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Generating Conversation by Molly Hakes

Getting to know people involves a little detective work. Good conversations often resemble a quick game of catch. Someone throws out a question, another person catches it, answers, and tosses back the same question (or maybe a new one). In this way, personal histories, past experiences, and future dreams slowly reveal themselves.

Experiences

Hosting people from another country is a great opportunity to show off your own culture. You may have many fun things already planned for your guests, or you may want to wait until they arrive to see what they are interested in doing. Hopefully, the activities you have lined up will be new experiences for the students. You cannot know what they have and have not done before, though, unless you ask.

The phrase, “Have you ever …?” in Japanese is created by combining the past-tense form of the verb with koto arimasu ka.

Uma ni notta koto arimasu ka.

Have you ever ridden a horse?

Piza wa tabeta koto arimasu ka.

Have you ever eaten pizza?

Nyuu Yokku ni wa itta koto arimasu ka.

Have you ever been to New York?

As previously explained, hai is used to show agreement with a yes/no question, whether or not the following statement is negative or positive, and iya or iie are used to show disagreement:

Iie, notta koto nai.

No, I haven't.

Hai, tabeta koto arimasu.

Yes, I have eaten (pizza) before.

Iie, itta koto arimasen.

No, I have never been (to New York).

While You Are Here

You may have to take the initiative to see if there is anything special your guests are interested in trying during their visit:

Nanika yaritai koto wa arimasu ka.

Is there something you would like to do?

Easy proximity to famous people is a common misassumption about Americans, but if you do have access, you might ask:

Dareka aitai hito wa imasu ka.

Is there someone you would like to meet?

The question words nani and dare paired with ka create the words “something” and “someone,” respectively. Other interrogatives paired with the particles ka, mo, de, and mo make up a variety of useful words.

<tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <thead> <tr> <entry namest="col1" nameend="col2"><p>Question Word Combinations</p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>dareka</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>someone</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>daremo</emphasis> (with positive verb)</p></td> <td><p>everyone</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>daremo</emphasis> (with negative verb)</p></td> <td><p>no one</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>daredemo</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>anyone</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>dokoka</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>somewhere</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>dokomo</emphasis> (pos. verb)</p></td> <td><p>everywhere</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>dokomo</emphasis> (neg. verb)</p></td> <td><p>nowhere</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>dokodemo</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>anywhere</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>itsuka</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>someday</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>itsumo</emphasis> (pos. verb)</p></td> <td><p>always</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>itsumo</emphasis> (neg. verb)</p></td> <td><p>never</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>itsudemo</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>any time</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>nanika</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>something</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>nanimo</emphasis> (neg. verb)</p></td> <td><p>nothing</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>nandemo</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>anything</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <div class="npsb"> <h2></h2> <p>If you hear the phrase <emphasis>Mata yaritai</emphasis>, you will know your plans were successful. <emphasis>Mata</emphasis> means “again,” and <emphasis>yaritai</emphasis> means “want to do.” It's possible that while doing the activity or when it is time to go home, your guests might say <emphasis>Mada yaritai</emphasis>. Mada means “still” or “continue.” <emphasis>Mada</emphasis> and <emphasis>mata</emphasis> are easy to mix up.</p> </div> <h2>Likes and Dislikes</h2> <p>Sharing and preparing meals with and for your guests, you may get an idea of their likes and dislikes. Children, especially, can be extremely picky eaters. Mixing in familiar items with stuff they have never had before (<emphasis>tabeta koto nai</emphasis>) may help them feel more at ease.</p> <div class="npmo"> <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/japanese/cd.jpg"> <div class="npcp"><p><B>85</B></p></div> </div> <div class="npsb"> <p><emphasis>Suki-na tabemono wa nan desu ka</emphasis>.</p> <p>What foods do you like?</p> <p><emphasis>Daisuki-na tabemono wa nan desu ka</emphasis>.</p> <p>What is your favorite food?</p> <p><emphasis>Amari suki ja nai tabemono wa nan desu ka</emphasis>.</p> <p>What foods do you not really care for?</p> <p><emphasis>Kirai-na tabemono wa nan desu ka</emphasis>.</p> <p>What foods do you hate?</p> </div> <div class="npsb"> <h2></h2> <p>A sudden change in diet can be one of the most trying aspects of traveling. In order to keep your guests' digestive systems running smoothly, make rice available at least once a day. Some Japanese kids are used to eating rice for almost every meal and could be adversely affected if this staple of their diet were entirely eliminated.</p> </div> <p>Specific answers depend on the individual and you may want to have a dictionary in the house in case you are not sure what it is your guests will and will not eat. Easygoing kids, or those who have been instructed by their parents to be polite guests, may give any of the following responses.</p> <div class="npmo"> <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/japanese/cd.jpg"> <div class="npcp"><p><B>85</B></p></div> </div> <div class="npsb"> <p><emphasis>Zenbu suki desu</emphasis>.</p> <p>I like everything.</p> <p><emphasis>Nandemo ii desu</emphasis>.</p> <p>Anything is fine.</p> <p><emphasis>Kirai-na mono wa nanimo nai desu</emphasis>.</p> <p>There is nothing I don't like.</p> </div>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/checking-vital-signs.htm" title="Checking Vital Signs">Checking Vital Signs</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/answering-questions.htm" title="Answering Questions">Answering Questions</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a 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href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/checking-vital-signs.htm">Checking Vital Signs</a></li> <li class="btO">Generating Conversation</li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/answering-questions.htm">Answering Questions</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/family-dynamics.htm">Family Dynamics</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/emergency-situations.htm">Emergency Situations</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/quizzes-and-exercises-14.htm">Quizzes and Exercises</a></li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div id="widgets"><script type="text/javascript">if(z336>0){w('<div id="adB">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w('</div>')}if(z155>0){w('<div 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<li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/the-guest-of-honor/">The Guest of Honor</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/countryside-quaintness/">Countryside Quaintness</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/school-and-office-life/">School and Office Life</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hot-springs/">Hot Springs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/hosting-a-student-from-japan/">Hosting a Student from Japan</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/especially-for-vacationers/">Especially for Vacationers</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/business-etiquette/">Business Etiquette</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/putting-it-all-into-practice/">Putting It All into Practice</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/japanese/appendix-a-japanese-to-english-glossary/">Japanese-to-English Glossary</a></li> <li><a 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