3

Is this sentence put together correctly? I'm trying to say "I drew (name on person)" formally. Drew as in "drew a picture of". In this case I will be using Yamada-san as an example.

山田さん描きました。

I Yamada-san drew.

Am I using は and が right? Am I using the right kanji for draw(描く)? Am I using the right form of the verb(きました)? Is the entire sentence wrong and doesn't make any sense in Japanese?

1 Answer 1

6

Am I using は and が right?

×私は山田さんが描きました。

○私は山田さん描きました。I drew Yamada-san.

○私は山田さんの[絵]{え}描きました。I drew a picture of Yamada-san.

You have to mark the direct object (the thing the verb acts upon) with を.
Like in 私はパンを食べます (I eat bread), for example, where you mark the thing you eat with を. Here you attach を to the thing you drew.

Am I using the right kanji for draw(描く)? Am I using the right form of the verb(きました)?

Yes! The kanji for 描く (to draw) is correct, and the conjugation and verb ending ~ました is right for the polite past tense.

3
  • 7
    Technically 私は山田さんが描きました is valid for '[someone drew someone else and] Yamada-san drew me'.
    – Sjiveru
    Commented Nov 26, 2015 at 19:01
  • 2
    Yup. I didn't mention that because (1) OP was asking how to say "I drew ~~~", and (2) yeah, it just seemed really confusing and unnecessary for a beginner when there were more basic points to get across. Should I have mentioned it? Lots of upvotes on the comment and DV on my answer so...
    – Robin
    Commented Nov 27, 2015 at 1:12
  • I just mentioned it for completeness sake - I was only worried that someone might misread your answer as saying it was never valid. A side note might have been nice, but as far as I'm concerned even just having a comment is fine. I certainly wouldn't have downvoted, especially not with an explanatory comment.
    – Sjiveru
    Commented Nov 27, 2015 at 16:41

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .