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I am still a beginner and maybe this is a stupid question but as I’m going through the course and doing it with ANKI
I got a review and came across these two:
一人 じゃありませんでした — (I) was not alone
一人 でした — It was one person
I know “人” is person and ”一” is one, so why is the top one “I” was not alone and not “It was not one person”
Maybe this is one of those exceptions to the rule?
Thanks for your help.
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This topic was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by
Okanehira.
When I messaged Koichi about this, I was given the impression both sentences can mean the following:
一人 じゃありませんでした = 1) It was not one person and 2) I was not alone
一人 でした = 1) It was one person and 2) I was alone
I think it comes down to context. If it’s obvious your talking about yourself, then the second answers apply. If your talking about someone else then it’s the first. I might be wrong but that’s the way I differentiate the two.
In the cases of the Anki cards, I think he’s just given the most popular answer. Although, he really should state this in the next TextFugu update so this doesn’t confuse people.
Ahh thanks that makes sense, I assumed that it might just be “whatever the context is” so if someone asked “who was with you” and you say” 一人でした” its assumed you are saying “I was alone” not ” not “It was one person” (although technically true I suppose)
AnonymousWelcome to context, your new friend.
You shall be seeing him a lot in Japanese.
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This topic was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by
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