Subordinate Clause - たら

Conjunction: ～～たら、～～
We can use this subordinate conjunction to indicate tat te action or state expressed by the
main clause in a sentence takes place after the action or state expressed by the subordinate clause.
The main clause, or the subsequence, comes after たら and the subordinate clause, or
antecedent, comes after it.
This form can be use with adjectives, nouns and verbs. For all cases the subordinate clause
must be in the past form.

Use 1 (Condictional):
たら can make the function of condictional, so it can be translated to "if" in that case. To do so,
the main clause must be in a non-past form.

Ex: 雨が降ったら、サッカーをしません。
Ex: 週末、暇だったら、一緒美術館へ行きませんか。
Ex: この服の色が好きだったら、買います

Use 2 (Succeeding Actions)

たら can also mean “when”. In this case the event of the main sentence occurs right after the
subordinate clause.
When it is used to describe things in the past, not only has it the meaning of succeeding
actions, but also express the speaker's surprise regarding what happened.

Ex: 授業が終わったら、家へ帰ります。
Ex: 大学に卒業したら、父の会社で働こうと思っています。
Ex: 起きたら、もう12時でした。
Ex: かばんを開けたら、財布がありませんでした。
Ex: 駅へ着いたら、混んでいました。

Use 3 (Asking Advice)

たら can also be used when the speaker asks the listener for some advices or instructions about
what to do in a certain situation. In this case a pattern is attached to the end of the sentence.
Pattern: ～～たらいいですか。

Ex: どうやって公園へ行ったらいいですか。
Ex: 何をしたらいいですか。
Use 4 (Giving Advices)
We can use this form to give an advice as well. In this case after the たら we just add どうです
か.

Ex: ちょっと休んだらどうですか。

Completion or Regret - しまう

Auxiliar Verb: ～～しまった/ しまいました。

This auxiliary-verb is used to express either a completion of an action or regret.
The verb that precedes it must be in the te-from.

Use 1 (Completion)
しまう can mean that a certain action was complete. However, depending on the context and
the preceding sentence, it might mean that something is being complete or someone has started to do
an action.

Ex: 二村さんは三日でその本を読んでしまいました。
Ex: お皿を洗ってしまいますから、お先にどうぞ。

Use 2 (Regret)
The other use for this auxiliary verb is to express the idea that someone did something wrong
by mistake or something that should not have happened happened.
This use of the しまった implies the agent's regret about what he has done or the speaker's
regret or criticism about someone's actions or about something that happened.

Ex: 電車に傘を忘れてしまいました。
Ex: 山田さんは私のケーキを食べてしまいました。
Expressing Doubt and Possibility - かもしれない

Auxiliary Adjective: ～～かもしれない/ かもしれません。

This auxiliary verb is used when we want to express that we don`t know if something will
happen, or that something might happen or be in a specific state.
This structure can be translated to “might” or “can tell if” depending on the context.

Verbs
To use かもしれません with verbs, they must be in the plain form, negative, or past form.

Ex: 午後、雨が降るかもしれません。
Ex: 約束の時間に遅れるかもしれません。

I-Adjectives

Na-Adjectives

Nouns

Consecutive Landmarks - あとで

Conjunctive: ～～あとで、～～
We use this conjunctive to express that a state or action takes place after another
state or action, but this doesn't mean that it had happened consecutively.
The action or state which precedes the あとで is the first action, and the one which
succeeds it is the second one.

Verb
To use this structure with a verb, it must be in the past form.

Ex: 映画を見たあとで、食事をしました。
Ex: 電車を降りたあとで、友達に電話をかけます。
Ex: 電車を降りたあとで、ないことに気がついたんです。

Nouns
To use this structure with nouns, we must add の at the end of it
 Ex: 授業のあとで、友達とビールを飲みにバーへ行きます。

Indicating Causality - で

Particle: ～～で～～。
The particle で, in general line, is used to indicate a location where something
happened, the use of something for doing something, the time when something terminates
or the amount of time a period of activity has taken.
Besides all this uses, it can indicate a weak causal relationship. The logic of using で
to express this causal relationship between two things seems to be derived from the te-form
of です (だって). Thus, in literal translations で might be understood as “and”, but it also explain
a situation which something happened because of something.
The cause is said before the particle で and the consequence after it.

