Since I've been in Japan, I've had a boatload of language questions for Tony-sensei. He suggested I move our FB messaging to here for the general benefit of all. Not to mention you can ask your own questions.
My question:
"Can you give me a crash-course in the use of the "へ" particle? We were told in first year that it wasn't important and meant the same as "に," but on quizzes and hw here, I'm getting marked off for using ni over he. I have no idea what the difference is."
His response:
"Usually they're interchangeable, but there are some situations where へ is better. What kind of sentence are you getting marked off for?"
-It's mostly sentences like "学校へ来ます," just really simple stuff.
Please help me with the transitive/intransitive nature of a classroom request like "minasan,hirogatte-kudasai" referring to students spreading themselves out around the room...I know it sounds right but I think the transitive form is hirogeru which I think ought to be used here. How does one explain this grammatically. Thanks for taking time to answer.
なんでも will usually mean "anything", though you can't always use it in the same way that you do that word in English. For example, you can say
かれは なんでも たべる "He will eat anything"
なんでも いいよ "I don't care, whatever" (lit. "anything is good")
At the risk of confusing the issue, なんでも means "nothing" in the following negative phrasing
なんでも ない "Nothing / Never mind" (lit. "Not anything")
The more common "nothing" is なにも, which is normally only used with negative verbs
なにも たべて いません "<subj> hasn't / haven't eaten anything"
なにも しらない "<subj,> doesn't / don't know anything"
Does that answer your question?
Hey, Steve. I've been following your blog. I totally understand the mixed feelings about returning home. =)
It looks like you get the basics of らしい, so I won't talk about that. To fill in the gaps, you just have to realize that after adding the らしい suffix you've created an adjective, so all of the normal adjective rules apply. らしく is just the adverbial form of the adjective, so you use it when you want the word to modify a verb or another adjective. This will very commonly be done to modify ない, giving a meaning something like "unlike".
そんなことをするの、美香らしいね。 It's just like Mika to do something like that.
そんなことをするの、美香らしくないね。 It's so unlike Mika to do something like that.
The さ ending is the same as any time you want to make an adjective into a noun. So for example just like 暑さ means "heat", 男らしさ means "manliness". In the example you gave, only nouny things can be the direct object in a sentence, so this ending is needed.
らしい itself means something like "it seems / appearances are", and that's what it will usually mean when used alone (usually modified by a verb-ending phrase).
もう帰るらしいよ。 It looks like (we/they) are already leaving.
Does that make sense?
Mostly this question is for clarafication purposes.
We were just given Nらしい, Nらしく, and Nらしさ
Here's my breakdown of how they work
Nらしい = N -> Adj. Something is "nouny" or "nounish."
The easiest of the three, I have no problems using this, and frequently do.
However, I have trouble with the other two.
Nらしく = N -> Adv. Something is "nounly." I find this the most difficult of the three, I've heard this is used, but is uncommon, however, I still need to know it.
Ex. 学生なら学生らしく勉強しなさい - If you consider yourself a student, study like one.
I don't like this example, I would appreciate more
Nらしさ = N -> N. The "noun-ness" of something. I thought I understood this, but as I type this the thought escapes me. I've heard this is almost never used, but again I still need to know it.
Ex. この幼稚園では、子供らしさを大切にしています。 - We value the heart of the child at this kindergarten.
I hate my current textbooks. Anyway, help's always appreciated. I come home July 21st, btw.
*edit* extra らしい that I don't really understand
V/A-Plain/N～らしい - seems that; judgement based on hearsay based on objective information. Indicates the speaker is at a distance from what happened or been said referring to third party
Examples:
あの交差点に人がたくさん集まってる。何が事故があるらしい。
A lot of people are gathering at that intersection, it seems some accident occurred.
うらさでは、あの二人は結婚するらしい。
According to rumor, they are getting married.
I understand the meaning of this, but I don't really understand it's usage.
So just for clarification, 忘れてた, is like "I had forgotten?"
Right.
出かけようとした時、友達が遊 びにきた。 (It also doesn't help that I don't know what ～にきた is)
きた＝来た (schmack... facepalm ;-) ). So this means, "(Just) when I was about to go out, a friend came over"
テレビをつけようとしても、つきません。
This would be "The TV doesn't turn on, even when you try to turn it on" (kind of a lame sentence...)
彼は食べてばかりいます
This doesn't necessarily imply that he is fat, just that he is always eating. You might say this about Luffy in One Piece, for example.
