場所で動詞
Grammar meaning
This grammar point is used when doing something at a specific place.
By learning this grammar, you will be able to combine it with expressions like “場所へ行く”, “来る”, and “帰る” to make your conversations more specific and detailed.
For more about the grammar “場所へ行く / 来る / 帰る“, please check here.
In this grammar pattern, the place where an action happens and the action itself are connected using the particle “で”.
For example
・としょかんで本を読みます。
I read books at the library.
In this case, the action “本を読みます” takes place at a specific location, “としょかん”.
You can see that “としょかん” and “本を読みます” are connected by the particle “で”.
Example sentence
・きょうしつで日本語をべんきょうします。
I study Japanese in the classroom.
・友だちといっしょにレストランでばんごはんを食べました。
I ate dinner at a restaurant with my friend.
・Q:どこで買いましたか。
Q: Where did you buy it?
A:スーパーで買いました。
A: I bought it at the supermarket.
Additional notes
The particle “で” has a few other uses too, but you don’t need to learn them all right now.
For now, just make sure you understand how it works in this grammar point so you won’t get confused later when you learn the other meanings.
Also, it’s easy to mix up “で” with the particle “へ”, which you learned in the grammar for “場所へ行く”.
Use “へ” when you’re going to a place, and “で” when you’re doing something at a place.
Even if you know the difference, if you don’t pronounce “へ” and “で” clearly, Japanese people might not understand what you’re trying to say.
Conversation example
あなた：あしたは土よう日ですね。何をしますか。
友だち：そうですね。わたしはえいがを見ますよ。
あなた：いいですね。いえで見ますか。
友だち：いいえ、いえで見ません。えいがかんで見ます。
あなた：だれといっしょにえいがかんへ行きますか。
友だち：こいびとと行きます。
You: Tomorrow is Saturday, right? What are you going to do?
Friend: Hmm, I’m going to watch a movie.
You: Sounds good. Are you going to watch it at home?
Friend: No, not at home. I’m going to watch it at the movie theater.
You: Who are you going to the movie theater with?
Friend: I’m going with my boyfriend (or girlfriend).
For Japanese Teachers
As mentioned earlier, the particle “で” has several different uses.
There is no need to emphasize this too strongly at this stage, but if students have already learned other uses of “で”, be sure to clearly distinguish this one to avoid confusion.
It may also be difficult for some learners to differentiate this grammar from the “動詞 + に + 行きます” pattern.
When teaching both, it may be helpful to focus on whether the expression is used to indicate a purpose “動詞 + に + 行きます” or simply to describe an action performed at a specific location “場所 + で +動詞 “.
