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KyleGoetz (Offline)
Attorney at Flaw
 
Posts: 2,965
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Texas
08-03-2011, 04:23 PM

[quote=TwentyPercentCooler;874575]
1) Question: Translate "that wooden desk is my elder brother's"
My answer: kore wa ani no moku no tsukue desu[quote]Correct (although whom you are talking to has an effect on whether "ani" is correct).

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2) My father's car is Japanese
Watashi no outosan wa Nihon no kuruma desu
A remarkable construction. Most new learners would say "chichi no kuruma wa nihonsei desu" (which is correct) or something like that. Yours is almost correct. Remove the "watashi no." Also, depending on whom you're speaking to, "otousan" may be incorrect. If you're talking to someone in the "out-group," you would say "chichi" to refer to your own father. If you're talking to your brother, "otousan" is fine. I think you're talking to a stranger here, so "chichi" is most likely better.

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3) Is your mother a teacher?
Okaasan wa sensei desu ka

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5) These pencils are not my elder sister's
Kore wa aneesan no enpitsu de wa arimesan
First, it's "oneesan." Second, it's the same issue as with your "elder brother" sentence above. Oneesan/Ane/aneue/etc. usages vary by whom you're talking to.

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6) That boy over there is my younger brother's friend
(Totally lost again)
That boy over there = what?
My younger brother's friend = what?
Now put them together with wa!

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7) These televisions are not Japanese. They are British.
Kore wa Nihon no teribi de wa arimasen. Kore wa igirisu desu.
1. Kore wa is unnecessary the second time. It's not wrong, just unneeded and sounds off. It's like how you don't say "John is my friend. Yesterday John went to the store. Then John ate some pizza." You'd use "he" the last two times or something. Not wrong otherwise, just...off. Also "igirisu no desu." Otherwise I think it sounds like "This is England," not "this is English."

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8) Is that picture yours? No, it's my grandfather's.
Dere wa anata no e desu ka? Iie, kore wa ojiisan no desu.
"Dere"? "Kore." Also, if "picture" is "photograph," you want "shashin." "E" is a picture like a drawing/painting/illustration.

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I'm fine with kana but please don't use kanji, I've barely learned any yet! Thanks for your help.
Haha, I wish I'd seen that before making this comment! I hate romaji!
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