田中さんは忘れ物ばかりしています
田中さんは忘れ物をしてばかり
These are pretty much the same (other than the fact that the first sentence is formal, from the use of います). Just stick with the first form (using いる instead of います for the informal) and you'll be fine. Note that this form is somewhat derisive, so use it in regards to other people with caution.
Why can't Nを欲しがる ・ V-たがる ・ V-たがらない be used in first or second person? They signify what a person usually wants (to do), but what do you use for 1st or 2nd? Just V-たい and Nを欲しい?
Just because they are third person forms. Yes, in the 1st/2nd person you usually use ～たい or Nが欲しい. (Note the particle)
Nのようだ - Like N ・ NのようにV/いadj/なadj - V/A like N ・ N1のようなN2 - N2 such as N1
Ex:
まるで津波のようだ。 It's almost like a tsunami.
ブタのように食べる。 To eat like a pig.
ハワイのような風景。 A view like something from Hawaii.
鬼のような先生だよね。 The teacher is something of an ogre, isn't he?
What is 連用中止形?
This is a formal form, equivalent to the て form when linking clauses to create sentences. In the table in the photo, adjacent words in columns 1/2, 3/4, and 5/6 mean the same thing, but the word in the right column is more formal. You will see these forms in formal writing, newspapers, news broadcasts, etc. You generally won't use them in conversation.
And finally, what on earth does "ぢゃあ" mean?
It's just a cute way to write じゃあ (as in じゃあね）.
Whoa, Taylor. I'm sorry that I never responded to this post. It was marked as possible spam (because you posted anonymously) and put into the approval queue, but I never got a notification that it had been posted. So sorry!
シャンプー is the most common word for shampoo as a noun. せんぱつ（洗髪) would be a somewhat formal noun, more commonly seen on a sign in a beauty parlor than used in conversation. When speaking, the phrase 頭（あたま）を洗（あら）う (lit. "to wash one's head") is most common.
Again, my apologies for the late reply!
So just for clarification, 忘れてた, is like "I had forgotten?"
New stuff!
Vようとする - "Used when someone's efforts to do something cannot be realized or are in vain
例：出かけようとした時、友達が遊 びにきた。 (It also doesn't help that I don't know what ～にきた is)
テレビをつけようとしても、つきません。
I understand the meaning of the grammar rule, but I don't understand how it is used/it's meaning.
Nばかり ・ Vてばかりいる - "Used to focus on one thing, or to mean one thing keep being done or is repeatedly done. Typically with negative connotations.
I understand this for the most part, like "彼は食べてばかりいます" is "He's always eating," implying that he's fat, howver the examples that are really bugging me are:
田中さんは忘れ物ばかりしています
田中さんは忘れ物をしてばかり
Why are these the same sentence, but with different uses, and when would you use one over the other? These seem to go agains the usage rule of "Nばかり ・ Vてばかりいる" and successfully confuses the hell out of me.
Why can't Nを欲しがる ・ V-たがる ・ V-たがらない be used in first or second person? They signify what a person usually wants (to do), but what do you use for 1st or 2nd? Just V-たい and Nを欲しい?
Nのようだ - Like N ・ NのようにV/いadj/なadj - V/A like N ・ N1のようなN2 - N2 such as N1
Another case of where we have examples, but I don't really know how to use them, all I could really get out of them is that they make similies and metaphors, but I still don't really know how to use them.
What is 連用中止形?
Here is a table from our notes: (I just recently realized I can use my camera instead of a scanner)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/El_Steve-O/IMG_4222.jpg
I can't make heads or tails of it. I have no idea what it's usage is. We were just kinda given it, and the explanation was in Japanese, chances are with words I didn't know, and usually they at least give us a sentence that states its use. Not. A. Clue. Help.
And finally, what on earth does "ぢゃあ" mean?
Which would way would be more natural to say shampoo in Japanese: シャンプー or せんぱつ？
These are both contractions that are very common in spoken Japanese.
〜てた is an abbreviation of 〜ていた . The い sound is often either dropped or pronounced so softly/quickly that it's hard to hear. So 忘れてた is an abbreviated form of 忘れていた。
Similarly, って is an abbreviation of と, the particle used to indicate things that were said, heard, felt, etc. So for example 先に行ってって might be an abbreviated form of 「先に行ってと言った」 (S/he said to go on ahead without him/her).
