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How would "I had an exam yesterday" be translated?

> きのうテストをありました。
>
> きのうテストをしました。

If both of the above are correct, what is the difference between them?
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2014-01-08T09:05:10.283
14099
2014-01-13T00:08:10.613
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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question
grammar particles
How are these translations of "I had an exam yesterday" different?
First, there is a grammatical mistake. Your first sentence needs to use `が`,
not `を`.

As for the difference, a literal translation should make it clear.

> きのうテストがありました.

This means, "there was a test yesterday."

> きのうテストをしました。

"Yesterday, (I) tested." Note this seems a little incomplete. For this
sentence to work, we'd need to know the context of what was tested. It could
_maybe_ be an answer to a question, something like, `実験の結果はいつテストをしましたか？` But
I'm told that's a little awkward.

In any case, if you wanted to say you had taken a test yesterday, and
emphasize your participation, as opposed to the simple existence of the test
(which is what your first example does), you would say something like
`昨日、先生にテストされた`, which is, "yesterday, (I) was tested by my teacher."
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2014-01-08T09:42:11.270
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2014-01-10T05:02:12.480
2014-01-10T05:02:12.480
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Your first sentence is almost grammatical. It has one big problem, though: ある
doesn't take a direct object (marked with を). If you replaced it with が, it
would be grammatical with the intended meaning:

> 昨日{きのう}テスト **が** ありました。

I think in this context you could also say 試験{しけん}:

> 昨日[試験]{しけん} **が** ありました。

Alternatively, you can use the verb 受{う}ける, saying you _took_ a test rather
than _had_ a test:

> 昨日テスト **を** 受{う}けました。

Notice the を here rather than が, because テスト is the direct object of 受けました.

Your second sentence is grammatical but テストをする wouldn't be my first choice to
express having a test. I think that phrase would be more likely if you were
giving someone else a test than taking one yourself.
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2014-01-08T10:02:21.870
14101
2014-01-08T10:02:21.870
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answer