11.2 Counters, Time Expressions & Sentence Endings

Counters Inside a Sentence: Where the Number Goes

Chapter 4 introduced particles; here we place counters into full sentences. The natural N5 word order lets the quantity float right before the verb: noun + を + [counter] + verb. Example: 「りんごを みっつ かいます」(ringo o mittsu kaimasu) = "I buy three apples." Crucially, the counter みっつ takes no particle of its own — it sits bare between the object and the verb. Beginners wrongly write 「みっつの りんごを」or attach を to the number; the exam rewards the floating pattern 「りんごを みっつ かいます」.

The counter word you choose depends on the object's shape. Use 〜つ (tsu) as the general native counter for objects 1–9 (ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ, よっつ, いつつ, むっつ, ななつ, やっつ, ここのつ; ten is とお). Use 〜まい (mai) for flat thin things (paper, tickets, shirts), 〜ほん/ぼん/ぽん (hon) for long cylindrical things (pens, bottles), 〜にん (nin) for people (with irregular ひとり = 1, ふたり = 2), and 〜さつ (satsu) for bound books. Sound shifts hit 1, 6, 8, and 10: いっぽん (1 long object), ろっぽん (6), はっぽん (8), じゅっぽん (10); さんびき (3 small animals, not さんひき); いっかい (1st floor, not いちかい).

A shopping-flyer reading item may give unit prices — 「リンゴ：１こ 150えん / バナナ：１ほん 80えん」— then ask the total for 「リンゴを ２こと バナナを ３ほん」. You compute 150×2 + 80×3 = 540えん. Watch the unit word (こ vs ほん vs ふくろ) so you multiply the right count.

Relative Time Words vs Clock Times

Japanese splits time into two grammatical camps. Relative time words — words whose meaning depends on 'now' — take NO particle. These include きのう (kinō, yesterday), きょう (kyō, today), あした (ashita, tomorrow), おととい (ototoi, the day before yesterday), and あさって (asatte, the day after tomorrow), plus the 'every' series まいにち (every day), まいしゅう (every week), まいあさ (every morning), まいとし (every year). You say 「きのう いきました」("I went yesterday") with no に. By contrast, specific clock times, dates, and named days take に: 「７じに おきます」(at 7 o'clock), 「にちようびに いきます」(on Sunday). The rule: if the word points to a fixed point on the calendar/clock, add に; if it slides with today, use no particle.

Week relatives form a tidy trio: せんしゅう (senshū, last week) → こんしゅう (konshū, this week) → らいしゅう (raishū, next week), matching せんげつ/こんげつ/らいげつ for months. These, too, take no particle: 「らいしゅう テストが あります」("there's a test next week").

Frequency Adverbs and Duration

Frequency adverbs sit before the verb and form a scale from often to never. よく (yoku, 'often') and ときどき (tokidoki, 'sometimes') pair with affirmative verbs: 「よく えいがを みます」("I often watch films"). あまり (amari, 'not much') and ぜんぜん (zenzen, 'not at all') must pair with a negative verb: 「あまり みません」("I don't watch much"), 「ぜんぜん みません」("I don't watch at all"). Writing あまり with an affirmative verb is a graded error. A common trap in listening is 「あまり + [negative]」softening a 'no' answer to a quality question.

Duration and ranges use the pair 〜から 〜まで ('from ... to / until ...'). から marks the start, まで marks the end: 「ぎんこうは ９じから ３じまで あいています」("the bank is open from 9 to 3"), 「うちから えきまで あるきます」("I walk from home to the station"). Either half can stand alone — 「５じまで」(until 5) — and から here (a start point) is unrelated to the から that means 'because.'

Sentence-Ending Particles: か, ね, よ

The particle か (ka) turns a statement into a question — 「がくせいですか」("are you a student?") — and replaces the spoken rising pitch; no question mark is required in Japanese, か does the job. ね (ne) seeks agreement/confirmation, like "...right?": 「きれいですね」("it's pretty, isn't it?"). よ (yo) asserts something the listener likely doesn't know: 「でんしゃが きますよ」("the train is coming — heads up!"). In a confirmation-style question you may even meet 「そうですね」(gentle agreement) versus 「そうですよ」(firm 'yes, that's right'). Match か to a real question, ね to shared feeling, and よ to fresh news.

Native versus Sino Counters, and When to Fall Back on 〜つ

Japanese runs two number systems in parallel, and knowing which to reach for saves precious time on test day. The native series (ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ …) is self-contained: it already bundles the idea of 'items,' so you never add another counter after it. The Sino-Japanese series (いち, に, さん …) is the base for almost every specific counter — さんまい, ごほん, じゅうにん — and for money, dates, and clock times. When you genuinely do not know the correct shape-counter for an object, the safe fallback at N5 is the native 〜つ series for one through nine, plus とお for ten. Examiners reward this instinct: if a picture shows four unlabeled objects, 「よっつ」is almost always acceptable, whereas gambling on a wrong shape-counter is simply marked wrong. Above ten, most everyday objects fall back to the plain Sino number plus 〜こ, as in じゅういっこ (eleven items). Reading the number aloud in your head also catches the sound shifts before you commit to an answer.

A Worked Timetable Example

Information-retrieval reading items love opening hours. Suppose a notice states that a library is open 「げつようびから きんようびまで、ごぜん９じから ごご５じまで」— 'Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.' Two 〜から 〜まで ranges are stacked here: one over the days and one over the hours. If the question asks whether you may visit on Saturday at ten o'clock, the correct answer is no, because Saturday falls outside the Monday-to-Friday range even though ten sits comfortably inside the hourly range. Always check both ranges before answering. Remember, too, that ごぜん pins the time to the morning while ごご pins it to the afternoon or evening, so a single AM/PM distractor can flip an otherwise correct choice. This is why から and まで deserve the same careful attention as the numbers themselves.

Common Traps to Avoid

• Particle on relative time: never add に to きのう, きょう, あした, or まいにち; only specific clock times and calendar dates take に.
• あまり and ぜんぜん need a negative: pairing either with an affirmative verb is a graded error — the verb must end in ません or the plain 〜ない.
• Counter sound shifts: memorize the 1/6/8/10 changes (いっぽん, ろっぽん, はっぽん, じゅっぽん) and voicing such as さんびき; the raw number-plus-counter form is a favorite wrong option.
• か already asks the question: か by itself signals a question, so no rising English-style intonation is needed, and stacking it with よ shifts the tone toward a pushy confirmation.
• から has two jobs: after a time or place noun it means 'from,' but after a full clause it means 'because' — the same trap that appears in the comparison section.