Grammar Guide

Conjugation for negative verbs:

 For ru-verbs: Drop the「る」and attach「ない」.
o Ex: 食べる => 食べない
 For u-verbs that end in「う」: Replace「う」with「わ」and attach「ない」.
o Ex: 買う=> 買わない
 For all other u-verbs: Replace the u-syllable with the equivalent a-
syllable and attach「ない」.
o Ex: 待つ=> 待たない
 する しない EXCEPTIONS:
くる こない
ある ない

Conjugation verbs in past tense:

 For ru-verbs: Drop the「る」and attach 「た」.
o Ex: 食べる => 食べた
Non-past Past Non-past Past
 For u-verbs: す した 話す 話した
く いた 書く 書いた
ぐ いた 泳ぐ 泳いだ
む んだ 飲む 飲んだ
ぬ んだ 死ぬ 死んだ
ぶ んだ 遊ぶ 遊んだ
る った 切る 切った
つ った 待つ 待った
う った 買う 買った

 EXCEPTIONS: する した
くる きた
行く 行った

Conjugation verbs in past negative tense:

 Change the verb to the negative. Replace「い」with「かった」.
o Ex: 食べない=>たべなかった

The direct object particle を:

 Attach を to the end of the word to signify that the word if a direct object
of the verb.
o Ex: 魚を食べる。/ Eat fish.
 Places can be the direct object of motion verbs. The motion verb is done
to the location.
o Ex: 待をぶらぶら歩く。/ Aimlessly walk (through) town.
 When using「する」with a noun, the「を」particle is optional. We just treat
the whole [noun+する] as one verb.
o Ex: メイルアドレスを登録した。/ Registered email address.

The target particle に:

 Specifies a target of a verb. (w/を, the verb does smth to the direct
object. With に, the verb does smth toward the target.)
The target of any motion verb is specified by に.
o Ex: 家に帰らない。/ Not go back home.
 Always targets “to”, not “from”. To say “from”, you have to use「から」,
often paired with 「まで」 (“up to”).
o Ex: アリスは、アメリカからきた。/ Alice came from America.
o Ex: 宿題を今日から明日までする。/ Do homework from today to
tomorrow.
 The location of an object is the target of the verbs “to exist”. Time is also
a target.
o Ex: 猫は部屋にいる。/ As for cat, exist in room.
o Ex: いい友達に会った。/ Met good friend.
o Ex: ジムは医者になる。/Jim will become doctor.
o Ex: 先週に図書館に行った。/ Went to the library last week.

The directional particle へ:

 Pronounced /e/, it points to the direction of the target, not to the target
(like に). Only used with directional motion verbs, it doesn’t guarantee
 that the target is the final destination, only that it is heading in that
direction (に sticks to the destination).
o Ex: 家へ帰らない。/ Not go back toward home.
 Can’t use with verbs that have no physical direction. But can still be used
with abstract concepts.
o Ex: 勝ちへ向かう。/ Face/go towards victory.

The contextual particle で:

 Points to the context in which an action is performed. (Where, by what
means, with what, etc). Can be translated by “by way of”.
o Ex: 映画館で見た。/ Saw at movie theatre. = Saw by way of
movie theatre.
o Ex: バスで帰る。/ Go back home by bus. = Go back home by way
of bus.
 Using「で」 with「何」. Not to be confused with「何で」(why).
o Ex: 何できた？(なにできた？)/ Came by way of what?
o Ex: 何できた？(なんできた？)/ Why did you come?

When location is the topic:

 When the location becomes the topic of a sentence, you can attach the
topic particles to the 3 location particles.
o Ex: どこで食べる？/ Eat where?
o Ex: イタリアレストランではどう？/ How about Italian restaurant?
(How about by way of Italian restaurant?)

When direct object is the topic:

 The direct object particle does not allow the use of any other particles
with it.
o Ex: 日本語を習う。/ Learn Japanese.
o Ex: 日本語は、習う。/ As for Japanese, learn.

Transitive and intransitive verbs:

 Transitive verbs represent an action done by an active agent;
Intransitive verbs represent an action that occurs without a direct agent.
 Intransitive verbs can’t have a direct object.
o Ex: 私が電気をつけた。/ I am the one that turned on the lights
(electricity).
o Ex: 電気がついた。/ The lights (electricity) is the one that
turned on.
 The only time you use「を」for intransitive verbs is when a location is the
direct object of a motion verb.
o Ex: 部屋を出た。/ Left room.

