文法: Grammar a Day - Level 4 [ 大きい (i-adjectives) ]

大きい (i-adjectives) - using adjectives

--- Notes ---
Another way to say 'big' in Japanese is 'dekkai,' as in 'dekkai yatsu datta
(he was huge)'

The na adjective version of ookii can only be used with abstract concepts.
i.e. ookina mondai (a big problem).

Adjectives are seperated into 3 groups, much the same way that verbs are.
these groups are
い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives, and irregular Adjectives. 

いーadjectives are the easiest to spot because the end with い
examples
おいしい
大きい
小さい

な-adjectives are all adjectives that don`t end with い, they are called
な- adjectives because when you attach them to nouns you insert a な　at
the end of the adjective.
example
親切なひと
at the moment I can@t think of any other examples but trust me there are
more than a few な　adjectives. if you see two kanji together then
chances are it is a な adjective. 

the final group is the Irregulare adjectives. As I`m sure you have guessed
they get their name because they don`t follow the rules of the other two
groups. Irregulare adjectives are adjectives that end in い　but when
attached to a noun follow the rules of the な　adjectives.
The best example of this is 
きれいな女

irregulare adjectives are the least common the the three groups.

Using な with い-Adjectives
it is true that you can treat most いadjectives as な adjectives by
replacing the final い　with な
大きな問題
小さな間違い

but as far as I know this can only be used with abstract concepts. I have
heard it used to discribe objects, but only when the object was a wish or
desire

--- Examples ---
Ookii.(plain non-past)
is big. (plain neg. non-past)    

Ookii desu. (polite non-past)
is big. (plain neg. non-past)    

Ookiku nai. (plain neg. non-past)
isn't big. (plain neg. non-past)    

Ookiku arimasen. (polite neg. non-past)
isn't big. (polite neg. non-past)    

Ookikatta. (plain past)
was big. (plain past)    

Ookikatta desu. (polite past)
was big. (polite past)    

Ookiku nakatta. (plain neg. past)
wasn't big. (plain neg. past)    

--- Comments ---
Should this even be on the site?  (contributor: Perches)

This is sometimes used as a 'na' adjective isn't it? (contributor: dcarter)

Perches: Probably not, as it's vocabulary, not grammar.
dcarter: Yes, as 大きな (ooki na). (contributor: KWhazit)

this is not a grammar point (contributor: gandal)

Of course it's a grammer point. It's providing information on certain
adjectives along with their different forms. (contributor: captcouch)

ゅうめい (famous) is an example of an 'irregular' verb.  I wouldn't
really consider them 'irregular' because the い in those cases are just an
extension of the 'e' sound. (contributor: mirax)

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