Questions and Demonstratives
Asking When an Event or Action Happens
The Japanese question word いつ is used to ask when something happens, such as a scheduled event or a specific action. Unlike specific clock times that use 何時, いつ is a flexible word that covers days, months, years, or general timeframes. Because it is a relative time word, いつ stands alone in a sentence and does not take the specific time particle に.
01Main Functions
Asking for the Date or Day of an Event
いつ is used with the polite copula ですか to ask when a scheduled event, occasion, or appointment takes place.
誕生日はいつですか。
When is (your) birthday?
Asking When an Action Happens
Place いつ before an action verb to ask when someone will do something or when an action took place.
いつ日本へ行きますか。
When will (you) go to Japan?
Asking for Starting and Ending Times
いつ combines with the particles から and まで to ask when a state or event begins or ends.
会議はいつからですか。
When does the meeting start?
02Sentence Pattern
noun + は + いつ + ですか
テストはいつですか。
When is the test?
Use this pattern to ask about the timing of a noun, such as an event, schedule, or special day. The topic particle は marks the event as the topic.
いつ + verb + ますか
いつ帰りますか。
When will (you) return?
Place いつ directly before a present or future action verb to ask when that action will happen. Do not attach the time particle に after いつ.
いつ + verb + ましたか
いつ買いましたか。
When did (you) buy (it)?
Use いつ with a past-tense verb to ask when an action took place in the past.
noun + は + いつ + から + ですか
冬休みはいつからですか。
When does winter vacation start?
Combine いつ with から to ask when a continuous event or period starts.
noun + は + いつ + まで + ですか
仕事はいつまでですか。
When does work end?
Combine いつ with まで to ask when a continuous event or period finishes.
いつ + から + verb + ますか
いつから働きますか。
When will (you) start working?
いつから is used directly with an action verb to ask when someone will start doing an ongoing action.
いつ + まで + verb + ますか
いつまで日本にいますか。
How long will (you) be in Japan?
Use いつまで with a verb of existence or state to ask how long that state will continue.
03Example Sentences
誕生日はいつですか。
When is (your) birthday?
いつ is used with the polite copula ですか to ask for the date of a personal event.
夏休みはいつですか。
When is summer vacation?
The topic particle は marks the event you are asking about.
田中さんのパーティーはいつですか。
When is Mr. Tanaka's party?
いつ asks about the schedule of specific occasions like a party.
いつ日本へ行きますか。
When will (you) go to Japan?
Place いつ before a present or future action verb. いつ does not take the time particle に.
お兄さんはいつ来ますか。
When will (your) older brother come?
いつ is used to ask when someone else will perform an action.
いつ新しい車を買いましたか。
When did (you) buy a new car?
Combine いつ with a past-tense verb to ask when an action occurred in the past.
いつ日本に来ましたか。
When did (you) come to Japan?
いつ stands alone at the beginning of the sentence to ask about a past arrival.
いつ忙しいですか。
When are (you) busy?
いつ pairs with an i-adjective to ask when a certain state occurs.
仕事はいつからですか。
When does work start?
Combine いつ with the starting particle から to ask when a scheduled activity begins.
会議はいつまでですか。
When does the meeting end?
Use いつ with the ending particle まで to ask when a continuous event finishes.
いつから日本語を勉強しますか。
When will (you) start studying Japanese?
いつから is used directly with an action verb to ask when someone will start doing something.
いつまで会社にいますか。
How long will (you) be at the company?
Combine いつまで with an existence verb like います to ask how long a state will continue.
テストはいつ？
When is the test?
In casual conversation, ですか can be dropped. Just use a rising intonation to ask a question.
いつ帰るの？
When will (you) return?
The casual question particle の is used with a dictionary-form verb to casually ask when an action will happen.
04Comparisons
いつ vs. 何時
いつ is a general question word meaning when, used to ask for a day, month, or general timeframe. 何時 specifically asks what time, referring to hours on a clock.
いつ来ますか。
When will (you) come?
何時に来ますか。
What time will (you) come?
いつ vs. 何日
いつ asks broadly when an event will happen, while 何日 is strictly used to ask what day of the month a date falls on.
テストはいつですか。
When is the test?
テストは何日ですか。
What day of the month is the test?
いつ vs. 何曜日
いつ is used for a general timeframe. 何曜日 is used when you specifically want to know the day of the week an event happens.
休みはいつですか。
When is (your) day off?
休みは何曜日ですか。
What day of the week is (your) day off?
