Whew, that all sounds a bit beyond my level just yet but thanks
for all the responses to my original question, even if they were
varied a bit. I have a better idea about the basic questions. Ressha
wa itsu kimasu ka! Hehe.
--- In [email protected], "kamuininja"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> --- 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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