Breakdown of siken no mae ni undou wo simasu.
をwo
direct object particle
のno
possessive case particle
にni
time particle
するsuru
to do
試験siken
exam
前mae
before
運動undou
exercise
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.
Questions & Answers about siken no mae ni undou wo simasu.
What role does the particle の play in 試験の前に?
The particle の links two nouns to show a relationship—often possession or association. Here, 試験 (exam) and 前 (before) combine to mean “before the exam.”
Why do we attach に after 前 instead of using 前 alone?
前 by itself is a noun (“front” or “before”), but 前に turns it into a time expression meaning “at or before that moment.” The particle に marks it as the point in time when the action happens.
What does 運動をします literally mean, and why is を needed here?
運動 is a noun meaning “exercise.” The particle を marks it as the direct object of the verb します (“to do”). So 運動をします literally means “(I) do exercise.”
Why is the verb します in its polite form rather than the dictionary form する?
します is the polite present/future tense of する (“to do”). Japanese often uses polite forms in everyday speech, especially when talking about one’s own actions in a neutral context.
Why is there no explicit subject in this sentence?
Subjects (like “I” or “we”) are frequently omitted in Japanese when they’re clear from context. If you’re the one speaking about your routine, the subject 私 (“I”) is understood and doesn’t need to be stated.
Could you say 試験前に運動します by dropping の, and would it change the meaning?
No—試験前に without の is ungrammatical here. You need の to link 試験 and 前, turning them into the time expression “before the exam.”
Is the time expression always placed at the beginning of a Japanese sentence?
Not strictly, but it’s very common to put time words or phrases (like 試験の前に) before the main clause. Japanese generally follows a flexible Word Order, but Time-Object-Verb (T-O-V) is a frequent pattern.
Can you use other verbs instead of します with 運動?
Yes, if you want to emphasize the action itself, you could say 運動する in plain form or even more specific verbs like ジョギングをする (“to go jogging”) or ランニングをする (“to go running”), depending on the type of exercise.