Finding a Conference Room | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 会議室がどこにあるか教えていただけますか？

   Could you tell me where the conference room is?

   会議室

   conference room

   どこ

   where

   にある

   be located at

   教えていただけますか？

   could you tell me?

   More detail

   会議室 means “conference room.” It is a compound noun: 会議 means “meeting,” and 室 means “room.” The compound names the place being asked about here. Example: 会議室は二階です。 — “The conference room is on the second floor.” どこ means “where.” It asks for a place or location. In this sentence, it is not asking which room or what kind of room; the noun being located is already 会議室. Example: トイレはどこですか？ — “Where is the restroom?” にある expresses being located in or at a place. ある is the non-past form used for the existence or location of something nonliving, and に marks the location. The form chain is ある (non-past) and あった (past). For people and animals, Japanese generally uses いる instead: 先生は教室にいます。 — “The teacher is in the classroom.” Here, にある is inside the question clause and means “is located.” 教えていただけますか？ is a polite request meaning “Could you tell me?” 教える means “to tell” or “to teach.” いただけますか uses the potential form of いただく in a polite request pattern; literally, it asks whether the listener can do the favor of providing the information. The question marker か makes the request a question. A shorter polite request is 教えてください。 — “Please tell me.” Together, 会議室が marks “the conference room” as the subject of the embedded question, and どこにあるか means “where it is located.” The outer request 教えていただけますか？ asks the listener politely to tell the speaker that information. Thus the whole utterance means, “Could you tell me where the conference room is?”

2. ロビーを通り過ぎてください。エレベーターの近くです。

   Go past the lobby. It's near the elevators.

   ロビー

   lobby

   通り過ぎてください

   please go past

   エレベーター

   elevator

   近く

   nearby

   More detail

   ロビー is a noun meaning “lobby.” In ロビーを通り過ぎてください, を marks the place or route that is passed through, while the action is expressed by the following verb. Example: 公園を通り過ぎる。 — “I go past the park.” 通り過ぎてください is the polite request pattern て-form + ください: “please …”. Its base form is 通り過ぎる (“to go past” or “to pass by”), and 通り過ぎて is its て-form. This form asks the listener to carry out the action; it does not by itself specify who the listener is beyond the context. Example: ここで待ってください。 — “Please wait here.” エレベーター is a noun meaning “elevator.” Japanese nouns generally do not take a special plural ending here, so this form can refer to an elevator or to elevators as a relevant set; the fixed translation identifies the intended location as near the elevators. Example: エレベーターはあそこです。 — “The elevator is over there.” 近く means “nearby” here. It is also used in the reusable location pattern Nの近く (“near N”), where の links the reference noun to the location: 駅の近く means “near the station.” In エレベーターの近くです, です politely states that the relevant place is near the elevators. Example: ホテルの近くです。 — “It is near the hotel.” Together, ロビーを通り過ぎてください gives the requested route: “Please go past the lobby.” エレベーターの近くです then locates the relevant place as being near the elevators. The omitted subject of the second sentence is understood from the location being discussed, while です keeps the statement polite. The whole utterance therefore means: “Go past the lobby. It’s near the elevators.”

3. ここからエレベーターに乗ればいいですか？

   Should I take the elevator from here?

   ここから

   from here

   エレベーター

   elevator

   乗ればいいですか？

   should I take ...?

   More detail

   ここから means “from here.” ここ is the demonstrative for “here,” and から marks a starting point or source. The phrase can be reused with other places, such as 駅から (“from the station”). エレベーター is “elevator.” It is a loanword written in katakana. In this sentence it is the vehicle or means of transport being considered. 乗ればいいですか？ asks whether taking or riding something is the appropriate action. The verb is 乗る (“to ride; to get on”), and its conditional form is 乗れば. The pattern 〜ばいいですか？ is a useful way to ask “Is it okay/best if I …?” or naturally, “Should I …?” The particle に normally marks what one boards or rides: エレベーターに乗る means “ride/get on the elevator.” Here, that に is included in the preceding phrase エレベーターに through the construction selected in the sentence. Example: ここで待てばいいですか？ — “Should I wait here?” The same 〜ばいいですか？ pattern asks for guidance about an action. Together, ここから identifies the starting point, エレベーターに identifies the elevator as what the speaker would ride, and 乗ればいいですか？ asks whether that is the appropriate action. The whole utterance therefore means, “Should I take the elevator from here?”

