This document is a Japanese grammar lesson about counting family members and using the particle "mo". It introduces how to answer the question "How many people are in your family?" using counters like "nin". It explains the exceptions for "one person" and "two people" which don't use counters. The lesson also covers three uses of the particle "mo": as "also", "too", and "neither". It provides examples of sentences using "mo" in both affirmative and negative constructions.

1. ぶんぽう： レッスン5
Grammar: Lesson 5

2. Gokazoku wa nan nin desu ka
ごかぞくはなんにんですか。
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN YOUR FAMILY ?

3. ごかぞくはなんにんですか。
How many people are in your family?
• To respond to the question “how many people are in your family?” replace
なんにんnan nin, with the correct counter for people:
For example:
• わたしのかぞくはろくにんです。
• Watashi no kazoku wa roku nin desu.
• I have 6 people in my family.
• (lit. “My family is 6 people.”)
– When responding, simply use かぞくkazoku, to refer to your own family.
– Note how the character ごgo has been added before the word かぞくkazoku,
family. Because you are asking about someone else’s family, this prefix is
added to make the word sound more polite. It is similar to the honorific おo
from Lesson 1.

4. なんにんですか。- How many people? (Review)
Remember: にんnin is the counter for
people.
Take a look at the table to the right:
Note that there are two major exceptions
where you do not use the counter word にん
nin:
one person ひとり(hitori)
AND
two people ふたり(futari)
For example:
かぞくはふたりです。
Kazoku wa futari desu.
I have two people in my family.
Romaji
ひらがな
Hiragana
English
Translation
Hitorii ひとり1 person
Futarii ふたり2 people
San nin さんにん3 people
Yo nin よにん4 people
Go nin ごにん5 people
Roku nin ろくにん6 people
Nana nin ななにん7 people
Hachi nin はちにん8 people
Kyuu nin きゅうにん9 people
Jyuu nin じゅうにん10 people

5. The particle もmo can be translated a few different ways. In this lesson
we’ll learn three different patterns using もmo.
Included are some “double mo” sentence structures you will need to
watch out for, too!
mo
も
ALSO, TOO, NEITHER

6. も- Also, too, neither
Depending on how you use it in a sentence, the particle もcan be translated
as:
– Also
– Too
– Neither
• Notice two things in the example sentence below:
1. The word “too” translates to も.
2. The particle もcomes after the topic, “my dad.”
– ちちもごじゅうさいです。
– Chichi mo gojyuu sai desu.
–My dad is 50 years old, too.

7. も- Also, too, neither (Continued)
• Another example:
– あにもせんせいです。
– Ani mo sensei desu.
– My older brother is also a teacher.

8. も. . .も＋ Negative – Neither. . .nor
Another pattern using the particle もmo is も…も+ Negative. This pattern
uses the particle もmo twice in a sentence to express “Neither…nor.”
• For example:
– ははもちちもべんごしではありません。
– Haha mo chichi mo bengoshi dewa arimasen.
– Neither my mother nor my father is a lawyer.
＊Note:
that you use the negative sentence ending ではありません, (dewa
arimasen) for this construction.

9. も. . .も＋ Affirmative – Both… and
However, when the end of the sentence is in the affirmative, (as opposed to
the negative), the も…もpattern does NOT have the same meaning.
When used with the affirmative, it changes the double もmo sentence to
“Both … and”
• For example:
– あねもあにもだいがくせいです。
– Ane mo ani mo daigakusei desu.
– Both my older brother and my older sister are college students.
*Remember:
– ですdesu = affirmative (is/am/are)
– ではありませんdewa arimasen = negative (is/am/are not)

10. おわり
This is the end of the Grammar Notes for
this lesson.
You can print these notes for your reference
using the link above this slideshow.