Here are a couple of things I keep hearing in conversation, but have never seen in a classroom, and are conjugations of て-form
One is Vてた? I've been hearing it, most recently, 忘れてた
And the other is Vてって, which I didn't even know you could do.
なるほどね。 For some reason the "despite" meaning of のに jumped into my head, and I didn't think of this one...
In that case, <verb>のに means something like "for the purposes of <verb>ing". As in the description you have they indicate purpose, but usually it isn't quite as grandiose as when you use 〜ために (which is better for grander things, like "entering college", "building an army of mutant hamsters", etc.).
Your GF's description is fine, but I prefer to think of の as a nounifier of verbs, so that they can fit into "nouny thing" blanks in a template. For example, the template 「＜nouny thing＞が好き」 can be 「ビールが好き」 or 「歌うのが好き」. Here, の is nounifying 歌う (making it something like "the act of singing") so that it can fit into the nouny thing slot.
The same thing is happening here. The template is 「＜nouny thing＞に＜ad/verby thing＞」, and you're using the の to nounify the verb.
I don't think of the て form as really being about cause and effect. It's just joining two clauses to form a sentence. Sometimes there is cause and effect implied, but not necessarily.
事故があって、バスが遅れました。 There was an accident, and the bus was delayed. (C/E implied)
コーヒーを飲んで、本を読んだ。 I drank coffe, and I read a book. (No C/E implied)
The cause/effect might be implied by context, but it isn't necessarily a function of the grammar of the sentence. To "force" cause and effect, you have to use a "because" word like から or ので
事故があったから、バスが遅れました。 The bus was delayed because there was an accident.
As to the そうです／ようです constructions, one implies direct experience, the other doesn't.
おいしそうです。 It looks/sounds delicious (based on my direct observation/listening to description/etc.).
おいしいようです。 It would seem to be delicious (not because of my direct observation of the food, but through indirect knowledge, such as the way someone is eating it, reports from others, etc.)
おいしいそうです。 (Somebody) says that it is delicious. (Here you are just reporting second-hand information)
Eh, figures. I guess I'll just start letting you know from now on.
That's only part of the quiz, but it was the main bit that I didn't understand.
I am aware of the "even though" definition of のに, but we were given another version before that, which was (as quoted from my book):
Vplainのに～/Nに
"As you learned in lesson 38, Vplain の can be used as a noun phrase (のは, のが, のを). Vplainのに and Nに are followed by such expressions as 使う, いい, 便利だ, 役に立つ, [じかんが], かかる, etc., and indicate a purpose.
-このはさみは花を切るのに使います。 This pair of scissors is used to cut flowers.
-このかばんは大きくて、旅行に便利です。 This bag is big and convenient for trips.
-電話番号を調べるのに時間がかかりました。 It took a lot of time to find the telephone number.
My girlfriend described it as that it's a device for describing verbs. Like 時間がかかりました describes 調べる, or something like that. It defines an exact purpose? More so than ために or ように?
And speaking of ために and ように, the main sentences that will mess with me, are the ones that end with ～ています, like the ones above. The 2nd one to me was obvious, which is why I got it right. The others, less so.
I know to look out for potential and ない, but when that part is in the answer choices, I have considerably more difficulty. Are there any more obvious signs from the others that help point to the answer. My book keeps mentioning stuff about volitional actions, which I thought at first meant volitional conjugations, but the "volitional actions" are things like 毎日練習しています and メモして, so I'm kinda confused on that.
The only big things that gave me trouble over the intensive period were this, using てform for cause and effect, such as 事故があって、バスが遅れてしまいました, and the nuances between （おいし）そうです, （おいしい）そうです, and ようです.
Upside is I'm getting some confidence with my Japanese. I'm about to go on a 5 day trip with my tennis circle, the vast majority don't speak English, and I'm really excited. Teaching some how to snowboard will be interesting.
That's odd... I didn't get an email about this posting, which I normally do... There's something wonky about your registration, isn't there... Anyway, here's my answers:
「ために」 is used to show attainment of some specific goal.
「ように」 is used to show manipulation of some state of events to a desirable one. Negative verbs and verbs in the potential form （食べられる、行ける、など） use this construction much more frequently than the 「ために」 one
「のに」 isn't normally part of the above comparison. Could you give some examples of how they told you to use it?
大学に （入るために ・ 入るように ・ 入るのに） 勉強しています。
"To attain the goal of entering college..."
日本語が （話せるために ・ 話せるように ・ 話すのに） 練習しています。
"To create a situation of my being able to speak Japanese..."
