「はい／いいえ」だけじゃない｜Trying to Say More in Japanese

When I check homework, I don’t only look at whether the grammar is correct.

I also look at how much the student tried to express.

The homework question was:

あなたの国では、レストランでたばこを吸ってもいいですか。
In your country, can people smoke in restaurants?

A simple answer could have been:

はい、いいです。
or
いいえ、いけません。

But my student tried to say more:

最近になって、吸っていいませんが二十年前に吸ってもいいでした。

The student was trying to compare now with 20 years ago and give more information than the minimum answer.

What sounds more natural?

A more natural version is:

最近は、吸ってはいけませんが、二十年前は吸ってもよかったです。
Nowadays, people are not allowed to smoke, but twenty years ago it was okay to smoke.

There were a few points to correct:

吸っていいませんが → 吸ってはいけませんが
二十年前に → 二十年前は
吸ってもいいでした → 吸ってもよかったです

More than just grammar

What I liked most was that the student tried to express more than a simple yes or no.

Even when the grammar needs correction, I value the effort to add information, compare ideas, and say something more meaningful.

Little by little, this is how students build richer and more natural Japanese. 😊