Clauses revisited

In the last few classes, we've learned a number of powerful ways of creating complex sentences from clauses: using when, before and after, for example.

But if we look back, we can find a lot of constructions we've learned that let us create sentences containing multiple clauses, some of them very specific. So for your benefit, here's an overview.

～てもいいですか。(-te mo ii desu ka)

Means 'would it be OK/alright if...?' For example, しゃしんをとってもいいでせか。(Shashin-o totte mo ii desu ka.) "Is it OK if took a picture?"

[S1] が[S2]

Used as a 'gentle' contrast, where が can be translated as 'but' or as 'and', depending on context. For example, Aさんは　とうきょうに　いきましたが　Bさんは　いませんでした。 (A-san wa Tokyo-ni ikimashita ga B-san wa imasen deshita.) "Mr A went to Tokyo, but Mrs B wasn't there."

[S1] が [S2]

Looks exactly like the previous one, but here it's an expression of politeness; roughly, が translates as 'but more importantly', indicating that S2 is more important than S1. For example, もしもし
すずき　ですが　おはよう　ございます。(moshimoshi, Suzuki desu ga, ohayou gozaimasu.) "Hellok, this is Suzuki; good morning."

[S1]から[S2]

Translates as "Because S1, S2." or "S1, so S2." Note that S1 is a normal sentence, which means it would typically contain the polite form. For example, あさくさでおまつりがありますから、いきます。(Akasuka de o-matsuri ga arimasy kara, ikimasu.) "There's a festival in Akasuka, so I'm going (there)."

More to follow!