Renewing a Library Book | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 借りた本の貸出期間を延長したいです。

   I'd like to renew a book I borrowed.

   借りた

   borrowed

   本

   book

   貸出期間

   loan period

   延長したいです

   would like to extend

   More detail

   借りた is the past form of 借りる (“to borrow”). Before a noun, it means “borrowed” and identifies the book as one that was borrowed: 借りる → 借りた. The past form here describes a completed borrowing; it does not mean that the borrowing is happening now. 本 means “book.” In 借りた本, the phrase before it modifies it, so the chunk means “the book I borrowed.” Japanese commonly places this kind of describing clause directly before the noun. 貸出期間 means “loan period” or “checkout period.” 貸出 refers to lending/checking something out, and 期間 means a period of time. The particle の links 本 and 貸出期間: 本の貸出期間 means “the book’s loan period” or “the loan period for the book.” 延長したいです means “would like to extend.” 延長する is the verb “to extend,” and したい is formed from its verb stem plus たい to express the speaker’s desire: 延長する → 延長したい. です makes the statement polite. In this context, extending the loan period naturally corresponds to renewing the borrowed book. For example, 予約を延長したいです。 means “I would like to extend the reservation.” Together, 借りた本の貸出期間を identifies the loan period for the book the speaker borrowed, and 延長したいです expresses the speaker’s wish to extend it. The whole utterance means, “I’d like to renew a book I borrowed,” more literally, “I’d like to extend the loan period for the book I borrowed.”

2. オンラインアカウントから延長できます。

   You can renew it through your online account.

   オンラインアカウント

   online account

   から

   through; from

   延長できます

   can renew; can extend

   More detail

   オンラインアカウント means “online account.” It is a compound: オンライン (“online”) modifies アカウント (“account”). This kind of compound can name the service or account used for an action. から marks the starting point or route here: “through/from the online account.” After a means or access point, noun + から can show where an action is carried out. Example: ウェブサイトから申し込めます。 — “You can apply through the website.” 延長できます expresses the ability to extend or renew something. The useful base form is 延長する (“to extend”), while 延長できる means “be able to extend”; 延長できます is its polite nonpast form. 延長 is also a noun meaning “extension,” and する turns it into the verb “to extend.” In this utterance, the omitted object is understood from the fixed translation and context as the thing being renewed, rather than being stated in Japanese. Example: 貸出期間を延長できます。 — “You can extend the loan period.” Together, オンラインアカウントから identifies the route or access point, and 延長できます says that the renewal is possible. The whole utterance means: “You can renew it through your online account.” Japanese leaves the subject and object unspoken here; the fixed translation supplies “you” and “it.”

3. 今日はアカウントにログインできません。

   I can't get into my account today.

   今日は

   today

   アカウント

   account

   にログイン

   log in to

   できません

   cannot

   More detail

   今日は means “today” here, with は marking today as the time being discussed. The sentence therefore presents the inability as applying today; は can also create a mild contrast with another time, but no specific contrast is stated. アカウント is the noun “account.” It is a loanword commonly used for an online user account. A useful related compound is オンラインアカウント, “online account,” as seen in the preceding context. にログイン expresses logging in to a destination or service. The particle に marks the account as the target of the login action. The reusable pattern is [account or service] にログインする, “log in to [account or service].” ログイン is a loanword functioning as a verbal noun; with する, it forms the verb “to log in.” Here it combines with できません to express inability to perform that action. できません is the polite nonpast negative form of できる, “to be able to” or “can.” In this sentence, ログインできません means “cannot log in.” The more casual form is ログインできない; the polite form is suitable for a service-related interaction. The form does not specify whether the problem is temporary or permanent; 今日は presents the statement as applying today. Together, 今日はアカウントにログインできません。 means “I can't get into my account today.” Its structure is “today + account-to log in + cannot,” with the polite negative ability construction stating that the speaker is unable to perform the login.

4. カウンターでお手伝いできます。

   We can help you at the desk.

   カウンター

   desk; counter

   お手伝い

   help; assistance

   できます

   can; be able to

   More detail

   カウンター means a counter or service desk. In this sentence, で marks the place where the action can happen: カウンターで = “at the counter.” The noun itself does not show number. お手伝い means help or assistance here. It is built from 手伝い (“help”) with the polite prefix お; the complete service expression is お手伝いする (“to help”), while the supplied sentence uses it with できます to express ability. Example: お手伝いします。 — “I will help.” できます is the polite form of できる, meaning “can” or “be able to.” With お手伝い, it gives お手伝いできます = “can help.” できます is polite present/non-past; the form does not itself specify whether the ability is temporary or permanent. Example: 英語ができます。 — “I can use/speak English.” Together, カウンターで identifies the place, and お手伝いできます says that help can be provided there. The omitted person receiving the help is understood from the fixed translation as “you,” so the whole utterance means “We can help you at the desk.” The polite wording suits a service interaction.

5. 図書館カードが必要ですか。

   Do I need my library card?

   図書館

   library

   カード

   card

   必要

   necessary; needed

   ですか

   polite question ending

   More detail

   図書館 means “library.” It is a compound of 図書 (“books”) and 館 (“building or facility”), but learn 図書館 as the ordinary word for a library. For example, 図書館へ行きます。 means “I go to the library.” カード means “card.” It is a Japanese loanword written in katakana. Here it combines with 図書館 to mean “library card”; the possessive meaning intended by the fixed translation (“my”) is understood from the situation rather than marked by a separate word in this sentence. 必要 expresses that something is necessary or needed. In 必要です, it is followed by the polite copula です, giving “is necessary” or, with the question ending, “is needed?” A reusable pattern is Nが必要です (“N is needed / I need N”). For example, 予約が必要です。 means “A reservation is required.” ですか makes the preceding statement into a polite question. です is the polite copula, and か marks the sentence as a question. Thus 必要ですか asks politely whether something is needed; it does not itself identify who needs it. In this fixed translation, the intended subject is “I.” Together, 図書館カードが必要ですか。 uses Nが必要ですか to ask whether the library card is needed. With the fixed intended meaning, the whole utterance is “Do I need my library card?”

