--- In [email protected], "Misanthropos"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> You are not allowed to use in here the particle wa under any
circumstances!! Wa is never
> used with question words, only ga can be used. Therefore, the
sentence you speak about,
> can only be changed into "Doa ga doko desu ka."
No, you're mistaken. You can (and should in many cases) use the
particle "wa" with question words and the correct sentence is "Doa
wa doko desu ka", not "Doa ga doko desu ka".
In spoken Japanese, particles are often omitted, so "Doa, doko desu
ka" is quite all right. You hear this kind of sentences all the
time. Examples:
-Kore, doo omou? = Kore o doo omoimasu ka? (What do you think of
this?)
-Watashi, atama ni kichatta. = Watashi wa atamani kite
shimaimashita. (I got angry.)
> As far as the second matter is concerned, yes, Japanese don't yuse
the question mark at
> the end of questions usually, but a usual dot.
Not really. If it's obvious that the sentence is interrogative (with
the particle "ka" at the end), the question mark is not used--
usually. But when it's not so apparent that the sentece is
interrogative or declarative, you should use the question mark. For
instance, in spoken Japanese "ka" at the end is often omitted, so if
you don't use the question mark, the reader(s) can't tell if it's a
declarative or interogative. Example:
-Nanika taberu? (You wanna to eat something?)
-Nanika taberu. (I wanna eat something.)
When you hear it, you can distinguish the two, because the speaker
uses different intonations (i.e. rising one and falling one). But in
writing, you can tell one from the other if there is no question
mark. So in cases like this, you should use the mark to make it
clear the sentence is interrogative.
Kamui
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