Japanese Grammar Patterns

8/10/2019 Japanese Grammar Patterns

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Japanese Grammar Patterns

Legend:

WH Question Words denote who, what, when, where, why, how, etc.

Parenthesis () around any given word(s) may denote three different things:

#01. The word(s) within the parenthesis are hiragana, romanji, or English readings of the

preceding Japanese text.

#02. If the word(s) within the parenthesis are featured with a / mark, then the inputs on either

side of the / are acceptable choices to fill in the parenthesis by themselves, but only by

themselves, as in only one of the choices can be used.

#03. The word(s) within the parenthesis are optional usage relative to the correct grammar. *This

is often the case in there is only one word in the parenthesis, usually denoting a particle that isoptional.

Brackets [] around any given word(s) denote them as different interpretation of the grammar

pattern when translated into English. Because of this focus on understanding the actual meaning

of the grammar pattern, no word(s) appearing in brackets should be used as reference for correct

grammar.

as the moraic consonant:

With the exception of the standalone and complementary consonant,, Japanese consonants allappear with a succeeding vowel (ka, shi, chi, nu, he, mo). The special case,, is considered amoraic nasal because it counts as a single beat singularly and also a single beat when attached to

another consonant to make a complex consonant (benri, tango, ginko).

i and u devoiced:

When the vowels i or u appear between voiceless consonants or at the end of a sentence, they are

commonly devoiced, or unpronounced. Despite the nonpronunciation, the two syllables still take

up a single mora of time for pronunciation.

Examples:

Ohay gozaimasu = Ohay gozaimas

Ashita = ashta

Long vowels:

Japanese short and long vowels directly shift the word in both pronunciation and definition. With

the exception of the vowels e and o, all vowels are elongated by simply adding an extra

following (aa, ii, uu). The vowel e is most commonly elongated by adding a following i, though

there are a few authentic Japanese words that were historically and still are pronounced with ee

instead of ei (onsan,). Similarly, the vowel o is most commonly elongated by adding a


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following u, though there are also a few authentic Japanese words that were historically and still

are pronounced with oo instead of ou (kii, kri).

Long consonants:

When a small(formally referred to as a sokuon ) appears before a consonant , that

consonant is elongated. This is the romanized equivalent of double consonant letters (rippa ). *This usage should not be confused wherein the sokuon appears after a vowel to represent an

interjection ().

Pitch accent:

Japanese is considered a pitch-accent language because words and their definitions are

dependent on articulation of pitch (sake meaning both salmon and alcohol). While this is a

noteworthy distinction in the language, heavily influenced by region and culture, as with a

majority of linguistic semantics, is predominantly influenced by conversational context.

X is Y. XY (/)

X is not Y XY (//)

Questions

When asking a simple yes or no question in Japanese, simply add ato the end of the sentence.When asking a who, what, when, where, why or how question, use the interrogative version of

the same word in regular sentences. For a who question, use either the casual dare or the

respectful donata.

Example(s):

Kono hito wa Jouji desu. = Kono hito wa dare desu ka?

Ano kata wa Jouji-sensei desu. = Ano kata wa donata desu ka?

For a what question, use nan.

Example:

Kore ha kabutomushi desu ne. = Korea ha nan desu ka?

Noun Modification (NOUNNOUN)

To signify a relationship between two nouns,is placed between them.

Example(s):

Watashi no konpyt = My computer

Amerika no sakk chmu = Americas soccer team

Daigakusei no Jouji Washington = University student Jouji Washington


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referential to something that is closer to the speaker

referential to something that is closer to the addressee

referential to something that is close to neither the speaker nor the addressee

referential to something that is unknown

Example(s): Kore, zore, are, dore Koko, soko, asoko, doko Kono, sono, ano, dono

as also

is used to indicate the re-appearance or repetition or predicates, including verbs, adjectives,and nouns.

Example(s):

A-san wa eiy desu yo.

B-san mo eiy desu.

In some cases, it is necessary to have repeated usage of.

Example(s):

A-san mo B-san mo eiy desu.

as location marker

is used to indicate a location wherein a thing or person exists in.

Existential Verbs arimasu imasu irasshaimasu

Example(s):

King Kong wa World Trade Center no ue ni imasu.

When using the negative form,is used instead of.

Example(s):

Watashi no konpyt ni wa porn ha arimasen.

Affirmative and Negative Predicate

nanika (something) dareka (someone) donataka (something *respectful)the affirmative

predicates are used with theparticle (and not the particle because theparticle is thetopic marker, which can only be used when the referred entity is known by both the speaker and

the addressee).

Example(s):


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Dareka ga imasuka?

nanimo (anything) daremo (anyone) donatamo (anyone *respectful)the negative predicates

never use theparticle

Example(s): Nanimo iwazu ni heya wo deta.

In the case of the particlesucceeding a predicate, it occurs before the negative but after the

affirmative

Example(s): Doko ka ni nuigurumi ga arimasuka?

Are there stuffed animals somewhere?

Doko ni mo arimasen yo.

No there are none anywhere.

NOUN X and NOUN Yis a particle that connects X and Y. can only be used when and ifX and Y are nouns.

Kin, toriniku to gohan o tabemashita

as final particle

is used at the end of a sentence to proclaim new information.

Example(s):

A:

Doko demo konbini o mitsukeraremasendeshita

B:

Actually, theres one right there

is most commonly used in formal speech, as it can on occasion make the speaker seemassertive with the continual stream of new information.

form

Theform is used in polite speech and can be an indication of a present state or future andhabitual activity.

Present: Ima Togashi-sensei wa doko ni irasshaimasuka?

Ima Togashi-sensei wa studio ni irasshaimasu.


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Future: Ashita nani wo shimasuka?

Ashita, Hunter x Hunter wo mimasu.

Habitual: Manga wo yoku yomimasuka?

Hai, manga wo yoku yomimasu.

as object marker

As in English, transitive verbs in Japanese are not only linked to a subject but also a direct

object. While the subject is indicated by or, the director object is indicated by .

Anime wo mimasu.

Manga wo yomimasu.

In many cases, such as negative clauses, theis modified to another particle, such as , ordropped entirely.

Example(s):

Nani ka chuumon shimasuka?

