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com

Table of Contents
Adjectives...................................................................................................................................................3 Adjectives casual past tense....................................................................................................................7 Adjectives polite past tense...................................................................................................................14 and ................................................................................................................................22 The article.........................................................................................................................................2! The particle ........................................................................................................................................30 resent Tense "er#s..................................................................................................................................3! ast Tense "er#s.......................................................................................................................................43 Adjectives $ore %ses...........................................................................................................................!1 articles.....................................................................................................................!& The article.........................................................................................................................................'' The article.........................................................................................................................................72 Transitive vs. (ntransitive "er#s...............................................................................................................7& The article..............................................................................................................................)! The and articles........................................................................................................&3 The and articles............................................................................................................100 *+ T ,! Test..........................................................................................................................................107

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Adjectives

(click to view video) There are two basic kinds of adjectives in Japanese i-adjectives and na-adjectives. Each of them have different properties and behave differently grammatically. i-adjectives Form: (sweet) amai Example: (sweet dessert) amai dezaato. i-adjectives always end in the or i so!nd" hence the name i-adjectives. #ot all adjectives that end in are i-adjectives tho!gh" some of them are na-adjectives" which we will go over soon. $ltho!gh it might seem strange in English. %t is very common to simply !se an adjective by itself witho!t a s!bject or topic as long as it can be !nderstood. &or e'ample" if yo! j!st bit into a piece of sweet dessert" yo! can simply say (This is sweet().

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na-adjectives Form: ()!iet) shiz!ka Example: ()!iet shrine) shiz!kana jinjya Mnemonic: na-adjectives *#$+ on no!ns" so they need the particle when they come before a no!n. #a-adjectives are adjectives that come to the Japanese lang!age from ,hinese. The tend to be written with - kanji" and not end in . .!t" there are n!mero!s e'ceptions to this very general r!le. &or e'ample" here is a short list of na-adjectives that act!ally end with / benri 0 convenient genki - energetic kirei 0 pretty kirai 0 hated s!ki 0 liked dais!ki 0 really liked" loved y!!mei - famo!s These will be a little harder to recognize on the J12T beca!se they won t be written in kanji" b!t in hiragana. 2ractice !sing these words often in conversation to help yo! get a feel for how they are !sed. $lso" be caref!l with na-adjectives at the end of sentences. They always need to be followed by in the cas!al tense/ Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

 !"#$(The shrine is pretty3well-kept.) Jinjaha kireida. 4o! can read more abo!t in that section of the g!ide.

Example Sentences
%&'( nigiyakana machi )*+,-. rippana hoter! #/ kireina onna 0123 y!!meina hon 45' akar!i heya 678 atarashii kaban 149: !r!sai in! ;<%<= omoi nimots! lively town splendid hotel pretty woman famo!s book bright room new bag noisy dog heavy baggage

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Grammar Exercises Vocabulary

> 5kirai6 (na-adj) 0 hated ? ) 5benri6 (na-adj) 0 convenient @A7 5isogashii6 (i-adj) 0 b!sy ;7 5oishii6 (i-adj) 0 delicio!s ;<7B 5omoshiroi6 (i-adj) 0 interesting CD 5neko6 (n) 0 cat EDB 5tokoro6 (n) 0 place F 5sh!!6 (n) 0 week G?<H 5tabemono6 (n) 0 food IA 5eiga6 (n) 0 movie Can you translate these phrases? 7) -) 8) 9) :) hated cat convenient place b!sy week delicio!s food interesting movie

Answers JK >CD LK ? )EDB MK @A7F NK ;7G?<H OK ;<7BIA

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Adjectives casual past tense

(click to view video) The two adjectives in Japanese" na-adjectives and i-adjectives" are conj!gated differently for the past tense. i-adjectives casual past Form: P ; *G P *G (%t was sweet.) amai ama ; katta amakatta Example: H1" 9Q*G$(4esterday was cold.) kino!wa sam!katta. Mnemonic: <se a =$TT$ and c!t off the i . This is pretty easy" j!st take off the (i) at the end and add *G (katta). i-adjectives casual past negative Form: st convert to negative !orm: P amai ama ; R P R ; k!nai amak!nai

