Grammar
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Grammar · Page 9
Japanese Nara Conditional: If That Is the Case, Here Is My Answer
Nara means if that is the case: it takes something the listener has just said, or something the situation shows, and attaches your advice, offer or decision to it, as in Nihon ni iku nara, kamera o katta hō ga ii.
13 min readJapanese Suru Verbs Guide: Noun Plus Suru, O, Loanwords and Dekiru
A suru verb is an action noun with suru, to do, attached: benkyō suru, to study, kopī suru, to copy; the noun supplies the meaning, suru supplies every conjugation, and the potential is dekiru.
13 min readJapanese Tara Conditional: When, If and the Moment You Found Out
Tara is the ta form plus ra, and it means once A has happened, B: when for events that are certain, as in eki ni tsuitara denwa shimasu, if for uncertain ones, and in past sentences it reports what you found.
13 min readJapanese Zu and Zu Ni: Without Doing, the Older Negative Explained
Zu is an older negative that replaces nai on the same verb stem, and zu ni means without doing, as in asagohan o tabezu ni dekaketa; it matches nai de in meaning but sounds more formal and written.
12 min readJapanese De Particle Uses: Place, Means, Material, Cause, Scope and Totals
The Japanese particle de marks where an action happens, what it is done with, what something is made of, what caused it, the group within which a superlative holds, a total, and the time an action takes, as in ichi-jikan de owarimasu.
12 min readJapanese Kara and Made Guide: From, Until, Because, Even and Te Kara
Kara means from and made means until or as far as, and together they frame any span of time or space, as in ku-ji kara go-ji made, from nine to five, while kara after a clause means because and made after a noun means even.
13 min readJapanese Mo Particle Guide: Also, Both, Neither, Dare mo and San-kai mo
The Japanese particle mo means also or too and replaces wa, ga or o after the noun it attaches to, but it also builds both and neither, turns question words into anyone and nothing, and adds surprise to numbers, as in san-kai mo, three whole times.
13 min readJapanese Ni vs To with Verbs: Au, Hanasu, Kekkon Suru and Niru
With verbs such as au, hanasu and kekkon suru, ni marks a one-way action aimed at someone, while to marks a mutual action done together with them, and the same verb often accepts both with a subtle change in meaning.
13 min readJapanese No Particle Uses: Possession, Description, Apposition and Question No
The Japanese particle no links two nouns so that the first describes, owns or specifies the second, as in watashi no hon, my book, but it also turns verbs into nouns, ends casual questions, and replaces ga inside relative clauses.
13 min readJapanese Adjective Conjugation Chart: Every Form of I and Na Adjectives
Japanese i-adjectives conjugate by changing their final i (takai, takakatta, takakunai, takakunakatta), while na-adjectives stay fixed and let the copula after them change (shizuka da, shizuka datta, shizuka ja nai).
13 min readJapanese Honorific O and Go Prefixes: Which Words Take Which and Why
Japanese adds o before native words and go before words of Chinese origin to show respect for the listener or to make speech sound refined, so o-namae and go-kazoku follow one rule, and a small set of everyday words like o-cha and o-kane keep the prefix always.
12 min readJapanese Ne and Yo Particles: Agreement, New Information and Tone
Ne marks something you expect the listener already knows or feels, so it invites agreement, while yo marks something you believe is new to the listener, so it asserts, informs or reassures.
13 min readPractical guides
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