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+--- Thread: About ます verbs (/thread-11137.html)
About ます verbs - learningkanji - 2013-09-07
So far I've been learning sentences with only 1 ます verb like 知ります "know" and 閉まっています "closed". I can say stuff like "私は知りません" and "お店は閉まっています" but what if I wanted to say "I didn't know the store was closed"? How do I combine 2 ます verbs in 1 sentence?
About ます verbs - yudantaiteki - 2013-09-07
There's no general rule for "combining" two verbs; it depends on what the situation is.
In your specific example you use こと: 店が閉まっていることを知りませんでした。 The first one has to be in plain form, not -masu.
About ます verbs - learningkanji - 2013-09-07
I see. The only unknown thing in that sentence to me is "ること". I haven't come across that yet. How advanced is that?
About ます verbs - yudantaiteki - 2013-09-07
I don't know, it depends on what you're using to study. The る is part of いる, which is the plain form of います. That's basic conjugation stuff. こと shouldn't be very advanced either.
About ます verbs - quark - 2013-09-07
Are you studying grammar at all? It would be a good idea to read Tae Kim's website or use a beginner's textbook. Proper grammar study will explain masu/plain form, te-verbs and how to use more than one verb in a sentence.
About ます verbs - Arupan - 2013-09-08
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About ます verbs - yudantaiteki - 2013-09-08
I think that's a bit much at this level.
About ます verbs - Savii - 2013-09-08
Yeah, that's overkill... but if TS re-reads it in half a year or so it will probably make perfect sense. And that's also my advice to TS: just make sure you have good grammar resources, progress through all the basic grammar, and give it some practice and time to sink in. I was surprised at how fast confusions like this one can clear themselves up while you're making progress.
By the way, it looks like your grammar resource(s) start with teaching polite forms and all that stuff. While this may be effective for people who need to be able to utter some basic sentences in Japan as soon as possible (i.e. exchange students, businessmen), I don't think it's effective or efficient for someone starting from scratch and aiming for good comprehension. If you don't want to drop your current textbook I would recommend supplementing it with a website like Tae Kim or Imabi.