Iie, nani mo nomimasen.

andas word beautifiers

The charactersandare commonly added as prefixes to words to symbolize either thespeakers respect to the person for whom the beautifier is used or a respect towards the cultural

significance of something. For example, theinis used to address the conversation

partner with respect and as such should never be used in lieu of the standardwhen

addressing yourself. In its own respect, as a beautifier, the prefix present in words such as

,andrelay the speakers conscious value towards these entities. The in

and theinhave the same effect of respect and beautification respectively (though in

the case of, the pronunciation ofalone is never actually used). Another point to consideris that in not applying the beautifier to such words, you can adversely convey that you do not

value these entities. It can become contentious what impression that may give off, particularlywith entities such as money. Whats best to keep in mind is the context of the conversation and

the culture of the language itself. While it may be admirable to denounce the value of money in

Western societies (though even in Western societies, the tone of the speaker and the impression

he or she gives off is highly influenced by the context of the conversation), modern Japanese

society has gone as far as appropriating values of wealth, commerce and fortunein their

mythology, folklore and religion,deeming these all highly sought after and respected qualities in

their own right. Relatively, thebeautifier is mainly used with native Japanese words, and

thebeautifier is generally used with Chinese loan words, while neither are used withEuropean loan words.

as a location marker
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Where as the particleis used in conjunction with existential verbs to indicate the subjects

state of being, the particleis used in conjunction with action verbs to indicate the location inwhich the action was performed.

Example(s):

Heya de anime wo mimasu.

as an instrument marker

Whenis used as an instrument marker, it indicates by what means an action occurs.

Example(s):

Nihongo de tegami wo kakimasu.

Kuruma de Akihabara ni ikimasu.

Hashi de osushi wo tabemasu.

*A special case in which theis dropped is in the presence of the verb , or to walk. Asopposed to Aruite de konbini e ikimasu, Aruite conbini e ikimasu is the correct grammar.

andas destination markers

The two particlesandare interchangeable particles used when referring to something

moving from one location to another. In these cases, the is pronounced as. When used

subsequent to interrogatives such as(doko) and(dokoka), these particles are notdropped.

Example(s):

(/)

Uchi ni kaerimasu .

(/)

Are you planning on going somewhere tomorrow?

as and or with andas by oneself

As with the NounNoun form,in this pattern similarly suggests a company between or

amongst things. commonly occurs with, which means together.means aperson is doing something by him or herself.


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Example(s):

Ashita, George to issho ni ice cream wo tabemashita.

Hitori de Akihabara ni ikimasu.

XY

This pattern is applicable to measures of both time and space, in which the first particle

indicates the beginning and the second particleindicates the end.

Example(s):

Watashi wa kyou, kyuuji kara sanji made class ga arimasu.

Kisha wa California kara New York made ikimasu .

Pre-Form +as Lets VERB or Shall we VERB

Verbs in this conjugation form are interpreted as a suggestive shall we or lets meaning. In

some cases, theform may seem too assertive; this is mediated by the more polite

question form,.

Example(s):

Anime wo mimashouka? (Shall we watch some anime?)

Party ni ikimashou! (Lets go to the party!)

Verbal Nouns


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Ashita tomodachi ni aimasu. (I am meeting my friend tomorrow)

Watashi wa jitensha ni notta. (I rode a bicycle.)

Past Tense Form

In past-tense of a verb in polite form is a matter of taking the-form of the verb and

changing theinto. Similarly, the past-tense polite form ofis.

The negative form of the polite past-tense instead changes theof the-form into

andinto eitheror .

Example(s):

Kinou atarashii One Piece wo mimashitaka? (Did you watch the new One Piece yesterday?)

Iie, mimasendeshita. .. (No, I did not)

Dictionary Form

The dictionary form of verbs is the most basic conjugation form of verbs (or perhaps it can be

considered as the only form that isnt a conjugation, thus making it the most basic form) and is

the form that verbs appear in dictionaries, thereby aptly naming them so.

The dictionary form parallels the-form in that they are of the same grammatical nuance butare used depending on casualness and politeness, respectively.

Dictionary Form VERB +as I intend/plan to VERB

This construct is primarily used to express ones own intentions. Given that conveying someone

elses intent ions is considered presumptuous it is accordingly considered impolite to use this

grammar pattern for a second or third-person subject. In some cases, it is acceptable to use the

pattern in interrogative form with a second-person subject, given that the speaker is considerably

familiar with the said addressee.

Example(s):


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Nihongo wo narau tsumori desu. (I plan to learn Japanese.)

NegativeForm VERB +as I intend/plan not to VERB

Example(s);

Kiyou, gakkou ni ikanai tsumori desu. (Im planning on not going to school today.)

Pre-Form VERB +as (Wont you/Would you like to) VERB?

This construct is predominantly used to make a suggestion towards some activity or to invite

someone to engage in some activity, however in some cases it can be quite literally interpreted as

a genuine negative-form question, such as , -(Wasnt Washington-sensei on television yesterday?). This form is very similar

to the-Form because both make efforts towards insisting upon a certain action, but thisform can be interpreted as less assertive.

Example(s):

Kurasu no ato de crepes wo tabe ni shopping center ni ikimasenka? (Would you like to go to the

shopping center after school to eat crepes?)

XYas X has Y

Example(s):

Watashi wa ima jyugyou ga arimasu. (I have class right now.)

CLAUSE XCLAUSE Y as because of CLAUSE X, CLAUSE Y

The particleis placed at the end of the first clause to connect it as the reasoning behind thesecond clause. This is a reversal of the English CLAUSE X because CLAUSE Y in that its

the first clause that is the cause, not the effect. It is possible to present the two clauses in reverse

order, similar to English convention, by splitting the phrase into two separate sentences, with


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appearing at the very end, after the second sentence. When used this way, the second sentenceis interpreted as an afterthought.

Example(s):

Watashi no computer ga kowareta kara konya game wo play suru koto wa dekimasen. (I cant

play games tonight because my computer broke.)

as Why is that?

This expression can be interpreted as somewhat of a critical interrogation, making the speakersusceptible to seeming too assertive or standoffish. The common response to this expression

usually ends with , which translates to because.

Ashita party ni iku koto ha dekimasen. ( I cant go to the party tomorrow.)

Y:

Ehh, doushitedesuka? (Ehhh, how come? )

X:

Juku ga arimasu. (I have cram school.)

NOUN XNOUN Yas NOUN X, NOUN Y, (and the like/and so forth/among other

things/etc.)

Example(s):

Kotoshi atarashii camera ya kutsu ya backpack nado wo kaitai. (I want to buy a new camera,

shoes, and backpack this year.)

as already andas yet

Example(s):


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Ara ara, mou jyuu ichiji desune. (My oh my, its already eleven oclock isnt it?)

Iie, mada desu. (No, not yet.)

or alternatively:

Iie, mada kyuuji desuyo. (No no, its still nine oclock.)

Verb Conjugation: NegativeForm

TheForm is the casual form of negative speech. To form the Negative Form for-

verbs, drop the final i of the Pre-Form and change it to an a, adding right after. If the

Pre-Form ends with i without a preceding consonant, the Negative Form additionallyacquires the consonant w.

Example(s):

ikimasu ikanai

nomimasu nomanai

aimasu awanai

kaimasu kawanai

The NegativeForm of-verbs is a simple change from theirForm in that it is a

simple transformation of theinto.

