Mae Ni & Ato De Tuesday, Jun 27 2006 

“Mae Ni” means “Before Something” and “Ato De” means “After Something”. When using “Mae Ni” the verbs before it must be a Normal Form (ie. Kaku (Write), Taberu (Eat), Kau (Buy)) where the verbs used before “Ato De” shall be past tense (ie. Kaita, Tabeta, Katta)

Example
I have to wash my hands before taking breakfast - Asa gohan o taberu mae ni, te o (arau)araimasu.

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Dare Demo, Itsu Demo, Doko Demo Tuesday, Jun 20 2006 

Dare Demo = Whoever / Anybody
Itsu Demo = Whenever / Anytime
Doko Demo = Wherever / Anywhere
Nan Demo = Whatever / Anything

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Conversation Saturday, Jun 3 2006 

It’s been a while since my last post. I was a bit busy in my job.

Today I will cover conversation for what we have learned the last couple of weeks.

A : Excuse Me, Can I borrow the phone? - Sumimasen, denwa o (kariru)karite mo ii desu ka?
B : Yes, please. - Hai, dōzo
Meaning : Sumimasen (Excuse Me), Denwa (Telephone), Kariru (Borrow)

A : Can I switch on the radio? - Rajio o (tsukeru)tsukete mo ii desu ka?
B : Sure but don’t turn the sound too loud - Ii desu yo. Demo, oto o amari (ookii)ookiku shinaide kudasai ne.
Meaning : Rajio (Radio), Tsukeru (Switch On), Oto (Voice / Sound), Ookii (Big)

A : Am I not allow to enter this classroom? - Kono kyōshitsu ni (hairu)haitte wa ikemasen ka?
B : Yes, nobody is allow to enter. It is in a midst of exam now. - Hai, dare mo haitte wa ikemasen. Ima, shiken chū desu
Meaning : Hairu (Enter / Go In), Kyōshitsu (Classroom), Shiken (Examination), Chū (In a midst of)

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