Ex: 山田さんは病気で学校を休みました。
Ex: 事故で怪我をしました。

Verbs
The particle で itself just can only be used with nouns, but due to the origin of its
meaning, we can express this same idea of causality with verbs in the te-form and negative
te-form.
When using the te-form to express this causal relation, the first part express a cause
or reason for the result in the main sentence which can only be a statement with non-
volitional expressions or with expressions of states or emotions.

Ex: 行き方を忘れて、迷いました。
Ex: 電車が来なくて、駅で30分ぐらい待ちました。
Ex: 寝坊して、約束の時間に遅れてしまいました。

I-Adjectives

Na-Adjectives

Nouns
Expressing a Reason or Excuse - ので

Conjunction: ～～ので～～。
ので is a subordinate conjunction which express a reason or a cause in a formal way.
The first part of it consists in the excuse or explanation for the second part.
The main sentence, which comes after the ので, states a favour request, an event in
the past or a reason for not accepting something.
The casual form of ので is から.

Verbs
To use this conjuction with verbs, the one in the first sentence must be in the plain
form, past form or negative form, but it is not necessary to add anything afterwards

Ex: 旅行に行けないので、買い物をしたいです。

I-Adjectives
To use this conjunction with i-adjectives, they must be in the plain form if placed
before the ので.

Ex: 体の調子が悪いので、早く帰ってもいいですか。

Na-Adjectives
To use this structure with na-adjectives, we must add な at the end of it, before ので.

Ex: 週末は暇なので、アルバイトがしたいです。

Nouns.
To use this structure with nouns, we must add な at the end of it before ので.

Ex: 授業なので、話せません。

Question as a Part of a Sentence

Pattern: Interrogative ～～ か、～～。

This pattern is used to turn a question into a part of an affirmative sentence. The
question we use we use in this kind of sentence must be a interrogative one such as 何, 何
時, どう, どうやって, etc. Thus, the answers might be an explanation.
 The component which is placed between the interrogative and か can be consider a
rhetorical question.

Verbs
When using this pattern with verbs, we must put it in the plain form.
Ex: どうするか、まだ決めていません。
Ex: どうやって行くか、分かりません。

I-Adjectives

Na-Adjectives

Nouns

Yes or No Question in a Sentence

Pattern: ～～かどうか、～～。
This Pattern turns a question without an interrogative that requires an yes-no answer
into a part of a sentence.
It can be translated to “whether or not”.

Verbs
To use this pattern with a verb, it must be in the plain form or in the past form.

Ex: 進学するかどうか、まだ決めていません。

Potential Form

Ending: られる
This ending is used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that something or someone is
able to do something. Due to the new function the verb acquires, the object is indicated by
the particle が.
 Note that when a verb is turned into its potential form, it becomes a second group
verb.

First Group Verbs

In the case of the first group verbs, we must replace the last syllable - which ends
with “u” - to another with the same consonant ending in “e” and add る.

Ex: 日本が読める。
Ex: 100メートルぐらい泳げる

Second Group Verbs

In the case of the second group verbs, we must replace the る for られる.

Ex: 私は何も食べられる。

Third Group Verbs

The third group irregular verbs turn into 出来る（できる）and 来られる（こられる）.

Ex: 雨でアンナさんはパーティへ来られない。
Ex: 私はスキーが出来ません。

Reaching a Point Where … - ようになる

Pattern: ～～ようになる。
We use this pattern when we want to talk about something that a change takes place
gradually, or has finally reached an expected point.
Learning new abilities
This structure can be used with verbs in the potential form to express that someone
has acquired an ability or become experienced in doing something. The exception in this
case is the verb 分かる which is not used in the potential form.

Ex: 私は日本語が話せるようになりました。
Ex: 田中さんは少し聞き取れるようになりました。

This form is commonly used with the たい form when the speaker wants to express a
desire of learning an ability.

Ex: 私は料理が作れるようになりたいです・

Getting a new habit

When we use this structure with verbs in their plain form, it means that someone
started doing something in a certain point in time as a habit.

Ex: 日本へ来てから、料理を作るようになりました。

To use this in the negative form to express that someone reached a point where he is
not able to do something, we replace the い at the end of ない to く.
Besides, it is not even necessary to say ようになった, just なった or なりました is enough.

Ex: 鈴木さんは酒を飲まなくなりました。

Heard Information - そうだ

Auxiliary: ～～そうだ。
 We use this auxiliary to indicate that the information expressed by the preceding part
of the sentence is what the speaker heard. Thus it indicates a hearsay that the speaker
strongly believes that is true.

Verbs
When using this structure with verbs, they must be in the plain form.

