N5 Grammar · Test 15

たいへんですね means 'That's tough/that's terrible, isn't it' and is a standard expression of sympathy when someone describes a difficult or painful situation. B is responding sympathetically to A's complaint about having a headache from a cold. This is the most natural conversational response.

• 1いたいですね means 'It's painful, isn't it.' While it references the pain, it is not a natural sympathetic response in Japanese. Simply echoing the adjective is not how Japanese speakers express sympathy.
• 2すみませんね means 'I'm sorry, aren't I' or 'Excuse me.' This would be used if B were responsible for A's situation, which is not the case here. It is not a sympathy expression for someone else's illness.
• 4わるいですね literally means 'That's bad, isn't it.' While it might seem plausible, it is not the idiomatic expression of sympathy in Japanese. たいへんですね is the standard sympathetic response taught at this level.

• 大変たいへん — tough, terrible, difficult (used to express sympathy)
• かぜをひく — to catch a cold
• いたい — painful, hurts

しごとが あります means 'I have work.' When declining an invitation, 'ちょっと' (a little/bit) followed by a reason such as 'しごとがあります' is the standard polite way to refuse. 'あしたはちょっとしごとがあります' means 'Tomorrow I have work (so I can't).' This is the natural and correct response.

• 2時間が いいです means 'The time is good,' which does not make sense as a response to a movie invitation. It neither declines nor accepts the invitation properly.
• 3えいがが あります means 'There is a movie,' which is nonsensical as a reason for declining. A invited B to see a movie, so saying 'there is a movie' does not function as an excuse.
• 4いっしょに いいです means 'Together is good,' which is grammatically awkward and does not convey a refusal. It seems to agree rather than decline, contradicting the 'ちょっと' hesitation pattern.

• 仕事しごと — work, job
• ちょっと — a little, a bit (used to soften a refusal)
• 時間じかん — time
• いっしょに — together

こちら means 'this way' or 'here' and is used to indicate a location or direction politely. '先生のへやはこちらです' means 'The teacher's room is this way/here.' This is the correct and natural response when directing someone to a location.

• 1その means 'that' (near the listener) and is a pre-noun adjectival (連体詞) that must modify a noun (e.g., そのへや 'that room'). It cannot stand alone as a predicate complement before です.
• 2どんな means 'what kind of' and also requires a following noun (e.g., どんなへやですか 'What kind of room is it?'). It cannot be used alone before です in this sentence.
• 4どうして means 'why' and is a question word. '先生のへやはどうしてです' is ungrammatical and nonsensical in this context.

• こちら — this way, here (polite)
• その — that (near listener)
• どんな — what kind of
• どうして — why

The counter 本 (ほん) undergoes sound changes when preceded by 一. The correct form is いっぽん (one long, thin object). The numeral 一 (いち) triggers gemination (促音便) of the following consonant, changing ほ to ぽ, producing いっぽん. 'えんぴつがいっぽんあります' means 'There is one pencil.'

• 2いちほん lacks the required sound change. While 一本 is written with these kanji, the reading must change to いっぽん due to 促音便 (gemination). Saying いちほん is incorrect.
• 3いっぼん has the gemination (っ) but uses the wrong voicing. ぼん (with dakuten on ほ) is incorrect; the correct reading is ぽん (with handakuten), not ぼん.
• 4いちぼん has neither the gemination nor the correct voicing. It combines the wrong base reading (いち) with the wrong consonant (ぼ). This is entirely incorrect.

• 一本いっぽん — one long, thin object (counter for pencils, bottles, etc.)
• えんぴつ — pencil
• 促音便そくおんびん — gemination/sound change producing っ

もっています is the て-form of 持つ (もつ, 'to hold/possess') plus います, indicating a continuing state. 'お金をもっていますか' means 'Do you have money (on you) now?' This is the correct way to ask about possession in Japanese.

• 1もってです is ungrammatical. The て-form of a verb cannot be directly followed by です. There is no such construction in Japanese.
• 2もってあります uses てある, which describes the state resulting from someone's intentional action on an object (e.g., かべにポスターがはってあります 'A poster is pasted on the wall'). It is used for inanimate objects that have been deliberately placed/changed, not for what a person possesses.
• 4もってください means 'please hold/take (it)' and is a request/imperative form. It cannot be used in a question ending with か asking about someone's current state.

