Breakdown of watasitati no musuko ha supootu ga daisukiki de, houkago ni tomodati to sakkaa wo simasu.
Questions & Answers about watasitati no musuko ha supootu ga daisukiki de, houkago ni tomodati to sakkaa wo simasu.
Japanese usually makes the person or thing being talked about the topic with は.
- 私たちはスポーツが大好きで… would mean “We love sports and…” (it’s about us).
- 私たちの息子はスポーツが大好きで… means “Our son loves sports and…” (it’s about our son).
Here the speaker wants to describe the son’s habits and preferences, so 息子 is the topic. 私たち is only there to say whose son he is.
の here is a possessive marker, similar to ’s or “of” in English.
- 私たち = we / us
- 息子 = son
- 私たちの息子 = our son (literally “we’s son”)
Basic pattern:
- A の B → B that belongs to / is related to A
- 私の本 = my book
- 田中さんの車 = Tanaka’s car
- 日本のアニメ = Japanese anime (anime of Japan)
This pattern is very common with likes, dislikes, abilities, etc.:
X は Y が 好き / 嫌い / 上手 / 下手 …
(As for X, Y is liked / disliked / [something] by X.)
- 息子は – sets the son as the topic (“as for our son…”).
- スポーツが – marks sports as the specific thing that fits the description.
- 大好き – the description: “really likes / loves”.
So the structure is:
- (Topic) は (what the feeling is about) が (adjective)
- 私は 音楽が 好きです。 – I like music.
- 彼は 日本語が 上手です。 – He is good at Japanese.
- 私たちの息子は スポーツが 大好きです。 – Our son loves sports.
You can say スポーツは大好き, but it sounds a bit different.
スポーツが大好き:
- Neutral, natural way to say “(he) loves sports.”
- が marks the thing that is loved.
スポーツは大好き:
- Emphasizes sports in contrast to something else:
- e.g. “As for sports, he really loves them (but maybe he doesn’t like other things).”
- It can sound contrastive or like you’re comparing.
- Emphasizes sports in contrast to something else:
In basic “X likes Y” sentences, Y が 好き is the standard pattern, so スポーツが大好き is the most natural here.
大好き (だいすき) is a na-adjective / adjectival noun.
- Dictionary form: 大好きだ
- It behaves like 好きだ, 静かだ, 有名だ, etc.
Examples:
- スポーツが大好きだ。 – (I) love sports.
- 猫が大好きです。 – I really like cats.
- 彼は音楽が大好きな人です。 – He is a person who loves music.
So it’s not a verb like “to love”; instead, it’s more like “is very-liked / is beloved.”
Structural idea:
- X は Y が 大好きだ。 → As for X, Y is very-liked (by X).
This で is not the location particle. It’s the て-form of the copula after a na-adjective.
- Plain form: スポーツが大好きだ。
- て-form (to connect to the next part): スポーツが大好きで、〜
So:
- 大好きだ → 大好きで (linking form)
It’s used to connect two clauses:
スポーツが大好きで、放課後に友達とサッカーをします。
He loves sports, and (so) he plays soccer with his friends after school.
The nuance can be:
- simply adding information (“loves sports, and…”), or
- cause/result-like (“because he loves sports, he plays soccer…”), depending on context.
に often marks a specific point in time:
- ３時に – at 3 o’clock
- 日曜日に – on Sunday
- 来週に – next week
放課後 (ほうかご) means “after school” and can act like a time expression:
- 放課後にサッカーをします。 – (He) plays soccer after school.
In everyday speech, に after time expressions is often optional:
- 放課後サッカーをします。 – also fine.
So 放課後に is just the more explicit “at / in / after school time” marking.
Here, と means “with” in the sense of together with someone.
- 友達とサッカーをします。
- Literally: “(He) does soccer with friends.”
- Natural: “He plays soccer with his friends.”
General pattern:
- X と 一緒に 行きます。 – go together with X.
- 家族と住んでいます。 – live with (my) family.
- 彼女と映画を見ます。 – watch a movie with her.
So 友達と = “with (his) friends (as companions/partners).”
In Japanese, many sports and activities are treated as direct objects of the verb する (to do):
- サッカーをする – to play soccer
- テニスをする – to play tennis
- 勉強をする – to study
- ゲームをする – to play games
So:
- サッカー = soccer
- サッカーをします = (he) does soccer → plays soccer.
The particle を marks what is being done.
Yes. Japanese word order is quite flexible as long as the particles stay with the right words and the verb comes at the end.
These are all natural:
- 放課後に友達とサッカーをします。
- 放課後、友達とサッカーをします。 (omit に)
- 友達と放課後にサッカーをします。
- 友達とサッカーを放課後にします。 (a bit marked; emphasizes “after school”)
The most neutral-sounding choices here are probably:
- 放課後（に）、友達とサッカーをします。
- 友達と、放課後サッカーをします。 (slightly casual)
Key rule: particles (に, と, を) must stay attached to their nouns, and します must remain at the end.
Japanese usually does not mark singular vs. plural explicitly.
- スポーツが大好き can mean:
- “(He) loves sport (as an activity in general),” or
- “(He) loves sports,”
depending on context and on how you translate it into natural English.
So in this sentence:
- English: “Our son loves sports.”
- Japanese: 息子はスポーツが大好きです。
There is no separate plural form like “sportses”; it’s the same スポーツ in both cases.
Yes, but it changes the politeness level and style.
サッカーをします。
- Polite form (with を and します)
- Suitable for neutral/polite conversation.
サッカーする。
- Casual/plain form.
- Often drops を in speech: サッカーする (especially among younger speakers).
So:
- Polite: 放課後に友達とサッカーをします。
- Casual: 放課後、友達とサッカーする。
In a textbook-like, polite example, サッカーをします is the expected form.
Yes. Japanese frequently omits information that is clear from context.
Depending on who you’re talking to and what’s already known, you might say:
- 息子はスポーツが大好きで、放課後に友達とサッカーをします。
(omit 私たちの if it’s obvious it’s your son)
In a context where everyone already knows you’re talking about your child, you might go even shorter:
- スポーツが大好きで、放課後は友達とサッカーしてます。
(subject “he / my son” is completely omitted)
The full 私たちの息子は… is clear and textbook-style, but real speech often drops redundant parts.
私たちの息子 is perfectly correct and clear, especially in neutral written or formal spoken Japanese.
In everyday speech, people often use:
- 息子 (just “son”) – when context makes it clear whose son.
- うちの子 – literally “our house’s child,” very common and casual:
- うちの子はスポーツが大好きで…
- うちの息子 – “our son” (more personal, home-ish nuance):
- うちの息子はスポーツが大好きで…
So:
- Textbook / neutral: 私たちの息子はスポーツが大好きで…
- Very natural conversational alternative: うちの息子はスポーツが大好きで…