Ex: 小川さんはフランス語を勉強しているそうです。

I-Adjectives
When we use this structure with i-adjectives, they must be in the plain form.

Ex: 日本の肉は高いそうです。

Na-Adjectives

Ex:

Preconceptions and Concerns - そうだ

Auxiliary Adjective: ～～そうだ。
We can use this auxiliary adjective to indicate that what is expressed by the
preceding sentence is the speaker`s conjecture concerning about an event in the future or
the present state of someone based on what the speaker sees or feels.
It can be translated to “seem”, “feel like”, or “look like”.

Verbs
When we use this pattern with a verb, it must be in the ます-form but without the ます.
In the case of the negative, the verb should keep in the ます-form, but we must replace そうだ
for そうにありません、そうもありません、そうにもありません.

Ex: 雨が降りそうです。
Ex: あの時計は高そうにもありません。

I-Adjectives
In order to use this pattern with i-adjectives, we must put out the い. In the case of
negative, the adjective must be in the negative, but we replace the ない to なさそうだ.

Ex: あの腕時計は高そうです。
 Ex: この電子辞書はよさそうです。

Na-Adjectives
To use this pattern with na-adjectives, we do not have to change the verb. In the
case of the negative, the adjective must be in the negative, but we replace じゃない to じゃなさ
そうだ.

Ex: このかばんは丈夫そうです。
Ex: この魚は新鮮じゃなさそうです。

そう as an adjective
When we want to describe something based in our preconceptions we use the
explained pattern but it is not its only use. If our perception is not the focus of our frase, just
a tool to bring color to a situation, we can turn そう into an adjective. In this case, instead of
finishing the action with だ we can link the そう to a noun by adding に to its end.

Ex: あの人は重そうに荷物を持っています。

Expressing Excess - すぎる

Auxiliary Verb: ～～すぎる。
We use this auxiliary verb when we want to say that something or someone does something
excessively or is in an overkill state.

Verbs
To use this structure with a verb, it must be in the ます-form but without the ます.
In the case of the verbs, not only can we state about overuse but we also can
complain about it, in this second case, instead of using すぎる as a verb, we must use it as a
noun, therefore, すぎだ.
 Ex: お酒を飲みすぎました。
Ex: 田中さんはわたしが買ったビールを飲みすぎです。

I-Adjectives
To use this structure with an i-adjective, we must put out the い at the end of it.

Ex: このアパートは高すぎます。

Na-Adjectives
To use this structure with na-adjectives, we do not have to do anything.

Ex: この道は静かすぎています。

Negative Form

Politeness
Honorific Verbs
We use special verbs to describe the actions of people whom we respect, or to talk
with someone who is older or more important than us. The following verbs can just be use
when we are not talking about ourselves.

行く ― いらっしゃる（いらっしゃいます）
来る ー いらっしゃる（いらっしゃいます）
いる ー いらっしゃる（いらっしゃいます）
食べる ー 召し上がる （召し上がります）
飲む ー 召し上がる （召し上がります）
くれる ー くださる （くださいます）
 言う ー おっしゃる （あっしゃいます）
する ー なさる （なさいます）
見る ー ごらんになる（ごらんになります）
知っている ー ごぞんじだ （ごぞんじです）

The verbs which doesn't have any special form can be tuned into a honorific if we
flank a verb ます-stem with お and になる.

Ex: 先生はもうお帰りになりました。

The logic behind the honorific verbs is that they exalt the subject of the sentence.

Humble Verbs
We use special verbs to describe our actions during polite situations or to describe
something that we do out of respect of somebody.

行く － 参る （参ります）
来る － 参る （参ります）
いる － おりる （おります）
言う － 申す （申します）
する － いたす （いたします）
食べる － いただく （いただきます）
飲む － いただく （いただきます）
もらう － いただく （いただきます
あげる － さしあげる（さしあげます）
です － でござる （でございます）

The verbs which doesn't have any special form can be turned into a humble verb if
we flank a verb ます-stem with お and する.

Ex: 昨日、私は先生にお会いしました。

The する verbs doesn't follow this pattern. Instead they simply have the prefix お or ご
and the する at the end. The general rule to know if you should use ご or お if a certain verb is
if the reading of the kanjis of the verb is by the 音読み, they are preceded by ご, but id there
is a 訓読み reading, they are preceded by お.
 Ex: 私は先生にお電話する。
Ex: 私は会長にご案内する。

The logic behind the humble verbs is that they bring you down with a modest talk
about what you do.