Example(s):

taberu tabenai

mimasu minai

The verbin itsFormdefies the general guideline of

conjugation in that the NegativeForm isinstead of the expected

. Given this, the Dictionary Form of verbs could be considered a more reliable baseform when conjugation to different forms.


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Pre-Form VERB + + (//) as go/come/return to VERB

Example(s):

Kurasu no ato de crepes wo tabe ni shopping center ni ikimasenka? (Would you like to go to theshopping center after school to eat crepes?)

Watashi wa tomodachi to ai ni restaurant ni ita. (I went to the restaurant to meet with my

friends.)

Dictionary Form VERB +as can/be able to VERB

Example(s):

Doyoubi ni toshokan de au koto ga dekimasuka? ( Can you meet at the library on Saturday?)

Plain Form +/as an explanation

as the negative scope marker

The particleis used in negative sentences to make for much more natural grammar.Additionally, it implies a contrastive counterpart to the negative scope, in that despite the

sentence being negative, there is an unmentioned and implicit positivity.

Game wo kaimashita? (Did you buy the game?)

(This implies that the speaker bought something elseof perhaps more importance.)

Iie, game ha kaimasendeshita. (No, I didnt buy the game.)


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Answer to Negative Yes-No Questions

Unlike in English, in which the answer to both affirmative questions and negative questions arethe same, in Japanese, responses are based upon the exact question not the answer.

Ashita au koto ga dekimasuka? (Can you meet tomorrow?)

,

Hai, dekimasu. (Yes I can.)

or alternatively:

Iie, dekimasen. (No, I cannot.)

Ashita au koto ga dekimasenka? (Cant you meet tomorrow?)

,

Hai, dekimasen. (Thats right, I cant.)

Or alternatively:

Iie, dekimasu. (No, I can .)

Adjectives

Grammatically speaking, there are two kinds of adjectives in Japan, -adjectives and-adjectives.

-adjectives

The Plain Form of-adjectives ends with thecharacter, and this form, as should be

expected, expresses the adjective in the present tense. In polite speech, is added after theadjective; and in casual speech, the adjective stands alone.

Example(s):

(atarashii)new


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(omoshiroi)interesting, amusing

(tanoshii)fun

(subarashii)wonderful, great

-adjectivesNegative Form

For the Negative Form of-adjectives, thein the Plain Form is dropped, in order to derive

what is called the stem form, and either oris added at the end. As

should be apparent,is more polite than. A more casual variation can

also be achieved by dropping the in.

Example(s):

(kowaikunai)not cute

(omoshirokuarimasen)uninteresting

(kanashikunai desu)not sad

When-adjectives are used to modify nouns, the Plain Form is used, without.

Example(s):

(omoshiroi hito)interesting person

(utsukushii ongaku)beautiful music

-adjectives

For the most par t,-adjectives do not end with the character but there are some particular

exceptions, such as the wordsand.-adjectives require

theat the end of the sentence to form a sentence.

Example(s):

Kono party wa nigiyaka desune. (This party is lively, isnt it?)

Kono toshokan toku ni ha shizuka desu kara totemo suki desu. (I like this library a lot because it

is particularly quiet.)

-adjectivesNegative Form


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To form the Negative Form of-adjectives, all instances ofare dropped and either

ororis added at the end. As per the norm,

is the most polite of the three, and other more casual variations can be formed by

dropping instances of polite speech such as.

Example(s):

( shizukajyanai desu)not quiet

(tokubetsu de ha arimasen)not special

The reason-adjectives are called-adjectives is because of thecharacter added at the end

when used to modify nouns. This construct is similar to thecharacter needed by nouns whenthey are used to modify other nouns.

Example(s):

(suteki na kamigata)splendid hairstyle

(shinsetsu na hito)kind person

-adjectives are considered the more authentic Japanese adjectives of the language because they

involve a more direct conjugation, as opposed to-adjectives that are very comparative to

nouns in that they require the sentence-finalizing and have more separated conjugations. In

consideration to this, the form of-adjectives is much more accommodating to the entry offoreign words into the Japanese language. A common observation of this that one can make is

with many modern English loan-words, thecharacter follows; and historically speaking, most

-adjectives are Chinese loan-words.

Example(s):

(shy na) shy

(tropical na)tropical

Multiple Adjectives

When combining two adjectives in order to describe something, one must take notice of which

category each adjective falls into,-adjectives or-adjectives.

ADJ 1 and ADJ 2

When an-adjective is used first, its stem form is added with.

Example(s):

(tanoshikute nigiyaka)fun and lively


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When a-adjective is used first, its stem form is added with a much simpler .

Example(s):

(kirei de akarui)beautiful and bright

ADJ 1 but ADJ 2

When using multiple adjectives to convey alternating connotation, as in both positive and

negative impressions, the conjunctive particleis used in lieu ofand.

Example(s):

Watashi no kateikyoushi wa yasashii desuga kibishii desu. (My tutor is nice but strict.)

When the second adjective used is subjective on behalf of the speaker, the first adjective used is

understood as the preemptive reason for such judgment.

-Sentence Construction

Because the Japanese language has separate markers for the topic and the subject of a

sentence, the particlesand, itallows for a unique grammatical construction of sentences.

The general outline for the-sentence construction is TOPIC, SUBJECTDESCRIPTION. For simplicitys sake, the direct translation of this format could be interpreted

as , Regarding the topic TOPIC, SUBJECTis DESCRIPTION.

Example(s):

California ha yachin ga sugoku takai desu. (In California the rent is very expensive.)

George Washington ga seikaku ga subarashii desu. (Regarding George Washington, his

personality is wonderful.)

Multiple descriptors can also be used with this format.

Example(s):

,


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Watashi no gakkou ha sensei ga shinsetsu de, tabemono ga oishikute, campus ga kirei desu.

XYas There is Y in/at X

In this construct theparticle signifies that Y is an activity instead of a thing that occurs in orat X.

Example(s):

Kouen de relay race ga arimasu. (There is a relay race happening at the park.)

Soto de kenka ga aru. (There is a fight going on outside.)

Adverbs

In Japanese, adverbs are commonly used in conjunction with the particle but there also exists

a set of even more common adverbs which do not use the particle at all. These are the

common degree verbs.

very

Example(s):

Kono shukudai ha totemo muzukashii desu. (This homework is very hard.)

Keitai denwa ha totemo benri desune. (Cellphones are really convenient, arent they?)

- very (casual, used more for conversation)

Example(s):

Kono boushi ha sugoku kirei desuga sukoshi takai desu. (This hat is very pretty but its a little

expensive.)


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Yuenchi ni ikimashitaga amari tanoshimimasendeshita. (I went to the amusement park but I

didnt really have fun.)

Watashi wa party ni ikitai ga isogashii. (I want to go to the party but Im busy.)

X (/)as How is X?

andare used to inquire about ones opinion about something.

is the more formal version of this construct.

Example(s):

Benkyou wa ikaga desuka. (How are your studies?)