• 持もつ — to hold, to possess
• 〜ています — is currently ~ing / has ~ (continuing state)
• 〜てある — has been ~ed (resulting state of intentional action on object)
• 〜てください — please do ~

A says 'Please don't enter that room' (入らないで ください). B should acknowledge this instruction. わかりました ('I understand / Understood') is the natural and correct response to comply with a request or instruction. It shows B has understood and will follow the instruction.

• 1すみませんが ('I'm sorry, but…') is an incomplete utterance. It would need to be followed by something (e.g., a reason or a request). On its own, it does not properly acknowledge the instruction.
• 3ごめんください ('Excuse me / Is anyone home?') is used when visiting someone's house or calling out to get attention. It is not a response to an instruction.
• 4しつれいします ('Excuse me') is used when entering/leaving a room or taking leave. Ironically, saying this in response to 'don't enter' would be inappropriate, as it is typically said when entering a room.

• 部屋へや — room
• 入はいる — to enter
• 〜ないでください — please do not ~
• 分わかる — to understand

A says 'Let's take a short break' (休みましょう - volitional form, suggesting an action together). B responds with ええ (yes, agreeing) and then そうですね ('That's right / That sounds good'). そうですね is the natural agreement expression when someone makes a suggestion. Together, ええ、そうですね means 'Yes, that's a good idea.'

• 1休みました ('(I/we) rested') is past tense, stating that a rest already happened. This does not fit as a response to a suggestion to rest now.
• 2そうでしょう ('That's probably so') expresses conjecture or seeking confirmation about something B is unsure of. It is not an agreement response to a suggestion.
• 3休みません ('(I) will not rest') is a direct refusal, which contradicts the agreeing ええ at the beginning of B's response. It is inconsistent.

• 休やすむ — to rest, to take a break
• 〜ましょう — let's ~ (volitional/suggestion form)
• そうですね — that's right; that sounds good (agreement)

The correct answer is 2. どう. A is asking B how to operate the tape recorder: 「これはどうつかいますか」= 'How do you use this?' B then gives step-by-step instructions ('First, press that button'), which confirms that A asked about the method/way to use it. どう is the standard question word for 'how (by what method)' at this level.

• 1なぜ (naze) means 'why.' A is not asking for a reason; B's answer gives instructions, not a reason, so this does not fit.
• 3どんなに (donnani) means 'to what extent / how much' and is used for degree, not for asking a method. It is also too advanced for this level and does not fit the sentence pattern here.
• 4なにが (naniga) means 'what (subject).' It does not pair naturally with つかいますか in this context; A already knows 'what' is used (the tape recorder) and is asking 'how.'

• どう — how (by what method)
• なぜ — why
• どんなに — to what extent; how much
• なにが — what (subject marker)

The correct answer is 1. これですね. After B says 'First, press that button,' A picks up or points to a button and asks 'This one, right?' (これですね). B corrects A: 'いいえ、あおいボタンです' (No, it's the blue button). The 'いいえ' (no) in B's reply is the key clue: it indicates A made a guess or confirmation that B is correcting, which fits 'This one, right?' perfectly. A then says 'ああ、わかりました' (Ah, I understand), showing A had been mistaken and now understands.

• 2どれですか (dore desu ka) means 'Which one is it?' If A asked this, B would answer directly 'あおいボタンです' without starting with 'いいえ' (no). The 'いいえ' indicates B is correcting a guess, not answering a which-question.
• 3あおいボタンですね (aoi botan desu ne) means 'It's the blue button, right?' If A said this, B would agree with 'ええ、そうです,' not contradict with 'いいえ.'
• 4ええ、そうです (ee, sou desu) means 'Yes, that's right.' This is a response confirming something, but A has just been told to press a button and would not be confirming here; it does not prompt B's 'いいえ' reply.

• これ — this (one)
• どれ — which (one)
• あおい — blue
• ボタン — button

The pattern な-adjective stem + にする means 'to make something (adjective).' しずか (stem of しずかな) + にして + ください = 'please make it a little quiet' / 'please be a little quiet.' The に is required before して in this pattern.

• 1でする is ungrammatical. で is not the particle used with な-adjectives in the 'make it ~' pattern; に is required.
• 2にする alone cannot connect to ください. You need the te-form にして before ください.
• 3でして is the te-form of です/だ, not the correct form for 'make it quiet.' The な-adjective pattern requires にして.

• 静しずか — quiet (な-adjective)
• 〜にする — to make something ~ (な-adjective/noun)