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103 しかない (shika used with a verb meaning “to have no choice
nai) but to”
107 に (ni) Indicates the one acting or the one acted upon
は (wa)
は (wa) follows the topic the speaker wants to talk about. Therefore, wa(は)is often called topic
marking particle.
The “topic” is often the grammatical subject, but can be anything (including the grammatical object, and
sometimes the verb), and it may also follow some other particles.
Formation
[ A ] wa [ B ] desu.
= [ A ] is [ B ].
Example
昨日は雨だった。
Kinō wa ame datta.
It was rainy yesterday
を (o)
を (o) marks the grammatical object of a sentence. It follows nouns and noun phrases.
Formation
Example
私はチョコを食べます。
Watashi wa choko o tabemasu.
I eat chocolate.
も (mo)
も (mo) functions as “also” or “too” in English. It is used to indicate that something that has previously
been stated also holds true for the item currently under discussion. It replaces ga, wa or o when used.
Formation
[Object1] は [property1/action1] です
[Object2] も [property1/action1] です.
Example
A: 私はフランス人です。
Watashi wa furansujin desu.
I am French.
B: 私もフランス人です。
Watashi mo furansujin desu.
I am also French.
Check Now the Grammar Bank for More Examples
に (ni)
に (ni) indicates a place toward where someone or something moves. It is preceded by the name of the
place and followed by a verb which indicates a moving action such as iku (行く) “to go.”
It is also used with giving/receiving verbs and can then mean “from”.
In the case of passive verbs, it marks the grammatical agent, making it the same as “by” in English. (i.e.
“my wallet was stolen by my brother.” ).
に is also used to indicate the location of existence when combined with the verbs いる or ある, making
it the Japanese version of “at” (in some instances).
Formation
place + ni (に)
Example
学校に行きます。
Gakkō ni ikimasu.
I go to school.
へ (e)
In addition, the particle の can follow the へ particle directly, whereas it cannot follow に.
Formation
location/direction + e(へ)
Example
彼へ 手紙を送りました。
Kare e tegami o okurimasita.
I sent him a letter.
で (de)
で (de) is used to indicate location of an action. The performer of the action (the subject) is followed by
either of the particles wa or ga, and the place is followed by de.
However it can’t be used with with the verbs いる or ある.
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Formation
location + de (で)
Example
私は家で 本を読みます。
Watashi wa ie de hon o yomimasu.
I read books at home.
が (ga)
が (ga) marks the grammatical subject of a sentence when it is first introduced to a conversation. It can
also be used to join sentences, like the word “but”, but that が is technically a different word. The
particle が can also be used to emphasize the subject or distinguish it from others.
While は is used when a question word (who, where, etc) comes after the topic in the sentence (レスト
ランはどこですか。), we use the particle が when the question word is the subject or part of it.
Example
だれ が 来ますか。
Dare ga kimasu ka.
Who will come?
から (kara)
This starting position may be either a point in space (in which case it is translated as “from”), or a point
in time (in which case it is translated as “since” or “after”).
Formation
Example
学校から 家までどれくらいかかりますか。
Gakkō kara ie made dorekurai kakarimasu ka?
How long does it take you to get home from school?
まで (made)
まで (made) indicates that an action/effect extends or reaches a specified limit or a point in time or
space.
Example
彼女と7時学校まで ドライブしました。
Kanojo to shichi-ji gakkō madedoraibu shimashita.
I went driving around with my girlfriend until 7 o’clock.
と (to)
と (to) is used to join nouns together into an exhaustive list that functions as a single noun: ”with”,
“and”.
It’s also the particle used to indicate a direct quote (from someone’s mind or speech), functioning like
quotation marks in English.
Formation
Example
肉と 魚が好きです。
Niku to sakana ga suki desu.
I like meat and fish.
や (ya)
や (ya) is used in the same way as the first sense of と, but the list is not exhaustive. It means “such
things as A, B, and C”.
Formation
AやB
AやBや
Example
赤や 黄色の花が咲いていた。
Aka ya kīro no hana ga saiteita.
There were red, yellow and other color flowers blooming.
の (no)
In the structure A no B, B belongs to A, however, many nouns act like adjectives when followed by no.
It directly follows nouns and noun phrases.
Formation
Object1 + の + Object2
Example
あなた の 名前はなんですか。
Anata no namae wa nan desuka?
What’s your name?
ね (ne)
ね (ne) is used at the end of sentences, basically in the same way as an English tag question.
If said with rising intonation, it indicates a request for confirmation from the listener (i.e. “It’s a beautiful
day, isn’t it?” ), whereas if said with falling intonation, it’s used as rhetorical device (i.e. “It’s a beautiful
day, isn’t it.” )
Formation
Example
これは美味しいです ね 。
Kore wa oishii desu ne .
This is delicious, isn’t it?
よ (yo)
よ (yo) is used by the speaker to express a strong conviction about something or to emphatically declare
something.
Formation
Example
明日私は行く よ 。
Ashita Watashi wa iku yo .
I’ll go tomorrow!