Kinou no shiken wa doudeshitaka? (How was yesterdays test?)

XYas What kind of Y is X?

Example(s):

Jouji Washington, what kind of person is your friend?

//as this/that way

The set of words//are used to mean directions such as here and there,but they are commonly used as a polite way to refer to people. It is not appropriate to use any of

these expressions to refer to oneself because of this implicit politeness.

Kochira wa George Washington desu. (This is George Washington.)


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Achira wa donate desuka. (Who is that person over there?)

Achira wa George Washington ni desuyo. (Thats George Washington 2.)

Verb Conjugation:-Form

To conjugate-verbs into the-Form, drop thefrom the dictionary form and replace it with

a.

Example(s):

() ()

The two irregular verbs that disregard this guideline are:

() ()

To conjugate-verbs that end withinto the-Form, drop thefrom the dictionary form

and replace it with a.

Example(s):

To conjugate-verbs that end withorinto the-Form, drop theorfrom the

dictionary form and replace it with a.

Example(s):

To conjugate

-verbs that end with

into the

-Form, drop the

from the dictionary formand replace it with a.


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Example(s):



Example(s):

To conjugate-verbs that end withororinto the-Form, drop theoror

from the dictionary form and replace it with a .

Example(s):



*The distinction between regular-verbs and-verbs that end withis that when these verbs

are conjugated into the-form,-verbs drop theto replace it with a(

) while-verbs that end withdrop theto replace it with a( ).

Example(s):

The common verbis another irregular verb in that its -Form is

.

-Form VERB +as Please do VERB and-Form VERB +as themore polite Would you please do VERB?

Example(s):

Shashin wo totte kudasaimasenka. (Would you please take a photograph?)


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Shizuka ni natte kudasai. (Please quiet down.)

To change the context of this construct into requesting a negative action, replace the -Form of

the verb with the-Form of the verb followed by a.

Example(s):

Shashin wo toranaide kudasai. (Please do not take photographs.)

Urusaku naranaide kudasai. (Would you please not become noisy?)

-Form VERB +as am VERBing

Example (s):

Computer wo tsukatte imasu. (I am using the computer.)

George Washington wa nete iru. (George Washington is sleeping.)

as still

Whenappears in an affirmative sentence, it takes on the meaning still instead of yet.

Mada hayai kara kaeru koto wa dekinai yo. (Its still early so we cant go home yet.)

X (

/

)

as How about X?


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In addition for asking for ones opinion about something, this construct can be used to offer one

something.

Coffee wa doudesuka. (How about some coffee?)

XY(/)as X (likes/hates) Y

This construct derives from the TOPICSUBJECTDESCRIPTOR form in that it is slightly

altered to convey TOPICOBJECTDESCRIPTOR.

Example(s):

George Washington wa inu ga suki desu. (George Washington likes dogs.)

George Washington wa inu ga daisuki desu. (George Washington loves dogs.)

*An interpretation of the first example that provides for a more vivid interpretation of the

construct semantically is, In regard to George Washington (for George Washington), dogs areliked.

Jouji Washington wa karai tabemono ga kirai desu. (George Washington hates spicy food.)

Jouji Washington wa daikarai tabemono ga kirai desu. (George Washington really hates spicy

food.)

XY(//)as X is(good/bad/good) at Y

This construct is grammatically identical to the XY(/)because it also derives

from the TOPICSUBJECTDESCRIPTOR form. Notice that bothandare

both used to described goodness at an activity; the distinction is that while

is used assomeone elses objective judgement,is considered as a subjective analysis. When

describing what you think to be your own talents, it is best to usein order to convey that


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this is your subjective opinion that others might no agree with and not come off as extremely

assertive of your skill.

Example(s):

Watashi wa video game ga tokui desu. (I am good at video games.)

Anata wa nihongo ga jyouzu desu. (You are good at Japanese.)

Watashi wa sekkyokutekina katsudou ga heta desu. (I am poor at proactive activities.)

Nominalization/Gerunds

In order to change verbs into their respective noun phrases, simply take the Dictionary Form of

the verb and addorright after it.

Example(s):

Comparisons (between two entities)

Question Form:

XYA

X to Y to de ha, dochira no hou ga A desuka? (Between X and Y, which one is more A?)

Answer Form:

XYXYA

X to Y to de ha, X no hou ga Y yori A desu. (Between X an d Y, X is more A than Y.)

* XYYXAis also an acceptable construction

A more implicit construction wherein the two compared objects are obvious from context:


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A/A

Dochira no hou ga A desuka. / Dochira ga A desuka.

XA

X is more A.

*Clauses must be nominalized when used in comparisons. This is necessity is identical to the

English manner of comparison. Consider the grammatically correct Which is better, reading or

watching it? and the grammatically incorrect Which is better, read or watch it? Though the

English language does have flexibility in that the re-arranged format Is it better to read or to

watch it? is perfectly grammatically correct. Indeed, the Japanese language too is flexible in

that there are alternate grammatical structures that can be used to compare entities, but we stick

with this recognized form in this lesson.

*When a nominalized clause appears before, the particleis truncated completely.

Example(s):

Question:

Nihongo no manga wo yomuno to America no comic wo yomuno to de ha, dochira no hou ga

tanoshii desuka? (Between reading Japanese manga and reading American comics, which is

more fun?)

Answer:

()

Comparisons (between more than two entities)

XYZXA(Among X, Y, Z etc., X is the most A.)

*When comparing two entities, we always use the phraseregardless of the nature ofthe comparison, but with comparisons amongst more than two entities, we use the respectiveWH Question Word.

is used for people, in a plain manner.

is used for people, in a polite manner.

is used for places.

is used for things in general.

Example(s):


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MMORPGFPSMOBA

MMORPG to FPS to MOBA to de ha, dore ga ichiban tanoshii desuka. (Among MMORPG,

FPS, and MOBA games, which is the most fun?)

Kami-sama to Gojira-sama to Kanama Madoka-sama, donate ga ichiban suki desuka. (Among

God, Godzilla, and Kaname Madoka, who do you like the most?)

*Notice the presence of polite speech due to the necessity for respects towards God, Godzilla

and Kaname Madoka, or otherwise known as Godoka.

New York to Paris to Tokyo to de ha, doko ga ichiban kirei desuka. (Among New York, Paris,and Tokyo, which place is the most beautiful? )

*Notice the difference between English and Japanese in that in English the WH Question Word

which is used for even locations, but in Japanese remains as the appropriate WHQuestion Word.

Comparisons (in a select group)

Instead of listing individual options to be chosen from, one can refer to the most A entity, X, of a

category, Y, of entities with one or more similar traits. The construct Y is used in this

form. In this case, the WH Question Word is replaced by () because there is

no longer a list of options to choose from. , , and retain their regularusage.

Example(s):

Anime no naka de, nani ga ichiban omoshiroi desuka. (In anime, what [which] is the most

interesting?)

