Asking About Homework | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 宿題は何をすればいいですか？

   What should I do for homework?

   宿題

   homework

   何

   what

   すればいいですか

   should I do?

   More detail

   宿題 means “homework.” It is a noun, commonly used for schoolwork or an assigned task to complete outside class. In this sentence, は marks it as the topic: “As for homework…” 何 means “what.” It asks for an unspecified thing or action. Here, 何を means “what” as the object of する (“do”); を marks the thing acted on. Example: 何を食べますか。 — “What will you eat?” すればいいですか is a polite way to ask what action is suitable or expected. すれば is the conditional form of する (“do”): する → すれば. Combined with いい (“good”), the pattern 〜ばいいですか asks “What should I do?” or “Would it be good if I …?” The polite ending ですか makes it a question. Example: どうすればいいですか。 — “What should I do?” The whole sentence is built as 宿題は (“as for homework”) + 何を (“what”) + すればいいですか (“should I do?”). Together, 宿題は何をすればいいですか？ means “What should I do for homework?”

2. まず、この練習問題を終わらせてください。

   Start by completing this exercise.

   まず

   to start; first

   この

   this

   練習問題

   exercise

   終わらせてください

   please finish it

   More detail

   まず means “first” or “to start” and places the first step at the beginning of an instruction. Example: まず名前を書いてください。— “First, please write your name.” この is the demonstrative modifier “this,” used directly before a noun. Its form does not change for the noun’s number or grammatical gender. It identifies the exercise as the one intended in the immediate situation; the word itself does not independently express a numeric count. 練習問題 means “exercise” or “practice problem.” It is a useful compound for a task intended for practice. In this sentence, it is the object of the action. 終わらせてください is a polite request meaning “please finish it.” The form is built from 終わる, “to end,” and its transitive counterpart 終わらせる, “to bring to an end” or “to finish something.” Because the exercise is the object being finished, 終わらせる is used here rather than 終わる. The てください pattern makes a polite request: Verb-てください = “please do ...”. Example: 宿題を終わらせてください。— “Please finish the homework.” Together, まずこの練習問題を終わらせてください means “Start by completing this exercise.” まず marks this as the first step, この練習問題 identifies the exercise, and 終わらせてください politely asks the listener to finish it.

3. どのページを使えばいいですか？

   Which page should I use?

   どの

   which

   ページ

   page

   使えばいいですか

   should I use?

   More detail

   どの means “which” when it comes before a noun. It asks the listener to identify one choice from relevant alternatives; the sentence itself does not specify what all those alternatives are. Compare どのページ (“which page”) with どの本 (“which book”). ページ is the noun “page,” a loanword commonly used for a page in a book, document, or website. In this sentence it is the thing being chosen for use. 使えばいいですか is a polite way to ask what action is appropriate: “should I use?” The base form is 使う (“to use”). Its conditional form 使えば combines with いい (“good”) in the pattern 〜ばいい, literally “it is good if …,” which commonly asks for advice about the best action. The polite question ending ですか makes the question courteous. For example, ここで待てばいいですか。 means “Should I wait here?” Together, どのページ identifies the item being selected, and 使えばいいですか asks which action is recommended. The whole utterance is therefore: “Which page should I use?”

4. 短い質問があるページを使ってください。

   Use the page with the short questions.

   短い

   short

   質問

   question(s)

   ページ

   page

   使ってください

   please use

   More detail

   短い describes 質問 here: “short.” It is an i-adjective, and its base form is also 短い. Before a noun, it appears in this form: 短い質問 = “short question(s).” For example, 短くない質問 means “a question that is not short.” 質問 is the noun “question.” Japanese does not mark plural number here, so the fixed translation’s “questions” is compatible with either one or more questions; the context does not require a specific count. The phrase 短い質問 means “short question(s).” が marks 質問 as the subject of the following existence expression. In 質問があるページ, the clause 質問がある comes before and describes ページ: literally, a page “on which there are questions.” ある is the existence verb used for things that are not treated as living beings. For example, 机の上に本がある means “There is a book on the desk.” ページ is the noun “page.” It is the noun modified by the preceding clause, so 質問があるページ means “the page with question(s).” Japanese relative clauses come before the noun they modify, without a relative pronoun such as “that.” 使ってください is a polite request meaning “please use.” The base form of the verb is 使う (“to use”); its te-form is 使って, followed by ください to make a polite request. This expression requests an action, rather than stating that the listener is already using something. For example, このペンを使ってください means “Please use this pen.” Together, 短い質問があるページ identifies the page that has short question(s), and 使ってください asks the listener to use it. The complete utterance therefore means “Use the page with the short questions.”

5. いつ終わらせればいいですか？

   When should I finish it?

   いつ

   when

   終わらせれば

   if/when I finish it

   いいですか？

   is it okay?

