English translation:
be, is, will be
Structure:
Noun + である
なAdj + である
[Unlike だ/です - である can be used instead of な and の when modifying nouns in formal writing. (Look: example 6)]
Regarding to the note above, which one is the example 6? There’s no numbering in the example tab.
I counted from the top and ended up in this example --> この資料は極秘 である 。 , but I don’t see the modifying noun case in it.
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Ohh sorry, it seems that only I have numbered examples. And the first one is counted as 0.
本来、ミノキシジルという 薬は 高血圧のための薬であるはず だったが、今では 脱毛を予防する薬になった。
Originally, medicine called minoxidil was expected to be a medication for high blood pressure, but nowdays it has become a medication that prevents hair loss.
Normally before はず you will see な after な adjective and の after a noun (or だった for both).
This is why you will often see in later grammar points that である is also allowed next to な/の.
彼かれはパイロットであった。
For this sentence it asks for the polite version, and it turns でありました into the above. Is that right? Is that the polite form of this copula?
@CrisH Hey! You should be getting the hint “[formal・literature・past]” for this particular sentence (not “polite”). Both であった and でありました are valid/acceptable answers here. Cheers!
I was fairly sure it asked for the polite version - I would double-check (is that what you’ve done?), but I don’t think we end-users can see the hints for each question anywhere unless we’re currently answering the questions. Is that right?
I know I do sometimes mix up formal with polite, so that probably is it. I just wanted to confirm.
Yes, I made sure when you made your comment that the hint displayed was “[formal・literature・past]." Cheers!
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Random question, but can anyone explain the humor behind using polite forms as a joke in Japanese?
The provided example:
最後のプリンを食べたのは私であります。
I guess I’m just trying to understand the context in which someone would say this, and why it would be considered a joke.
Why is it funny that a simple house cat in Wagahai wa neko de aru talks in a manner more befitting of an academic or a noble? Why would it be funny to strike a dramatic pose and proclaim “thou shalt not pass” while playing with a child?
A gap between simple everyday situations and exaggerated phrasing is kind of funny, in a way.
I guess I can kind of understand. It’s definitely a cultural difference though. As for the example, if someone ate the last pudding and commented on it like that, I would want to get violent.
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The idea that である is a combination of the て form of だ and ある is ahistorical.
It is uncontroversial in linguistics to regard the で as the case-marking particle, though most linguist consider である to be a totally merged form that can’t be broken down into case particle+verb.
Additionally, だ is a contraction of である.
I think it’s dicey for Bunpro to continue insisting this. It’s possible it comes from a basis in usage-based linguistics, but essentially every other source contradicts Bunpro here, and how the historical にあり evolved into both である and ある is well understood by linguists. I think it leaves learners wrong-footed if they want to start learning about classical japanese (which is broadly recommended for advanced learners).
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Sorry if this seems confrontational, but could you possibly provide a source for your claims? I don’t know anything about this topic
You raise a good point. (I am going to answer this in a slightly technical way, but it is worth noting for any N3 users reading this thread that the information below is absolutely not needed to understand the grammar point.)
The reason we use this analysis is as you mention (usage based). Besides this, there are practical reasons to analyse である as the 連用形 of だ plus ある.
Firstly, in Japanese school grammar, this breakdown is standard. One reason being that if we want to have a tidy conjugation chart with 未然形、連用形、終止形、連体形、仮定形、命令形 then で slots in nicely. Refer to this and this to see a standard example of how this is handled in school grammar.
One reason we can’t use this analysis is because we can insert things between で and ある (e.g., ではある, etc.). We can also change ある to ございます or いらっしゃる, for example. The standard school grammar breakdown has better explanatory power for how we actually use the grammar here. We do differ from school grammar in minor ways sometimes, but I won’t go into it as this is already quite a long and technical reply.
Secondly, although historically で comes from にて, if we take で to be a 格助詞 (case-marking particle) within である then it starts to break a lot of rules for how we define 格助詞. For example, if we have で after a 形容詞 (い-adjective) or 形容動詞 (な-adjective) then it would break the contemporary logic/definition of what a case-marking particle is.
痛いであろう。 (で cannot be taken as marking case here)
静かである。 (で cannot be taken as marking case here)
It is also worth noting that even when teaching classical Japanese, にて is split in meaning between the 格助詞 use and the use closer to the 連用形 (て-form) of だ. Please check the second definition here.
Thirdly, there is little practical benefit in trying to explain the classical Japanese roots here. In a similar way, the 連体形 of だ is taken to be な in modern grammar. However, the root of な is なり・なる. It is easier to understand (both for natives in school and for foreign learners) that な is the 連体形 of だ, rather than that it is a special form of the classical auxiliary verb なり.
I would argue that overall our approach here is completely standard, and practically minded from the angle of learning Japanese as a foreign language and also learning Japanese grammar as it exists and is used today.
Perhaps this could be true for the initial step into classical Japanese. I think if someone has a firm basis in modern grammar, including the different conjugation forms, then there is not a massive handicap here. For example, if you take a look at the conjugation charts here, not knowing the historical etymology of だ or な isn’t an impediment to learning what the charts mean.
I should say that this is something I have thought about before, and it perhaps would be good if we went into more detail on this sort of thing somewhere. Where this would be, I am not sure currently, but this is definitely something I have considered and won’t forget about.
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