Breakdown of soutyou ni tori no koe wo kikimasita.
をwo
direct object particle
のno
possessive case particle
にni
time particle
声koe
voice
聞くkiku
to hear
早朝soutyou
early morning
鳥tori
bird
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.
Questions & Answers about soutyou ni tori no koe wo kikimasita.
Why do we use に after 早朝?
In Japanese, when you want to indicate the time at which something happens, you generally mark that time with the particle に. 早朝 is a noun meaning “early morning,” so by saying 早朝に, you’re specifying “at early morning” or “during the dawn hours.” Without に, the time phrase wouldn’t be properly linked to the verb.
Can we omit に after 早朝?
Some time expressions (like 昨日, 今日, 明日) naturally omit に, but 早朝 is treated as a more formal noun and normally requires に. If you drop it—早朝鳥の声を聞きました—it sounds awkward or ungrammatical. Stick with 早朝に.
What’s the role of の in 鳥の声?
The particle の links two nouns and shows possession or a descriptive relationship. Here, 鳥の声 literally means “the bird’s voice,” which we interpret as “birdsong.” The first noun (鳥) modifies the second noun (声).
Why do we use を before 聞きました?
In Japanese, the direct object of a verb takes the particle を. Since 鳥の声 is what you “heard,” you mark it with を: 鳥の声を聞きました.
Why is there no subject (like 私は) in this sentence?
Japanese frequently omits subjects when they’re clear from context. In this sentence, we understand from the situation (and from the English gloss) that the speaker is the one who heard the birds. Adding 私は isn’t wrong, but it’s redundant unless you need to emphasize “I.”
Could I say 鳥が声を聞きました instead?
No. 鳥が声を聞きました would mean “The birds heard a voice.” In Japanese, が marks the subject (the doer), and 声を聞く means “to hear a voice.” If you want to express “the birds chirped,” you’d say 鳥が鳴きました, using 鳴く (to chirp, to sing).
Why is the verb in the past tense 聞きました rather than the present tense 聞きます?
You use the past tense (聞きました) because you’re describing something that already happened this morning. If you said 聞きます, it could imply a habitual action (“I listen to bird sounds every morning”) or a plan for the future.
Is 聞きました polite or casual? What would be the casual form?
聞きました is the polite past form of 聞く. In casual speech among friends or family, you’d use 聞いた for the past tense. The casual sentence would be 早朝に鳥の声を聞いた.