"nd convert the negative !orm to past: R P R amak!nai amak!na ; *G P R*G (%t wasn t sweet.) ; katta amak!nakatta

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Example: @HST">R*G(The c!rry was not spicy.) This is pretty easy as well. J!st convert the i-adjective to the negative form ( R) and then take off the (i) at the end of R and add *G (katta). #a-adjectives casual past Form: 7U ; *G P 7U*G(it was )!iet) shiz!ka ; datta shiz!kadatta Example: @HTVWX" )*+*G$(The resta!rant was splendid.) sonores!toranwa rippadatta. Mnemonic: %n the past" na-adjectives !sed to be very close to their >$<T$s (da!ghters) &or na-adjectives yo! j!st have to add *G to the end. #a-adjectives casual negative past Form: 7U ; !*G P 7U!*G(%t wasn t )!iet.) shiz!ka ; janakatta shiz!kajanakatta Example: )G"7U!*G$(#arita was not )!iet.) naritawa shiz!kajyanakatta. &or the negative past tense of na-adjectives" yo! act!ally add !*G which is very similar to i-adjectives (e'cept for i-adjectives yo! need to change the to R).

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How does this look on the JL T!

$ltho!gh )!estions involving conj!gating adjectives might appear in the grammar section" the biggest problem yo! might enco!nter with past adjectives is in the listening section. 4o! have probably been st!dying #: vocab!lary via lists of words with an application like $nki or ?emrise. These words are generally in their base form" in other words what yo! wo!ld see in the dictionary not the conj!gated form. @o yo!r ears might not be trained to listen for the past tense. That s why it is important to get in some good listening practice with material that matches yo!r level. &or #:" that can be ?inna #o #ihongo" or a good reso!rce with a lot of material is also Japanese2od7A7. Even if yo! j!st s!bscribe to their feed and listen to the free episodes" it will really help train yo!r ear. $nd remember to review and re-listen to the material to. The premi!m s!bscription is good for that beca!se they already have everything chopped !p for yo! and yo! can j!st add the dialog to yo!r playlist and review that way. Br if yo! are !sing another book to train with" j!st c!t it down to the short conversations yo! need to review with.

Example Sentences
@HR4" Y*G$ sonok!r!mawa f!r!katta. @HR4"67*G$ sonok!r!mawa atarashikatta. R*G. amak!nakatta. R*G$ ookik!nakatta. #")Z1)A[\*G$ karewa ryo!riga hetadatta. HZH5'"#*G$ kanojyonoheyawa kireidatta. #"]!*G$ karewa himajyanakatta. HZ"#!*G$ kanojyowa kireijyanakatta. The car was old. The car was new. (%t) wasn t sweet. (%t) wasn t big. Cis cooking was bad. Cer place was tidy. Ce wasn t available. @he wasn t pretty.

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Grammar Exercises
$oca%ulary ,-. 5hoter!6 (n) 0 hotel ST 5karee6 (n) 0 c!rry > 5karai6 (i-adj) 0 spicy &hat is the appropriate response? '

^_II`)*+$

a_I`)*+R*G$

b_II`)*+*G$ c_I`)*+!*G$

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"'

^_II`149*G$ a_I`7U*G$ b_II`149$ (' c_I`7U*G$

^_II`#*G$ b_II`#*G$

a_I`#R*G$ c_I`#!*G$

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)'

^_II`GH7R*G$ b_II`GH7*G$ *'

a_I`GH7R$ c_I`GH7R!$

^_II`>R b_II`>*G$

a_I`>R*G$ c_I`>R!*G$

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"nswers#
7) 9 0 )*+ (splendid) is a na-adj" so we have to add *G to make it abo!t the past. -) - 0 7U ()!iet" peacef!l) is another na-adj and is the opposite or 149 (noisy" annoying)" so we need *G again. 8) 8 0 # (pretty) is a na-adj" so we need *G. 9) 8 0 GH7 (f!n" enjoyable) is an i-adj" and so we need to change the last to * G to talk abo!t the past. :) - 0 > (spicy) is another i-adj" to say it wasn t spicy we need to first change it into the negative form" >R" than make it abo!t the past by changing the last to *G" >R*G.

