Question

I was given questions in Japanese. I was told to translate them to romaji and english, then answer them.

かぞくは なんにんですか。
Kazoku wa nannin desu ka?
How many people are in your family?
Answer:
わたしはろくかぞくをもっています.
watashi ha roku kazoku wo motte imasu .
(I have six family members.)

おとうさんと おかあさんが いますか。どんな ひとですか。
Otousan to okasaan ga imasu ka? Donna hito desu ka?
Do you have a mother and father? What are they like?
Answer:
はい, わたしのははとちちはすばらしく, おもいやりのあるひとびとである.
hai, watashi no haha to chichi ha subara shiku
(Yes, My mother and father are nice and caring people.)

きょうだいは いますか。
Kyoudai wa imasu ka?
Do you have any siblings?
Answer:
はい, わたしはふたりのしまいをもっています.
hai, watashi ha futari no shimai wo motte imasu.
(Yes, I have two sisters.)

@InYourHead
May you please check these when you have the time?

Answer 1

cool I wish I spoke Japanese

Answer 2

49!!

Answer 3

Okay, so the first question asks us,
"How many people are in your family?"

You would actually answer...

わたしのかぞくわろくにんいます。
Watashi no kazoku wa roku nin imasu.

(What you ACTUALLY said, the first time, was "I have six families.")

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your second answer, about having splendid and sensitive/caring parents, sounds good to me,
as far as I know!

It was actually a bit interesting,
because I had never heard of the word "omoiyaki" before.
I had to research it.
It's a rather abstract word that can't really be translated into English.
But we can use it to convey the idea of "altruism,"
or "interpersonal generosity."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your last question asks us,
"Do you have any siblings?"

You could actually answer...

わたしはしまいがふたりをもっています。
Watashi wa shimai ga futari wo motteimasu.

Answer 4

どうもありがとう。
わたしはわたしをたすけてくれてほんとうにかんしゃ！　：）

Answer 5

lol Yeah sure, you're welcome.

Answer 6

@InYourHead
Can you use もっています for a person?

I thought it meant "I have" in the sense "I own"
わたしは くるまを もっています。for example.

If so, I would have answered the last question with:
はい, わたしは きょうだいが ふたり います。

What do you think?

Answer 7

@Vincent-Lyon.Fr

I personally WOULD use "imasu,"
because that's the way that I've been taught. It's more familiar to me.

"Motteimasu" is totally new to me. I only learned about it last night.

And whereas I've only seen it used with inanimate objects,
I haven't read anything that says that it cannot be used for animate nouns.

~~~~~~~~~~

@Opcode

Has your teacher ever told you about whether or not we can use "motteimasu" when we're talking about living things?

Answer 8

もっています is the progressive/resultative form of もちます - to carry.

I will ask my teacher later this week (she is a native speaker).

Anyway, using います matches the verb used in the question, so it cannot be wrong.

Answer 9

I meet my teacher Saturday...
So I could also ask her.
But I've used motteimasu for inanimate and living objects before. I never had a complaint from her.
(I'll try to send her a email and see if she replies later today.)

Answer 10

Okay. Well I have come across some people who think it's okay to use "motteimasu" with animate objects,
and others who would rather use "imasu."

If you will bring it up with your teacher, that's great.

Like Vincent-Lyon.Fr says, there's no question about the differences between "arimasu" and "imasu."

But if "motteimasu" is what you were taught to use,
then for now at least, it'd be understandable for you to stick with it.

Answer 11

Hi! I had a lesson today and the teacher said you cannot use もっています for a person, or for an animal. You should use います.

Another verb is generally used for animals: かっています　（飼っています）, literally meaning "to keep".

I want to share with you this funny pair of kanji I came across today:

凹 concave
凸 convex

凸凹 deko-boko = rough, uneven
凹凸 ou-totsu = irregularity

Answer 12

Thanks!

Answer 13

Thank you all :3
@Vincent-Lyon.Fr
I appreciate you for telling me the difference between motteimasu (もっています) and imasu (います).
Also thanks for the extra interesting info ^_^.
I really appreciate the help both of you guys gave me :)

Answer 14

yw :)

Answer 15

@Opcode ; @InYourHead

Hi guys!
Do you have a facebook page?

If so, have a look at this page from a school in the Philippines:
http://www.facebook.com/NihongoforEveryJuan?ref=ts&fref=ts

They add a new Japanese expression or onomatopoeia every day. It's nice and not too complicated, as everything is explained in English.

I also like practising reading and listening comprehension using video clips from groups or singers. This one is a nice one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILT62ELPuqc

Answer 16

Thank you. Very nice. =)