Candy no naka de, nani ga ichiban suki desuka. (Of candy, what [which] do you like most?)

Requesting an object

X(/)(Please give me X. / Would you give me X, please?)

*The latter is more polite.

Example(s):


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Nomimono wo kudasai. (Give me a drink. / Please give me a drink. / Id like a drink.)

Sono tankoubon wo kudasaimasenka. (Would you give me that volume? / Could you let me havethat volume?)

Counters:

Perhaps one of the most needlessly complicated constructions in the Japanese language is its

select-not-so-few counters meant to denote entities of differing qualities. As opposed to English

wherein four cans of soda and four people use the same sequential terminology, in Japanese,

if we were to use the same entities, the words cans and people would be transformed into

different words entirely, used only in the case of counting such objects. Listed are the more

common counters for various entities.

People

Example(s):

etc.

*The counter for one person and two people are the irregular instances, the rest that follow

are coordinate with the standard procedure of counting.

Things (in general)

Example(s):

*Essentially each counter in this grouping is irregular so its best to remember the variance of

each one.

Things (in general)

Example(s):

/

/etc.,

Using Counters:

Counters most commonly appear after the nouns that they quantify. Additionally, particles are

used as per the norm, succeeding the subject or direct object and not the appended counter.

When used to quantify verbs, counters may also commonly appear before the verb itself.

Example(s):


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Watashi wa pasucon ga nidai arimasu. (I have two computers.)

Watashi wa nido kare wo ketobashita. (I kicked him twice.)

Osake wo mou ippai kudasai. (One more cup of alcohol please.)

Xas decide on X

Example(s):

Chicken katsu ni shimasu. (I decide on the chicken katsu.)

Osoi desukara, sono kaiketsu ha ashita ni shimashou. (Its getting late so lets figure out the

solution tomorrow.)

form VERB +as have VERB-ed before

Example(s):

Kono eiga wo mita koto ga aruka? (Have you seen this movie.)

Iie, demo zokuhen wo mita koto ga aru. (No, but Ive seen the sequel before.)

Osushi wo tabeta koto ha arimasen. (I have never eaten sushi before.)

*Note the usage of particlefor positive construction and the particlefor negativeconstruction.

Intransitive and Transitive Verbs


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Like the English language, Japanese has both intransitive and transitive, as in verbs revolving

around only a single entity and verbs revolving around the relationship between two entities.

Unlike the English language, Japanese makes a clear-cut divide between the two types of verbs

in that any given verb cannot be both intransitive and transitive. However, fortunately, two

different verbs that are technically intransitive or transitive versions of each other will still

resemble each other rather closely. An introductory example wouldand

which mean to start (something) and to start respectively.

as the direct object marker

Wherein the particleis used to mark the direct object of a clause, the particleis used tomark the indirect object marker, or in other words, the recipient entity of a verb. In most cases,

thecan be translated and interpreted as to but can also adopt such meanings asfrom.

Example(s):

Watashi wa kanojo ni tegami wo kaita. (I wrote a letter to her.)

Tomodachi ni okane wo ageta. (I gave my friend some money.)

The verb to wear

Here we come across another instance of the Japanese language being considerably strict with its

guide-lines. Whereas in English, the verb to wear is a general-use action for quite literally any

given object that one can wear, the Japanese language has a different verb for every group of

wearable objects, categorized by similar qualities.

andas about/approximately

Whileis used to approximate a quantity or duration,is used to approximate

a point in time. At times,is used in lieu ofto represented an approximate

point in time as well, butshould never be used in lieu ofto represent anapproximate quantity or duration.

Example(s):

Gohan ga dekita made nanjikan gurai kakarimasuka? (How long until the rice is done?)


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Kono anime no fansub wa jyuuniji goro ni detekuru. (This animes fan-subs come out around

twelve.)

as it costs X/it takes X time

The verbis used to represent the effect of expense, in time and cost. When used,respective particles are omitted from the clause.

Example(s):

Kono download wa nanjikan kakarimasuka? (How long does this download take?)

Kono computer wa dono gurai kakarimasuka? (How much does this computer cost?)

Verb Conjugation:form

Theform is used to, but not always, represent past-tense actions and acts as the casual

counterpart to theconjugation. In order to conjugate a verb into itsform, simply take

itsform conjugation and replace theorwithorrespectively.

Example(s):

ate

read

made

reduced

Modifying Nouns with Clauses

In addition to noun modification with adjectives and other nouns, noun modification with clauses

can be applied to Japanese sentences, similar to the English structure of NOUN X that Y,


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wherein X is the particular noun and that + Y is a descriptor clause such as that I saw the

other day. When this construct is used, the predicate of the clause modifying the noun is

maintained in Plain Form, which includes the Dictionary Form, theForm, theForm, and

theForm but not theForm, theForm, theForm, or the

Form. The reason for this is because when a noun-modifying clause is used in a sentence,there are always at least two predicates in the sentence. Since the predicate within the noun-

modifying clause must appear before the other predicate, it is only necessary to use the politeform, if desired, of the final predicate. In summation, the noun-modifying clause can be in Plain

Form while the succeeding predicate can be in Polite Form or both can be in Plain Form, but

there is no instance wherein the noun-modifying clause can be in Polite Form.

Example(s):

Niku wo taberu hito. (Person who eats meat.)

Katta team ha? (Which is the team that won?/Which team won?)

Akihabara e iku densha wa doko desuka? (Where is the train that goes to Akihabara?)

Manten wo totta hito. (Person who scored perfectly.)

Sanka shitakunakatta hito. (Person who didnt want to participate.)

(Past Tense)

Thethat concludes a sentence is a construct that we ignored for the most part in thebeginning, but it actually represents many nuances, such as tense, and furthermore, has just as

many tense-conjugations as regular verbs do.

Plain Form:

Affirmative Non-past

Affirmative Past

Negative Non-past


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Negative Past

Polite Form:

Affirmative Non-past

Affirmative Past

Negative Non-pastor

Negative Pastor

-Adjectives ( Affirmative Past Tense):

When adjectives are not immediately succeeded byor any of its conjugated forms (,

), it needs to conjugated according to its intended usage. To conjugate an -Adjective into its

past-tense, simply replace theat the end with.

Example(s):

was fun

was delicious

was interesting

*The irregular adjective to this construct is, which reverts back to its original form of

before becomingto mean was good.

-Adjectives (Negative Past Tense):

To conjugate an-Adjective into its negative past-tense, simply replace theat the end with

(), or,for more formality.

Example(s):

was not fun

was not delicious

was not interesting

Connecting-Adjectives:


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When two or more-adjectives are used together to describe the same entity, it is only thefinally listed adjective that is conjugated according to usage; all prior adjectives are conjugated

into theForm, which is derived by replacing theat the end of the-adjective with.

