Page 189 - Basic Japanese

Jūni-ka kara ga muzukashii n desu. Jūni-ka kara o yoku

benkyō shite kudasai.
Lesson 12 onwards is difficult. Please study
Lesson 12 onwards carefully.

4.14. koto

The word koto means ‘thing (that you can’t touch or see)’;
there is another word mono that usually means ‘thing (that

you can touch or see).’ Mono is also a humble word for

‘person’ (= hito); a vulgar synonym (in both meanings) is
yatsu. (Kono yatsu, sono yatsu, ano yatsu, and dono yatsu are

usually abbreviated to koitsu, soitsu, aitsu, and doitsu,
respectively.) Sometimes the word koto means ‘act’ or ‘fact.’

In this lesson there are two special expressions with koto:

(iku) koto ga arimasu ‘there exists the fact of (my going) = (I)
sometimes (go)’ and (itta) koto ga arimasu ‘there exists the

fact of my having (gone) = I have (gone), I once (went).’
Note that the difference in meaning between these two

expressions is carried by the mood of the verb in front of
koto: the perfect (itta) is used with the meaning ‘once did,

ever did’ (negative ‘never did’); the imperfect (iku) is used
with the meaning ‘sometimes does’ (negative ‘never does’).

If you want to put either expression entirely in the perfect,

you change the mood of the verb arimasu: iku koto ga
arimashita ‘there existed the fact of my going = I sometimes

went,’ itta koto ga arimashita ‘there existed the fact of my
having gone = I had once gone.’