Japanese Grammar

By taking the time to understand how the Japanese language works, you'll be able to speak Japanese naturally, and read and write in Japanese. We know this can be one of the more challenging parts of your course, and we’re here to help! You can browse the topics, do a search in the top right corner of this page, or start a new conversation. Don’t be shy!

no ni

In Lesson 3.3 you use "noni" for "in order to" or "for the purpose of" as in Kenny: Hai. Hairu no ni o kane wa iri masu ka? However I have seen this several times defines as "in spite of". My dictionary, the Oxford...

2 replies - Last post by K73SK - November 16, 2008

Hiragana

konnichiwa, I really want to learn how to write Hiragana, but I can't find any source on the page for learning it. I know there is MegaHiragana, but I would like a guide through it or something. Is there anything like that? I couldn't find it in the gr...

4 replies - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - October 5, 2008

Is this reliable?

I found a good website to learn grammar from, but is it good to learn? could someone brouse this website, and give me a review? 1-10; 10=best http://www.guidetojapanese.org/

3 replies - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - September 28, 2008

Four Basic VERB forms

Minnasan Konnichiwa!! O genki desuka? Hello everyone! Are you having fun learning Japanese? I'd like to introduce the 4 basic verb forms in Japanese: __*Dictionary form*__ :D Also known as *Informal* or *Plain* form: It's called the "...

4 replies - Last post by n_soufiani - August 30, 2008

Particles: WA and GA

Minnasan Konnichiwa! __*Differences between WA and GA*__ __*TOPIC *marker vs. *SUBJECT* marker__ *WA* is used when something has been already introduced in a conversation, or is familiar to the speaker and listener. It’s similar to the Engli...

1 reply - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - August 21, 2008

ga and wa

I am really a bit confused as when to use wa and ga . Is there a way to overcome this? I don't know when i should use it in my sentence. What happens if i didn't use it in my sentence? Will it sounds weird?[/u]

3 replies - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - August 21, 2008

negative desu

whats the diffrence between Ja arimasen and Ja nai desu arigatou

2 replies - Last post by (deleted) - August 20, 2008

benkyo shite

So in the sentence in lesson 1.4 "Dore gurai nihon go benkyo shite imasu ka" Is shite part of benkyo? Im a tad bit confused. :)

2 replies - Last post by (deleted) - August 20, 2008

Niwa

What exactly is the purpose of niwa? i know it's a combination of the particles "ni" and "wa", but what happens when you combine them? and in what situations would you use niwa? Thanks

1 reply - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - August 11, 2008

Japanese degree any good?

Mina-san, konnichiwa! Here's the thing. I've just done my A levels (the ones you do when you're 18 years old) and have the difficult task of choosing what to do at university (degree level). So my question is this: Is learning Japanese at degree lev...

1 reply - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - August 10, 2008

SNAP ON WORDS (Suffixes): A powerful linguistic tool.

Suffixes or, add on words, is a wonderful tool available, to all of us! By learning just a SINGLE Japanese suffix, and, snapping it onto many of the words you already know, you double your vocab on the spot! So here are just a few of the colloquia...

1 reply - Last post by Psymon - August 7, 2008

adjectives...

do all adjectives end in an i?

6 replies - Last post by (deleted) - August 2, 2008

desu masu

do desu and masu mean the same thing? just one is more polite then the other?

3 replies - Last post by (deleted) - July 31, 2008

honorific o

when are we sopposed to put this on words? ....its not really "clicking" for me and how can we tell the honorific o apart from the object particle o when we are talking to someone? context?

2 replies - Last post by (deleted) - July 29, 2008

use of no

When there is more than one adjective for the same noun, does "no" come after both? For instance, when asking for an English map of the city, would it be , "eego no machi no chizu ga arismasu ka" ?Thank you for any help.

1 reply - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - June 29, 2008

Asking for an extra room

Along the same lines at the last post, how would I ask for an additional room when we check into a hotel. Would it be "mo ichido heya ga hoshii desu n ga"? I want to make sure to ask for an additional room not a different room. Thanks for any...

3 replies - Last post by dek - June 27, 2008

I have ...

How do you say " i have reserved a room" ? When " i want to reserve a room" is "Heya o yoyaku shitai no desu". Is it " Heya o yoyaita desu" ? Please help... Thank you

2 replies - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - June 22, 2008

Desu and imasu/masu

When should we use desu and imasu/masu? There are few lessons that i get confused as to use which for which. 1)Kyo wa nani o shitai desu ka? (can i use masu here instead of desu?) 2)Kono kurabu ni hairi tai desu ka? (can i use masu here instead of des...

1 reply - Last post by JP1 - April 12, 2008

Negative

Shirimasen and shiranai Shirimasen deshita and shirana katta what's the difference between these words? I know it's meaning is the same so which one can we use?

2 replies - Last post by Matumic - April 11, 2008

ga / wa

Q:Kibun wa do desu ka? A:Atama ga itai desu. Do questions use the topic particle instead of the subject particle? Would "Atama wa itai desu" sound odd?

1 reply - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - March 26, 2008

atatakai

Can someone please give a detailed grammatical explanation to why and how Atatakai has become atatakakute? thanks!

2 replies - Last post by Zaina - March 12, 2008

"O"

Ok so in the same lesson 1.3 there's another sentence " Oishii o mise o shitte imasu". There's 2 "O" in this sentence is this correct? or should it be "oishii o mise shitte imasu"? How do we know when we should put that "...

2 replies - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - March 12, 2008

o & ga

In the audio course 3.1 it sais: Kenny: Kuruma de yama *o* nobore masu ka? (engl) Kenny: You can climb [go] up the mountain by car? shouldn't it be : "Kuruma de yama *ga* nobore masu ka" , since there's a ga needet for the "ca...

1 reply - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - March 12, 2008

Partiles 'O'

I noticed that in lesson 1.3 this sentence "Konya o sushi o tabe ni ikimashou ka?" There's 2 'O's here and which does it belongs to? Konya o? or o sushi? o tabe? confused me a little. When do we need to put this 'o' in a sentence? Thanks any...

3 replies - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - March 12, 2008

Hataraite

what is the difference between : "Hataraite" and "hatarakite imasu" are they both the TE form? if so, why does one have "aite" on the end while the other is "kite" and the end. and why is one with an "imasu...

1 reply - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - February 14, 2008

Watashi mo and watashi mo

Why is it that when you answer I am well too, you say "watashi mo" but when you answer what your name is you say "watashi no"? Could you please explain the difference between the mo and the no. Thanks

3 replies - Last post by WendyG - February 13, 2008

Inserting Macrons for Japanese Writing

In the system of romaji that we use, Revised Hepburn Romanization, long vowel sounds are marked with a line over the single letter, rather than doubling that letter. This symbol is called a “macron,â€

0 replies - Last post by Sayaka-Matsuura - October 4, 2007

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