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Adjectives polite past tense

(click to view video) The two adjectives in Japanese" na-adjectives and i-adjectives" are conj!gated differently for the past tense and to be more polite. 4o! can !se the cas!al form for sit!ations with yo!r friends or people yo! know" b!t with people that yo! j!st met or in slightly formal" b!siness sit!ations" or times when yo! j!st want to be a little more polite" it is best to !se the polite form. i-adjectives polite past +a!!irmative and negative' Form: ,tep : P d*G P*G efg hij jhkkglK amai ama ; katta amakatta Step 2: *GdmnP*Gmn oepqrK sg hij jhkkglt amakatta ; des! amakattades! Example: ST"u*Gmn$evwk xyzz{ hij k|pk}jf~klK kareeha takakattades!.

Mnemonic: *angsters end things politely with >E@< (death).

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This is pretty easy to remember j!st add mn (des!) to the end of the cas!al tense of the adjective for both a positive and negative sentence. &or e'ample" if yo! want to say the c!rry wasn t e'pensive politely yo! co!ld !se this sentence/ ST"u*Gmn$evwk xyzz{ hij}g k|pk}jf~klK kareeha takanakattades!.

4o! co!ld also j!st add mn to the end of a sentence that ends with a no!n to make it more polite as well/ D(>"mn$(This is ?ac.) kochiraha makk!des!. %f yo! need some more help with the cas!al tense" be s!re to review that section. #a-adjectives polite past Form: %&' ; m7G P %&'m7G(%t was lively.) nigiyaka ; deshita nigiyakadeshita Example: ]m7G$(% liked % t.) himadeshita. Mnemonic: %n the past" the Empire !sed the m7G (>eath @tar) to destroy the rebels #$-ing (gnawing) on their territory. &or the past tense of na-adjectives yo! j!st have to add m7G to the end.

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#a-adjectives polite negative past Form: ,po-en: %&'dm"*Gmn P %&'m"*Gmn$ esg hij}g rf~kr{lK nigiyaka ; dehanakattades! nigiyakadehanakattades!. &ritten:
%&'dm") m7GP %&'m") m7G$ esg hij}g rf~kr{lK nigiyaka ; dehaarimasendeshita nigiyakadehaarimasendeshita

Example: X"%&'m"*Gmn$(The event wasn t lively.) ibentoha nigiyakadehanakattades!. &or the polite negative tense for the na-adjective" it can get a little tricky. 4o! might have heard or been ta!ght the following form/ $$$m") m7G$

The problem with this is that it so!nds pretty stiff in real !se. Especially in spoken Japanese. That s why it is more common to !se this form when yo! are speaking/ $$$m"*Gmn$ $nd !se the ) form for writing.

#ote that yo! will never !se m7G with positive verbs/ D nm7G D Rm7G

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How does this look on the JL T!

The key here again is to practice listening to the different forms of these conj!gations and to know the differences between them. The test will be testing yo! on how and where to !se these conj!gations more than how to act!ally form the past tense for adjectives. vs. !or negative na-adjectives 4o! probably wondering that if there are two ways to form the negative past tense for naadjectives" which form is going to pop !p on the testE +ell" that is a tricky )!estion. % sco!red thro!gh the official workbook and practice test for the #: and co!ldn t act!ally find either form !sed. %n the past the ) m7G form was listed as part of the test specifications" so it is safe to g!ess that it might be !sed on the test. .!t" for life and j!st to cover all yo!r bases make s!re yo! are familiar with both. Matching tenses Take a )!ick look at this e'change in English/ $/ Cow was *rand &ront BsakaE ./ %t s h!ge. #otice that in English" we wo!ld !se the present tense 0 %t is h!ge. Even tho!gh we saw *rand &ront in the past. +e !se the present tense beca!se it is still h!ge (even tho!gh we can t see it now" we are g!essing it hasn t changed). .!t in Japanese it is different/ $/ WXX"1m7G g!randof!rontoha do!deshitakaE
;;

./ *Gmn$ ookikattades!. %n a way yo! can see that in Japanese" it is more abo!t the perspective of the speaker than the c!rrent sit!ation" at least for adjectives. This is something that co!ld obvio!sly pop !p in the grammar section.

