watasi ha senpuuki wo tukatte heya wo suzusiku simasu.

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Questions & Answers about watasi ha senpuuki wo tukatte heya wo suzusiku simasu.

Why does this sentence have two を (in 扇風機を and 部屋を)? Can a sentence have two direct objects?

Yes, a Japanese sentence can have more than one if there are multiple verbs (or verb phrases) inside it.

Your sentence actually contains two verb phrases:

  1. 扇風機を使って

    • Verb: 使う (to use)
    • Object: 扇風機を (fan)
  2. 部屋を涼しくします

    • Verb: 涼しくする (to make something cool)
    • Object: 部屋を (room)

The て-form 使って links the first action to the second:
(扇風機を使って) → (部屋を涼しくします)
“Using a fan, (I) make the room cool.”

So:

  • 扇風機を is the object of 使って.
  • 部屋を is the object of 涼しくします.

They are not two objects of one verb; they belong to different verbs that are joined together.

What exactly is 使って? How is it related to 使う?

使って is the て-form of the verb 使う (to use).

Basic pattern:

  • Dictionary form: 使う
  • て-form: 使って

In this sentence, the て-form is used to show how / by what means you do the main action:

  • 扇風機を使って = “by using a fan” / “using a fan,”
  • followed by 部屋を涼しくします (I make the room cool).

So structurally it’s:

(扇風機を使って) → “using a fan,”
(部屋を涼しくします) → “I make the room cool.”

Why 扇風機を使って instead of 扇風機で? Are 〜を使って and 〜で the same?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance difference.

  • 扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします。
    “I make the room cool by using a fan.”
    → Explicitly mentions the action of using the fan.

  • 扇風機で部屋を涼しくします。
    “I make the room cool with a fan / by means of a fan.”
    → Focuses more on the fan as a tool/means, and less on the verb “use.”

They often overlap in meaning.
〜を使って:

  • stresses the using action
    〜で:
  • is a more general “with / by / using” tool marker

In everyday speech, both would be understood; 扇風機を使って〜 sounds a bit more explicit and “complete” as a description of what you are doing.

What does 涼しくします literally mean? How does 涼しい become 涼しく?

涼しい is an い-adjective meaning “cool (temperature).”

To make it into 涼しくします, two things happen:

  1. Change the adjective to its -く form:

    • 涼しい → 涼しく
      This is the adverbial / continuative form of the adjective.
  2. Add する (to do / to make):

    • 涼しくする = “to make (something) cool”

So:

  • 部屋を涼しくします literally = “(I) make the room cool.”

Pattern:

  • い-adjective: 暑い (hot), きれいじゃない type excluded
  • Adjective + する for “make X [adjective]”:
    • 暑い → 暑くする = make (something) hot
    • 新しい → 新しくする = make (something) new
    • 涼しい → 涼しくする = make (something) cool
Is 涼しく an adverb here? Why isn’t it 涼しい?

Formally, 涼しく is the -く form of the i-adjective 涼しい, which often acts like an adverb (e.g. 涼しく吹く = “to blow coolly”).

But with する, this combination behaves like:

[object] + を + [adjective-く] + する
= “to make the object [adjective]”

So in 部屋を涼しくします:

  • 部屋を = the object to be changed
  • 涼しく = target state: “cool”
  • します = do/make (polite)

It’s better to think of 涼しくする as a fixed grammar pattern meaning “make X cool”, not just “adverb + do.”

Why 部屋を涼しくします and not 部屋が涼しくなります? What’s the difference?

They describe similar results but from different grammatical viewpoints:

  • 部屋を涼しくします。
    “I make the room cool.”

    • Focus: what I do to the room
    • 部屋を: the thing I actively affect (direct object)
    • Verb: 涼しくする (transitive)
  • 部屋が涼しくなります。
    “The room becomes cool.”

    • Focus: the room’s change of state
    • 部屋が: the thing that changes on its own (subject)
    • Verb: 涼しくなる (intransitive)

So:

  • Use 〜を涼しくする when you’re actively causing the change.
  • Use 〜が涼しくなる when talking about the change itself, not who caused it.
Why is it 部屋を涼しくします, not 部屋が涼しくします?

