Japanese Language Grammar Pattern amari

Introduction

This article shows a Japanese language grammar pattern using a vocabulary of ‘amari’. The meaning of ‘amari’ itself is ‘very, much’. But in the context of this article, the main purpose is using it and then the following pattern is a negative form or a negative pattern. Overall, it changes the whole meaning because of it. It translates as ‘not that much’.

Grammar Pattern

The following is the grammar pattern using the vocabulary ‘amari’ :

The above table presents the grammar pattern using ‘amari’. It express the intensity or the degree of the activity or the verb following the ‘amari’ vocabulary.

Example

The following is several examples on using the above grammar pattern ‘amari’. The first example exist as follows :

Kanji :

その人があまり歌を歌いません。

Hiragana :

そのひとが あまりうたをうたいません。

Romaji :

Sono hito ga amari uta wo utaimasen.

Meaning :

That person doesn’t sing that much.

It is the degree of the activity occurrence. In this context, the activity is singing a song. Using ‘amari’ emphasize that the occurrence of the activity for singing a song is not too frequently or it is not that many. This grammar pattern ‘amari’ will need a negative verb form follows it as it shows in the above description. Another example is in the following sentence :

Kanji :

お父さんがあまり車を運転しません。

Hiragana :

おとうさんがあまりくるまをうんてんしません。

Romaji :

Otousan ga amari kuruma wo unten shimasen.

Meaning :

Father doesn’t drive car that much.

As it also shows in the above example, it relates on the degree of occurrence of the activity. The subject, in this context, it is the father of the speaker does not drive the car that much. The intensity or the degree of the occurrence that the father drive the car is not that much. The grammar pattern ‘amari’ is the one responsible for creating the meaning and also the expression in the sentence.