Requesting a Copy of a Document | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. この書類のコピーをいただけますか。

   Could I get a copy of this document?

   この

   this

   書類

   document

   コピー

   copy

   いただけますか

   could I get it?

   More detail

   この means “this” and directly modifies a noun. It identifies something near the speaker or otherwise treated as the current “this”; it does not change for number or gender. Compare the useful pattern この + noun: この本 means “this book.” The independent form is これ, as in これは本です (“This is a book”). 書類 means “document” or “paperwork.” It is a noun; the form itself does not show a plural distinction, so context determines whether one or more documents are intended. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports “document.” Example: 書類を確認します。 — “I will check the document(s).” コピー is a noun meaning “copy.” It is a loanword used for a reproduced document or other copied material. Example: コピーがあります。 — “There is a copy.” いただけますか is a polite request pattern meaning “could I receive/get …?” Here, いただく is the humble verb “receive,” and いただけますか uses its potential form with the polite ending ます and question marker か: “can/could I receive?” The humble wording presents the speaker as receiving something from the other person; it is a polite way to ask for it. Example: 資料をいただけますか。 — “Could I receive the materials?” The particle の links この書類 and コピー: この書類のコピー is “a copy of this document.” The particle を marks that copy as what is received. Thus the structure is この書類のコピーを (“a copy of this document”) + いただけますか (“could I receive/get it?”). Together, the utterance means “Could I get a copy of this document?”

2. まず原本を確認する必要があります。

   I need to see the original first.

   まず

   first

   原本

   original document

   確認する

   check; confirm

   必要があります

   is necessary

   More detail

   まず means “first” or “to begin with.” It sets the order of an action; it does not itself say that the action is urgent. Example: まず名前を書きます。— “First, I write my name.” 原本 means “the original document” or “the original.” It contrasts with コピー, “copy,” which appears in the preceding request. The noun 原本 can be used without an article because Japanese does not mark definiteness with articles in the same way as English. 確認する means “to check” or “to confirm.” The observed form is the dictionary form of the verb. A useful polite counterpart is 確認します; a past form is 確認しました, “checked” or “confirmed.” Example: 内容を確認します。— “I will check the contents.” 必要があります literally presents 必要, “necessity,” with が and あります, the polite form of ある, “to exist.” With a verb in the dictionary form before it, the pattern verb-dictionary form + 必要があります means “need to do the verb” or “it is necessary to do the verb.” Here, 確認する必要があります means “it is necessary to check,” which gives the intended “I need to see/check.” The polite ending あります makes the statement suitable for a polite interaction. Putting the parts together, まず places the action first in the sequence, 原本 identifies what is checked, 確認する supplies the action, and 確認する必要があります expresses its necessity. The whole utterance means: “I need to see/check the original first.”

3. 申請書に記入すればいいですか。

   Should I fill out a request form?

   申請書

   application form

   記入すれば

   if [I] fill out

   いいですか

   is it okay?

   More detail

   申請書 means “application/request form” here. It is a noun: 申請 means an application or request made formally, and 書 means a written document. The compound names the document being filled in; it does not itself say who will submit it. 記入すれば comes from 記入する, “to fill in or enter information on a form.” The observed すれば is the ば conditional form of する: する → すれば. In this sentence, the subject is understood from the English translation as the speaker, so the meaning is “if I fill it in.” Japanese does not mark that subject with a separate first-person ending here. The conditional pattern ～ばいいですか asks whether doing something is the appropriate or acceptable action. For example, ここに名前を書けばいいですか。 means “Should I write my name here?” いいですか literally asks whether something is good or acceptable. In the pattern ～ばいいですか, it is not simply asking about the quality of an object; it asks for guidance about the suitable action. いい is the adjective meaning “good” or “okay,” and ですか makes the question polite. A related but different pattern is ～てください, which directly requests an action, as in the following sentence in the supplied context: 申請書に記入してください。 means “Please complete the form.” Together, 申請書に marks the application form as the place or document receiving the action, 記入すれば presents filling it in as the condition under consideration, and いいですか asks whether that is the appropriate thing to do. The whole utterance therefore means “Should I fill out a request form?”

