N5 Grammar · Test 57

きれい is a na-adjective (な-adjective). The polite negative past form of a na-adjective is formed as (stem)じゃありませんでした. So きれいじゃありませんでした means 'was not clean/pretty.' The sentence means 'The hotel room was not clean.'

• 1きれくなかったです incorrectly treats きれい as an i-adjective. i-adjectives drop い and add くなかった, but きれい is a na-adjective, so this form does not exist.
• 3きれいじゃなくでした is ungrammatical. じゃなく is the continuative form of じゃない, and it cannot be directly followed by でした. The correct past negative is じゃありませんでした or じゃなかったです.
• 4きれくありませんでした also incorrectly treats きれい as an i-adjective (like option 1). The correct negative form for a na-adjective uses じゃありません, not くありません.

• きれい — clean, pretty (na-adjective)
• ホテル — hotel
• 部屋へや — room

The pattern 〜まえに (before doing X) attaches to the plain dictionary form (V-る) of the verb. 行く (to go) in dictionary form gives 行くまえに (before going). The sentence means 'Before going to the company, I went to the bank.'

• 1行きます is the polite ます-form. 〜まえに requires the plain form, not the polite form.
• 2行った is the plain past (た-form). 〜まえに requires the dictionary form, not the past form.
• 3行って is the て-form. 〜まえに does not attach to the て-form.

• 〜まえに — before doing ~ (attaches to V-dictionary form)
• 行いく — to go
• 会社かいしゃ — company
• 銀行ぎんこう — bank

This is a noun-modifying (relative) clause. きょねん (last year) indicates past tense, so the verb must be in the plain past form (た-form). 買った (bought) modifies カメラ, giving 買ったカメラ (the camera (I) bought). The sentence means 'This is the camera I bought last year.'

• 2買う is the dictionary (non-past) form. Since きょねん (last year) indicates a past event, the past form 買った is required.
• 3買いた is not a valid form. The たい (want to) form's past is 買いたかった, and 買いた alone is not a valid conjugation for modifying a noun.
• 4買います is the polite non-past form. A noun-modifying clause needs the plain form, and the past tense is required because of きょねん.

• 買かう — to buy
• 去年きょねん — last year
• カメラ — camera

The pattern 〜てから (after doing X) attaches to the て-form of a verb. 入る (to enter) → 入って, giving 入ってから (after entering/taking a bath). The sentence means 'Every day, after taking a bath, I sleep.'

• 1入り is the V-ます stem. 〜てから requires the て-form, not the stem.
• 2入る is the dictionary form. 〜てから requires the て-form, not the dictionary form.
• 3入った is the plain past form. While 〜た あとに (after doing) uses the past form, the pattern here is 〜てから, which requires the て-form.

• 〜てから — after doing ~ (attaches to V-て form)
• 入はいる — to enter (おふろに 入る = to take a bath)
• お風呂（おふろ） — bath
• 毎日まいにち — every day

たいへん is a na-adjective. When a na-adjective modifies a noun directly, you add な between the adjective and the noun: たいへんなしごと (a difficult/tough job). With いちばん (most), the pattern is いちばん + (na-adj)な + noun. The sentence means 'What is the most difficult/tough job?'

• 1たいへん alone cannot directly modify a noun. As a na-adjective, it needs な to connect to a noun (たいへんなしごと).
• 3たいへんだ is the predicate form (used at the end of a sentence, e.g., しごとはたいへんだ). It cannot be used to modify a noun directly.
• 4たいへんの is incorrect. na-adjectives use な (not の) to modify nouns. の is used for noun-noun modification, not na-adjective-noun modification.

• 大変たいへん — tough, difficult (na-adjective)
• 一番いちばん — the most
• 仕事しごと — job, work

To say 'want to work,' attach たい to the ます-stem of the verb. はたらく → はたらき + たい = はたらきたい. Option 4 はたらき is correct.

• 1はたらけ — This is the potential form (can work) or imperative, not the stem needed before たい.
• 2はたらい — This is not a valid conjugation of はたらく. The ます-stem is はたらき, not はたらい.
• 3はたらく — You cannot attach たい directly to the dictionary form. はたらくたい is ungrammatical; it must be はたらきたい.

• 働はたらく — to work
• 外国がいこく — foreign country
• 〜たい — want to (attach to verb ます-stem)

The negative past of an い-adjective is stem + くなかった. おいしい → おいしく + なかった = おいしくなかった ('was not delicious'). Option 1 is correct.

• 2おいしいくなかった — You must drop い before adding く. The correct form is おいしくなかった, not おいしいくなかった (which has an extra い).
• 3おいしいじゃなかった — じゃなかった is the negative past for な-adjectives and nouns, not い-adjectives. おいしい is an い-adjective.
• 4おいしくないだった — だった is the past of です for nouns/な-adjectives. You cannot combine the い-adjective negative おいしくない with だった. The correct form is おいしくなかった.

• 美味おいしい — delicious (い-adjective)
• 〜くなかった — was not (い-adjective negative past)

ながら attaches to the ます-stem of a verb. あるく → あるき + ながら = あるきながら ('while walking'). Option 3 あるき is correct. The sentence means 'Please do not eat while walking.'

• 1あるく — The dictionary form cannot attach directly to ながら. You need the ます-stem あるき.
• 2あるいて — This is the て-form, used for sequential actions, not with ながら.
• 4あるかな — This is not a valid conjugation form for use with ながら.

• 歩あるく — to walk
• 〜ながら — while doing (attach to verb ます-stem)
• 食たべる — to eat

Before とき ('when'), you use the plain form of the verb/adjective. わからない + とき = 'when (I) don't understand.' Option 2 わからない is correct. The sentence means 'When I don't understand, I ask the teacher.'

• 1わからないの — The の is unnecessary before とき. The correct form is simply わからないとき.
• 3わかったの — This means 'when (I) understood,' which is the opposite of the intended meaning. Also, の is unnecessary before とき.
• 4わかって — This is the て-form, which cannot directly modify とき in this pattern.

• 分わかる — to understand
• 分わからない — do not understand (negative plain)
• 〜とき — when (modified by plain form)
• 先生せんせい — teacher
• 聞きく — to ask