日本で （困るために ・ 困らないように ・ 困るのに） 情報を集めています。
"To create a situation in which I will not have problems in Japan..."
早く （届くために ・ 届くように ・ 届くのに） 速達でたします。
"To create a situation in which it will arrive quickly..."
Was that the entire quiz? It looks kind of lopsided... You may want to practice with this worksheet from the MLC.
So lately we've been in an "intensive period," with my exchange. Basically it's a month-long period of classes that's 3 hours a day of nothing but Japanese. It's nice in that it allows us to cover a large amount of material. However, it's more detrimental than anything due to the fact that it goes so damn fast. So by the time I start to get a grasp of something, we move on. My question involves something we've sorta lingered on, and I know will pop up on the final.
What are the differences between ように, ために, のに?
We recently had a quiz were I got several questions wrong regarding these. I'll post them, we had to select which option in paranthesis is correct:
大学に （入るために ・ 入るように ・ 入るのに） 勉強しています。
日本語が （話せるために ・ 話せるように ・ 話すのに） 練習しています。
日本で （困るために ・ 困らないように ・ 困るのに） 情報を集めています。
早く （届くために ・ 届くように ・ 届くのに） 速達でたします。
The only one I got right was the 2nd one. Sad day. As always, thanks for the help.
に acts as a specifier of location, so 家にいる means "I am at home (as opposed to other places)".
で shows location of action, but いる isn't considered an action, just existence.
I have more questions, but sadly little time.
Why do you use に for states of being?
Like "I'm at home" - 家にいる. Since you are AT home, shouldn't it be でいる, or am I missing a nuance or something?
いい質問（しつもん）ですね。（＾＾）
Both can be translated as "remember" in English, but 「覚える」 means "to remember" in the sense of "to commit to memory". In that sense, it can also mean "to learn". 「思い出す」 means "to remember" in the sense of "to recall". 「思い出す」 also implies recalling information that was once forgotten. So...
「ぼくの名前、覚えていますか？」
「Do you remember my name?」
「この漢字（かんじ）は覚えていない… あっ！いま思い出した！」
「I don't remember this kanji... Ah! I just remembered it!」
「その漢字はきのう覚えたよ。」
「I learned that kanji yesterday.」
The verbs in the above sentences are not interchangeable. They mean different things in Japanese.
What is the difference between these two words? I looked at alc.co.jp and 思い出す seems to have a deeper meaning (if that makes any sense?) than おぼえる, but I still don't see a clear difference, if there is any.
ありがとうございます！
So it in a nutshell (my final is tomorrow),
<verb>+と = If you do this, then that. Describes something that will happen upon a met condition
<verb>えば = purely ifs/what ifs
<verb>たら = more definite than <verb>えば, if and when a condition is met, something will happen. Has more emphasis on timeframe.
I would LOVE descriptions of when you use one over the other, because I'm understanding it, but I would like to see the differences.
During the test, I will just consider <verb>たら as "if and when" to differentiate, and hopefully will work out.
いい質問（しつもん）ですね！
もし is used as an emphasizer, almost always with the 〜えば or 〜たら forms of verbs.
もし会ったら／会えば聞きますね。 I'll ask if I see (him/her/the hamster/etc).
In contrast,
会ったら聞きますね
alone might be translated as "I'll ask when I meet him", depending on the certainty that the person speaking has about meeting him. Adding もし would push this over the brink to definitely mean "If (and when) I meet him".
会えば聞きますね
on the other hand, has a fairly strong feeling of "if" already, so it would always be closer to "I'll ask if I meet him" than the 〜たら form. Adding もし makes this even stronger, so the feeling would be more like "If I meet him (though I doubt I will), I'll ask".
Since we're discussing "ifs," what would be an example of using もし? Is it used more for emphasis or are there really cases when we would use it?
There's a bit of overlap in the meaning of these, especially if you translate them into English (in which case all three could be translated as "if"). The key is going to be learning how to just think of them in Japanese, without trying to force them into an English mold. Here are some comparisons:
お酒を飲むと気持ち悪くなる Drinking makes me feel ill.
魚を食べると、頭がよくなる Eating fish makes you smarter.
お酒を飲めば気持ち悪くなる I'll feel ill if I drink.
魚を食べれば、頭が良くなる You'll become smarter if you eat fish.
お酒を飲んだら気持ち悪くなる If and when I drink (at some point in the future), I'll feel ill.
魚を食べたら頭が良くなる If and when you eat fish (at some point in the future), you'll become smarter.