6. 利用記録を確認するために、カードを持ってきてください。

   Bring your card so we can find your record.

   利用記録

   usage record

   確認する

   check; confirm

   ために

   in order to

   カード

   card

   持ってきてください

   please bring

   More detail

   利用記録 means a usage record or record of use. Here it is the object being checked. 利用 means use or utilization, and 記録 means record; together they form a compound noun rather than two separate actions. 確認する means to check or confirm something. The base verb is 確認する; its polite form is 確認します, and its negative form is 確認しません. In this sentence, 利用記録を確認する means “check the usage record,” with を marking the record as the object of the verb. Example: 名前を確認します。 — “I will check the name.” ために expresses purpose here: “in order to.” The pattern verb-dictionary-form + ために gives the purpose of the action in the main clause. Thus, 確認するために means “in order to check.” It is the purpose clause for the request that follows. Example: 勉強するために図書館へ行きます。 — “I go to the library in order to study.” カード is the loanword “card.” It is the object of 持ってくる, marked by を. The fixed translation identifies it simply as “your card”; the Japanese noun itself does not specify ownership. 持ってきてください is a polite request meaning “please bring.” The underlying verb is 持ってくる, literally “bring by carrying.” Its てください form asks the listener to perform the action politely: 持ってきてください. This is different from 持ってください, “please hold or carry it,” because くる adds movement toward the relevant place or speaker. Example: 明日、書類を持ってきてください。 — “Please bring the documents tomorrow.” Together, 利用記録を確認するために gives the purpose, “in order to check the usage record,” and カードを持ってきてください gives the request, “please bring your card.” The whole utterance is: “Please bring your card so we can check your usage record.”

7. その後、今日中に本の貸出期間を延長できますか。

   Can I renew the book today after that?

   その後

   after that

   今日中に

   today; by the end of today

   本

   book

   貸出期間

   loan period

   延長

   extension

   できますか

   can ...?

   More detail

   その後 means “after that” and points back to an earlier event or step. その is the demonstrative “that,” and 後 means “after/later.” In this utterance, the exact earlier event is supplied by the surrounding situation rather than by this phrase alone. 今日中に sets a deadline: “by the end of today.” 中 here means within the span of the day, and に marks the time by which the action is to be completed. This differs from simply 今日, “today,” which does not by itself emphasize the end-of-day limit. Example: 今日中に返してください。 — “Please return it by the end of today.” 本 means “book.” In 本の貸出期間, the particle の links 本 to the following noun, giving “the loan period of the book.” 本 can also mean “book” in other contexts, but the fixed translation identifies that sense here. 貸出期間 is a compound noun meaning “loan period.” 貸出 refers to lending or borrowing through a lending system, while 期間 means a period of time. The compound therefore names the time during which the book may be kept, rather than the act of borrowing itself. Example: 貸出期間は二週間です。 — “The loan period is two weeks.” 延長 means “extension” and, in this context, refers to extending the book’s loan period—naturally, “renewing the book.” It is a noun that also commonly works with する: 期間を延長する means “extend the period.” In the fixed utterance, 延長できますか uses it before できる to ask whether the extension can be carried out. Example: 期限を延長できますか。 — “Can the deadline be extended?” できますか is the polite question form of できる, “can” or “be able to.” できる expresses possibility, ability, or feasibility; できますか asks about that possibility politely. Here it follows 延長, so the understood action is extending the loan period. The form is not itself a past or future marker; 今日中に supplies the intended time limit. Together, 本の貸出期間を延長 means “extend the book’s loan period,” with を marking that period as the object of the action. その後 places the request after the relevant earlier step, and 今日中に says the action must be completed by the end of today. The whole utterance is therefore: “Can I renew the book today after that?”

8. ほかの人がその本を予約していなければ、できます。

   You can, unless someone else has requested it.

   ほかの人

   someone else; another person

   その本

   that book; the book

   予約していなければ

   if not reserved; unless reserved

   できます

   can; is possible

   More detail

   ほかの人 means “someone else” or “another person.” ほか indicates someone or something different from what is already understood, and 人 means “person.” Here, the phrase is marked by が as the subject of the reservation action: someone else is the one who may have reserved the book. その本 means “that book,” understood as “it” in the fixed translation. その is a demonstrative used before a noun to identify a particular book in the context; 本 means “book.” その does not by itself specify physical distance. 予約していなければ is the conditional form “if [someone] has not reserved [it].” The base verb is 予約する, meaning “to reserve” or, in this context, “to request.” 予約している describes a reservation that is in effect, and its negative form is 予約していない, “has not reserved” or “is not reserved.” Changing ない to なければ makes the negative condition: 予約していなければ. The subject and object are supplied by the neighboring phrases, so together they mean “if someone else has not reserved the book.” できます comes from できる, “can” or “be possible.” できます is its polite nonpast form. Here, the understood person who can perform the contextually supplied action is “you”; the action is not repeated in this sentence. Example: 利用できます。 — “You can use it” or “It is available for use,” depending on context. Together, ほかの人がその本を予約していなければ gives the condition “unless someone else has requested the book,” and できます says that the understood action is possible. With the preceding question about extending the book’s loan period, the whole utterance means: “You can [renew it], unless someone else has requested it.”