05Nuance and Usage
The question word いつ is highly versatile because it can cover almost any timeframe. Unlike specific question words like 何時 or 何曜日, いつ allows the listener to answer with a month, a year, a day, or a general time of day.
いつ is a relative time word. Specific times on the clock or calendar dates take the particle に. However, relative time words like いつ, 今日, and 明日 stand alone and never take the time particle に.
When forming polite questions, pay attention to the word before the question particle. For nouns, na-adjectives, and i-adjectives, ですか is used to make a polite question, as in テストはいつですか. In contrast, verbs use the polite ending ますか, as in いつ行きますか. These endings are not mixed.
06Core Explanation
The Japanese question word いつ is used to ask when something happens, such as a scheduled event or a specific action.
The question word いつ is the standard Japanese way to ask when an event occurs. It is highly versatile and can point to a day, a month, a year, or a general timeframe, making it useful for broad time questions.
When asking when a specific event takes place, use the noun + は + いつ + ですか pattern. The event or occasion is the topic, marked by は, and the phrase いつですか politely asks for its timing. This structure is suited for asking about birthdays, meetings, holidays, or school terms.
To ask when someone performs an action, place いつ before the verb. A critical rule for Japanese learners is that いつ is considered a relative time word. This means that unlike specific days of the week or numerical months, いつ never takes the specific time particle に. Saying いつに is ungrammatical; いつ stands alone in the sentence.
The starting and ending particles から and まで attach directly to いつ. Asking いつから or いつまで is useful for finding out the duration of an event, such as store opening hours, a vacation period, or how long someone plans to stay in a location.
While いつ is highly flexible, it differs from other time-related question words. To know a specific hour on the clock, ask 何時 instead of いつ. Similarly, to know the exact calendar date, 何日 is a more precise choice. いつ serves as the broader question word for when an event takes place.
07Common Mistakes
Wrong
いつに日本へ行きますか。
Correct
いつ日本へ行きますか。
Why: いつ is a relative time word. It does not take the specific time particle に.
Wrong
パーティーはいつますか。
Correct
パーティーはいつですか。
Why: パーティー is a noun. Nouns, na-adjectives, and i-adjectives take ですか in polite questions. The ますか ending is for verbs.
Wrong
いつ帰りますですか。
Correct
いつ帰りますか。
Why: The verb 帰る becomes 帰りますか in a polite question. Do not add ですか after a polite verb.
Wrong
いつ時から仕事ですか。
Correct
何時から仕事ですか。
Why: いつ cannot attach to counter suffixes like 時. To ask what time an event starts, use 何時.
Wrong
いつ曜日に行きますか。
Correct
何曜日に行きますか。
Why: To ask what day of the week an event happens, use the specific question word 何曜日, not いつ.
Wrong
いつからまで仕事ですか。
Correct
いつからいつまで仕事ですか。
Why: To ask both the starting point and the ending point, いつ is repeated for both particles, creating the phrase いつからいつまで. You cannot combine から and まで immediately after a single いつ.
08Questions
Can I use いつ to ask for the exact time on a clock?
While you will be understood, it is much more natural to use 何時 when you want to know a specific hour. いつ is better suited for broader timeframes like days, months, or general parts of the day.
Why does いつ not take the particle に?
In Japanese, relative time words that change based on the current moment, such as いつ, 今日, and 明日, do not take the specific time particle に. Only absolute times, like specific clock hours or calendar dates, require に.
Can I use いつ with adjectives?
Yes, いつ is placed before an adjective to ask when a state occurs, such as いつ忙しいですか. Adjectives, like nouns, use ですか for polite questions.
09Mini Practice
- 01
会議は（ ）ですか。
- 02
When will (you) return to Japan?
Tap the pieces in the correct order.
- 03
夏休みはいつ（ ）ですか。
- 04
(Asking a coworker) いつの会社へ行きますか。
- 05
映画は（ ）にはじまりますか。
- 06
いつ大阪へ（ ）。
- 07
When does work end?
Tap the pieces in the correct order.
- 08
(Asking a new acquaintance politely) 誕生日はいつですか。
Summary
Learner Summary
- いつ is the standard Japanese question word for asking when an event or action happens.
- For scheduled events, use the noun + は + いつ + ですか pattern to politely ask when they occur.
- For actions, place いつ before the action verb, and end the question with the polite verb ending ますか.
- Because いつ is a relative time word, it never takes the specific time particle に.
- いつ combines with から and まで to ask when a state or event starts or how long it continues.
10Study Map
Study Info
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