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Example Sentences
@H" u*Gmn$ k!r!maha takakattades!. @H) ";7*Gmn$ sonoringoha oishikattades!. =R*Gmn. $ts!k!nakattades!. 9QR*Gmn$ sam!k!nakattades!. G9 " m7G$ tanakasanha genkideshita. ? )m7G$ .enri deshita. @H,-."#m" ) m7G$ sonohoter!ha kireideha arimasendeshita. 7Um"*Gmn$ shiz!kadeha nakattades!. %t wasn t )!iet. The car was e'pensive. The apple(s) was3were delicio!s. (%t) wasn t hot. (%t) wasn t cold. ?r. Tanaka was doing well. (%t) was convenient. The hotel wasn t very pretty.

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Grammar Exercises $ &hat is the appropriate response?

'

^_%&'mn$ "'

a_7Um7G$

b_%&'m7G$ c_7Umn$

^_4*G$

a_4R*Gmn$

b_4R*G$ c_4R*Gm7G Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

('

^_#m") b_#mn$ )'

$a_#R*G$ c_#m") m7G$

;;

^_ *Gm7G b_R$

a_*Gmn$ c_R*Gmn$

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*'

^_ b_

m") !m7G

m7G a_ c_

Rm7G$ R*Gmn$

"nswers#
7) 8 (%&'m7G_- 4o!r friend s mom is asking abo!t the past and the street is pretty b!sy or lively (%&'). %&' is a na-adjective so we need to j!st add m 7G to the end of it to make it abo!t the past. -) -4R*Gmn_- the car is new so we sho!ld say it was not old. $lso" remember that yo! !se the past when describing something that yo! saw. The car is still new" b!t yo! observed it in the past" so yo! sho!ld !se the past tense. 8) 9 (#m") m7G_- the hotel was very dirty" so it was not tidy or clean (#). +e can !se m") m7G here" b!t again" it can sometimes so!nd a little stiff in conversation. Cowever" it is what will probably appear on the #:. 9) - (*Gmn_- This is j!st a simple manner of forming the cas!al past tense of and adding mn to make it polite. $gain" we need to !se the past even tho!gh *rand &ront Bsaka is still probably big. :) 7 ( m") m7G_- the dog isn t doing so well" so he is not (in good spirits3doing well).

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 and

(click to view video) The !se of and share the same basic formation/ Forms: no!n or na-adjective ; or Examples: with a no!n/ 7! d (% m a doctor.) isha ; da 7! d ! (% m not a doctor) isha ; jyanai with a na-adjective/ # d (%t s pretty.) kirei ; da # d ! (%t isn t pretty.) kirei ; jyanai

How does this look on the JL T!

Bn the e'am" they will most likely try to trick yo! by not forming the sentence correctly. &or e'ample" they will try to !se an i-adjective or verb before " which yo! can not do. &or e'ample"

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Correct:
AR

$(% m a (!niversity) st!dent.) gak!sei da. /ncorrect: ? Z1 n4 $(% st!dy.) benkyo! s!r! da. 1=R7 $ !t!k!shii da.

Example Sentences
17$ bo!shi da. G=$ taisets! da. .X!$ boor!pen jyanai. Z1!$ daijyo!b! jyanai. )1AR $ ry!!gak!sei da. %&'$ nigiyaka da. !$ ame jyanai. ]!$ hima jyanai. (This is !s!ally !sed in response to a )!estion like F]mn) (%t) is a hat. (%t) is important. (%t) is not a ballpoint pen. (%t) is not all right. (%) am an overseas st!dent. (%t) is b!stling. (%t) is not rain. (%) am not available. (% don t have spare time to do that.)

