Use: Today, we reviewed how to structure a story about our day off by answering key questions. This helps organize your writing for a social media post. Let’s review the questions:

Example:

• どこへ 行（い）きましたか。 (Doko e ikimashita ka.) (Where did you go?)
• 何（なに）を しましたか。 (Nani o shimashita ka.) (What did you do?)
• どうでしたか。 (Doudeshita ka.) (How was it?)
• 次（つぎ）は、何（なに）をしたいですか。 (Tsugi wa, nani o shitai desu ka.) (What do you want to do next time?)

Use: This is a way of saying multiple events in the order they occurred.

Example:

• いえに かえりました。それから、ごはんをたべました。(Ie ni kaerimashita. Sorekara, gohan o tabemashita.) (I went home. After that, I ate a meal.)
• えいがをみました。それから、ともだちとコーヒーをのみました。(Eiga o mimashita. Sorekara, tomodachi to koohii o nomimashita.) (I watched a movie. After that, I drank coffee with my friend.)

Use: This is used to list multiple comments and thoughts. 「それに (in addition)」 is a conjunction that indicates the two sentences have a parallel relationship.

Example:

• この くるまは はやいです。それに、やすいです。(Kono kuruma wa hayai desu. Sore ni, yasui desu.) (This car is fast. In addition, it is cheap.)
• にほんごは むずかしいです。それに、おもしろいです。(Nihongo wa muzukashii desu. Sore ni, omoshiroi desu.) (Japanese is difficult. In addition, it is interesting.)

Use: This is used to express a contrast between two sentences. 「でも (but)」 is a conjunction that indicates the two sentences have a contrasting relationship.

Example:

• にほんごは むずかしいです。でも、おもしろいです。(Nihongo wa muzukashii desu. Demo, omoshiroi desu.) (Japanese is difficult. But, it is interesting.)
• この くるまは やすいです。でも、おそいです。(Kono kuruma wa yasui desu. Demo, osoi desu.) (This car is cheap. But, it is slow.)

Use: In Japanese, there are two styles of speech: polite style and plain style. You use them differently depending on who you’re talking to and the situation. The polite style is more formal and ends with “です” or “ます”. You use it when you first meet someone, or when talking to a superior or someone you’re not very close with. The plain style doesn’t use “です” or “ます”. You use it with friends, family, or people you are close to.

Example:

• これは ほんです。(Kore wa hon desu.) -> Polite style
• これは ほん。(Kore wa hon.) -> Plain style (Both mean “This is a book.”)

Use: This expression is used to indicate that a certain amount of time has passed since an event occurred.

Example:

• 日本 (にほん) に来 (き) て、１年 (いちねん) になります。 (Nihon ni kite, ichinen ni narimasu.) (It has been one year since I came to Japan.)
• この会社 (かいしゃ) に入 (はい) って、３ヶ月 (さんかげつ) になります。 (Kono kaisha ni haitte, sankagetsu ni narimasu.) (It has been three months since I joined this company.)

Use: This expression is used to describe the time when an event occurred.

Example:

• 私 (わたし) は去年 (きょねん) の４月 (しがつ) に日本 (にほん) へ来 (き) ました。 (Watashi wa kyonen no shigatsu ni Nihon e kimashita.) (I came to Japan in April of last year.)
• 彼 (かれ) は３時 (さんじ) にここへ来 (き) ました。 (Kare wa sanji ni koko e kimashita.) (He came here at 3 o’clock.)

Use: The verb’s て-form + います (te-form + imasu) is used to describe an ongoing action or a continuous state (what someone is doing as their job or main activity).

Example:

• 私（わたし）は日本語（にほんご）を勉強（べんきょう）しています。 (Watashi wa nihongo o benkyou shite imasu. / I am studying Japanese.)
• マリアさんは介護（かいご）の仕事（しごと）をしています。 (Maria-san wa kaigo no shigoto o shite imasu. / Ms. Maria is doing caregiving work.)