From JapaneseGuide

A Japanese guide to Japanese grammar

This site explains Japanese grammar in a systematic step-by-step process and is released under the Creative Commons License. It was created as a resource for those who want to learn Japanese grammar in a rational, intuitive way that makes sense in Japanese. The explanations are focused on how to make sense of the grammar not from English but from a Japanese point of view. To learn more about this guide, go to the introduction page and start learning this intriguing and unique language!

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Writing System
   • Hiragana
     • Hiragana Practice Exercises
   • Katakana
     • Katakana Practice Exercises
   • Kanji
3. Basic Grammar
   • Expressing State-of-Being
     • State-of-Being Practice Exercises
   • Introduction to Particles （は、も、が）
     • 「は、も、が」 Particle Exercises
   • Adjectives
     • Adjective Practice Exercises
   • Verb Basics
     • Verb Practice Exercises
   • Negative Verbs
   • Past Tense
   • Verb-related Particles （を、に、へ、で）
   • Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
   • Subordinate Clauses
   • Noun-related Particles （と、や、とか、の）
   • Using Adverbs and Gobi
4. Essential Grammar
   • Polite Form and Verb Stems　（～です、～ます）
   • Addressing People
   • The Question Marker　（か）
   • Compound Sentences　（て-form、から、ので、のに、が、けど、し、～たりする）
   • Other uses of the te-form　（～ている、～てある、～ておく、～ていく、～てくる）
   • Potential Form
   • Using する and なる with the に particle
   • Conditionals　（と、なら、ば、たら）
   • Expressing "must" or "have to"　（～だめ、～いけない、～ならない、～ても）
   • Desire and Suggestions　（たい、欲しい、volitional、～たらどう）
   • Using Quotations （と、って）
   • Defining and Describing （という）
   • Trying or attempting something　（～てみる、volitional＋とする）
   • Giving and Receiving　（あげる、やる、くれる、もらう）
   • Making requests　（～ください、～ちょうだい、～なさい、command form）
   • Numbers and Counting
   • Wrapping up section 4 and more gobi
5. Special Expressions
   • Causative and Passive Verbs
   • Honorific and Humble Forms
   • Things that happen unintentionally　（～てしまう、～ちゃう／～じゃう）
   • Special expressions with generic nouns （こと、ところ、もの）
   • Expressing various levels of certainty　（かもしれない、でしょう、だろう）
   • Expressing amounts　（だけ、のみ、しか、ばかり、すぎる、Amount+も、ほど、さ）
   • Various ways to express similarity and hearsay　（よう、～みたい、～そう、～そうだ、～らしい、～っぽい）
   • Using 方 and よる for comparisons and other functions　（より、の方、stem＋方、によって、によると）
   • Saying something is easy or difficult to do　（～やすい、～にくい）
   • More negative verbs　（ないで、ず、～ん、ぬ）
   • Hypothesizing and Concluding （わけ、～とする）
   • Expressing time-specific actions （ばかり、とたんに、ながら、まくる）
   • Leaving something the way it is　（まま、っぱなし）
6. Advanced Topics
   • Formal Expressions　（である、ではない）
   • Things that should be a certain way （はず、べき、べく、べからず）
   • Expressing the minimum expectation （でさえ、ですら、おろか）
   • Showing signs of something （～がる、ばかり、～めく）
   • Formal expressions of non-feasibility　（～ざるを得ない、やむを得ない、～かねる）
   • Tendencies （～がち、～つつ、きらいがある）
   • Advanced Volitional　（まい、であろう、かろう）
   • Covered by something （だらけ、まみれ、ずくめ）
   • Advanced proximity of actions （が早いか、や否や、そばから）
   • Others （思いきや、がてら、あげく）
7. Miscellaneous
   • Casual Patterns and Slang
   • Kansai Dialect
   • Various Conjugation Charts
   • Typing in Japanese
8. Index

Links

My Links

• Japanese Grammar Guide Forum - If there is anything you would like to see addressed or added to the guide, go to the forum to post your ideas!
• 3yen - I write random and hopefully informative stuff about things related to learning Japanese here.

Other Links

• Jim Breens' WWWJDIC - Probably the definitive Japanese/English dictionary on the web. A great tool to learn Japanese with.
• 英辞郎 - Another great dictionary that I use when WWWJDIC lets me down
• Charles Kelly's Online Japanese Language Study Materials - These are free-to-use online materials developed to help people study Japanese.
• About.com Japanese Forum - A very active forum about Japanese.
• Japanese Grammar Database - A dictionary-style approach to grammar. Covers more grammar than any book I've seen in the US.
• frezell.org - Contains links to free programs to learn hiragana and katakana.
• Yahoo!チャット - Chat in Japanese! Even has voice chat, even though I don't know how well it'll work in the US.