In Japanese there is no single word for and, which can be used to connect nouns, verbs, and sentences together like in English. Instead there are a variety of words and conjugations employed for this purpose. In this lesson we introduce そして, for linking sentences, and と, for nouns.
Using both of these words is straightforward. For そして, the word is placed at the beginning of the second of two sentences you want to connect, while と is inserted between two nouns. Check out the sentences below for some examples.
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| I went to school and saw friends. | 学校 に 行きました。 そして、 友だち に 会いました。gakkou ni ikimasita. sosite, tomodati ni aimasita. |
| Somalia and Morocco are in Africa. | ソマリア と モロッコ は アフリカ に あります。somaria to morokko ha ahurika ni arimasu. |
| He will do the shopping, and make dinner. | 彼 は 買い物 を します。 そして、 夜ごはん を 作ります。kare ha kaimono wo simasu. sosite, yorugohan wo tukurimasu. |
| My father and I are salesmen. | お父さん と 私 は セールスマン です。otousan to watasi ha seerusuman desu. |