Example(s):

was interesting and fun

big and loud

When we mean to connect-adjectives that are in their negative conjugation, we change the

to.

not fun and boring

not nice and awful

-Adjectives (Past Tense):

-adjectives are conjugated into the past tense form by simply using the stem words themselves

and adding the appropriate conjugation ofimmediately afterwards.

Example(s):

was energetic

not lively

was not pretty

Connecting-Adjectives:

When two or more-adjectives are used together to describe the same entity, it is only thefinally listed adjective that is conjugated according to usage; all prior adjectives are conjugated

into theForm, which is derived by addingat the end of the-adjectives stem.

Example(s):

quiet and calm

convenient and fast

When we mean to connect

-adjectives that are in their negative conjugation, we use the

/


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Sequential Voicing:

Sequential voicing occurs when the relationship between two words needs to be sequentially

expressed, by means of voicing the first sound from the second word. This process is most

commonly seen in compound-words that are simply the same word twice, such as(

) and. Notice how the secondin() is

effectively applied a dakuten (voicing mark) and is then pronounced asinstead of.The same pattern occurs for. However, it is not only compound-words that

are double instances of a word that receive this transformation. Words such as

andexhibit the same transformation. In contrast, the

double-instance compound-wordexperiences no such transformation

because there isnt an established method in devoicing the vowel. However, this is not theguideline that should be used to determine when to employ sequential voicing and when to not.

For the most part, it is a common occurrence, but has no definitive criteria, so as a speaker of the

language, you must gradually encounter these words and remember them.

Xas (I/We) want X or Do you want X?

The-adjectiveis used to express a desire. Despite being an -adjective and being

conjugated as such,s structural use is more similar to that of a verb.

Example(s):

Watashi wa inu ga hoshii desu. (I want a dog.)

Inu ga hoshikatta desuga ima neko ga hoshii desu. (I wanted a dog before but now I want a cat.)

Cake ga hoshii desu. (I want cake.)

Ittai nanika ga hoshii ka darouka? (What on earth do you want?/Just what is it exactly that you

want!?)

Sore wa hoshiku arimasendeshita. (I did not want that.)

*Notice that when no subject is explicitly stated, it is implied to be the speaker unless the

sentence is a question, in which the implied subject is the addressee.


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*The question form of this construct can at times be construed by addressees as much too

assertive speech, so it is best to be careful in using this construct when speaking to people who

should or must be shown respect.

XYas X wants Y

As touched upon earlier, it can be construed as impolite to ask about a persons wants. Evenmore so, it is considered considerably impolite to state a persons wants for them; because of

this, in lieu of the grammatical construct , is used when referring to

a third-person subjects wants.conveys the idea that the subject is showing

signs of such wants as opposed to the idea subject directly feels that way. In contrast to,

is a verb and acts as such in sentence construction. More specifically, the

Dictionary Form,is a verb andis another verb of itself, and together they make

the connected form. As a result of this, the particle used in conjunction with

isas opposed to the particleused with.

Example(s):

Kanojo wa nomimono wo hoshigatte iru. (She wants something to drink.)

Kodomotachi wa yasai deha naku niku ga hoshigatte imashita. (The children wanted meat

instead of vegetables.)

Pre-Form VERBas (I/We) want to VERB or Do you want to VERB?

Pre-Form VERBas (I/We) dont want to VERB

Pre-Form VERBas (I/We) want to VERB or You dont want toVERB?

Whereas the Xconstruct is used to express a desire for something, this construct is

used to express a desire to do something. Similar to the X, PRE-FORM VERB

is regarded as having-adjective conjugations.

Example(s):

Gakkou e ikitakunai da. (I dont want to go to school.)

Sono densha wo noritai desu. (I want to ride that train.)


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Studio Ghibli no atarashii eiga ga mitai desuyo. (I want to see Studio Ghiblis new movie.)

Nani ga shitai desuka? (What do you want to do?)

*Notice that the particle used for direct object marking can be either or, but for negative

constructions the particleis the most natural.

XPre-Form VERBas X wants to do VERB

Similarly to the grammatical construct XY, XPre-Form VERB

is used to express a third-person subjects desire to do something. That beingsaid, it is also similar to XYin that it can be construed as an impolitelyassertive choice of words (and grammatical structure) so it is best to be cautious with its usage.

The particle used to mark direct object in this grammatical construct is always.

Example(s):

Watashi no tomodachi mo sono game wo kaitagatteiru. (My friend also wants to buy that game.)

Imouto wa issho ni asobitagatteiru kara kiyou wa au koto ga dekinaidesu. (My little sister wants

to play together so I cant meet with you today.)

*Notice how all subjects are persons of established familiarity, i.e. friends and family members.

Quantifiers:

Quantifier-words are used to express a general quantity of the entity that they modify.


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Verb ConjugationPotential Form

The Potential Form of verbs is used to express the ability to do the verb. It can be used

interchangeably with the Dictionary Form VERB +construct and is actually the

more commonly used of the two. The Potential Form conjugation works differently for-verbs,

-verbs, and irregular verbs.

-verbs: Replace thewith

Example(s):

-verbs: Replace thewith

Example(s):

*The verbis rather unique in that it has two potential forms that can be used

interchangeably, the other being

Irregular Verbs:

*Notice thatis exactly what is used in VERB +, so to say the grammarconstruct quite literally translates to I can do VERBing

*The conjugated Potential Form is pronounced

Example (s):

Kono kanji ga rikai dekimasuka? (Can you understand these Chinese characters?)

Niku ga taberareruka? (Can you eat meat?)

18


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Mada 18 sai dakara osake ga nomemasen. (I cant drink alcohol because Im still eighteen years

old.)

*The Japanese language is known to be rather intermittent in its amendments. The Potential

Form is an example of a new approach that has gained considerable legitimacy. This new

Potential Form pattern disregards thein theadd-on for-verbs, making conjugations

such asandintoandrespectively. Frustratinglyenough, although this innovation has caught on enough to appear in official Japanese-languages

texts, such as newspapers, the revision does not span across every single-verb, so it is left up

to the speaker to remember which-verbs can be conjugated in this way and still be correctly

understood. Of course, for conveniences sake, it is much easier to strictly follow the conjugation.

Form VERB +as has VERB-ed

Here is where the Japanese language becomes a bit precarious for non-native speakers, showing

itself to bea language of aspect more so than a language of tense.While the grammatical

constructForm VERB +can be used as is VERB-ing (as aforementioned), it can alsobe used as has VERB-ed, making it into somewhat of a contradictory construct, in regard to

tense. The emphasis in this form is on a change in state of being as a result of something

occurring.

Example(s):

|

Sono mise wa hirakimashita. (That store opened.) | Sono mise wa hiraite imasu. (That store is

open./That store has opened.)

Kare ga America kara kite imasu. (He has come from America.)

