Breakdown of watasi ha souzi wo sinagara uta wo utaimasu.
はha
topic particle
私watasi
I
をwo
direct object particle
するsuru
to do
掃除souzi
cleaning
歌uta
song
歌うutau
to sing
〜ながら〜nagara
while
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha souzi wo sinagara uta wo utaimasu.
Why is は used after 私? Can it be omitted?
は is the topic particle (pronounced wa). It marks 私 as “the topic of the sentence,” so the listener knows you’re talking about yourself. In Japanese you can often drop the topic (and subject) when it’s clear from context—especially in casual speech. Including 私は is useful when you want to avoid ambiguity or put slight emphasis on “I.”
Why is 掃除 followed by をしながら instead of just 掃除しながら?
掃除 is a noun meaning “cleaning.” To turn it into an action you need the verb する (“to do”), and the direct-object particle を links them: 掃除をする. Then you attach ながら to the ます-stem of する (stem = し), giving 掃除をしながら (“while doing cleaning”). Without をする, you have no verb stem to attach ながら to.
What does しながら mean, and how is it formed with other verbs?
～ながら means “while doing …” and shows two actions happening at the same time by the same subject. It’s formed by taking a verb’s ます-stem + ながら. Examples:
• 音楽を聞きながら勉強する (“study while listening to music”)
• テレビを見ながら食べる (“eat while watching TV”)
The action in the ながら clause is the background activity; the main focus is the second verb.
Why do we say 歌を歌います rather than just 歌います?
The verb 歌う already means “to sing,” but by saying 歌を歌います (“to sing a song”) you explicitly mark 歌 as the object with を, clarifying that it’s “a song” you’re singing. In very casual speech you might hear 歌います alone if context is crystal-clear, but using 歌を歌います is more common and natural when you want to specify “song.”
Which action is the main one in a ～ながら sentence, and can I switch their order?
In ～ながら constructions, the verb in the second clause is the main action; the ながら clause describes something done in the background. In 掃除をしながら歌を歌います, singing is primary and cleaning is secondary. If you switch to 歌を歌いながら掃除をします, cleaning becomes the main focus and singing is the background action.
Why are します and 歌います in the polite (ます) form? When would I use the plain forms?
します and 歌います are the polite ます-forms, appropriate for formal situations or when speaking to people you don’t know well. The plain (dictionary) forms are する and 歌う, used among friends, family, or in casual writing. For instance, casually you’d say 掃除をしながら歌を歌う.
How do you pronounce 掃除をしながら and 歌を歌います, and are there any irregular readings?
• 掃除【そうじ】をしながら is pronounced souji o shi-nagara.
• 歌【うた】を歌【うた】います is pronounced uta o utaimasu.
Both 掃除 and 歌 use regular on- and kun-readings; there are no irregular pronunciations here.