4. エレベーターで一つ上の階まで行ってください。

   Take it up one floor.

   エレベーター

   elevator

   一つ上

   one level higher

   階

   floor

   行ってください

   please go

   More detail

   エレベーター means “elevator.” It is a loanword written in katakana. In this sentence, で follows it and marks the means or place of movement: エレベーターで means “by elevator” or “in the elevator.” 一つ上 expresses “one level higher.” 一つ can count one item or one step/unit, and 上 means “above” or “up”; together here they describe a level that is one higher than the current level. The following の links this description to the noun: 一つ上の階 means “the floor one level up.” 階 means “floor” or “story” of a building. In this sentence it is the noun being modified by 一つ上の. Japanese uses a counter such as 階 when counting building floors; for example, 三階 means “the third floor.” 行ってください is a polite request meaning “please go.” Its base verb is 行く, “to go.” The form 行って is the te-form of 行く, followed by ください, which makes a polite request. This construction can be reused with other verbs, such as 見てください, “please look.” Here, the destination or extent of the movement is specified by 一つ上の階まで, so the request is to go as far as the floor one level above. The chunks combine as エレベーターで + 一つ上の階まで + 行ってください: “Please go by elevator as far as the floor one level up.” In the fixed translation, this is naturally rendered as “Take it up one floor.” The sentence gives an instruction, and まで marks the endpoint of the movement.

5. それから左に曲がって、廊下に入ってください。

   Then turn left into the hallway.

   それから

   then; after that

   左

   left

   曲がって

   turn, then

   廊下

   hallway

   入ってください

   please enter

   More detail

   それから means “then” or “after that,” linking this instruction to an earlier step. It presents the following action as the next step in sequence. A reusable pattern is それから、… (“Then, …”). 左 means “left.” With the direction particle に, as in 左に, it indicates the direction in which an action is performed: “to the left” or “leftward.” The opposite direction is 右 (“right”): 右に曲がる means “turn right.” 曲がって is the te-form of 曲がる, “to turn.” The te-form can connect this action to what follows, so 曲がって、… means “turn, and then …” or “turn and …” here. The dictionary form is 曲がる; the polite request form is 曲がってください, “please turn.” In this sentence, 曲がって is followed by another request rather than by ください. 廊下 means “hallway” or “corridor.” In 廊下に, the particle に marks the destination or place entered: “into the hallway.” For example, 部屋に入る means “enter the room”; the noun changes, but the destination pattern remains 場所に入る. 入ってください means “please enter” or “please go in.” It consists of the te-form 入って from 入る (“to enter, go in”) plus ください, a polite request pattern. The full pattern てください asks someone to do the action politely. The destination is expressed separately before it: 廊下に入ってください means “please enter the hallway.” Together, それから marks the next step, 左に曲がって gives the direction and the first action, and 廊下に入ってください gives the destination and the polite request. The whole utterance means: “Then turn left into the hallway.”

6. 使える地図はありますか？

   Is there a map I can use?

   使える

   can use; usable

   地図

   map

   はありますか

   is there ...?

   More detail

   使える is the form of 使う (“to use”) used here to say that something can be used. 使う is a godan verb; its potential form is 使える. Before a noun, it describes that noun: 使える地図 = “a map that I can use” or “a usable map.” 地図 means “map.” It is a noun, and in this sentence it is the thing being asked about. はありますか combines the topic particle は with polite nonpast あります, the existence form of ある, and the question particle か. With an inanimate thing as the topic, 地図はありますか asks whether a map exists or is available. The は marks “as for a map,” while か turns the statement into a question. あります is used for inanimate existence; a person or animal would use the different existence verb います. Together, 使える modifies 地図, and 地図はありますか asks about its availability: “Is there a map I can use?”

7. 受付のそばに一つあります。

   There's one by the reception desk.

