Here are the most important grammar rules to remember, divided by category:
1. Basic Sentence Structure (SOV)
Verb Always Last: The main verb or predicate comes at the very end of the sentence, regardless of how long the sentence is.
Particles Define Roles: Particles (小詞, joshi) follow nouns to indicate their role (subject, object, location).
は (wa): Marks the topic of the sentence.
が (ga): Marks the grammatical subject, often emphasizing who or what.
を (o/wo): Marks the direct object.
に (ni) / へ (e): Marks direction, target, or time.
で (de): Marks the location of an action.
の (no): Indicates possession ("'s") or connects nouns.
Context is King (Omission): Subjects, objects, and pronouns (like "I" or "you") are usually omitted if they are understood from context.
No Articles: There are no equivalents to "a," "an," or "the".
No Plurals: Nouns do not have plural forms; the number is understood from context or by using specific counters.
Busuu
Busuu
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2. The "To Be" Copula (Desu/Da)
Desu (です) vs. Da (だ): Use desu for polite sentences and da for informal/casual speech.
Placement: Similar to the verb, desu goes at the end of the sentence.
Negative/Past: To say something is not, use ~ja nai (informal) or ~dewa arimasen (polite). To say it was, use ~datta (informal) or ~deshita (polite).
Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese
Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese
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3. Verb Conjugation
Two Primary Tenses: Japanese has only two main tenses: non-past (present/future) and past.
Verb Types: Verbs fall into three groups that determine how they conjugate:
Ichidan (-ru) verbs: Easy to conjugate (e.g., taberu -> tabemasu).
Godan (-u) verbs: Slightly more complex (e.g., kau -> kaimasu).
Irregular verbs: Suru (to do) and Kuru (to come).
Te-Form (〜て): Used to connect verbs, make requests, or describe continuous actions (e.g., ~te imasu).
StoryLearning
StoryLearning
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4. Adjectives
Two Types of Adjectives:
i-adjectives: End in i (e.g., kawaii, atsui) and can conjugate on their own for past/negative (e.g., atsui -> atsukatta - was hot).
na-adjectives: Act more like nouns; require na to modify a noun (e.g., kirei na hito - a clean/beautiful person).
5. Essential Communication Rules
Asking Questions (Ka - か): Simply add ka to the end of a sentence to make it a question; no change in word order is required.
Politeness (-san - さん): Add -san to the end of people's names for politeness. Never use it for yourself.
You don't say "you": The word for "you" (anata) is rarely used. Instead, use the person's name + san or omit the pronoun entirely.