Polite Request
During formal situations, or when the listener is a superior, if we want to make a
request we must ask in a polite way. To do so, we flank a ます-stem with お and ください.

Ex: 少々お待ちください。

Spoken Expressions
Wondering - ～～かな(あ)
When we want to do an indirect question, or just express that we are wondering
about something, we use かな. In this form, if we are expressing something about ourselves,
we must use the verb in the volitional form, however, if we are wondering about other
people’s actions, the verb must be in the plain form.

Ex: どうしようかなあ・・・
Ex: 今日ダニエル君が遅いで着くかなあ・・・

Suggestion - ～～なんかどう?
When we want to suggest to someone something that is a noun, we can use the
pattern なんかどう. This can be translated to “what about something like a ~~”.
It is definitely a spoken expression once the speaker might point out an object as an
example.

Ex: 時計なんかどう？
Giving and Receiving
Giving Verb : あげる
When we want to say that we give something to someone, we use the verb あげる.
When we use this verb if the speaker is involved in the a giving - receiving situation he must
be the one who is giving something, being indicated by the particle が, and the receiver by
the particle に. This happens because this verb is somewhat humble.

Ex: 私は山田さんにプレゼントをあげました。

We can use this verb to express the act of giving an action. In this case, the main
verb must come in the て-form.

Ex: 私は母に花を買ってあげました。

Receiving Verb : もらう

The verb もらう means to receive. As well as the あげる we only use it to speak about
ourselves when we are the ones who receives something. So the subject is marked by が,
and the person who gives something by に.

Ex: 私は田中さんにギターをもらいました。

We can use this verb to express the act of receiving an action by applying the same
rules of あがる.
 Ex: 私は佐藤さんに車で送ってもらいました。

To Have Received: くれる

If we want to talk about something that we received but putting the emphasis on the
person who gives us something, we must use the verb くれる. It basicaly means to receive,
but the order of the particles are inverted, so the speaker is marked by に and the person
who performed the action by が.

Ex: アンナさんは私にケーキをくれました。

It is used as well to express the act of receiving an action as the other verbs, with the
same rule.

Ex: 木村さんは私に案内してくれました。

Cause Sentence - ば

Conjunction: ば
When we want to express a conditional statement which the first sentence describes
a condition which generates a consequence by the second one, we use the ば form.
When we are using this form, if the second sentence express a command, request or
suggestion, the first one cannot be a action verb.
When the first sentence is an action, the second one cannot express the speaker`s
will, only facts.
This construction does not mean more than a conditional relationship. Thus it is
grammatically incorrect to express a suggestion by a conditional statement.
As it is often used to refer to a hypothetical idea, the second sentence tends to
express the will of the speaker by using expressions as つもり or と思う.

ば-form
To put a verb in the ば-form, in the case of positive verbs, we must change the last
syllable, which ends with u, to its relative ending with e and add the ば. There is no
difference amongst the first and second group, but the irregular ones have special forms: す
れば（する）and 来れば（来る).
 Ex: 車があれば、色々なところに行けます。

It`s main difference in comparison with the たら-form is that the second sentence,
which express the result, usually express a good result or an expected result instead of a
possibility. Besides that, it is a way more formal expression than たら.

Negative-form
The negative form of ば is basically the same as the must do form (なければならない),
but instead of ならない, we just end it up in the ば.

Ex: パーティへ行けなければ、何もしません。

A-Adjectives
When we are using this form with い-adjectives we just have to swap い to ければ.

Ex: 高ければ、買えません。
Ex: 高くなければ、買えます。

Na-Adjectives and Nouns

When we are using this form with な-adjectives or nouns, we don't have to do
anything but add なら or であれば at the end of it.

Ex: あの花がきれいなら（あれば）、母が好きです。
Ex: 山田先生に電話なら（あれば）、問題を聞けます。

Rules - ことになっている
Phrase: ことになっている
When we want to talk about an event which occurs spontaneously and independent
of the will of the speaker, we use the phrase. It is often used to talk about rules.

Must do something
When we use this pattern to express that something must be done as a general rule,
the which precedes the ことになっていり must be in the plain form.

Ex: 仕事が始まる20分前までに来ることになっています。

Something is forbidden
 The opposite of saying that something must be done is that something is forbidden or
can't be done. To express this idea using this pattern is necessary to use the ていけない form
before ことになっている.