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Example %uestions Sentential Sentences &

J G7"$

JK

a_

b_

*c_

%(

$ ^_; a_; b_;Gc_;m4

%(

"74m<$ ^_Ea_E b_E*Gc_ER

"nswers
7) - 0 can be !sed with a no!n ( ) to so!nd more emphatic or masc!line. -) 7 0 can t be !sed after a verb" the other answers are in the wrong tense. 8) - 0 can t be !sed after an i-adjective. %t can be !sed after a na-adjective like # tho!gh.

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0he 1article

(click to view the video) The grammar particle " or wa is a pretty simple topic marker. +e !se it to mark the topic of the sentence (not the s!bject) Form: Topic (!s!ally a no!n) ; wa Examples: 9 " $(?r. Tanaka is a police officer.) tanakasanha keikanda. 9E1"$ sato!ha amai. (@!gar is sweet.)

These sentences seem simple eno!gh (and they are)" b!t be caref!l not to conf!se the topic with the s!bject. The foc!s of the sentence is on the last part and not the topic. The particle marks something that is not absol!tely necessary to convey the f!ll meaning of the sentence. %t can be something easily !nderstood (if yo! are pointing at it" its a common no!n" there is only one of it" or it has been mentioned before). +hat is really important to remember at this level is that " can not be !sed with )!estion words. &or e'ample/ %"D#mn(+hat is thisE) naniha kore des!kaE 4o! have to !se A/

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%AD#mn(+hat is thisE) naniga kore des!kaE " can also be combined with other particles (e'cept ) &or e'ample" 5" m R($s for going to work" % take the train.) kaishaheha denshade ik!. m" A )n ($s for going by car" it takes time.) k!r!madeha jikanga kakarimas!.

How does this look on the JL T!

Bn the J12T" they will try to trick yo! by testing yo!r knowledge of how to !se compared to other particles.

's(
% ll be going over in a f!t!re cheat sheet" b!t basically the particle is the s!bject marker. Correct: ;EDH]EA ST ?n$(The man eats c!rry.) otokonohitoga kareewo tabemas!. /ncorrect: ;EDH]E" ST ?n$(The man eats c!rry.) otokonohitoha kareewo tabemas!. A needs to mark the topic in this sentence beca!se the s!bject is necessary.

can not follow a )uestion word

% know % mentioned this at the beginning" b!t it is worth repeating beca!se they will try to test yo! on this either in grammar section % (choose the write grammar) or grammar section %% (scrambled sentences).

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 can follow other particles except

This something that very commonly comes !p in grammar section %% scrambled sentences. Take look at the follow e'ample/ (taken from the official practice book).

-7! *n -G7"4*n$
%

JK m LK 5 MK " NK $t first" this )!estion looks almost impossible to solve. .!t" as long as yo! remember that yo! can combine m with "" yo! ll be okay. The answer is 9" the se)!ence is - 8 9 7 or 5" m* n =aishahewa nanide itte imas!kaE

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Example Sentences
D#" 9$ koreha sakanada. D#"$ koreha koohiida. @#"$ soreha kootoda. @#""A$ soreha hagakida. #"7Z10$ areha sho!y!da. #"V$ areha s!toob!da. G";<7B$ zasshiha omoshiroi. HZ"#$ kanojyoha kireida. This is fish. This is coffee. That is a coat. That is a postcard. That (over there) is soy sa!ce. That (over there) is a heater. 4o! are interesting. @he is pretty.

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Grammar Exercises Sentential %uestions &

D %(

JK %LK "MK A NK m
A*D1

L DH

A"G>n$

JK %LK " MK ANK %" M DB%n$ JK "LK AMK m"NK

Sentential %uestions &&

H

N DD 2mR9$ JK "LK .MK mNK

O 7Z1$
E1Z1

JK VLK

5MKmNK "

"nswers
7) - 0 the " particle is often !sed to talk abo!t time. -) - 0 the topic we are talking abo!t is the school" 8) - 0 &or 4 and 4" we need A instead of ". 9) - (8 7 - 9) :) 7 (- 9 7 8) $gain" be caref!l of the particle being !sed with other particles.

