Beginner Japanese Grammar Guide

1. Basic Sentence Structure

Japanese sentence structure follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) pattern, unlike English which uses Subject-Verb-Object (SVO).

Key points:

• The verb always comes at the end of the sentence
• Particles mark the grammatical function of words
• Word order is more flexible than English, but SOV is standard

2. Essential Particles

Particles are small words that indicate the grammatical relationship between words in a sentence. Here are the most important ones for beginners:

は (wa) - Topic Marker

を (wo/o) - Object Marker

が (ga) - Subject Marker

に (ni) - Direction/Time/Location

で (de) - Location of Action/Means

の (no) - Possession/Connection

3. The Copula (です/だ)

The copula is like the English verb "to be" (am, is, are). In Japanese, we use です (desu) in polite speech and だ (da) in casual speech.

Present Tense

Form	Japanese	Example	Translation
Polite Affirmative	です	がくせいです	is a student
Polite Negative	ではありません	がくせいではありません	is not a student
Casual Affirmative	だ	がくせいだ	is a student
Casual Negative	じゃない	がくせいじゃない	is not a student

Past Tense

Form	Japanese	Example	Translation
Polite Affirmative	でした	がくせいでした	was a student
Polite Negative	ではありませんでした	がくせいではありませんでした	was not a student
Casual Affirmative	だった	がくせいだった	was a student
Casual Negative	じゃなかった	がくせいじゃなかった	was not a student

4. い-Adjectives

い-adjectives are adjectives that end in い. They conjugate by changing their ending.

Basic Form

Conjugation

Form	Rule	Example (たかい - expensive)	Translation
Present Affirmative	〜い	たかい	is expensive
Present Negative	〜くない	たかくない	is not expensive
Past Affirmative	〜かった	たかかった	was expensive
Past Negative	〜くなかった	たかくなかった	was not expensive

5. な-Adjectives

な-adjectives require な when modifying nouns directly. They use the copula for conjugation.

Basic Usage

Conjugation (using the copula)

Form	Example (げんき - healthy/energetic)	Translation
Present Affirmative	げんきです	is healthy
Present Negative	げんきではありません	is not healthy
Past Affirmative	げんきでした	was healthy
Past Negative	げんきではありませんでした	was not healthy

6. Verb Basics

Japanese verbs are divided into three groups:

Group 1: う-verbs (Godan verbs)

Verbs ending in う、く、ぐ、す、つ、ぬ、ぶ、む、る (with some exceptions)

• かう (to buy)
• かく (to write)
• のむ (to drink)
• はなす (to speak)

Group 2: る-verbs (Ichidan verbs)

Verbs ending in る where the sound before る is from the い or え row

• たべる (to eat)
• みる (to see)
• おきる (to wake up)

Group 3: Irregular verbs

Only two verbs:

• する (to do)
• くる (to come)

7. The ます Form

The ます form is the polite present/future tense form of verbs.

Formation Rules

Group	Rule	Dictionary Form → ます Form
Group 1 (う-verbs)	Change last sound to い-row + ます	かう → かいます かく → かきます のむ → のみます
Group 2 (る-verbs)	Drop る + ます	たべる → たべます みる → みます
Group 3 (Irregular)	Memorize	する → します くる → きます

8. Past Tense

To form the past tense, we modify the ます form or the plain form.

Polite Past Tense

Change ます to ました

Plain Past Tense

Group	Rule	Example
Group 1	Various changes based on ending	かう → かった かく → かいた のむ → のんだ
Group 2	る → た	たべる → たべた みる → みた
Group 3	Memorize	する → した くる → きた

9. Negative Forms

Japanese has both polite and plain negative forms.

Polite Negative

Change ます to ません (present) or ませんでした (past)

Plain Negative

Group	Rule	Example
Group 1	Change last う to あ + ない	かう → かわない かく → かかない のむ → のまない
Group 2	る → ない	たべる → たべない みる → みない
Group 3	Memorize	する → しない くる → こない

For past negative, change ない to なかった:

10. The て Form

The て form is one of the most versatile forms in Japanese. It's used for connecting sentences, making requests, and forming progressive tenses.

Formation Rules

Group 1 Ending	て Form	Example
う, つ, る	って	かう → かって
く	いて	かく → かいて
ぐ	いで	およぐ → およいで
す	して	はなす → はなして
ぬ, ぶ, む	んで	のむ → のんで

Group 2: Drop る and add て

Group 3:

• する → して
• くる → きて

Common Uses

1. Making Requests (てください)

2. Connecting Actions

3. Asking Permission (てもいい)

11. The ている Construction

The ている form is extremely important and has multiple uses. It's formed by adding いる (to exist/be) to the て form.

Formation

て form + いる/います

Main Uses

1. Progressive/Continuous Action

Describes an action in progress (like English -ing)

2. Resultant State

Describes a state resulting from a completed action

3. Habitual Action

Describes repeated or habitual actions

Important State-Change Verbs

Some verbs with ている describe states rather than ongoing actions:

• しっている (to know) - not "knowing"
• もっている (to have) - not "having"
• すんでいる (to live/reside) - not "living"
• けっこんしている (to be married) - not "marrying"

Negative and Past Forms

Form	Example	Translation
Negative	よんでいません	is not reading
Past	よんでいました	was reading
Past Negative	よんでいませんでした	was not reading

12. Irregular Verbs

The two irregular verbs する and くる are extremely common and must be memorized.

する (to do)

Form	Conjugation	Example Usage
Dictionary	する	べんきょうする (to study)
ます form	します	べんきょうします
Negative	しない	べんきょうしない
Past	した	べんきょうした
て form	して	べんきょうして
ている	している	べんきょうしている

Many nouns can become verbs by adding する:

• べんきょう (study) → べんきょうする (to study)
• りょうり (cooking) → りょうりする (to cook)
• でんわ (phone) → でんわする (to phone)

くる (to come)

Form	Conjugation
Dictionary	くる
ます form	きます
Negative	こない
Past	きた
て form	きて
ている	きている

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've now covered the essential grammar points needed to begin understanding and constructing basic Japanese sentences. These concepts form the foundation for more advanced grammar.

Next Steps:

• Practice these patterns with vocabulary from our quizzes
• Try constructing your own sentences using these grammar points
• Listen to native Japanese to hear these patterns in context
• Continue with our Basic level quizzes to reinforce these concepts

Remember: Grammar is best learned through practice and exposure. Don't worry about memorizing every rule perfectly – focus on understanding the patterns and using them in context.