ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various ways to describe time in Japanese. Keeping track of time is so important in people lives that most of them cannot imagine going around without some kind of device indicating the current time. It explores such devices, for instance, to remember when a dental appointment is or to figure out how long they were in a dentist's office. It provides two time concepts: a point in time and a length of duration. In Japanese, a point in time is specified beginning with the broadest time unit and ending with the narrowest time unit. This naturally follows from the basic modification pattern in Japanese. Time words are often followed by a particle. The chapter discussed how to use ni, goro, kara, made, and made ni with time words. Grammar points are followed by contextualized examples and exercises which allow students to reinforce and consolidate their learning.