   More detail

   いつ means “when” and asks about the time at which an action should happen. It is a question word for time; compare どこ (“where”) and いつまで (“until when”), which asks for a deadline rather than simply a time. 終わらせれば is the conditional form of 終わらせる, “to finish something” or “to bring something to an end.” The underlying verb is 終わらせる, not 終わる: 終わる is intransitive (“something ends”), while 終わらせる describes someone causing or completing that ending. The ば-form is made here by changing the final る of 終わらせる to れば: 終わらせる → 終わらせれば. Example: 宿題を終わらせれば、休めます。— “If I finish my homework, I can rest.” This shows the reusable conditional pattern ～ば (“if/when …”). いいですか？ literally asks whether something is good or acceptable. After a ば-form, ～ばいいですか asks what action or condition is appropriate: “should I …?” or “what would be best?” In this utterance, the time word いつ supplies the missing timing information, so the question is about when it would be appropriate to finish it. Together, いつ + 終わらせれば + いいですか？ asks, “When should I finish it?” The next context specifies the practical timing as before class, but the question itself asks for that timing rather than stating it.

6. 授業の前に終わらせてください。

   Finish it before class.

   授業

   class

   前に

   before

   終わらせてください

   please finish it

   More detail

   授業 means “class” or “lesson.” It is a noun. In 授業の前に, の links this noun to 前: literally, “the front/before of class,” meaning “before class.” 前に expresses that the following action happens earlier than a reference time or event. With a noun, the reusable pattern is Nの前に (“before N”): 出発の前に means “before departure.” Here, the reference event is 授業. 終わらせてください is a polite request meaning “please finish it.” The useful base-form contrast is 終わる (“finish/end,” with the thing ending as the subject) versus 終わらせる (“finish something” or “bring something to an end,” with someone causing it to end). In this sentence, 終わらせる is used for finishing an understood object, and its て form combines with ください to make a polite request: Vてください = “please V.” For example, ドアを閉めてください。 means “Please close the door.” Together, 授業の前に sets the deadline as before class, and 終わらせてください requests that the listener finish the understood task or item. The whole utterance therefore means: “Finish it before class.”

7. あとで私の答えを見てもらえますか？

   Can you look at my answers later?

   あとで

   later

   私の

   my

   答え

   answer(s)

   見てもらえますか？

   Could you look for me?

   More detail

   あとで means “later” here. It is a time expression placed before the request. Example: あとで電話します。— “I’ll call later.” 私の means “my.” 私 is the first-person pronoun “I,” and の links it to the following noun: 私の答え means “my answer(s).” This possessive form does not mark the possessor for number or gender. 答え means “answer” or “answers.” The noun itself does not show singular versus plural, so the surrounding meaning determines the number; here, the fixed translation uses “answers.” 答え is the noun “answer,” distinct from the verb 答える, “to answer.” 見てもらえますか？ is a polite request asking the listener to look at something as a favor to the speaker. 見る means “to look at” or “to see,” and its て-form is 見て. The pattern 見てもらう expresses receiving someone’s favor of doing an action. In 見てもらえますか, もらえますか is the polite potential question form of もらう, so the request asks whether the listener can perform the action for the speaker. It does not mean “look for the speaker.” Example: これを見てもらえますか？— “Could you look at this for me?” The sentence combines あとで (“later”) + 私の答えを (“my answer(s)” as the object) + 見てもらえますか？ (“could you look at it for me?”). The particle を after 答え marks what is looked at. Together, the utterance means “Can you look at my answers later?”

8. 終わったら、答えを私に持ってきてください。

   Bring them to me after you finish.

   終わったら

   after finishing

   答え

   answer(s)

   私に

   to me

   持ってきてください

   please bring

   More detail

   終わったら uses 終わる (“to finish; to end”) plus -たら, a form that can link one event to a later or resulting event. Here it means “after you finish.” The person who finishes is understood from the request as the addressee; Japanese does not state a subject in this clause. Compare the reusable pattern V-たら、… (“after/when V, …”): 食べたら、出かけます。 means “After I/we eat, I/we will go out.” 答え means “answer” or “answers.” Japanese nouns normally do not mark singular versus plural by their form, so the context and translation can support “them” here without changing 答え. The following を marks 答え as the direct object of the carrying action: 答えを means “the answer(s)” as what is carried. 私に means “to me.” 私 is the first-person pronoun “I/me,” and に marks the destination or recipient. In this sentence, it identifies the speaker as the person to whom the answers should be brought. A useful contrast is 私に見せてください (“Please show it/them to me”), where 私に likewise marks the recipient. 持ってきてください is a polite request meaning “please bring.” It combines 持つ (“to hold/carry”) in its 持って form with 来る (“to come”), producing the directional idea of carrying something here or toward the relevant speaker, followed by ください (“please,” in this request pattern). The request pattern V-てください asks someone to do an action politely; it is not simply the standalone verb ください meaning “give me.” Together, 終わったら sets the time condition, 答えを identifies the object, 私に identifies the recipient, and 持ってきてください makes the polite request. The complete meaning is: “Bring the answers to me after you finish.”