Activities: と (to), や (ya), and other parallel markers

• Speaker A:

  パーティーにはだれが来ましたか。

  Pātii ni wa dare ga kimashita ka.

  Who came to your party?

  Speaker B:

  が来ました。

  __ __ __ ga kimashita.
  

  __ and __ came. (along with others)

  Sample answer:
  ケイト や ベン が来ました。[Keito ya Ben ga kimashita.](Kate, Ben, and other people came.)

  Explanation:
  There are five people on the list, but only three slots in the sentence. So we list two of them using the parallel marker や[ya] to indicate that there are more. You can pick any two names among the five people on the guest list, as long as you connect them with や[ya].

• Speaker A:

  今日何を買いましたか。

  Kyō nani o kaimashita ka.

  What did you buy today?

  Speaker B:

  を買いました。

  __ __ __ o kaimashita.

  I bought __ and __.

  Sample answer:
  ポロシャツ と ハンドバッグを買いました。[Poloshatsu to handobaggu o kaimashita.](I bought a polo shirt and a handbag.)

  Explanation:
  The list shows that B bought only two items. So we use the parallel marker と[to] to list both items to indicate that’s all B bought. Either order is acceptable!

• Speaker A:

  どうやって東京から大阪まで行きますか。

  Dōyatte Tōkyō kara Ōsaka made ikimasu ka.

  How are you traveling from Tokyo to Osaka?

  Speaker B:

  で行きます。

  __ __ __ de ikimasu.

  I'll travel by __ or __.

  Sample answer:
  新幹線 か 飛行機で行きます。[Shinkansen ka hikōki de ikimasu.](I’ll travel by bullet train or airplane.)

  Explanation:
  The list has two items–bullet train and airplane. To travel from Tokyo to Osaka, we use either one of them. So we connect them with the parallel marker か(or), indicating that these are two options. You can put the two methods of transport in either order. It doesn't make a difference.

The underlined sentences have one error each. Find and correct it!

• 来週は１日しか休めません。たぶん火曜日とか水曜日に休みます。

  Raishū wa ichi nichi shika yasumemasen. Tabun kayōbi to ka suiyōbi ni yasumimasu.

  I can only have one day-off next week. I’ll probably have a day-off on Tuesday or Wednesday.

  Corrected sentence:

  Explanation:
  The speaker says that they can only have one day-off next week. So we need to change と to か to list all the options (two in this case) from which the speaker can choose one.

• 今日は動物園に行きました。ゾウやキリンやライオンやを見ましたよ。

  Kyō wa dōbutsuen ni ikimashita. Zō ya kirin ya raion ya o mimashita yo.

  We went to the zoo today. We saw elephants, giraffes, lions and other animals.

  Corrected sentence:

  Explanation:
  We only place や(or) between nouns as in “XやYやZ”; we can’t place it after the last noun. So we need to delete や after the last noun (ライオン) in the sentence.

• 日本の国旗は「日の丸」といいます。色は赤か白です。

  Nihon no kokki wa “hinomaru” to iimasu. Iro wa aka ka shiro desu.

  The Japanese national flag is called “Hinomaru.” The color is red and white.

  Corrected sentence:

  Explanation:
  The Japanese national flag has two colors: red and white. We need to replace か with と.

• モニカさんは日本語と中国語など、全部で10か国語が話せます。

  Monika san wa Nihongo to Chūgokugo nado, zenbu de jukkakokugo ga hanasemasu.

  Monica can speak ten languages in total, including Japanese, Chinese and so on.

  Corrected sentence:

  Explanation:
  The speaker says that Monica can speak ten languages in total. (Monica must be using our Mango courses!) To list two examples out of ten, we need to use “XやYなど” structure. We can’t use と (or か) with など(...and so on; etc.) (“...and so on” or “etc.”) because these two particles are used to list all the applicable items.
  

• Mika:

  ジャックさん、どうしたの？

  Jack san, dō shita no?

  What happened, Jack?

  Jack 😩 :

  昼ごはん、食べすぎた・・・。

  Hirugohan, tabesugita…

  I ate too much at lunch...

  Mika:

  えー、何食べたの？

  Ē, nani tabeta no?

  What, what did you eat?

  Jack 😩 :

  。食べ放題だったんだ。

  __ __ __ __ __ __ __. Tabehōdai dattanda.

  __ and __ and __ and __. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet, you know.

  What Jack ate at lunch
  🍣すし(sushi) 🍤 天ぷら(tempura) 🍜ラーメン(ramen) 🍛カレーライス[karēraisu](curry rice)

  You can list the items Jack ate in any order, but it's best to use に[ni] as the parallel marker, since it conveys that Jack is putting things in his mouth one-after-the-other, and explains why Jack is suffering now. While you could use と instead, this above nuance will be lost.

• Jack:

  今日はどうして なの？

  Kyō wa dōshite __ __ __ nano?

  Why are you wearing __ __ __ today?

  Ryō:

  就職の面接があるんだ。

  Shūshoku no mensetsu ga aru nada.

  I have a job interview.

  Jack:

  ふーん、いつもは なのに。

  Fūn, itsumo wa __ __ __ nano ni.

  Hmm, you normally wear __ and __ don’t you?

  Ryō:

  うん、社会人になるのもたいへんだよ。

  Un, shakaijin ni naru no mo taihen da yo.

  Yeah, it’s hard to become a working adult, you know.

  What Ryō wears today
  👔 ワイシャツ[waishatsu](dress shirt) 👔ネクタイ[nekutai](necktie)
  What Ryō usually wears
  👕 Tシャツ[tiishatsu](T-shirt) 👖 ジーパン[jiipan](jeans)

  Both clothing combinations are "typical" combinations, so we use に.

• Mei:

  どんなスポーツが好き？

  Donna supōtsu ga suki?

  What kind of sports do you like?

  Jack:

  フットボール バスケ スノボ 。

  futtobōru __ basuke __ sunobo __.

  Football, basketball, and snowboarding.

  Mei:

  へえ、スポーツマンなんだね。

  Hē, supōtsuman nanda ne.

  Oh, you’re an athlete, aren’t you!

  Jack:

  いや、テレビで見るだけだから。

  Iya, terebi de miru dake dakara.

  Nope, I only watch them on TV.

  Jack's sports
  🏈フットボール[futtobōru](American Football) 🏀バスケ[basuke](basketball) 🏂スノボ[sunobo](snow boarding) 🏄サーフィン[sāfin](surfing) 🏊水泳[suiei](swimming)