Quantifier + で | Minna no Nihongo | Lesson 32 part 4

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:01]quifier plus particle.

[00:00:06]Today we're going to learn how to use the dead particle with a quantifier.

[00:00:11]First, what's a quantifier? A quantifier is a word that shows quantity, like how much or how many of something there is.

[00:00:21]For example, and we use a particle with a quantifier to specify the quantity. The core function of that here is to set a boundary or limit. Let's look at examples.

[00:00:42]Three apples cost 300 yen. In Japanese is The particle sets a boundary and groups the three apples together as one unit.

[00:01:04]I bought an onigiri for 120 yen.

[00:01:19]Very easy, right? But actually, this usage of the dead particle is really tricky. Now, let's look at these two sentences. Three apples are enough and three apples are necessary. Let's say you're trying to make an apple pie and how to say these sentences in Japanese.

[00:01:37]Three apples are enough.

[00:01:46]This is correct. Three apples are necessary.

[00:01:58]This is actually wrong. The particle is not needed. The correct sentence is without the why because there is no need to set this boundary. These three apples don't need to be grouped together as a single unit. Let me explain why. With the word enough, if you take one apple away, you're left with two apples. And two apples are not enough, let alone one apple. Only when there are three apples can you say it's enough. How about the word necessary? Even if one apple is taken away, the remaining two apples are still necessary. Right? Even if there is only one apple, that apple is still necessary. That's cuz when you say three apples are necessary, you mean each one of these three apples is necessary. So this boundary is not needed. While you can say each one of the three apples is necessary, you cannot say each one of these three apples is enough.

[00:03:09]It's enough only when there are three apples. So we say this boundary serves a purpose.

[00:03:20]All right, let's look at the earlier example again.

[00:03:27]Three apples cost 300 yen. Here, this is needed because you're not saying each of these three apples is 300 yen. No, you're saying three apples together cost 300 yen. So, now let's say there are five apples in front of you. And if you say means all. By the way, this sentence means it's 300 yen for all the apples.

[00:04:03]300 yen is the total price.

[00:04:10]But if you remove this and say then it means each apple cost 300 yen.

[00:04:20]So it means all the apples are 300 yen each. The meaning is completely different. All right. Next. Let's say you're holding an onigiri and your friend asks how much was that. To say I bought it for 120 yen. You say but to say I paid 120 yen. you say without the because it's the same reason this boundary is needed but this boundary is not needed. When you say I paid 120 yen that means you paid every single yen of that 120 yen. The action of paying applies to each yen individually. But that's not the case with the action of buying. You can't divide 120 yen and say that you performed the action of buying for each yen. I mean that doesn't even make sense. What happened is you paid 120 yen.

[00:05:26]So we say now I'm going off topic for a moment.

[00:05:34]Some of you might be thinking what about because here is the object. Shouldn't you mark with the particle? Yes, you can say however in Japanese conters can be used as an adverb. So this is used as a noun but this is used as an adverb. And this sentence is more common.

[00:06:07]I ate two apples.

[00:06:13]This is fine. But more commonly, and because this is used as an adverb, you can also move it to the front of the sentence.

[00:06:30]I have three sisters.

[00:06:36]This is perfectly fine. But more commonly, but anyway, let's go back to the particle, the main point of this video.

[00:06:51]Let's look at more examples. Let's say someone asks, "How long does it take from your house to Tokyo?" If you want to say I can go to Tokyo in 30 minutes, you say if you want to say it takes 30 minutes, you say without the because when you say it takes 30 minutes, it takes every single second of those 30 minutes. The verb take applies to every second of it. But with can go. Each second of the 30 minutes, I can go. What's that even mean? It doesn't make sense. What you're really saying is if I have 30 minutes, then I can go to Tokyo. So, you should say, now let's move on to something a bit more advanced. Take a look at these two sentences.

[00:08:02]Which one do you think is correct? The answer is actually both are grammatically correct but their meanings are very different.

[00:08:13]Means I did the homework in 1 hour. I finished my homework within 1 hour means I did the homework for 1 hour. I spent 1 hour doing the homework. It doesn't specify whether the homework was finished or not. It only means the action continued for an hour. The verb to do homework is an action that is durative and telic at the same time.

[00:08:45]It's durative which means the action continues over time rather than happening instantaneously.

[00:08:52]and it's telic which means the action has a clear and natural goal. When we use these durative and telic verbs depending on the context the emphasis can be either on the process of the action or on the completion of the action. For example, when someone just says, "I did my homework." This could mean they finished all of it. Or they just spend time doing homework but didn't finish. Right?

[00:09:23]But verbs like by areelic but not durative. So I bought an example always implies the action was completed. But verbs like wait or durative but notic. So I waited always focuses on the process of the action not the completion of the action. But again is both durative and telic.

[00:09:57]And when you use those dative andic verbs with the time duration quantifier such as one hour, the particle that is needed if the focus is on the completion of the action and that is not needed if the focus is on the process of the action.

[00:10:22]I spent each second of the one hour doing homework. The action continued for one hour.

[00:10:32]Every second of the one hour, I finished doing my homework. No, this doesn't make sense using one hour. I finished the homework. So you should say so to sum it up when durative andic actions are used with a time duration they can mean two different things. Time duration the action means the action was completed within that time duration.

[00:11:08]Time duration plus action without the means the action continued for that time duration.

[00:11:22]I finished reading the book in 3 hours.

[00:11:29]I read the book for 3 hours.

[00:11:34]Lastly, let's look at these two sentences.

[00:11:45]just means three people came. Each of the three people came. It focuses on a number of people, not how they came.

[00:11:54]They might have arrived separately or they might have come together. We don't know. But means three people came together as a group. So if someone asks how many people came to yesterday's party, for example, you should say if someone asks, "Did you come to Japan by yourself?" You should say no, I came as a group of three. So basically, I came here with two other people. You could also say I came here with two other friends.

[00:12:50]I have two older sisters.

[00:12:57]They are very close to each other and they're always together.

[00:13:10]All right, that's it for today.

[00:13:31]Bye-bye.