Ex: 仕事中はお酒を飲んではいけないことになっています。

Another use: plans

Another use of the form ことになっている is to tell someone about a plan. In this case
the form is usually used as a response to a request as an excuse for not attending to
something. The speaker instead of using a vague response to a request such as ちょっと or や
くそくがあるので, a solid excuse can be done by using this structure.

Ex: すみません、日曜日は。。。国から両親が来ることになっているんです。

In order to - ように
Auxiliary Adjective: ように
When we want to give a reason for asking someone to do something or explain why
we do something we can use the auxiliary adjective above. The verb that precedes it must
be in the plain form or in the negative form.

Ex: 髪の毛が料理に入らないように、この帽子をかぶってください。
Ex: 日本語の小説を読めるように、漢字を勉強しています。

Purpose of Something - に
Particle: に
When we want to express the purpose of a given object we use the particle に. The
object which its use is being explained can be either after に, or before everything else as a
subject marked by が or は.
The verb that precedes the particle に must be in the plain form, and we must add の
at its end to nominalize it.
 Ex: ジューサーは野菜ジュースを作るのに使う物です。
Ex: 野菜ジュースを作るのにジューサーを使います。

The Best of use

If we want to say that an objective is the best for a given purpose, we can use the
particle に and add いいだ,

Ex: この本は日本語を勉強するのにいいです。

Witnessing Actions - のを
Particle: の
When we want to state something that we see we use the verb 見る. This verb, as it
is a transitive one, it requires a を particle. If the thing that we see is an action we use this
form as well, but we must nominalize the verb by using the particle の after it and before the
を.
The verb must be in the plain form or continuous plain form.

Ex: あの子が年上に席を譲っているのを見ました。
Ex: 私は田中さんが図書館で遅くまで勉強しているのを見ました。

Important Information Replacement - のは

Structure: ～～のは～～だ。
We can replace important information of a sentence, such as the time, a person, a
thing and a reason by using the structure above.
In this case, the sentence that comes before the のは is a relevant characteristic of
the omitted word, and what comes after it is something related to the group of words that の
は represents.

Verbs
To use this structure with verbs, they must be in the play form and nothing more.

Ex: 私は休みの日に行ったのは映画館です。- In this case, のは is replacing a place, it is

summarizing the sentence: 私は休みの日に行った所は映画館です。
 Ex: 田中さんは読んだの（人）は二村さんとです。

I-Adjectives
As well as in the case of the verbs, to use it with i-adjectives, we just have to make
sure that they are in the plain form.

Ex: 一番安いの（ビール）はこのビールです。
Ex: 一番高いの（スマートフォン）はAPPLEのです。

Na-Adjectives
In the case of the na adjectives, we must add な to its end in the case of the present
sentences.

Ex: 私は嫌いなの（食べ物）はチーズです。
Ex: 一番きれいだったのは（海）リオのです。

Noun
We apply the same rules that we used for na-adjectives for nouns.

Ex: 先生なの（人）は田中です。
Ex: 先生だったの（人）は田中です。

Identifying and Explaining - という

Phrase: という
We use the phrase above to mark an information which identifies and explains the
noun following the phrase. It can be translated to “so called”, “that says”, or “that”.
In this structure the thing that the speaker is referring to comes before the という,
while the following part categorize or explains why this thing was mentioned.

Ex: エリッククラプトンという歌手は今年に日本へ来るそうです。
Ex: 「雪国」という小説を読んでいます。

Questions
When we want to use this phrase to ask someone about a given information we must
use どういう意味, or って in informal conversations, instead.

Ex: 飲み放題どいう意味ですか。
Ex: 食べ放題って何?
Answer
When we answer one of those questions we can either give a straight response, or
we can reinforce the word of the topic we are talking about. In this last case, we combine とい
う with のは.

Ex: 居酒屋というのは、食べ物と飲み物を売っている所です。
Ex: 敬老の日というのは、お祖父さんやお祖母さんに感謝するの日です。

To Make sure - ようにする

Phrase: ようにする
We can use the phrase above when we want to express that someone is making
something to change, or making something to happen.
This structure can be used with verbs in the plain and negative form.

Ex: 毎日私は7時半に起きるようにします。
Ex: お酒を飲まないようにします。

This is also used to tell someone to make sure to do or not do something.

Ex: 授業に遅れないようにしてください。
Ex: 間に合うようにしてください。

(Continuous form) Do something with effort

If we use the verb する in the continuous form (している) using this pattern, the
sentence will mean that someone makes sure to do something continuously, even though it
might happen only when the subject manages to do so or if he put a lot of effort in doing this.

