Deciding Which Task to Do First | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 今朝は仕事が多すぎます。

   I have too many tasks this morning.

   今朝

   this morning

   仕事

   work; tasks

   多すぎます

   are too many

   More detail

   今朝 means “this morning.” It is a time expression; 今 means “now” and 朝 means “morning,” but the combined word refers to the morning of the relevant day. Example: 今朝、コーヒーを飲みました。 — “I drank coffee this morning.” The particle は marks 今朝 as the topic: “As for this morning…” It is written after the time expression and frames the situation that follows. Here it does not itself mean “have” or add a quantity. 仕事 means “work” and, in this sentence, the work or tasks that need to be handled. Japanese uses this noun broadly; the fixed translation makes the intended sense “tasks.” Example: 仕事があります。 — “There is work” or, naturally in context, “I have work.” Japanese often leaves the person who has or must do the work unstated when the context supplies it. 多すぎます expresses that the amount is excessive: “is too much” or, with the task sense of 仕事, “are too many.” Its base adjective is 多い (“many; much”). With すぎる (“to exceed; to be too ...”), the final い of the i-adjective is removed: 多い → 多すぎる. The polite nonpast form is 多すぎます. This form describes excess, not merely a large amount. Example: この箱は重すぎます。 — “This box is too heavy.” Together, 今朝は sets “this morning” as the topic, 仕事 identifies the workload or tasks, and 多すぎます says that the amount exceeds what is manageable or appropriate. The full utterance therefore means “I have too many tasks this morning,” with the person responsible for the tasks understood from context rather than stated by a Japanese pronoun. The polite ending ます makes the statement suitable for a polite conversation.

2. まず、優先順位の順に並べてください。

   List them by priority first.

   まず

   first

   優先順位

   priority

   の順に

   in the order of

   並べてください

   please arrange/list

   More detail

   まず means “first” here: it places this task at the beginning of the sequence. It is an adverb and can introduce the first step in instructions. Example: まず確認してください。 — “Please check first.” 優先順位 is the noun “priority” or “priority ranking.” 優先 means giving precedence, and 順位 means rank or order; together, the word refers to the ranking that determines what should come earlier. Example: 優先順位を決めます。 — “I will decide the priorities.” の順に uses の to connect 優先順位 with 順 (“order”), followed by に, which marks the order or arrangement to follow. The pattern [standard]の順に means “in the order of [standard].” Here, that standard is priority ranking. Example: 番号の順に並べてください。 — “Please arrange them in numerical order.” 並べてください is a polite request built from the transitive verb 並べる (“to arrange” or “to line up”) in its て-form, 並べて, plus ください (“please”). The person addressed is asked to arrange the items; the sentence does not state who that person is. The てください pattern is a common polite way to request an action. Example: 名前を並べてください。 — “Please arrange the names.” Together, まず sets this as the first step, 優先順位の順に specifies the organizing principle, and 並べてください politely requests the action. The complete meaning is: “First, please list or arrange them in order of priority.”

3. このメールは緊急です。

   This email is urgent.

   この

   this

   メール

   email

   緊急

   urgent

   です

   is

   More detail

   この means “this” and appears directly before メール. It is a demonstrative determiner: この + noun identifies a nearby or contextually established item. It does not change for number or grammatical gender. Example: このレポートは重要です。— “This report is important.” メール means “email.” It is a noun, and it can be used in compounds such as メールアドレス (“email address”). In このメール, it is the topic identified by この. 緊急 means “urgent” here. It is a な-adjective-like word (also usable as a noun meaning “emergency” in other contexts). Before a noun, the adjectival form is 緊急な, as in 緊急な連絡 (“urgent communication”). Here it is used as a predicate with です, so no な appears. です is the polite nonpast affirmative copula. After 緊急, 緊急です states politely that the topic has the quality of being urgent. In other contexts, です can correspond to “is,” “am,” or “are,” depending on the sentence; it does not itself express a numerical count. Together, このメール marks “this email” as the topic, and 緊急です politely predicates “is urgent” of it. The complete meaning is “This email is urgent.”

