62099
I have a question about Japanese reports. I am studying at a university in
Japan. And when I came here, I found out that Japanese people use ～だ instead
～です, ～たinstead ～ます and so on. And it seems rude to me. I'm afraid that I could
misunderstand something and do it incorrectly. Are there any words I should
avoid in the reports? How to use grammatical forms in reports? Which words to
use and which not?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-10T15:10:36.860
62098
2018-10-10T15:47:41.303
19672
question
grammar written-language
Japanese reports
Yes, plain form is a standard for writing reports. In fact, 新完全マスター文法N3 has a
chapter on this topic, on page 142. Here is what it says:

> In order to ensure a unified tone, casual and formal language are not used
> together. You should also adhere to a single register, whether using 丁寧体 (です
> and ます) or 普通体 (だ or である) verb forms.
>
> Formal language used in reports and articles should use the 普通体 (だ or である)
> forms. In addition, for continuity, the て form can also be replaced as
> follows:
>
>   * 文法の小説を **読み** 、例文を見た後で練習問題を **し** 、答えを確認する
>

>
> In formal language, colloquially abbreviated forms (like みなきゃ) and omission
> of particles are not acceptable.

From there, the book gives a small table that compares the differences between
expressions in formal language vs daily language:

> "formal" vs "daily language"
>
>   * 非常に・大変 vs すごく
>   * 多く・大勢 vs いっぱい
>   * 少し vs ちょっと
>   * やはり vs やっぱり
>   * さまざまな・いろいろな vs いろんな
>   * 述べる・話す・言う vs しゃべる
>   * 行う vs やる
>   * しかし・だが vs でも・だけど
>   * なぜ vs なんで
>   * ～など vs なんか
>   * ～と・～という・～そうだ vs ～って
>   * ～ようだ・～らしい vs ～みたいだ
>

Still, at the end of the day, to get a detailed conclusive answer, you have to
consider the standards of writing in your field of study. You can probably
find books and style guides on that topic.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-10T15:34:49.137
62099
2018-10-10T15:47:41.303
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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62098
answer