4. 申請書に記入してください。

   Please complete the form.

   申請書

   application form

   記入してください

   please fill in

   More detail

   申請書 means “application form” or “request form” here. It is a compound noun: 申請 means an application or request, and 書 means a written document. The translation identifies this document as the form to be completed. 記入してください is a polite request meaning “please fill in” or “please complete.” The lexical verb is 記入する, “to fill in (written information),” whose dictionary form ends in する; its polite form is 記入します. Here, 記入して is the て-form followed by ください, a common pattern for a polite request: V-てください = “please V.” The particle に connects the form with the action: 申請書に記入する means “fill in an application form.” In this pattern, に marks the form or document on which the information is entered. The request form 記入してください addresses the listener politely; it does not itself specify who the listener is beyond that addressee. Together, 申請書に identifies the document, and 記入してください asks the addressee to enter the required information in it. Thus the whole utterance means “Please complete the form.”

5. そうすれば、コピーを取れます。

   Then I can make the copy.

   そうすれば

   then; if you do that

   コピー

   copy

   取れます

   can make or take

   More detail

   そうすれば connects the preceding action with its result: “if you do that” or “then.” Here, in light of the preceding request to complete the form, it presents making a copy as the result. The form すれば is the conditional form of する, “do”; そう refers to the just-mentioned action or situation. Example: そうすれば、間に合います。—“Then you will make it in time.” コピー is a noun meaning “copy.” In this utterance it is the thing being made. Japanese also uses コピーする for “to copy,” but that is a different expression from the observed noun コピー. 取れます is the polite nonpast potential form of 取る: 取る → 取れる → 取れます. The potential form expresses ability or possibility, and the polite ending ます makes the statement suitable for a polite interaction. The basic verb 取る has several context-dependent meanings, including “take” and “get”; with コピー here, the intended meaning is “make or obtain a copy,” matching the fixed translation. Example: ここで写真を撮れます。—“You can take photos here.” Together, そうすれば、コピーを取れます。means “Then I can make the copy.” The conditional connector sets up the result, コピーを marks “copy” as the object of 取れます, and the potential form says that making or obtaining it will be possible for the speaker.

6. スタンプがあるページだけ必要です。

   I only need the page with the stamp.

   スタンプ

   stamp

   がある

   there is; has

   ページ

   page

   だけ

   only

   必要です

   is needed

   More detail

   スタンプ means “stamp” here. It is a noun; Japanese nouns do not change for singular or plural. Example: スタンプを押します。 — “I stamp it.” がある expresses that an inanimate thing exists or is present. ある is the non-past form; its past form is あった (“was there / existed”). Here, が marks スタンプ as what is present. Together, スタンプがある means “there is a stamp” or, when placed before a noun, “that has a stamp.” Example: 名前があるページ — “a page that has a name.” ページ means “page.” In スタンプがあるページ, the clause before the noun modifies it: Japanese places this kind of describing clause before the noun, so the structure is “a page [that has a stamp].” だけ means “only” or “just” and limits the phrase immediately before it in this sentence: スタンプがあるページだけ means “only the page(s) that have a stamp.” It does not itself state a numerical count; the fixed translation and context identify the intended item as the page with the stamp. 必要です means “is needed” or “is necessary” here. 必要 is the noun/adjectival word meaning “necessity” or “necessary,” and です gives the predicate a polite style. The plain corresponding ending is 必要だ; the polite form is 必要です. Example: この書類が必要です。 — “This document is needed.” Putting the parts together, スタンプがあるページ identifies the page that has the stamp, だけ restricts the need to that page, and 必要です states the need politely. The whole utterance means: “I only need the page with the stamp.”

7. そのページをコピーして、ほかのページは一緒にしておきます。

   I will copy that page and keep the other pages together.