Ex: 健康のために出来るだけ野菜を食べるようにしています。
Doing things in advance - おく
Auxiliary Verb: おく
We use the auxiliary verb above to convey the idea of doing something in advance
for future convenience. The verb of the action must be in the て-form.

Ex: 旅行の前に切符を買っておきます。

Keeping a state
This auxiliar can also be used to express the idea of keeping a resulting state as the
way it is. In other words, something has been done in order to let a given objective in a
certain state, or this object should remain in this state.
In this case, we can only use transitive verbs.

Ex: 明日、会議がありますから、椅子がこのままにしておいてください。
Ex: 窓が開けておいてください。
Moments of an Action - ところだ
Phrase: ～～ところだ。
When we want to describe the moment of an action as something divided as before
doing something, the exact moment of action and just before doing something, we use the
phrase above.

About to do something
When we want to use this pattern to describe a moment that someone is just about to
do something, we must put the verb in the plain form. The only adverbs allowed to use in this
case are the ones such as これから.

Ex: これから寝るところです。

The exact moment

When we want to use this pattern to describe the moment that someone is
performing an action, we must use the verb in the continuous form (ている). We can only use
adverbs that refers to the current moment, such as 今.

Ex: 今、昼ご飯を作っているところです。

Just after
When we want to describe a moment that is right after performing an action, the verb
which precedes the ところ must be in the past form. The adverbs that we can use in this case
are 今 and さっき.

Ex: さっき、旅行の予約したところです。
Guess - ようだ / みたい
Auxiliary Adjective: ～～ようだ
When we want to express our perception regarding something in a sceptical way,
without putting our feelings and personal thoughts in that statement, we can use the auxiliary
verb above.
One translation for that is “it seems that”, so it claims the likelihood of something.

Verbs
To use this pattern with verbs, there is not necessary to add anything, just put them
in the plain form.

Ex: 祭りがあるようです。

I-Adjectives
To use this structure with i-adjectives, as well as with verbs, they just have to be in
the plain form without requiring to add anything afterwards.

Ex: この問題は学生にはちょっと難しいようです。

Na-Adjective
In the case of the na-adjectives, we must add な at their end.

Ex: 今日、あの会社の人達は暇なようです。

Noun
In the case of the nouns, it is necessary to add a の at their end.

Ex: 事故のようです。

Informal Way
The informal, or spoken, version of ようだ is みたいだ. In this form, in all cases, it is not
necessary to add anything afterwards, just use the verbs, adjectives, and nouns in their plain
forms.

Ex: コンサートがあるみたいだね。
Ex: 皆さんは嬉しいみたいだ。
 Ex: 木村先生はサッカーが好きみたいだ。
Ex: あの人は会社員みたいだよね。

Note that in the last case, when it was used with a noun, this form acquires the
meaning of “to resemble something”.

Resemblance and Similarity - のような

Conjunction: ～～のような～～だ。
When we want to say that something is similar to another thing of a given category
we use this conjunction. The thing we use as example comes right before the のような and
the category lays after it.

Ex: チヂミというのはお好み焼きのような料理です。
Ex: フランスでは子供の日のような祭りありますか。

Against the odds - のに

Conjuction: ～～のに、～～
When we want to express a feeling of surprise or disappointment we can use the
conjunction above. The sentence which precedes のに state something which generates
some kind of expectation which is frustrated by the following part.
It can be translated to “even though”.

Verbs
To use this conjunction with verbs, the ones which precedes のに must be in the plain
form, but it is not necessary to add anything afterwards.

Ex: 毎日漢字を勉強するのに、よく覚えられません。

I-Adjectives
As well as in the case of the verbs, the i-adjectives which precedes のに must be in
the plain form, but it is not necessary to add anything afterwards.

Ex: あの車はとても高いのに、山田さんが買いました。

Na-Adjectives
 In the case of the na-adjectives, it is necessary to attach な at their ends.

Ex: 私はサッカー下手なのに、大好きだよ。

Nouns
Finally, in the case of the nouns, as well as the na-adjectives, we must add な at their
ends.

Ex: 小川さんはABC会社の社長なのに、貧乏人です。

Expressing Singularity - ばかり

Particle: ～～ばかりだ。
This particle express that the statement which precedes it is the only one action or
the only one statement which has been, was or is taking place in a given situation. It can be
translated to “only”, or “just”.

