The adventures of our new friend Tom continue.

Be sure to check out Part 1 of this lesson.

We're picking up useful words and phrases for keeping a journal in Japanese.

When we left off last time, Tom was on his way to work, in morning rush hour hell.

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Lesson Prep

Before we get into the actual journal entry below, I want to introduce a handful of short sentences.

In the actual journal entry, you'll find that many of these sentences are connecting and interacting to make longer phrases.

So while we are talking about keeping a journal, really this lesson is about combining short phrases into longer sentences.

Maybe by reading these first, you won't be too overwhelmed.

仕事場に着いた。
しごとば　に　ついた。
I arrived at work.
Literally: "place where one works + に + arrived."

最初のレッスンが始まった。
さいしょ　の　れっすん　が　はじまった。
The first lesson started.
Literally: "first + の + lesson + が + started."

生徒にお土産をもらった！
せいと　に　おみやげ　を　もらった！
I received a souvenir from a student!
Literally: "student + に + souvenir + を + received!"

嬉しかった！
うれしかった！
I was (so) happy!
Literally: "was happy!"

仕事に行った。
しごと　に　いった！
I went to work.
Literally: "work + に + went."

憂鬱。
ゆううつ。
I'm depressed.
Literally: "depression."

仕事中は楽しい。
しごとちゅう　は　たのしい。
Working is fun.
Literally: "at work / in the midst of work + は + fun."

ファミレスに行った。
ふぁみれす　に　いった。
I went to a family restaurant.
Literally: "family restaurant + に + went."
Note: If you don't know what a family restaurant is, then I suggest you refer back to this lesson.

ベンと話した。
べん　と　はなした。
I talked with Ben.
Literally: "Ben + と + spoke."

久しぶり！
ひさしぶり！
Long time no see!
Literally: "a long time (since the last time) / it's been a while (since I last saw, talked to, etc. you)"

いろんな話をした。
いろんな　はなし　を　した。
We talked about a lot of things.
Literally: "various + talks / discussions + を + did."

盛り上がった。
もりあがった。
It was a lively get together.
Literally: "swelled / got excited."
Note: I can't translate this phrase well into English. It's something you say about people who are really lively and engaged about whatever they're doing. So if a group of drunk people at a table next to you are singing and laughing, then they are 盛り上がってる. Or if you see a group of teenagers that are talking and all laughing so hard that they're crying, then they're 盛り上がってる, too.

仕事に戻った。
しごと　に　もどった。
I went back to work.
Literally: "work + に + returned."

５時まで働いた。
ごじ　まで　はたらいた。
I worked until five.
Literally: "five o'clock + until + worked."

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Tom's Journal

仕事場に着いてすぐに最初のレッスンが始まった。
しごとば　に　ついて　すぐに　さいしょ　の　れっすん　が　はじまった。
Right when I got to work, my first lesson started.
Literally: "place where one works + に + arrived (and) + immediately + first + の + lesson + が + started."

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詩織（生徒の一人）に旅行のお土産をもらって嬉しかった！
しおり（せいと　の　ひとり）に　りょこう　の　おみやげ　を　もらって　うれしかった！
Shiori (one of my students) gave me a souvenir from her trip, which was awesome.
Literally: "Shiori + (student + の + one person) + に + trip + の + souvenir + を + received (and) + was happy!"

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仕事に行く前は憂鬱だけど、仕事中はけっこう楽しい。笑
しごと　に　いく　まえ　は　ゆううつ　だけど、しごと　は　けっこう　たのしい。わら
Before going to work I feel pretty depressed, but my job is actually pretty fun. Haha.
Literally: "work + に + go + before + は + depression / melancholy + at work / in the midst of work + は + rather / quite + fun. + LOL."

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ランチは同僚のベンとファミレスに行った。
らんち　は　どうりょう　の　べん　と　ふぁみれす　に　いった。
For lunch, I went to a family restaurant with my coworker Ben.
Literally: "lunch + は + coworker + の + Ben + と + family restaurant + に + went."

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ベンと話すのは久しぶりだからいろんな話をして盛り上がった。
べん　と　はなす　のは　はさしぶり　だから　いろんな　はなし　を　して　もりあがった。
I hadn't talked to Ben for a while, so we had a good conversation, and it was fun.
Literally: "Ben + と + talk + のは + it's been a while since + is + because + various + talks + を + do (and) + got excited / lively."

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ランチあの後はまた仕事に戻って、5時まで働いた。
らんち　あの　あと　は　また　しごと　に　もどって、ごじ　まで　はたらいた。
After lunch I went back to work and kept working until five.
Literally: "lunch + that + after + は + again + work + に + return (and), + five o'clock + until + worked."

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So we didn't have too many explanations here, but I was hoping that the sentences would help do the explaining for me.

You might want to read through them all several times.

Doing so, you'll likely realize a few things:

1) Most of the compound sentences are connected with verbs in the te-form.

2) Sometimes we can make a sentence into a noun phrase by putting a noun after a plain form verb.

For example:

仕事に行く（しごと　に　いく // go to work）
↓　↓　↓
仕事に行く前（しごと　に　いく　まえ // before going to work）

The same thing can happen with の, instead of a noun:

ベンと話す（べん　と　はなす // talk with Ben）
↓　↓　↓
ベンと話すの（べん　と　はなす　の // talking with Ben）

3) Particles connect tons of stuff.

I know a lot of you probably don't want to hear that, because particles are tough, but, yeah...

We'll see what Tom does after work in the next lesson!