Grammar
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Grammar · Page 3
Grammar for speakingJapanese Causative and Causative-Passive Explained
One Japanese ending covers both making someone act and letting them act. Learning to build it, and to hear which of the two a sentence carries, hands you polite permission requests and workplace humility in the same package.
14 min read
Grammar for speakingGiving and Receiving Verbs in Japanese Explained
Japanese has three verbs where English has give and receive, and the choice depends on which way the thing moves and whose side you are on. Get the direction right and a whole layer of polite, natural speech opens up.
15 min read
Grammar for speakingTransitive and Intransitive Verbs in Japanese
English opens a door and a door opens with the same verb. Japanese gives you two verbs, and choosing the right one decides whether you sound like you did something or like something simply happened.
14 min read
Grammar for speakingThe Japanese Potential Form: Saying What You Can Do
Can you speak Japanese, can you come tomorrow, can you eat natto: the potential form answers all three, and it is also the form you need to describe your own progress honestly.
14 min read
Grammar for speakingJapanese Volitional Form and Making Suggestions
The volitional is the form behind every let's, shall I, and I am thinking of doing in Japanese. Learn it once and you can propose, offer, and state your plans without sounding abrupt.
15 min read
Grammar for speakingTurning Verbs into Nouns in Japanese: Koto and No
Every sentence that starts with speaking Japanese is or I like watching needs a verb turned into a noun. Koto and no are the two tools, and choosing between them is easier than most textbooks make it look.
16 min read
Grammar for speakingJapanese Relative Clauses: Describing Nouns
Every long Japanese sentence you have struggled to follow is built from one move: a whole clause sits in front of a noun and describes it. Learn that move and the sentences unfold in order.
15 min read
Grammar for speakingObligation and Permission in Japanese
Japanese has no single word for must. It says if you do not do it, that will not do, and then shortens the whole thing to two syllables in casual speech. This guide untangles the full forms, the contractions, and the permission questions that go with them.
15 min read
GrammarJapanese Verb Conjugation: The Beginner-Friendly Complete Guide
Japanese verbs do not change for person or number. Once you identify three verb groups, a small set of endings generates the forms you need for most beginner conversations.
6 min read
Grammar for speakingJapanese Particles Explained: A Practical Beginner's Guide
Particles are the signposts of a Japanese sentence. Learn the core job of each one and you can build useful sentences without translating English prepositions word for word.
6 min read
Grammar for speakingJapanese Sentence Structure: Build Natural Sentences Step by Step
Japanese word order becomes much less mysterious when you treat a sentence as labelled chunks leading to a final predicate.
5 min read
GrammarJapanese Te-Form Explained: How to Make It and Use It Naturally
The te-form is Japanese grammar's connector: one conjugation unlocks requests, ongoing actions, permission, sequences, and much more.
5 min readPractical guides
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