Grammar Info
N5 Lesson 6: 2/13

い-Adjective + です (Predicate)
い-Adjective (predicate)

Structure
Casual
Polite
Examples:
かわい
新し
Examples:
かわい + です
新し + です
+ です
Details
Part of Speech Adjective
Word Type Independent Word
Register Standard
品詞 形容詞
単語の種類 自立語
使用域 一般
Information
A predicate is a word that describes the topic/subject of a sentence. The Japanese equivalent of this is a 述語(じゅつご), which literally means ‘statement word’. As a predicate, い-Adjectives can appear by themselves (when the word they are describing does not need to be stated), or they may be used at the end of a sentence.
  • 丸(まる)
    It’s round.
  • 地球(ちきゅう)丸(まる)
    The earth is round.
When there are no other words apart from the adjective itself, it comes across similar to ‘It’s cute’, or ‘It’s hot’, and similar expressions in English. We just have to guess what the ‘it’ is from context.
In many sentences, either or could be used to mark the word/words that the predicate is describing. However, which one sounds more natural will depend on many factors. In general, if you are specifically pointing out something as being different from other things in the same category, will be used.
  • このお風呂(ふろ)熱(あつ)
    This bath is hot. (In general, it is hot)
  • このお風呂(ふろ)熱(あつ)
    This bath is hot. (Compared to other cooler baths)
In this example, is distinguishing this specific bath as having a unique level of hotness compared to others (maybe the water system is broken and only boiling water comes out). would sound unnatural in this type of sentence, as it is not the ‘normal’ state of the bath.
Fun Fact
All い-Adjectives are words of Japanese origin.
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暑(あつ)
暑(あつ)です
It is hot.
Notice that while in Japanese the subject can be left out and い-Adjective can function by itself, the English needs a subject, therefore "it" has been added.
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寒(さむ)
寒(さむ)です
It is cold.
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これ楽(たの)し
これ楽(たの)しです
This is fun.
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