Relative clauses and sentence order:

 Clauses with verbs can be treated as adjectives, directly modifying the
noun. You can NOT modify a noun with a noun with「を」like you can
with「だった」, 「じゃない」, and「じゃなかった」.
o Ex: 学生じゃない人は、学校に行かない。/ Person who is not a
student do not go to school.
o Ex: 先週に映画をみた人は誰？/ Who (is) person who watched
movie last week?
 A grammatical correct sentence in Japanese just consists simply of
[verb]. Anything that comes before the verb doesn’t have to come in a
particular order, but the verb must come at the end.
o Ex: 私は公園でお弁当を食べた。/ I ate lunch at the park.
o Ex: 公園で私はお弁当を食べた。/ I ate lunch at the park.
o Ex: お弁当を私は公園で食べた。/ I me, ate lunch at the park.
o Ex: お弁当を食べた。/ Ate lunch.
o Ex: 食べた。/ Ate.

The inclusive particle と:

 Combines two nouns to mean “and”.
o Ex: 本と雑誌と葉書を買った。/ Bought book and magazine and
postcard.
 Also shows an action that was done together w/ someone or something
else.
o Ex: 友達と話した。/ Talked with friend.
o Ex: 先生と会った。/ Met with teacher.

The vague listing particles や and とか:

 Used to list one or more nouns, implying there’s others not mentioned.
Translates to “and/or, etc”.
o Ex: 飲み物やカップやナプキンは、いらない？/ You don’t need
(things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc?
 「とか」can also be used as a colloquial equivalent.
o 飲み物とかカップとかナプキンは、いらない？/ You don’t need
(things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc?

The particle の:
 Used to imply possession. “A の B” can be translated as “B of A”.
o Ex: ボブの本。/ Book of Bob. / Bob’s Book.
o Ex: ボブは、アメリカの大学の学生だ。/ Bob is student of college
of America. / Bob is a student at an American college.
 Can be also omitted if the modified noun is clear.
 Combined with adjectives or/and verbs,「の」becomes a generic noun.
o 白いのはかわいい。/ Thing that is white (is) cute.
o 授業に行くのを忘れた。/ Forgot the thing of going to class.
 This can also be done with「物」for a generic object, and「こと」for a
generic event.
o 白い物はかわいい。/ Thing that is white (is) cute.
o 授業に行くことを忘れた。/ Forgot the event of going to class.
 It can also modify a verb and adjective clauses like noun clauses.
o 毎日勉強するのは大変。/ The thing of studying every day is
tough.
 When substituting「の」for a noun, you still need the「な」to modify the
noun with a na-adjective.
o 大静かな部屋が、アリスの部屋。/ Quiet room is the one that is
the room of Alice.
o 大静かなのが、アリスの部屋。/ Quiet one is the one that is the
room of Alice.
 Warning: The sentence must be about the clause, not the noun that is
replaced. Otherwise, replacement of the noun is incorrect.
 「の」can also convey an explanation. Same as saying “Look, here’s the
reason…” rather than just saying the information.
o 今は忙しいの。/ The thing is that (I’m) busy now. (feminine)
o 今は忙しいのだ。/The thing is that (I’m) busy now.
 This is gender-neutral in questions.
o 今は忙しいの？/ Is it that (you are) busy now?
 Add 「な」to「の」when expressing state-of-being to distinguish it from
the possessive「の」.
o ジムのだ。/ (It) is of Jim.
o ジムなのだ。/ It is Jim (with explanatory tone).
 Explanatory conjugation (the pasts for nouns are almost never used):
Noun/na-Adj. Verb/i-Adj.
Non-past 学生なんだ 飲むんだ
Negative (attached) 学生じゃないんだ 飲まないんだ
Negative (conjugated) 学生なんじゃない 飲むんじゃない
Past (attached) 学生だったんだ 飲んだんだ
Past (conjugated) 学生なんだった 飲むんだった
Neg-Past (attached) 学生じゃなかったんだ 飲まかったんだ
Neg-Past (conjugated) 学生なんじゃなかった 飲むんじゃなかった

o どこに行くの？/ Where is it that (you) are going? (seeking

explanation)
o 授業に行くんだ。/ It is that (I) go to class. (explanatory)

Adverbs:
 Adverbs can be placed anywhere in the clause, as long as it comes before
the verb it refers to.
 For na-adjectives, attach the target particle「に」.
o Ex: 早い=>早く
o Ex: ボブは朝ご飯を早くたべた。/ Bob quickly ate breakfast.
 For i-adjectives, replace「い」with「く」.
o Ex: きれい=>きれいに
o Ex: アリスは自分の部屋をきれいにした。/ Alice did her own
room toward clean.
 There are also adverbs that don’t stem from adjectives.
o Ex: 映画をたくさん見た。/ Saw a lot of movies.