4. そのレポートは重要です。

   The report is important.

   その

   that

   レポート

   report

   重要

   important

   です

   is

   More detail

   その means “that” and is a demonstrative determiner: it comes before a noun and identifies it as “that [noun].” Here it modifies レポート, giving “that report.” Japanese demonstratives also include この (“this”) and あの (“that over there”), but the choice depends on the intended distance or discourse context. レポート is a noun meaning “report.” Japanese commonly uses this loanword for a report or written assignment. In the sentence, it is the topic marked by は in そのレポートは; は is not included in the selected phrase, but it presents the report as the thing being described. 重要 means “important.” It is a な-adjective: before a noun, use 重要な, as in 重要なレポート (“an important report”); in a predicate, use 重要です, as here. The form 重要 itself does not change for singular or plural. です is the polite copular form used here to make the predicate polite, equivalent to “is” in this translation. The complete predicate 重要です says that the report has the quality of being important. Together, そのレポート (“that report”) is the topic, and 重要です (“is important”) describes it. With は marking the topic, そのレポートは重要です。 means “The report is important.”

5. レポートの締め切りはいつですか。

   When is the report deadline?

   レポート

   report

   締め切り

   deadline

   いつ

   when

   ですか

   is it...? (question ending)

   More detail

   レポート means “report.” It is a noun borrowed into Japanese and can be used before another noun to specify what that noun concerns, as in レポートの締め切り (“the report deadline”). 締め切り means “deadline” or “due date.” It is a noun for the time limit for submitting something. A useful related expression is 締め切りです (“it is the deadline” / “it is due”). In レポートの締め切り, の links two nouns: the first identifies the relevant thing, and the second is the main noun. The pattern AのB often means “B of A” or “A’s B”; here, it identifies the deadline associated with the report. は marks レポートの締め切り as the topic. The topic marker is written は but pronounced wa in this use. For example, 試験はいつですか。 means “When is the exam?” いつ means “when” and asks about a time. It does not itself specify whether the answer is a date, day, or time of day; the context determines the relevant kind of time. ですか forms a polite question here. です gives a polite “is,” while か marks the sentence as a question. Together with a noun topic, the reusable pattern is Aはいつですか。 (“When is A?”). A statement such as 締め切りは明日です。 means “The deadline is tomorrow.” Putting the parts together, レポートの締め切り is “the report deadline,” は makes it the topic, and いつですか asks when it is. The whole utterance means “When is the report deadline?”

6. 明日の午後が締め切りです。

   It is due tomorrow afternoon.

   明日

   tomorrow

   午後

   afternoon

   締め切り

   deadline

   です

   is

   More detail

   明日 means “tomorrow.” It is a time word that can modify a following noun directly when linked with の: 明日の予定 means “tomorrow’s schedule.” 午後 means “afternoon” or “p.m.” In 明日の午後, の links 明日 to 午後, making the time expression “tomorrow afternoon.” Example: 午後に会います。 — “I will meet [you] in the afternoon.” 締め切り means “deadline” or “due date.” It is a noun. Example: 締め切りを確認します。 — “I will check the deadline.” です is the polite copula, used here to state that the preceding noun phrase is the relevant thing. It often corresponds to “is,” but its exact English rendering depends on the sentence. Example: 今日は月曜日です。 — “Today is Monday.” The pattern is time expression が noun です: the time expression is presented as the deadline. Here, 明日の午後 is the subject-like phrase marked by が, and 締め切りです says that it is the deadline. Thus 明日の午後が締め切りです。 means “It is due tomorrow afternoon.” The context makes 締め切り the due time for the report, while the sentence itself does not need to repeat the report. This is a polite, straightforward statement of a deadline.

7. では、まず緊急のメールに返信してください。

   Then answer the urgent email first.

