Page 44 - Easy Japanese - Learn to Speak Japanese Quickly! (TUTTLE)

is the almighty hesitation noise while etto indicates that you are searching for the
right answer. So, when asked what your name is, for example, anō is fine, but
not etto. Anō is also used to get attention from a person, but not etto.
Besides hesitation noises, you will also hear Japanese speakers elongating the
last vowel of each word, or inserting desu ne between chunks of words to slow
down speech.
Imaa anoo Honda-san waa Amerika desu.

Honda is in the U.S. now.
Ano hito wa desu ne, daigaku no desu ne, tomodachi desu.
She is a friend from college.

PATTERN PRACTICE 4

Cue: Daigaku wa Nihon desu ka.

Is your university in Japan?
Response: Hai, Nihon no daigaku desu.

Yes, it’s a Japanese university.
Cue: Kaisha wa Amerika desu ka.

Is your company in America?
Response: Hai, Amerika no kaisha desu.

Yes, it’s an American company.

Repeat the drill using the following information.
1. Shigoto wa Betonamu desu ka.
2. Meishi wa Eigo desu ka.

3. Hiru-san wa Gūguru desu ka.
4. Wan-san wa Waseda desu ka.
5. Jiko-shōkai wa Nihon-go desu ka.

PATTERN PRACTICE 5

Cue: Kore, kyō no sukejūru desu ka.

Is this today’s schedule?
Response: Sore desu ka. Hai, kyō no desu.

Do you mean that? Yes, it is today’s.
Cue: Kore, Chūgoku no kaisha desu ka.