Sentence-ending particle, ね:
 Add 「ね」to expect agreement. Translated as “right?” or “isn’t it?”.
o Ex: いい天気ね？/ Good weather, huh?
o Ex: そうね？/ That is so, isn’t it? (fem.; males say: そうだね)

Sentence-ending particle, よ:
 Add 「よ」to inform the listener of something new. Translated as “You
know…”.
 o Ex: 時間がないよ。/ There’s no time, you know.
o Ex: 大丈夫だよ。/ It’s ok, you know.

Sentence-ending particle, よね:

 Add 「よね」to inform the listener of something new, and when you’re
seeking agreement.
o Ex: ボブは、魚が好きなんだよね。/ Bob likes fish, you know,
dontcha?
o Ex: そうだね。/ That is so, huh?

Rules for extracting the stem of verbs:

 For ru-verbs, remove「る」.
o Ex: 食べる=>たべ
 For u-verbs, replace the last \u\ mora for an \i\ mora.
o Ex: 食べる=>たべ
o Ex: 泳ぐ=>泳ぎ
 する し Exceptions:
くる き

 The stem of a verb can (limitedly) used like a noun.

 In general, using stem forms as targets of motion verbs is useful,
meaning “to go/to come to do [verb]”
o Ex: 明日、映画を見に行く。/Tomorrow, go to see movie.
 The directional particle「へ」sounds like you’re literally going to
something, while「に」implies you’re going for the purpose of doing
something.
o Ex: 昨日、友達が遊びへきた。/Yesterday, friend came to a
playing activity (sounds strange)
o Ex: 昨日、友達が遊びにきた。/Yesterday, friend came to play.
 Sometimes, attaching other verbs to the stem creates new verbs.
o Ex: 走り出す。/ to break our into a run.

Using 〜ます to make verbs polite:

 Masu-forms must always come at the end of a complete sentence, never
inside a modifying relative clause. In compound sentences, each sub-
sentence can also end in a masu-form.
 For all verbs, attach conjugations of「ます」to the stem.
ます conjugations Stem + ます
Non- ます 遊びます
past
Negative ません 遊びません
Past ました 遊びました
Neg-Past ませんでした 遊びませんでした
Using です to for everything else:
 If the sentence does not end in a ru-verb or u-verb, just add「です」or「で
した」. Also remove any declarative「だ」present.
 For i-adjectives, attach「です」. Casual Polite
Non-past かわいい かわいいです
Negative かわいくない かわいくないです
Past かわいかった かわいかったです
Neg-Past かわいくなかった かわいくなかったです

 For na-adjectives, remove「だ」for non-negative and attach「です」.

Casual Polite
Non- 静か (だ) 静かです
past
Negative 静かじゃない 静かじゃないです
Past 静かだった 静かでした
Neg-Past 静かじゃなかった 静かじゃなかったです

 A more formal negative conjugation used mostly in written uses「ありま

せん」instead of「ないです」.
Casual Polite
Negative かわいくない かわいくありません
Neg-Past かわいくなかった かわいくありませんでした
Negative 静かじゃない 静かじゃありません
Neg-Past 静かじゃなかった 静かじゃありませんでした

o strange)
 「です」is not the same as 「だ」!

Addressing people:
 Addressing yourself, depending on gender and politeness. Repeating “I”
over and over makes you sound narcissistic!
 Kanji Kana Situation
私 わたくし m/f in formal
私 わたし m/f in normal polite
僕 ぼく m in fairly polite or fairly casual
俺 おれ m in very casual
あたし f in casual, girly and cutesy
one’s f and childish
own
name
わし older men

 Addressing others, depending on gender and politeness. Repeating “you”

over and over sounds like you’re accusing the listener!

Manner Example Situation

First Name 一郎 Very casual
By title 田中先生 Addressing a superior
Last name + さん 田中さん equal standing, polite
First name +さん 一郎さん less distant, polite
くん 一郎くん equal or lower standing, male
ちゃん 一郎ちゃん equal or lower standing, female
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