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0he particle

(click to view the video) The grammar particle or ga is the s!bject marker in Japanese. Form: @!bject (!s!ally a no!n) ; ga Examples: 9 A?n$(?r. Tanaka is eating.) tanakasanga tabetteimas!. An$ maak!ga imas!. (?ark is here.)

The key here is that A marks the s!bject whereas " marks the topic. The A !s!ally marks something that is absol!tely necessary to convey the whole meaning of the sentence" like the first mention of something" or something that can not be !nderstood from the sit!ation. The A particle m!st be !sed with )!estions words" yo! can not !se . &or e'ample/ #"G7H?7G(+ho ate my pizzaE) dareha watashino pizzawo tabemashitaE 4o! have to !se A/ Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

#AG7H?7G(+ho ate my pizzaE) darega watashino pizzawo tabemashitaE The " particle can be combined with other particles" b!t A can not be combined with other particles" it is always alone. This is an important difference to remember for the sentential )!estions %% section (the -nd section of the grammar section of the J12T)" so don t be tricked into combining them. Form: Topic ; wa ; s!bject ; ga Examples: G7" 3A4$ +atashiha nihongoga wakar!. (% !nderstand Japanese. (lit. $s for me" Japanese is !nderstood)) " EGAmn$ =!r!maha toyotaga iides!. (Toyotas are the best cars. (lit. $s for cars" Toyotas are the best.)) This str!ct!re is definitely pretty tricky beca!se it may seem like the object particle sho!ld be !sed for the s!bject instead of A. This is often something that appears in the first grammar section of the test. ?ostly this str!ct!re shows something that is !ncontrollable by the topic (the thing marked with "). %t can be an ability (like 4 or 4)" a state" or a )!ality of something.

How does this look on the JL T!

Bn the J12T" they will try to trick yo! by testing yo!r knowledge of how to !se A compared to other particles.

's(
% went over " before" b!t j!st a little refresher of the differences" " can be !nderstood as the be-verb whereas A can be !sed for the do-verb. %t is of co!rse a lot more complicated than that" b!t for #:" this will be the key thing to remember.

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Correct: HA ST ?n$(The man eats c!rry.) otokonohitoga kareewo tabemas!. /ncorrect: H" ST ?n$(The man eats c!rry.) otokonohitoha kareewo tabemas!. A needs to mark the topic in this sentence beca!se the s!bject is necessary.

*ultiple s
%n some str!ct!res" there might end !p being m!ltiple A s. &or e'ample" look at the following sentence/ HA ? Z1n4A` 3"R$ otokonohitoga mainichi benkyo!s!r!ga" nihongoha yok!nai. (The man st!dies every day" b!t his Japanese is not good.) The second A in this sentence is the conj!nction A" which basically means b!t . They sometimes like to sneak a sentence into the -nd sentential )!estion section (scrambled sentences) that might involve something like this. $nother A to look o!t for is one that might be !sed in a cla!se of the sentence. Take a look at this e'ample/ ",-.A HAmn$ ts!aaha hoter!ga yas!ino ga iides!. That sentence may look a little strange to yo!. %t looked strange to me" the first time % saw it. ?aybe this will help yo! a little bit/ ",-.A H1_Amn$ ts!aaha hoter!ga yas!ino ts!aano (ho!)ga iides!. This sentence has a basic meaning of $s for to!rs (in general)" % prefer ones with cheap

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hotels. The reason this looks so strange is beca!se ,-.A is a cla!se inside the main sentence of DH"D 1Amn 0 $s for this to!r" % prefer D. A is !s!ally !sed in relative cla!ses (like the one above) to mark the s!bject. This !s!ally doesn t show !p at the #: level" b!t co!ld.

