Breakdown of watasi ha mada atarasii kisoku wo sirimasen.
はha
topic particle
私watasi
I
をwo
direct object particle
新しいatarasii
new
まだmada
yet
知るsiru
to know
規則kisoku
rule
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha mada atarasii kisoku wo sirimasen.
Why is the particle は used after 私 instead of が?
は is the topic marker in Japanese. When you say 私 は, you’re signaling “As for me, …” Using が would make 私 the grammatical subject in a neutral or new-information context. Here, you’re setting 私 as the already-understood topic (“As for me, I still don’t know…”).
What part of speech is まだ, and what nuance does it add here?
まだ is an adverb meaning still or not yet. Combined with a negative verb, まだ … ません, it conveys “not yet (done).” In this sentence, まだ modifies 知りません, giving the nuance “I still don’t know” or “I don’t know … yet.”
Why does 知る take the object marker を in 新しい規則を知りません?
In Japanese, 知る (“to know”) is a transitive verb, so it requires a direct object marked by を. Here, 新しい規則 is what you don’t know, so it becomes 新しい規則 を 知りません.
What form is 知りません, and how is it different from 知らない?
知りません is the present polite negative form of 知る (dictionary form).
- Polite negative: 知りません
- Plain (casual) negative: 知らない
Use 知りません in formal or polite contexts, and 知らない with friends or in casual speech.
Could I say 知っていません instead of 知りません?
You could, but it’s less common.
- 知りません (or 知らない) is the standard way to express “I don’t know.”
- 知っていません literally emphasizes “I am in the state of not having known.” It sounds more wordy and is seldom used for everyday “I don’t know.”
Why does the verb 知りません come at the end of the sentence?
Japanese typically follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order. The verb almost always appears at the very end of a clause or sentence, after its subject and any objects or adverbs.
Why is 新しい placed before 規則?
In Japanese, adjectives come before the nouns they modify. 新しい is an i-adjective modifying 規則 (“rules”), so 新しい規則 means “new rules.”
Why is the particle は written as は but pronounced wa here?
Though spelled は, when used as the topic particle it’s always pronounced wa. This is a historical convention: the hiragana は serves two roles—one as the syllable “ha” inside words, and one as the topic particle pronounced “wa.”
Can I omit 私は and just say まだ新しい規則を知りません?
Yes. Japanese often drops the topic when it’s clear from context. まだ新しい規則を知りません still clearly means “I don’t know the new rules yet,” as long as the listener knows you’re talking about yourself.
Why does the sentence use the word 規則 instead of the loanword ルール?
Both 規則 and ルール mean “rule(s).” 規則 is a Sino-Japanese word and sounds more formal or official, while ルール is a katakana loanword from English and feels more casual. In written or official contexts, 規則 is often preferred.