The <verb>+と construction is the most dissimilar of the three: It indicates a condition and a result that always accompany each other, so it will most often be used to make general statements, not specific predictions of something that might happen.
The <verb>えば and <verb>たら are similar, but the えば form is strictly conditional ("should such a thing occur", "if") while the たら form also has some emphasis placed on the action itself ("when such a thing occurs", "if and when"). In the latter case, there is also a stronger emphasis on future occurrence of the event, making it unsuited for use when speaking of the past:
OK: 頭が痛かったの？アスピリンを飲めばよかったのに。
Weird: 頭が痛かったの？アスピリンを飲んだらよかったのに。
There are surely cases where other nuances exist, but that's the basics of it.
Edit:
Now that I think about it, there are cases where たら might be used more naturally in the past:
彼がそう言ったらそうなんじゃない？ If that's what he said, then that's probably the case.
Don't really have time to do an in-depth analysis just now, but I'll try to generalize this better at some point...
Still having trouble with particles, but I'm getting better. My girlfriend is helping me understand them better.
However, when going over stuff for my finals today, we found something she, or one of the English teachers at KGU could explain to me. What's the difference between -たら, Vplain+と, and -えば forms?
We have had exercises where we'll be give a sentence, and an option for 2 of the 3 types, and we mark whether or not both work with the sentence. And no one could really explain to me the difference.
Appreciated as always.
I think that your answers are correct, except for the で one. The second floor window isn't where action is occurring—that's happening up in the sky. They probably want you to say "You can see the festival's fireworks from the second floor window", so I would say から is a better answer.
Examples of particle practice sentences:
駅の近く（ ）大きいマンション（ ）できました。
２階の窓（ ）お祭りの花火（ ）みえます。
My answers were に, が, で, and が.
I have an entire sheet dedicated to these things, but I'm gonna try and find a scanner.
Typically on quizzes and tests, we would have a sentence with a massive blank in it where the appropriate grammar rule would go. Thankfully they would be kind enough to put the 時 to give us a hint, but they never explained to us if there is any indication in the clause after 時 as to whether you use plain form or plain past form.
Their exercises for practicing particles is also flawed. It'll just be a sentence with a blank where a particle goes. We had a quiz on them a while ago. I got 4 out of 15 right.
I'm going to try and get copies of my midterm so I can give more specific examples, cause I can't seem to find much for the 時 stuff in my piles of papers. I can find some particle stuff, however.
Can you give me some examples of what you're seeing on quizzes and such?
In terms of how I present things in the podcasts, 時 is a noun, and you're using a verby thing, 寝る or 寝た, for example, to modify it, resulting in a new nouny thing. So the result should act like any other nouny thing, here "the time that I sleep/slept".
「 寝た時はしずかでした。」 "When I went to sleep, it was quiet."
I'm not sure why you're having the password problems—haven't heard of anyone else having that problem. I just checked your profile and everything looks fine. Maybe logging on using your FaceBook account will fix thing? (Though that might result in making you re-register once... not sure)
Can I get tips on using ~時~
Yes, I know the differences between say, 寝る時、～ and 寝た時、～, but I don't know when to use them. On all of our examples, and on our quizzes and whatnot, it seems fairly arbitrary, and is super frustrating.
Also, random note, your site never seems to remember my password. Meaning, I try to log in, and it will ask if I've forgotten it and I have to make a new one. Every. Single. Time. So what exactly is going on?
I've updated my ipod, which ones specifically do I need to listen to? Like what goes with what I'm trying to learn right now?
Beyond that, I'm not sure if your podcasts are to the grammar rules I'm having a tough time with right now, like ～時、～, when to use くれる or もらう, noun modification, and various issues with switching back and forth from plain form.
*edit* I forgot to mention conditional ra form. We have "plain past fromら、～" meaning "if" and "V た-form ら、～" meaning "when" or "after," they are separate grammar rules according to our new books, and I can't figure out the difference between the two.
Simply put, が marks grammatical subjects, and を marks direct objects.
トニーがタコスを食べた。＝ Tony ate tacos.
から means "from", and まで means "up to"
３時から５時まで勉強した。＝ I studied from 3:00 until 5:00
アセンズからアトランタまで運転した。＝ I drove from Athens to Atlanta.
より also means "from", but can take on some different nuances. Most importantly, it can mean "less than" when comparing likes and dislikes.
バニラよりチョコレート（の方が）好きだ。＝ I like chocolate more than vanilla.