Verbs
To use this form with verbs, we must put then in the て-form and add ばかり after it. In
this case it will mean that someone does not do anything besides what is expressed by the
verb. Due to the continuous action of just doing one thing, it is necessary to end up with the
continuous auxiliary verb いる.

Ex: 果物を食べてばかりになっています。
Ex: 子供の時、私はギターを弾いてばかりいました。

Nouns
To use this form with nouns, it is not necessary to do any besides adding ばかり at its
end. The verb that succeeds ばかり must be in the continuous form.
 Ex: 彼女はアニメばかり見ています。
Ex: 小川さんは週末ばかり出かけています。

Finishing an Action
This same structure can also express a point in time that one action has just finished.

Ex: 9月に日本に来たばかりです。

An event as a cause of something

We can use ばかり to express that something just happened and it is the cause of
something. To do so, we must combine ばかり with なので, and add the consequence, or the
state that was cause by the first sentence. This way, we can translate it to “just”, however
not only does it mean “a few moments ago”, but also bigger periods of time such as weeks
and days.
In this form, we can only use verbs in the past before ばかり.

Ex: 起きたばかりなので、まだちょっと眠いです。
Ex: 日本に来たばかりなので、生活にまだなれませんでした。

Doing things simultaneously - ながら

Conjunction: ～～ながら～～
This conjunction indicates that the preceding part is done simultaneously with the
following one, which is the main clause. As the second sentence is the main one, it has more
emphasis, and “determine” the period of time. In other words, we can say that the first action
is performed in the course of the second one, giving ながら the meaning of “while”.
The verb of the first sentence must be in the ます-form but without the ます.
The period of time determined by ながら can either be a routine or just on singular
action.

Ex: 先生にもらった本を読みながら、飛行機で日本へ来ました。
Ex: おしゃべりしながら、昼ご飯を食べます。
Imperative Form - れ
The imperative form does not have many uses. It is mainly used for sports, or giving
orders to your kids.

First Group
To the verbs of the first group, it is necessary to swap the last syllable which ends in
u to a relative in the same column ending in e.

Ex: 頑張る －＞ 頑張れ

Ex: 行く －＞ 行け

Second Group
For the second group verbs, we must replace the る for ろ.

Ex: 食べる ー＞ 食べろ

Ex: 起きる －＞ 起きろ

Third Group
For the irregular:

Ex: する －＞ しろ
Ex: 来る －＞ 来い

Negative Form
In the case of the negative form, we use the verbs in the plain form and add な at the
end of it.

Ex: 飲む ー＞ 飲むな
Ex: する －＞ するな

Passive Voice - られる

Ending: られる
The passive sentence is used mainly to express dissatisfaction, when someone does
something to you that caused some sort of inconvenience. The person who did the action is
marked by the particle に while the person who received the action by が or は.

Group 1
 To turn a verb of the first group into its passive form we must replace the last syllable
which ends in “u” to its relative ending in a, and then adding れる.

Ex: 私は隣の人に足を踏まれました。
Ex: だれかに財布を取られました。

Group 2
To turn a verb of the second group into its passive form, we must replace the る for ら
れる.

Ex: だれかに母を作ったケーキを食べられました。

Group 3
The irregular verbs turn into される and 来られる.

Ex: 鈴木さんにごみを取って来られました。

Formal Use
We also can use the passive voice to express certain degree of politeness and
respect. When we are talking with someone we can demonstrate respect by using verbs in
the passive form when referring to the listener's actions or a third person's actions. In this
case, even though we are using the passive form, the verbs act as a normal verb, so the が
indicates who performed the action.

Causative - させる
Auxiliary Verb: させる
When we want to express that someone causes, makes or forces something or
another one to change its state or do something, we use the inflection させる.
In this structure, the person who forces is marked with が or は and the person who is
forced is marked with に.However if the verb is intransitive, the person who is forced is
marked by を instead.

First Group
To inflect the first group verbs, we must replace the last syllable which ends in “u” to
its relative ending in “a” and then add せる.

Ex: 父は私に大学へ行かせました。
 Ex: 先生は学生を立たせています。

Second Group
In the second group, we just have to replace the る to させる.

Ex: あのお祖母さんは子供に野菜を食べさせています。
Ex: 祖父は父に毎朝早く起きさせました。

Third Group
The irregular verbs turn into 来させる and させる.

