Page:An elementary grammar of the Japanese language.djvu/20

6 There are three cases; namely, the Nominative, Possessive, and Objective.

The nominative is rendered by placing the sign wa, ga, or mo after nouns; as, otoko ga or wa, mo, ikimasu, man goes.

The possessive is formed by putting the sign no after nouns; as, otoko no kimono, man’s dress.

The objective is rendered by the sign wo, ni, or ga—Otoko ga onna wo utimasita, A man has beaten a woman. In the potential mood, ga is used as a sign of the objective case.
 * Note—The signs of the nominative, wa and mo are in opposition to each other. When two things or persons do the same actions, mo is used; as, Onna mo otoko mo ikimasu, Both man and woman go. But when they do some different actions, wa is used; as, Onna wa kayerimasu ga (but) otoko wa orimasu, Woman goes away, but man stays.
 * Ga is sometimes used in an emphatic sentence; as, Watakusi ga simasita, I have done it.
 * Ni, the sign of the objective case, answers to the dative in Latin; and in English it may be translated into ‘to,’ or ‘for;’ as Kane wo otoko ni yare, Give money to the man.

An adjective is a word which qualifies a noun.