   受付

   reception desk

   そば

   nearby; beside

   一つ

   one

   あります

   there is; is located

   More detail

   受付 means “reception desk” here. It is a noun; the particle の links it to the following location expression: 受付のそば means “near the reception desk.” そば means “near” or “beside.” In this sentence, 受付のそばに marks the place where something exists. The particle に is commonly used with ある to identify the location of a non-living thing. Example: 駅のそばに店があります。 — “There is a shop near the station.” 一つ means “one” when counting a general object. つ is a broad Japanese counter for things, especially when a more specific counter is not being used. It expresses the number one here; it is not an indefinite article. The form 一つ is the first item in the general counter sequence 一つ、二つ、三つ (“one, two, three”). あります is the polite, non-past form of ある, used for the existence or location of a non-living thing. The plain form is ある; あります is its polite form. With a location marked by に, the pattern is 場所に物があります — “There is a thing in/at a place.” Example: ここに鍵があります。 — “There is a key here.” Together, 受付のそばに sets the location, 一つ says that there is one general object, and あります states its existence politely. The whole utterance means: “There’s one by the reception desk.”

8. 助かります。この建物に来るのは初めてです。

   That helps. It's my first time in this building.

   助かります

   That helps

   この

   this

   建物

   building

   来る

   come

   初めて

   first time

   More detail

   助かります means “That helps” here. It is the polite nonpast form of 助かる, “to be helped” or “to be saved.” In this sentence, the subject is understood from the situation, so the expression politely acknowledges useful help; it does not necessarily describe physical rescue. Example: 手伝ってくれると助かります。 — “It would help if you could help me.” この means “this” and is an attributive demonstrative: it appears directly before a noun, as in この建物 (“this building”). Its form does not change for number or grammatical gender. The exact referent is supplied by the accompanying context and the noun 建物; the word itself marks the referent as near the speaker or otherwise presented as “this.” 建物 is the noun “building.” It can refer to a physical structure as a whole. Example: あの建物は大きいです。 — “That building is large.” 来る is the dictionary form of the verb “come.” Its basic direction is toward the relevant place or person, and この建物に来る means “come to this building.” Japanese commonly uses this dictionary form before the nominalizer の: 来るの means “coming” or “the act of coming.” The following particle は makes that activity the topic for comparison or evaluation, although のは is not included in the selected 来る quote. 初めて means “for the first time” or “one’s first experience.” In 来るのは初めてです, it describes the experience of coming to this building, not the building itself. Example: ここへ来るのは初めてです。 — “This is my first time coming here.” The structure Xのは初めてです is a reusable way to say “It is my first time doing X.” Here, 来るの turns “come” into the activity being discussed, and は marks it as the topic. この建物に identifies this building as the destination of 来る; 初めてです states that this is the speaker’s first such experience. The Japanese does not explicitly state “my” as a separate pronoun, but the fixed translation supplies that intended perspective. Together, the utterance means: “That helps. It’s my first time in this building.”

9. その部屋は廊下の終わり近くに表示されています。

   The room is marked near the end of the hall.

   その

   that; the (before a noun)

   部屋

   room

   廊下

   hall; corridor

   終わり

   end

   近く

   near; vicinity

   表示されています

   is marked; is displayed

   More detail

   その部屋は その means “that” or contextually “the” before a noun. It is an attributive demonstrative: その + noun. Its exact referent is not identified by the sentence itself, but the translation establishes the intended referent as the room being discussed. 部屋 means “room.” It is a noun; the topic marker は follows it as 部屋は. This presents the room as the topic of the sentence. For example, その店は新しいです。 means “That shop is new.” 廊下 means “hall” or “corridor.” 廊下の uses の to link this noun to the next noun: “the hall’s …” or more naturally in English, “the … of the hall.” 終わり means “end.” It is a noun here, so 廊下の終わり means “the end of the hall.” The form is also related to the verb 終わる (“to end”), but the observed form in this sentence is the noun “end,” not a verb form. 近くに means “near” or “nearby” in a location phrase. 近く functions as a noun-like location expression, and に marks the location. Thus 廊下の終わり近くに means “near the end of the hall.” 表示されています means “is marked” or “is displayed” here. It is the polite form of the passive/resultative expression 表示されている, based on 表示する (“to display” or “to mark”). The passive form presents the room as the thing that has been marked or displayed; ている describes the resulting state, and ます makes the statement polite. A useful contrast is 表示しています (“is displaying/marking,” with the subject as the one doing it) versus 表示されています (“is displayed/marked,” with the room as the displayed or marked item). Together, その部屋は sets “that room” as the topic, 廊下の終わり近くに gives its location, and 表示されています says that it is marked there. The whole utterance means: “The room is marked near the end of the hall.”