Page 494 - Basic Japanese

Sumisu-san wa Amerika e okaeri Sumisu-san wa Amerika e okaeri

ni narimasu. ni naru sō desu.
Mr. Smith is returning to I hear Mr. Smith is returning
America. to America.

San-ji ni kuru to iimashita. San-ji ni kuru to itta sō desu.
He said he will come at three They say that he said he is

p.m. coming at three p.m.

10.2. Bound form -sō (na)

‘appearance’

There is a form -sō added to the infinitive of a verb, the base

of an adjective, or an adjectival noun that makes a derived
adjectival noun with the meaning ‘looking as if, having the

appearance of.’ The resulting adjectival noun is followed by
a form of the copula (da/na, etc.) or by the particle ni. Here

are some examples:

Simple Statement Looking As If

Yoku ame ga Ame ga furisō

furimasu. desu.

It rains often. It looks as if it will rain.

Yasumu koto ga dekiru tokoro

desu.