*Notice how this should not be confused with, He is currently on his way coming here from

America. The implication is that he has already arrived and is more so in the process of visiting,

not coming.

George Washington shitte imasuka? (Do you know George Washington?/Have you gotten to

know George Washington.)

*Similarly, notice here that this sentence should not be interpreted as Are you in the process of

knowing George Washington? But rather, Do you know George Washington? implies that

you have already completed the process of knowing, or more grammatically correct, getting to

know George Washington. The phraseis highly common in conversational Japaneseand it being a fine example of this grammatical construct should serve as a proper reminder of

howForm VERB +can mean both is VERB-ing and has VERB-ed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense%E2%80%93aspect%E2%80%93moodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense%E2%80%93aspect%E2%80%93moodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense%E2%80%93aspect%E2%80%93moodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense%E2%80%93aspect%E2%80%93mood


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*Similarly to, there are many verbs that when conjugated in the Form +are

implicitly interpreted to mean the has VERB-ed form ofForm VERB +as opposed to

the is VERB-ing form. Some examples are, which means has

disappeared/vanished/gone out, and, which means has finished/ended. In asense, this makes it easier to distinguish between the two forms by having certain verbs that can

mean only one of the two forms, but as a result, it is the accountability of the learning speakers to

encounter these cases and keep them in mind.

XY as when X, Y

The constructis used to express something, Y, in relation to a particular time, X. It can beused with verbs, nouns, and adjectives, but only uses the Plain Form of all three. There is also

another of grammatical construction that should be taken to mind, that being the two separate

clauses, X and Y, brought into on sentence. Similar to how X is always conjugated in the Plain

Form because it is the subordinate clause of the sentence and need not be in Polite Form even

when the speaker means to be polite so long as the main clause, Y, is itself conjugated in Polite

Form, the subordinate clause X also has a tenuous relationship with the way it relays the tense ofthe sentence despite any given way it is conjugated.

Dictionary Form Verbs:

if the main clause is in the past tense that indicates that the subordinate clause had not yet been

completed when main clause occurred

if the main clause is in non-past tense that indicates that the subordinate clause has not yet been

completed when the main clause occurs

Example(s):

Gakkou e iku toki ni taiyaki wo kaimashita. (When I went to school, I bought taiyaki./I bought

taiyaki on the way to school.)

*Notice how because buy is in its past-tense, the act of buying taiyaki, the main clause, is

completed before the act of going to school, the subordinate clause, is completed.

Gakkou e iku toki ni taiyaki wo kaimasu. (When I go to school, I will buy taiyaki. Ill buy

taiyaki on the way to school.)

*Similarly, notice how the act of going to school, the subordinate clause, will not be completed

at the time of buying taiyaki, the main clause, occurring.

The VERBForm + also exhibits similar peculiarities when used with

Example(s):


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Shukudai wo shite iru toki ni mendokusai na George Washington ga uchi ni kimashita. (When I

was doing my homework, the troublesome George Washington came over.)

*Notice how even though theis in a non-past tense form, the past-tense conjugation of

in the main clause accommodates for the entire sentence, changing when I am doingmy homework to when I was doing my homework.

Form Verbs:

When using the VERBForm with, the subordinate clause is completed before the mainclause.

Nihon e itta toki ni, Akihabara e ikimashita. (When I went to Japan, I went to Akihabara.)

*Notice how the act of going to Japan is completed before the act of Akihabara is.

Adjectives:

For adjectives, the tense of the sentence is denoted strictly by the main clause.

Example(s):

,

Sabishii toki ni taberu. (Whenever I am lonely, I eat.)

Sabishii toki ni tabemashita. (When I was lonely, I called a friend.)

Sabishikata toki ni tabemashita.(When I was lonely, I called a friend.)

*Notice howandmean the exact samething despite having the adjective lonely in non-past tense and past-tense respectively. Because

the main clause is conjugated into past-tense with, the whole sentence is denoted aspast-tense, so either sentence is satisfactory in expressing, When I was lonely, I called a friend.


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For-Adjectives,, for non-past, and, for past, are inserted after the respective

adjective and before. The same guidelines for-Adjectives in regard to tense control also

apply for-Adjectives.

Example(s):

Aparto ga nigiyaka na toki ni toshokan e iku. (When my apartment is lively, I go to the library.)

Apart ga nigiyaka na toki ni toshokan e ikimashita. (When my apartment was lively, I went to

the library.)

Apart ga nigiyaka na toki ni toshokan e ikimashita. (When my apartment was lively, I went to

the library.)

*Again, notice howand

mean the exact same thing despite differences in thesubordinate clauses own tense.

Nouns:

For nouns,, for non-past, and, for past, are inserted after the respective noun and

before. The same guidelines for adjectives in regard to tense control also apply for nouns.

Koukousei no toki ni takusan club katsudou wo shimasu. (People do a lot of club activities when

they are high school students.)

Koukousei no toki ni takusan club katsudou wo shimashita. (I did a lot of club activities when I

was a high-schooler.)

Koukousei datta toki ni takusan club katsudou wo shimashita. (I did a lot of club activities when

I was a high-schooler.)


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VERBAL NOUN(/) as (go/come) to do VERBAL NOUN

The grammatical construct is very similar to the Pre-Form VERB +(/) in thatit expresses the purpose associated with going/coming somewhere.

Example(s):

Toshokan e benkyou ni iku. (Im going to the library to study.)

Counter e chumon ni iku. (Im going to the counter to order something.)

Onegai ni kimashita. (I have come to make a request.)

Using adjectives as adverbs

Fortunately, the Japanese language has a relatively simple method in modifying adjectives into

adverbs that mirrors the English languages method of modifying adjectives, such as the

adjective technical, into adverbs, such as the respective adverb technically, by simply adding

a suffix to the stem word.

For-Adjectives, we simply addto the stem of the respective adjective.

Example(s):

slow, slowly

good, well

For-Adjectives, we simply addto the stem of the respective adjective.

Example(s):

quiet, quietly

simple, simply

XY as Because X, Y


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This grammatical construct is very similar to the XY construct in that it is used to expressX as the cause of Y; in fact, the two constructs are commonly seen as interchangeable

expressions. However, there are important distinctions to be made between the two constructs.

In the usage of XY , X is almost always in Plain Form. When is used with X and Yin Polite Form, the construction comes off as almost overly polite, which may or may not be

your intention as the speaker. Additionally, whenis used, Y cannot be a command. Notice

that the establishment here is thatis subtly more polite than . Accordingly, whenis used with X and Y in Plain Form, it can come off as very casual.

Example(s):

Mada natsuyasumi na node mainichi tanoshimitai desu! (Because it is still summer vacation, I

want to have fun every day!)

Sugoku nemukatta node shukudai wa dekinakatta. (Because I was very sleepy, I was unable to

do the homework.)

