In this lesson you will learn how to politely tell someone about what you(or whoever) did, will do, did not do, etc.
In other words: Its a VERB. In Japanese, verbs are always at the end of a sentence.
Anata wa Nihongo wo Hanashimasu ka?
This sentence is asking you if you speak japanese. If you do, good job... you can stop reading now... But for those of you that dont, lets break this sentence down:
Anata: You
Wa: always comes after the subject. (Subject Indicator)
Nihon-go: Japanese language. Nihon=Japan, Go=Language.
Wo: This is a direct object indicator. Whatever came just before it is what is being "verbed". Its sometimes said "o" but its always written 'wo' so I use 'wo' so I dont confuse myself.
Hanashimasu: Speak. Masu, like Desu, indicates a positive statement. The 'u' at the end is silent as well. It can be either present tense or future tense, like desu.
Ka: The "question mark" of the japanese language. It turns almost all sentences into questions.
Note: Even if you dont put "watashi wa" its common sense that you are talking about yourself. And when asking a question, even if you dont put "anata wa" its common sense you are asking about the person you are talking to.
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Moving on,
Masen: Changing Masu to Masen makes it negative.
TEREBI wo Mimasen.
Mashita: Past tense.
SAAKAA wo shimashita.
Note: In japanese, you never "play" a sport, you "do" it.
Masen Deshita: Did Not.
Hon wo yomimasen deshita.
Mashoo: Lets...
Minna-san wo aimashoo.
Mashoo Ka?: Shall we...
Asobimashoo ka?
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Uchi ni ikimashita.
This sentence means "I went (to) home". Lets break it down:
Uchi: House/Home
Ni: This Particle means "to"or "in".
Ikimashita: Ikimasu means "go", since its past tense, it becomes "went".
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Some basic Masu form words:
Do: Shimasu
Come: Kimasu
Go: Ikimasu
Eat: Tabemasu
Drink: Nomimasu
Close: Shimemasu
Take: Torimasu
Ride: Norimasu
Swim: Oyobimasu
Play: Asobimasu
Sleep: Nemasu
Wake Up: Okirimasu
Stand: Tachimasu
Sit: Suwarimasu
Read: Yomimasu
Look/See/Watch: Mimasu
Buy: Kaimasu
Meet: Aimasu
Listen: Kikimasu