Because in this pattern [noun]を[adjective-く]する, the noun is the object, not the subject.

  • 部屋を涼しくする = “to make the room cool”
    • 部屋 is being changed by someone, so it’s marked with .

If you said 部屋が涼しくします, it would literally mean:

“The room makes (something) cool.”

That would require another object (what is being made cool?), and is not what you intend. The subject doing the action here is (私), and the room is the thing being affected, so it takes .

What is the role of in 私は? Can I omit ?

is the topic marker. 私は sets up “as for me / I” as the topic of the sentence.

In natural Japanese:

  • If it’s obvious from context who the subject is, is often omitted.
  • Your sentence can very naturally become:
    扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします。

That still means “I use a fan and make the room cool,” as long as context makes “I” clear.

So:

  • 私は扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします。
    Slightly more explicit; can be used when introducing yourself or contrasting with others.
  • 扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします。
    Very normal in everyday conversation when “I” is understood.
Why is it します and not する or しました?

する is the plain form; します is the polite non-past form.

  • 涼しくする → plain, informal “make (something) cool”
  • 涼しくします → polite, present/future “make (something) cool”

Non-past in Japanese covers:

  • general habits: “I (usually) do …”
  • future plans: “I will do …”

If you wanted past tense:

  • 涼しくしました = “(I) made (it) cool.”

So します is chosen because:

  • the sentence is in polite style, and
  • it’s describing a habit or future action, not a completed past event.
Is the subject here? How do I know what the subject is in this sentence?

Yes, is the topic, and in this context it also functions as the subject (the doer of the actions).

Structure:

  • 私は → topic (and logical subject: “I”)
  • 扇風機を使って → using a fan (what I do)
  • 部屋を涼しくします → make the room cool (main action)

Japanese often omits explicit subject markers like when the subject is obvious, especially when is used. So you can think of it as:

(私が) 扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします。

The is not written, but 私は is enough to show “I” is the one performing the actions.

Can I change the word order? For example, is 私は部屋を扇風機を使って涼しくします okay?

Word order in Japanese is more flexible than in English, but you must keep logical chunks together.

Natural options:

  • 私は扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします。
  • 扇風機を使って、私は部屋を涼しくします。 (a bit marked / contrastive)
  • 部屋を涼しくするために、私は扇風機を使います。 (slightly different structure)

私は部屋を扇風機を使って涼しくします sounds awkward because:

  • 部屋を and 扇風機を使って get interleaved in a confusing way.
  • It breaks the natural unit 扇風機を使って (using a fan) as the manner for the main verb.

A good rule:

  • Keep phrases that belong together (like 扇風機を使って) side by side.
  • The main clause here is 部屋を涼しくします, and 扇風機を使って describes how you do that. Put them together, without splitting them with 部屋を in the middle.
Is there a difference between saying 扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします and 部屋を涼しくするために扇風機を使います?

Yes, the focus changes:

  1. 扇風機を使って部屋を涼しくします。

    • Main action: 部屋を涼しくします (make the room cool)
    • 扇風機を使って = how/with what you do it
      → “I make the room cool by using a fan.”
  2. 部屋を涼しくするために扇風機を使います。

    • Main action: 扇風機を使います (I use a fan)
    • 部屋を涼しくするために = for the purpose of making the room cool
      → “I use a fan in order to make the room cool.”

Semantically similar, but:

  • First: emphasizes the result on the room.
  • Second: emphasizes the act of using the fan and states the purpose.
Could I say エアコン instead of 扇風機 in this pattern?

Yes, grammatically it’s the same:

  • エアコンを使って部屋を涼しくします。
    “I use the air conditioner to make the room cool.”

Just vocabulary:

  • 扇風機 = fan (usually an electric fan)
  • エアコン = air conditioner (AC unit)

The grammar ([tool]を使って[object]を[adjective-く]します) stays exactly the same.