   では

   Then

   まず

   first

   緊急の

   urgent

   メール

   email

   に返信してください

   please reply to

   More detail

   では marks a transition from what has just been established and means “then” here. It can also be used as a conversational “well then,” but in this sentence it moves to the next action. まず means “first” or “to begin with.” It places the requested action first in an order of actions. A reusable pattern is まず X、次に Y (“first X, then Y”). 緊急の means “urgent” in this sentence. 緊急 is a noun that can modify another noun with の, giving 緊急のメール (“an urgent email”). Here の links the two nouns in an attributive relationship; it is not expressing possession. Example: 緊急の連絡です。 — “It is an urgent message.” メール is the noun “email.” Japanese commonly uses this loanword for an email message; the form itself does not mark singular or plural. Example: メールを確認します。 — “I will check my email.” に返信してください politely asks someone to reply to the email. The reusable verb is 返信する (“to reply”); its polite request form is built as 返信して + ください, so 返信してください means “please reply.” In メールに返信する, に marks the message to which the reply is directed. Example: 先生に返信してください。 — “Please reply to the teacher.” Together, では、まず sets the next priority, 緊急のメール identifies what needs attention, and に返信してください politely requests the directed action. The complete utterance means: “Then answer the urgent email first.”

8. その後、レポートに取り組みます。

   After that I will work on the report.

   その後

   after that

   レポート

   report

   取り組みます

   work on

   More detail

   その後 means “after that” and refers to a time after an already mentioned action. その means “that,” and 後 means “after/later”; together, その後 is a reusable time expression. Example: その後、家に帰りました。— “After that, I went home.” レポート is a noun meaning “report.” It is a loanword written in katakana. The particle に follows it here: レポートに取り組む is the pattern “work on a report” or “tackle a report.” に marks the object or target that the activity is directed toward in this expression. 取り組みます is the polite nonpast form of 取り組む, “to work on,” “to tackle,” or “to engage seriously with.” The nonpast form can describe a future action when the context is future-oriented, so here it means “will work on.” The polite ending ます makes the statement suitable for polite conversation. Example: 明日、この課題に取り組みます。— “Tomorrow, I will work on this assignment.” The subject is not stated in the Japanese sentence. With the fixed translation, the understood subject is “I.” The structure is その後、レポートに取り組みます: “After that, [I] will work on the report.” Thus, the utterance places working on the report after the previously mentioned action and presents it politely as a future plan.

9. そうすれば、あなたのストレスは減るはずです。

   That should help you feel less stressed.

   そうすれば

   if that happens; if that is done

   あなたの

   your

   ストレス

   stress

   減る

   decrease; become less

   はずです

   should; be expected to

   More detail

   そうすれば means “if that happens” or “if that is done.” It combines そう, “in that way/so,” with すれば, the conditional form of する: する → すれば. Japanese leaves the subject or agent of this conditional unexpressed here, so the form itself does not establish that the listener is the one who does it. The specific action or situation referred to by そう is also not stated in this sentence. あなたの means “your.” あなた is “you,” and の links it to the following noun to show possession or association: あなたのストレス means “your stress.” Japanese can omit a pronoun when the referent is clear, but あなた is explicitly present here. ストレス is the noun “stress,” written as a Japanese loanword. In this sentence, it is the stress associated with the person addressed as あなた. 減る means “decrease” or “become less.” It is an intransitive verb: the thing that becomes less is the subject, here ストレス. 減る is its dictionary-form/nonpast form; this form can describe a present or expected future change, depending on context. Contrast 減らす, “reduce,” which is transitive: 仕事を減らす means “reduce the amount of work,” while 仕事が減る means “the amount of work decreases.” はずです expresses an expectation: “should” or “is expected to.” はず presents the expected result, and です gives the expression a polite form. A reusable pattern is plain-form verb + はずです, as in 来るはずです (“[someone] should come”). Here, 減るはずです means “should decrease”; it does not say that the decrease has already happened. Together, そうすれば supplies an unspecified condition or means, あなたのストレスは makes your stress the topic, and 減るはずです says that it is expected to decrease. The whole utterance is therefore close to “If that happens/is done, your stress should decrease,” naturally rendered by the fixed translation as “That should help you feel less stressed.”