   その

   that

   ページ

   page

   コピーして

   copy and

   ほかの

   other

   ページ

   page

   一緒に

   together

   しておきます

   will keep/do so

   More detail

   その points to the page understood here as “that page.” It comes before the noun it modifies. Japanese demonstratives include この “this,” その “that,” and あの “that over there”; the choice depends on the conversational or spatial relationship, not simply on grammatical gender or number. ページ means “page.” It is a noun and can be modified by a demonstrative such as そのページ (“that page”) or by another noun phrase. The first occurrence is the page selected for copying. コピーして is the te-form of the verb コピーする, “to copy.” The te-form links this action to what follows: Aして、B can connect two actions, with the exact relationship supplied by context. Here, copying the selected page is coordinated with the following action. The て ending itself does not mark past tense. ほかの means “other” or, in this context, “the other.” It modifies the following noun: ほかのページ means “the other pages” here. ほか can also function as a noun meaning “else” or “another,” but before a noun it commonly appears as ほかの. The second ページ again means “page.” In ほかのページ, it identifies pages other than the one referred to by そのページ. The noun itself does not show an English-style plural ending; the plural meaning here is supplied by the fixed meaning and context. 一緒に means “together.” It is the noun 一緒 “being together” followed by the particle に, which gives it an adverbial role. For example, 一緒に行きます can mean “I will go together” or “I will go with [someone],” depending on the supported context; the exact participants should not be added without context. しておきます consists of する in the te-form, して, plus おく in polite nonpast form, おきます. The construction Vておく means doing something in advance or leaving something in a useful, intended state. Here, 一緒にしておきます means “keep them together” or “leave them together,” and おきます carries the polite nonpast form. The stated actor is the speaker, as shown by the fixed translation “I will.” Together, そのページをコピーして means “copy that page,” with を marking the copied page as the object. ほかのページは sets the other pages as the topic or contrast. 一緒にしておきます says that the speaker will leave those pages together. The whole utterance therefore means: “I will copy that page and keep the other pages together.”

8. 原本は丁寧に扱ってください。

   Please handle the original carefully.

   原本

   the original

   丁寧に

   carefully

   扱ってください

   please handle it

   More detail

   原本 means “the original,” such as an original document, rather than a copy. It is a noun. Example: 原本を確認します。 — “I will check the original.” 丁寧に describes how the handling should be done here: carefully. 丁寧 can also mean “polite” or “careful/thorough,” depending on what it describes; with a handling action, the careful manner is intended. The に form lets this descriptive word modify the verb. Example: 丁寧に書いてください。 — “Please write carefully.” 扱ってください is a request meaning “please handle.” 扱う is the base form “to handle, deal with, or treat.” Here it appears as 扱って, the te-form, followed by ください, a polite request pattern: [て-form] + ください = “please do ...”. The person or thing being handled is understood from the sentence: 原本は sets the original as the topic, so the request concerns handling it. Example: この書類を扱ってください。 — “Please handle this document.” Together, 原本は identifies the original as the topic, 丁寧に specifies the required manner, and 扱ってください makes a polite request. The whole utterance means: “Please handle the original carefully.”

9. すべて一緒にお返しします。

   I will return everything together.

   すべて

   everything

   一緒に

   together

   お返しします

   will return

   More detail

   すべて means “everything” here. It is a broad quantity word referring to the items being returned, without naming them individually. It can also appear in patterns such as すべての書類 (“all the documents”), where の links it to a noun. 一緒に means “together.” It is the adverbial form of 一緒 and describes doing something jointly or in combination. For example, 一緒に行きます means “I will go together” or “We will go together,” depending on the context; the exact participants are not specified by this sentence. お返しします is the polite form used here for “will return.” Its underlying verb is 返す (“to return” or “give back”); 返します is its polite non-past form, and the added お gives the expression a polite service-oriented form. Japanese non-past forms can refer to a future action, so します here presents the returning as forthcoming rather than completed. The object is understood from すべて, not stated again inside this phrase. Together, すべて identifies what will be returned, 一緒に says that it will be returned together, and お返しします expresses the speaker’s polite future commitment to return it. The complete meaning is “I will return everything together.”