Rainen nihon e ikimasu node Nihongo wo manande imasu. (Because I am going to Japan next

year, Im learning Japanese.)

*Notice that for both-Adjectives and Nouns,, for non-past tense, and, for past-

tense, are inserted before.

*It is important to note that when two clauses are connected by a form such asoror

in such a way that one is designated as a subordinate clause and one a main clause, then the

subject of the subject of the subordinate clause should be indicated with the particle instead of

if the two clauses feature two different subjects.

VERBFormas to try and do VERB or do VERB and see what it is like

In this grammatical construct,is most frequently written in hiragana instead of a respective

kanji in order to differentiate from other common verbs such asand.

Example(s):

Nihon ryouri wo tsukutte mitai desu. (I want to try and make Japanese cuisine.)


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Tennis wo shite mita ga dame deshita. (I tried to play tennis but it was hopeless.)

Yatte miyou!! (Lets give it a try!!)

Nattou wo tabete mita ga zenzen suki de ha arimasendeshita. (I tried eating natto but I didnt like

it at all.)

VERB Dictionary Form +as in order to VERB or forthe sake of doing VERB

Example(s):

Manten wo toru tame ni tetsuya shita. (In order to get a perfect score, I stayed up all night.)

Katsu tame ni yoku renshuu shimashita. (We practiced really hard in order to win.)

Hannin wo mitsukeru tame ni mina wo jinmon shita. (They questioned everyone in order to find

the culprit.)

X VERB Dictionary Form +as it will turn out that X VERBs

Example(s):

Itsumo jyujyou de shukudai wo dashite wasurete shimau node mainichi no you ni campus ni

kaeru koto ni naru. (Because I always end up forgetting to turn my homework in during class, it

turns out everyday that I have to return to campus.)

and, although simply different conjugations of ,express very divergent implications, specifically that what has turned out to be is a direct result


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of someones directly influential decision to make it so. When is used, an

emphasis is placed upon the actual decision-making; and whenis used, theemphasis is placed upon the actual resulting activity.

Example(s):

George Washington ha isha ni naru koto ni natta. (It was decided that George Washington would

become a doctor.)

Matsuri no theme ha doubutsu wo motodzuku koto ni natte iru. (Its been decided that the theme

of the festival would be animals.)

Although the connotation is not obvious from the grammatical structure,isoften used to express something as a common practice.

Example(s):

Nanika ga rikai dekinakereba office hours e iku koto ni natte iru. (Youre suppose to go to office

hours if you cant understand something.)

Jyugyou de mina wa koe ni dashite sanka suru koto ni natte iru. (Everyone is supposed to

participate aloud in class.)

*We can make the connection from this grammar pattern to the similar form, which

is much more assertive. In many cases, speakers will forthrightly use thisinstead of

theconstruct, even if it is a decision that was made by their own will, in order tosoften the impression that the gravity of the result leaves.

*100

as so long asas far as

This form is commonly used to express something is true so long as a certain condition istrue, or formulaically, XY as so long as X, Y. This form is strictly used with the PlainForm of verbs, adjectives, and nouns.

For verbs, this means the Dictionary Form VERB, the NegativeForm VERB

, or theForm VERB.


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For-Adjectives, this means the Dictionary Form-ADJECTIVEor the Negative

Form-ADJECTIVE.

For-Adjectives, this means the Dictionary Form-ADJECTIVE +, or the

Dictionary Form-ADJECTIVE +.

For nouns, this means the NOUN +or the NOUN +.

Example(s):

Shinde inai kagiri, tsuzukeru. (As long as (Im not dead/ I havent died), I can continue going.)

George Washington wa iku kagiri, tanoshii hazu da. (As long as George Washington goes, itought to be fun.)

Genki de aru kagiri, mondainai. (As long as I have energy, theres no problem.)

Common verbs that are used with this form are and . Noticehow each convey a range of information from which the speaker derives their judgment from.

Example(s):

Watashi ga shiru kagiri, kanojo wa koibito ga arimasen. (As far as I know, she doesnt have a

boyfriend.)

Watashi ga kiita kagiri, sono Karasuno koukou wa tsuyoi volleyball team ga aru. (As far as I

have heard, Karasuno High School has a strong volleyball team.)

XB as on top of X, Y or X, and moreover, Y, or X, and even more so, Y

This grammatical construct is used to express multiple descriptors of an entity, in which the

succeeding descriptors are given more prominence. While Y is considered to be more

substantial, this does not mean to say that X and Y should be of inverse connotations. If X is a

positive point, Y too should be a positive point, but even more so positive. Conversely, if X is anegative point, Y too should be a negative point, but even more so negative.


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We use the Plain Form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns with this grammatical construct.

For verbs, this means Plain Form VERB +.

For-Adjectives, this means Plain Form-ADJECTIVE +.

For-Adjectives, this means the-ADJECTIVE + (///) +.

For Nouns, this means the NOUN + (///) +.

Example (s):

Samui ue ni kurai dakara, soto ni ikitakunaiyo. (Its cold, and moreover, its dark, so I dont want

to go outside.)

Ano hito wa handsome de aru ue ni okane ga aru dakara josei ni moteru. (That person is popular

with girls because he is handsome, and moreover, has money.)

oras in such a way as or in the manner such as

This grammatical construct is used to express a manner o in which something is done. It is

similar to the XY form but has a greater implication of being an example, in that the X

and Y in X, YZ are interpreted more as examples of Z, as opposed to bedistinctly separate entities that bear similarities to Z.

Example(s):

SNS

Shakaijin wa SNS no profile wo tsukuru, smartphone no app wo tsukau toiu fuu ni, internet de

yoku renraku shite iru. (In ways such as making online profiles and using smartphone

applications, society is communicating online.)

Hikikomori no hito wa net de kaimono suru, housou shokuhin wo taberu toiu fuu ni futsuu na

shakaijin to ha kotonaru seikatsu ga arimasune. (Recluses have a different life-style from the

normal people of society, in such a way as how they shop online and eat packaged foods, dontthey?)


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as in exchange for

is a grammatical construct that can also be used to express something that occurred inexchange, or in compensation, for something else. It is used strictly with the Plain Form of verbs,

adjectives, and nouns.

For verbs, this means Plain Form VERB +.

For-Adjectives, this means Plain Form-ADJECTIVE +.

For-Adjectives, this means the-ADJECTIVE + (/) +.

For Nouns, this means the NOUN + (/) +.

Example(s):

Kono apato wa ookii kitchen ga aru kawari ni semai furoba ga aru. (This apartment has a large

kitchen in exchange for a narrow washroom.)

Kono keyboard wa yasui kawari ni sugu ni kowarareru da. (In exchange of being low-priced, this

keyboard will break easily.)

XY asas a result of X, Y, or after doing X, Y, or based upon doing X, Ywhile doing X, Y is an issuein (terms/the range) of X, Y

Documents

Japanese Grammar Patterns