Breakdown of tugi no zyugyou ha zyuuzi ni hazimarimasu.
はha
topic particle
のno
possessive case particle
にni
time particle
始まるhazimaru
to start
十時zyuuzi
ten o'clock
授業zyugyou
class
次tugi
next
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.
Questions & Answers about tugi no zyugyou ha zyuuzi ni hazimarimasu.
How do you read 次の授業?
You read it as つぎのじゅぎょう (tsugi no jugyō). Breaking it down: 次 (つぎ), の (no), 授業 (じゅぎょう).
What does the particle の do in 次の授業?
の is the genitive (possessive/attributive) particle. It links 次 (“next”) and 授業 (“class”), so 次の授業 literally means “the class of next,” i.e. “the next class.”
What is the function of the particle は in 次の授業は?
は marks 次の授業 as the topic of the sentence—it tells the listener “I’m talking about the next class.” It’s more natural for presenting a schedule. If you used が, you’d be simply stating a fact (“the next class starts…”) rather than introducing a topic.
What does 十時に mean, and why is に used here?
十時に means “at ten o’clock.” The particle に marks a specific point in time when something happens. Without に, you’d lose that “at [that exact time]” nuance.
How do you read 十時, and why is 時 read as じ instead of とき?
You read 十時 as じゅうじ (juu-ji). When counting hours, Japanese uses the on-yomi (Chinese reading) of 時, which is じ, rather than the kun-yomi とき.
What does 始まります mean, and how does it relate to 始まる?
始まります is the polite present‐affirmative form of 始まる, which means “to begin” or “to start” (intransitive). So 始まります means “(it) begins” or “will begin” in a polite register.
What’s the difference between 始まる and 始める?
始まる is intransitive: something starts by itself (“the show begins”). 始める is transitive: someone actively starts something (“I start the show”). In our sentence, the class begins on its own schedule, so we use 始まる.
What level of formality is expressed by the -ます ending in 始まります?
The -ます form is polite (丁寧語). It’s the standard way to talk in a polite or semi‐formal context, such as talking to strangers, teachers, or in announcements.
Can you place 十時に at the very beginning of the sentence? How would that change the nuance?
Yes. You could say 十時に次の授業は始まります. Placing 十時に first emphasizes the time (“At ten o’clock…”), then you introduce the topic 次の授業は. The original order (topic → time → verb) is neutral; fronting the time shifts the listener’s focus to “ten o’clock.”
How would you turn this into a question: “When does the next class start?”
You’d say 次の授業はいつ始まりますか？ Here いつ means “when,” and か at the end makes it a polite question.