と creates exhaustive lists of nouns, や creates non-exhuastive lists.
マイクとジェニーに会った。＝ I met Mike and Jenny (only).
マイクやジェニーに会った。＝ I met Mike and Jenny (and some other people).
で has a bazillion uses, and so does に. What kind of sentences do you need to know about?
BTW, you totally need to watch my podcasts. =)
I need to get schooled in particles in general.
Particularly：
- differences between が and を, and when to use が instead of は (A lot of this seems random and arbitrary to me)
- から and まで (I know までに though)
- より
- the difference between と and や
- I also seem to have a lot of trouble with when to use で or に
It's really starting to irritate me, and I'm losing a lot of points on things because of them. We also have a large quiz on particles coming up.
Hi, Leah!
Generally speaking, ありません means "does not exist" (for an inanimate object). e.g.:
スプーンが ありません。 (There is no spoon)
うちに プレーステーションがありません。 (I don't have a Playstation at my place)
〜じゃありません (lit. "it is not a situation of being", or something equally awkward) is used to make negative statements.
あれは月じゃありませんよ。 (That's no moon!)
学生（がくせい）じゃありません。 (I/he/she/etc. is not a student)
The fact that both patterns use ある is interesting, but don't overthink the situation too much. If it's confusing, just learn the two as unrelated sentence templates.
You probably already explaiend this before, Tony-sensei, but I honestly can't remember...sorry if I'm asking something terribly obvious. ^^;
Since we just learned ある, you mentioned the formal form ありません was related to じゃありません from a couple chapters ago. That being said, how are they different and when should we use each one?
自分（じぶん） means "self" (as in either "myself" or "one's self"), and using this word is one of the many tricks that you can pull in Japanese to avoid using a pronoun. For example, you might say 自分の場合（ばあい）は… ("In my own case..."), or 自分でやってよ！ ("Do it yourself!") and the like.
Overuse of this word might sound a bit forced, so use it sparingly as a pronoun. Also, as an aside, in the military one always referring to one's self as 自分, so in that case it really does become a replacement for personal pronouns like 私.
When would you use 自分 and when would you use 私? I've seen both and it seems interchangeable...
That being said, Steve-O, I think that is one of the best Halloween costume ideas considering where you are.
Or so you think, my friend.
Though we did go clothes shopping today, and I decided my shoulders are too wide for Japan.
You could probably just start out with ちょっと変な質問ですが…
But the bigger problem probably won't be language, it will be finding a school-girl's uniform that you could possibly fit in to... 笑
I get the feeling I'm going to be the main one posting here. Whatever.
Anywho, to give this some background, Halloween is coming up, and I think the thing that would make the Japanese kids laugh the most is if I was a Japanese schoolgirl as my costume (yes, I'm keeping my beard, and I'm not sure how comfortable I am walking around Shinsaibashi in drag). What I plan to do is ask one of my lady friends if she still has her high school uniform, however, I need to set up the question.
Basically, I'm looking for how to say "This is going to be kind of a strange question, but...." I can figure out the rest, but that part I can't really figure out.
Hey, Steve! Hope that things are going well in Japan!
In the sentence 「学校へ来ます」 に will usually be interchangeable, so it might just be that your school's curriculum taught use of the へ particle in that situation, so they want you to follow your lead.
Note, however, that while へ and に are often interchangeable, they don't mean the same thing. へ is an indicator of direction, while に is a specification of position. Technically speaking, when you say 学校へ来ます you're emphasizing the coming to the school, and when you say 学校に来ます you're emphasizing the arrival at the school.
Usually that isn't a big deal, and so either particle is fine. But in some (uncommon) sentences you have to use the へ particle. For example, the movie "Logan's Run" is (poorly) titled 「２３００年 未来への旅」 in Japanese. Here, 未来にの旅 would be wrong, because the suggestion is one of taking a trip into the future, not arriving at the future.
This is covered briefly in the Lesson 3, Grammar note 2 podcast (coincidentally my classes homework for last night!), so you might want to listen to that.
Since, as you say, ひろげる is a transitive verb, it must have a direct object. The direct object can either be explicit (which would mean that it is in the sentence and marked off by an を particle), or implied (not in the sentence, because it's understood by context).
So you could say something like
新聞（しんぶん）を広（ひろ）げる Spread out (the/a) newspaper,
but in your case ("Everyone, spread out") there is no direct object, either explicit or implied, so 広がってください is the correct usage.