Part III: Word Order, ~ませんか and Frequency Adverbs
III-A: Word Order
Word order in the Japanese language is actually very flexible. There are hardly any specifics to how a sentence can be constructed, except that the verb of the sentence usually comes somewhere near the end or is the end itself (there are times when you have verbs in the middle of the sentence as well as a verb at the end, but that's a little advanced for this point in the learning process). The only important thing to remember is to use the right particles to show how things relate to the subject and verb that you use in the sentence. It's all about the particles, kids.
Ex. 明日 ケイさんは 東京で おみやげを かいます。
time subject place object verb
(Ashita, Kei-san wa Toukyou de omiyage wo kaimasu.)
Tomorrow, Kei-san will buy souvenirs in Tokyo.
アドム社長は ときどき たいせつなことを わすれます。
subject frequency adjective+object verb
(Adomu-shachou wa tokidoki taisetsu na koto wo wasuremasu.)
President Adam sometimes forgets important things.
The examples above are just two of several different sentence patterns you may hear on a daily basis.
III-B: ~ませんか
~ませんか is the present negative form of a verb paired with the question particle か. When combined in this manner, ~ませんか can be used to extend an invitation to someone.
Ex. いま食べませんか
(Ima, tabemasen ka.)
Do you want to eat now?
えいがを見ませんか。
(Eiga wo mimasen ka.)
Do you want to watch a movie with me?
The important thing to note here is that the affirmative version of this (ますか) cannot be used in the same manner. So, if you say something like:
ばんごはんを食べますか。
(Bangohan wo tabemasu ka.)
It's only a question sentence (translating to "Will you eat dinner?", more specifically in this case).
III-C: Frequency Adverbs
Just like in English, verbs can be modified with adverbs to denote how often you do something. The following is a small list of some of them:
ときどき (tokidoki) — sometimes
よく (yoku) — often
まいにち (mainichi) — every day
まいばん (maiban) — every night
As explained in the word order section, where you place an adverb in the sentence is flexible.
Ex. クールさんはよくHQにきます。
(Kuuru-san wa yoku HQ ni kimasu.)
Cool-san often comes to HQ.
There are also adverbs that can be used to denote how infrequently someone does something, namely あまり (not often) and ぜんぜん (never). These two adverbs have to be used with a negative verb ending; otherwise, it doesn't make sense.
Ex. 私はあまりきっさてんに行きません。
(Watashi wa amari kissaten ni ikimasen.)
I don't go to the café often.
アドムさんはぜんぜんおさけを飲みません。
(Adomu-san wa zenzen osake wo nomimasen.)
Adam-san never drinks. (LOL)
