6

The textbook Japanese for busy people 1 tells me, in lesson 6, that "relative time expressions like あした, らいしゅう, こんげつ and きょねん generally do not take any particles."
They exemplify this with sentences like:

スミスさんはあしたぎんこうにいきます。
チャンさんはきょねんにほんにきました。

One lesson later, they tell me that "unlike relative time expressions, specific time expressions take the particle に.

どようびに, 'on Saturday'
２００６ねんに, 'in 2006'"

They then provide these example sentences:

ジョンソンさんはらいしゅうのきんようびににほんにきます。
かいぎはすいようびです。

However, and contradicting the explanation given, the second example sentence does not take に. Furthermore, they do not provide any example as to why. Is there any rule that explains this? When do specific time expression take the に particle, and when don't they?

P.S.: I know no kanji, so please provide your answers in kana. Thank you.

Earthliŋ
  • 47,707
  • 9
  • 125
  • 198
JNat
  • 928
  • 1
  • 10
  • 23
  • 2
    possible duplicate of [Why is it that some temporal nouns cannot be marked with に? And why do they become more acceptable with には?](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/6100/why-is-it-that-some-temporal-nouns-cannot-be-marked-with-%e3%81%ab-and-why-do-they-beco) – Flaw Mar 18 '13 at 14:33
  • 3
    I think the question about "かいぎはすいようびです" is not covered by the possible duplicate. – Earthliŋ Mar 18 '13 at 15:37
  • 4
    I agree. I looked at the link and did not see an answer to the question about 「かいぎはすいようびです」. Remember, only close as a duplicate [if the original has an **answer** that applies to this question](http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/166707/changes-to-close-as-duplicate-part-deux). –  Mar 18 '13 at 15:42

1 Answers1

5

About the question that isn't covered by the link Flaw provided:

However, and contradicting the explanation given, the second example sentence does not take に.

This is because here it is not an adverb nor a pronoun. Here です is a copula linking かいぎ to すいようび.

に would be correct when you have a different verb, as in

かいぎはすいようびにあります。

Earthliŋ
  • 47,707
  • 9
  • 125
  • 198
  • I see. Does this only happen with です? – JNat Mar 18 '13 at 16:06
  • 2
    Depends how you count, but when you consider だ and で as different forms of です, then it only happens with です (and its two other incarnations). In other words, there is only one copula in Japanese, which inflects to です, だ and で. Each of these may act as copula, and if it does, then a time reference, like すいようび, is not an adverb and doesn't take に. – Earthliŋ Mar 18 '13 at 16:41