56 THE POSTPOSITION.
Kono mono wa, What is this thing called in
Vhis thing as-for,
Nihon-go de nan to (Japanese? (more lit. As for
jtan-iatifgu age by, what that [this thing, in Japanese, what moshimasu ka ? J do people say that it ifi ?)
IF 89. II. When it precedes the verb "to be," de indicates the predicate (See also H. 289), thus :
? JT I' half-past three masu. } o clock.
Yoppodo beppin de wa
Very pretty
nai ka ? (or more politely [ Isn't she very pretty ?
i*H't '.
de wa gozaimasen ka ?) J
N. B. De wa is often contracted intoya, thus : Yoppodo beppin j a nai ka? Similarly de aru, " am," " is " " are," is contracted into da, and its politer equivalent de gozaimasu, is contracted into de gesu, de gasu or desu, thus :
Yoppodo beppin da. She is very pretty.
San ji han desu. It is half-past three o'clock.
Sayo de gozaimasu.
So desu. ( That is so, or Yes.
So de gesu (slightly vulgar).]
90. III. A noun followed by de often corresponds to an English nominative, not that de has any nominative force properly so called, but because the word which we treat as a nominative is conceived of by the Japanese as the means whereby the action or state denominated by the verb is accomplished or rendered possible, thus :
Cold water will do perfectly well
p- >' ou need "?* t"Weto bring hot water as well).
