JAPN30007 Grammar Summary

Tobira Gateway to Advanced Japanese grammar points from lesson 1 through to 7.

～でできる／～からできる

be made of (で) / be made from (から)

Adjective-stem + さ

-ness (nominalizing suffix to indicate degree/amount)

Nounの／Verbように

like; as if; in the same way as

～は～で有名だ／知られている

is famous for / known for

Verb-non-past ことが／もある

there are times when…; sometimes do…

～によって違う／よる

differ depending on… / depend on…

Verb-masu始める

begin to; start V-ing

～はSentenceと言われている

it is said that…

～とか～とか

and… and…; like… and… (used for listing examples)

～というのは～のこと／意味だ

X means… / The meaning of X is…

～だけでなくて／じゃなくて、～も

not only…, but also…

Nounって

as for… (casual topic marker, colloquial variant of は)

～って言う／聞く／書く

say/hear/write that… (casual quote marker)

～なければならない／～なくてはならない

must; have to

～など

and the like; such as; etc.

～は～の一つだ／一人だ

is one of the…

Nounにとって

for…; to…; from the standpoint of…

Nounの代わりに

instead of…; in place of…

～ために（目的）

in order to; for the purpose of

～ために（理由／原因）

because of; due to

AかBか

either A or B; whether A or B

Nounが見られる

can be seen; is observed

Verbようになる

come to be that…; reach the point where…

～必要がある／はない

it is necessary to… / it is not necessary to…

～場合は／には

in the case of…; when…

Aでは／じゃなくてB

not A, but B

～他にも／～他には

in addition to… / besides… (with negative: except for…)

～と同じぐらい／くらい

about the same as…

それに

in addition; moreover; furthermore

～のなら

if it is the case that…; if it's true that…

Nounとして

as… (in the role/capacity of)

ことになっている

it has been decided that…; it is a rule that…

～をしている／をしたNoun

have a (feature/attribute/appearance)

～てくる／～ていく

V-out from the past into the present (てくる) / V-onward into the future (ていく)

～ように頼む／言う

ask someone to do… / tell someone to do…

～てくれる／～てくれない／～てもらえる／～てもらえない

will you…? / could you…? (casual requests)

ようにする

make an effort to…; try to…

～かなあ

I wonder… (casual self-questioning/monologue)

なるべく

as much as possible; as… as one can

毎～のように

almost every… (e.g., almost every day/week)

～と考えられている／思われている

it is considered/thought that…

まず

first of all; first; to begin with

～ように（目的）

so that…; in such a way that…

～ずに

without V-ing (negative continuative form, same as ～ないで)

～んだけど／ですが

but… / it's just that… (used as a conversational opener or soft barrier)

それで

because of that; that's why; for that reason

Question Word～ても

no matter what/who/when/where/how…

～うちに

while… (still in a certain state) / before… (a state changes)

できれば／できたら

if possible; if you don't mind

～たばかり

have just finished V-ing; just did…

Number(+Counter)は／Nounだけは

at least (quantity/amount)

～以上／～以下

more than; above; or more (以上) / less than; below; or less (以下)

NounさえVerbば

if only…; as long as…

ついに

finally; at last (often after a long struggle/process)

～に違いない

must be…; without a doubt…

～をもとにして

based on…

Nounと同じで／違って

just like… (同じで) / unlike… (違って)

Nounらしい

typical of…; like…; sharing the core characteristics of…

～的

-ic; -ical; -ive (suffix transforming nouns into な-adjectives)

ほとんど

almost; mostly (with negative: hardly; scarely)

～ような気がする

I feel that…; I have a feeling that…

Verbところ

is about to do (るところ) / is in the middle of doing (ているところ) / has just done (たところ)

～に気がつく

notice…; become aware of…

それぞれ

each; respectively

～らしい（推量）

it seems that…; apparently (based on hearsay or observations)

Verb-masu続ける

continue V-ing; keep on V-ing

～ばかり／だけ

nothing but…; only…

～わけだ

the reason is that…; it means that…; naturally…

Nounでよければ

if… is alright with you; if you don't mind…

結構／なかなか

quite; reasonably; fairly

そう言えば

speaking of which…; that reminds me…

～ということが分かる／ということが考えられる

it is understood that… (分かる) / it is conceivable that… (考えられる)

では／それでは／じゃ

well then; if that's the case…

その上

on top of that; in addition; besides

～さえ（も／に／で）

even… (emphasizing an extreme example)

～向け

intended for…; aimed at…

～である

to be (formal/written equivalent of だ/です)

～出す

start V-ing; suddenly burst into V-ing (spontaneous action)

～ない～はない

there is no… that does not… (double negative for emphasis)

Xと言えば

speaking of X…

～（という）わけではない

it doesn't mean that…; it is not the case that…