Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
〜てみる: try something and see
Use てみる to try an action. Separate wanting to try, actually trying, and the result of the attempt.
Volitional form + と思う: express an intention
Build forms such as 読もう and 食べよう, then use context to distinguish a resolve voiced to yourself, an invitation to someone else, and an intention stated with と思う.
〜ようとする: attempt an action or be about to act
Use the volitional plus とする for an attempt or an action on the verge of starting. Check whether it actually happened.
ことにする and ことになる: perspectives on decisions
Distinguish making your own choice from presenting a settled outcome, then compare personal routines and established rules.
〜てほしい: want someone to do something
Separate wanting an object from wanting an action. Identify the actor, the object, and how direct your request sounds.
てあげる, てくれる, てもらう: who helps whom?
Describe actions done for someone’s benefit. Compare the actor’s perspective with the perspective of the person receiving help.
ていく and てくる: direction in space and time
Identify the reference point for movement or change. The same ending can describe a journey, a return, or a developing situation.
かどうか: put a question inside a sentence
Distinguish whether something is true from questions asking who, where, or when. Turn that question into the content of checking or knowing.
〜という + noun: connect a name or a message
Introduce unfamiliar names and attach the content of a message or thought to a noun. Read the noun that follows, too.
んです and のです: explain a situation
Connect a statement to the situation or a listener’s question. This is an explanatory form, not simply a longer polite ending.
はずだ and かもしれない: expectation and possibility
Compare an expectation based on known facts with an open possibility. Look for evidence instead of memorizing probability percentages.
ようだ, みたいだ, らしい: read the clues behind a judgment
Separate inference, reported information, and typical qualities. These expressions cannot all be reduced to the single gloss ‘seems.’
わけではない: reject a conclusion without denying everything
Correct an assumption or an overgeneralization. Identify exactly what is denied and what remains unstated.
〜ても: a result that holds even under a condition
Connect an even-if or even-though clause to its result. Distinguish concession from permission and from an unexpected completed event.
間 and 間に: a whole period or an event within it
Separate an activity spanning a period from something happening within that period. Notice how に changes the focus.
〜うちに: act before the situation changes
Compare acting while an opportunity remains with a change that develops while a condition continues.
〜たびに: each time something happens
Connect a recurring occasion to what follows it. Distinguish this relationship from merely counting repeated actions.
〜まま: leave a state unchanged
Describe a resulting state or an unperformed action that remains unchanged. Distinguish a maintained state from simultaneous actions.
てばかりいる: keep doing one thing too much
Describe an action that dominates someone’s behavior. Compare the te-form with たばかり, which refers to recent completion.
〜すぎる: go beyond a suitable degree
Express too much of an action or quality. Learn the connecting forms and distinguish excess from simply very.
〜やすい and 〜にくい: easy or difficult to do
Attach these endings to a verb's masu-stem to describe ease, difficulty, or a tendency for something to happen. Read them separately from expressions of ability.
〜始める, 〜続ける, and 〜終わる: stages of an action
Attach these verbs to a masu-stem to express the beginning, continuation, or completion of an action. Distinguish the compound forms from independent verbs and follow the conjugation of the final element.
〜ないで, 〜なくて, and 〜ずに: connecting negative clauses
Distinguish doing one action without another from a negative state that supplies a reason or background. Learn the formation and common use of ずに as well.
の and こと: treating a clause like a noun
Use の or こと after a verb clause in the plain form to nominalize an action or fact. Compare their tendencies with preferences, definitions, and perception, while noting structures where they are not freely interchangeable.
Adjectives with 〜く and 〜に: manner and change
Change an i-adjective to く and a na-adjective to に to describe how an action happens or how a state changes. Compare combinations with なる and する, and distinguish the noun-forming suffix さ.
〜ほど: degree and negative comparison
Use ほど to show the extent of a state or to say that something does not reach the degree of a comparison standard. Check how much the full comparison actually claims.
ば〜ほど: change in proportion to another degree
Repeat an action or quality with ば and ほど to express a proportional relationship. Form the pattern correctly and read whether the result rises or falls from the following clause.
〜によって: means, cause, and a basis for variation
Read how によって after a noun can mark a method, a cause, or the factor across which something varies. Distinguish によっては when it singles out some possible cases.
〜について and 〜に対して: topic and target
Compare について for the subject matter of speech or research with に対して for the target of an action or attitude. Use each phrase's role in the sentence rather than relying on a similar translation.
〜として: stating a capacity or role
Use として after a noun to state the capacity, role, or function in which a person acts or a thing is used. Compare the extended forms としての and としては with expressions of becoming or perspective.