Ex; 社長は店員達に英語を勉強させました。
Ex: 彼女は私をこのパーティーに来させました。

To be allowed
This structure can be combined with the verbs くれる and もらう so it will have the
meaning of “be allowed to do something”. Thus the negative meaning of させる turns into a
positive one in the cases of させてくれる or させてもらう.
The particle that is used to mark the subject and the receiver of the permission is
determined by the verbs くれる and もらう.

Ex: 私は両親に留学させてもらいました。
Ex: 子供の時父はギターを習わさせてくれました。

Passive Causative
Auxiliary Verb: させられる
When we want to express that someone forced someone to do something but by the
perspective of the person who is receiving the order, we use the passive causative. It works
at the same way as the causative form, but the person who is forced is marked by が or は
and the one forcing by に.
This structure is mainly used to describe situations that involves superiors, parents,
or older people.

First Group
In the case of the first group verbs, we have two options, or we change the last
syllable ending in u to its relative and add させられる or we add される. The second one is more
common in spoken language due to its agility in the speech. However, in the case of the
verbs which end in す we can only use the first option.

Ex: 会社員は社長に遅くまで働かされました（働かさせられました）。
Ex: 鼠は研究者にボタンを押させられました。

Second Group
In the case of the second group, we just have to swap the last syllable, る, to させる.

Ex: 子供はお祖母さんに野菜を食べさせられました。
Ex: 子供の時父は祖父に毎朝に早く起きさせられました。

Third Group
In the case of the irregular verbs, they become 来させられる and させられる.

Ex: 私は彼女にこのパーティに来させられました。
Ex: 学生は先生に日本語を勉強させられました。

Not doing something - ないで

Phrase: ～～ないで～～。
When we want to express the idea of do not do something or do something without
doing something, we can use the “negative te-form”, the ないで.
To use this form, we must put the verb in the negative form, and add で to its end.
The exact meaning of it is determined by the context or the following sentence.

Do not do something
To give this meaning to a sentence, it is often used together with the “giving advices
structure”, the たほうがいい. So, when we sum up the two phrases we end up with “you should
not do something, and do this”.

Ex: この週末に遊ばないで、勉強したほうがいいです。

Without doing something

To express the idea of doing something without doing something else, we simply
have to connect the ないで verb with the following one. So it express the meaning of I do this
without doing this.
Also, we can use the same logic to express that someone does something doing
something by using the verb in the normal te-form.
 Ex: コーヒーに砂糖を入れないで飲みます。
Ex: コーヒーに砂糖を入れて飲みます。

Impartial Guess
Auxiliary Adjective: ～～らしいだ。
When we want to say something based on what we heard, listened, read that we
don’t know whether is true or not, or if we want to make a guess we can use らしい.
This auxiliary adjective differs from そうだ because even though it might express a
hearsey, the source might not be reliable, so the information can be untrue.
The difference between らしい, そうだ and みたい is that in らしい represents something
impartial that the speaker has no interest at all.

Verbs
To use this structure with verbs, we don't have to do anything besides adding らしい
after the verb in the plain form.

Ex: 松田さんはアメリカへ行くらしいです。
Ex: 小林さんはパーティーへ来ないらしいです。

I-Adjectives
To use this structure with i-adjectives, we don't have to do anything besides adding ら
しい after the adjective in its plain form.
 Ex: あの出来たアパートは広いらしいです。

Na-Adjectives
To use this structure with na-adjectives, we don't have to do anything besides adding
らしい after them.

Ex: 悦子さんは暇らしいです。
Ex: むかし、このあたりはとても静かだったらしいです。

Nouns
To use this structure with nouns, as well as all the others, we don't have to do
anything besides adding らしい.

Ex: ここは学校らしいです。
Ex: 丸子さんは医者だったらしいです。

Other People’s Will - がっている

Auxiliary Verb: がる
When we want to use the たい for or adjectives such as 欲しい and 嫌い to express a
third person will, feelings or desires we can not use them straight away. We must combine
them with the auxiliary verb がる.
Using this structure, the desired thing instead of be marked with が is marked with を.
Also, although this pattern is used to express other people’s feelings we cannot use it to
express positive feelings, in this case, we can use a more direct approach instead.

I-Adjectives
To use this form with i-adjectives, and たい-verbs we must get rid of the ending い and
add the がっている.

Ex: 母はカーニバルを見たがっている。
Ex: 山田さんが新しいパソコンを欲しがっている。

Na-Adjectives
To use this for with na-adjectives, we just have to put them in the plain-form and add
がっている afterwards.
Ex: