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- "Please give that to me."
"Please give that to me."
Translation:それをください。
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Does Japanese make a distinction between direct and indirect objects? This seems like a great sentence to ask this on since it uses both.
を marks direct objects. E.g. まどをこわした (I broke the window.)
に marks indirect objects. E.g. 彼にてがみをおくった (I sent him a letter.)
This comment would be extremely helpful... If I knew how to say broke, sent, and letter (to understand word placement in your examples).
I broke the window: Mado wo kowashita. まど/Mado = window. こわした/Kowashita = broke. I sent him a letter: Kare ni tegami wo okutta. 彼/Kare = him. てがみ/Tegami = letter. おくった/Okutta = sent.
Kare can be used as the subject "he," but in this sentence the "ni" turns it into the indirect object "him"/"to him."
(disclaimer: I didn't actually know any of these words except for 彼, but inferred them from the grammar)
I watched an youtube video and it said something that sore (それ) is something "near the person you are talking" and are (あれ) is something far away. I dont remember exactly, but it went somewhat like this.
Kore (これ) is for something close to the speaker.
Sore (それ) is for something close to the listener.
Are (あれ) is for something that is not close to either the speaker or the listener.
One important distinction I remember from my Japanese classes!
Doesn't this literally translate to: "that, please"? Why is the verb omitted?
Unfortunately for learners, much of Japanese, similar to English, is inferred through context. Literal translations can sometimes be very vague without such context, so try to loosen up your mind as to what could be meant!
If you said to someone, "That, please" you would point at the object you wanted, right? Think about it like that.
I chose あれをください and it was accepted. Do あれ and それ both mean (that) or (that one) ? Or similar
They are both translated as "that." The difference is that それ refers to an object near the listener, and あれ refers to an object away from both the speaker and the listener.
これ=This thing (near the speaker)
それ=That thing (near the listener)
あれ=That thing (away from both the speaker and the listener)
どれ=Which thing (question word)
kore = refers to something close to you (this) are = refers to something that's neither close to the listener nor to the spearer (that)
Refer to Kagayakuseiza's answer above
So, why isn't the honorific お used here in this case? Can it not be used with the pronouns or demonstratives?
