.)
She caught a cold, so she’s taking the day off.

車が壊れたので、会社に遅れてしまいました。 (Kuruma ga kowareta node, kaisha ni okurete shimaimashita.)
My car broke down, so I was late for work.

お金がないので、レストランに行けません。 (Okane ga nai node, resutoran ni ikemasen.)
I can’t go to a restaurant because I don’t have any money.

Unlike the conjunction が, which can also be used to express cause and effect, the ので particle implies a stronger causal relationship between the two clauses.

Overall, the ので particle is a useful tool for expressing causal relationships in Japanese, and it’s important to understand its usage to convey meaning accurately in conversations and written communication.