Example Sentences
A nmn naniga s!kides!kaE :Anmn$ in!ga s!kides!. #A n darega imas!kaE An$ maak!ga imas!. DAGmn$ dokoga itaides!ka. \A Gmn$ tega itaides!. G7" VXA) $ watashiha s!peingoga wakarimasen. G7"67 i2hone A7$ watashiha atarashiiaifonga hoshii +hat do yo! likeE % like dogs. +ho is (here)E ?ark is here. +here does it h!rtE (?y) hand h!rts. % don t !nderstand @panish. % want the new i2hone.

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Grammar Exercises Sentential %uestions &

"

J G9

_WE 7n$

JK %LK "MK A NK E
% "

L DH&_ 7Gmn JK %LK " MK ANK m

:

M G7" _nmn$ JK "LK AMK %NK

Sentential %uestions &&

7

N ;<7B*G$ JK LK "MK ANK GA

;;

O mn$
7

JK ALK MKG7NK "

"nswers
7) -) 8) 9) :) - 0 the particle is needed for proper no!ns" like people s names. 9 0 the particle is needed beca!se we are !sing the meeting to talk abo!t something. - 0 the particle is !s!ally !sed with and . 8 (8 9 7 -) the particle is !s!ally !sed to e'press pain and other sensations. 9 (8 9 - 7) this is the G G str!ct!re that was mentioned before.

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1resent 0ense $er%s

(,lick to view the video) This all abo!t the basics of present tense verbs in Japanese. The most diffic!lt part of the present tense is really internalizing the conj!gations of the verbs. %t helps to know these well so yo! can speak and recognize vocab!lary words )!ickly.

Verb plain+dictionary form

Form: +hat yo! see in most Japanese to English dictionaries. &or e'ample for to eat it wo!ld be ?4(taber!)$ Example: A4$(% have a car.) k!r!maga ar!. %f yo! look !p a verb in a dictionary" yo! will get its plain form. This is !sed in cas!al conversation as well as inside sentences in cla!ses. 4o! will hear this probably more often with yo!r Japanese friends. 4o! sho!ldn t !se it in most b!siness sit!ations tho!gh. 4o! sho!ld !se polite Japanese" which we ll get to in a moment.

Verb plain+dictionary ne,ati'e form

Forms: 0ype : 0ype ": Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

 /rregular: Examples: %" % $ do!yo!biniwa kaishani ikanai. % don t go to the office on @at!rday. .m ?$ mak!donar!dode tabenai. % don t eat at ?c>onald s. )? Z17 amari benkyo! shinai % don t st!dy m!ch. Mnemonic: %f % sEE an % or an E before 4 it is type -" otherwise type 7. (There are e'ceptions to this r!le b!t in general) The key with the negative present tense is the type - verbs. These are easy to mess !p and forget abo!t when yo! are speaking and listening. .e s!re to drill the different forms by practicing them reg!larly. Bne e'ercise yo! can do is whenever yo! see a verb in reg!lar dictionary form try to conj!gate to the negative form )!ickly in yo!r head or even say it o!t lo!d. 4o! ll want to make this a!tomatic in yo!r head.

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Verb polite form

Forms: 0ype : !! 0ype ": """ /rregular: !! Examples: E % n$ tokidoki eigani ikimas!. % go to the movies from time to time. ^% n$ mainichi jy!!jini nemas!. % go to bed at 7A every day. A n$ tomodachiga kimas!. ?y friend is coming. Mnemonic: %f it is a type 7 verb it s Easy j!st change the last kana to the (i) so!nd. %f % sEE an E or an %" % c!t off 4 and add n$ This form is commonly !sed in beginner te'tbooks of Japanese and is polite. 4o! sho!ld !se it with people when yo! first meet them and in b!siness sit!ations" even talking to yo!r coworkers sometimes. The best r!le of th!mb is to start off in polite -mas! form and if the person yo! are talking to switches to dictionary3cas!al form" yo! sho!ld probably follow their lead. %t is always safe to be polite" b!t being too polite might make yo! so!nd a little !nfriendly. &or e'ample look at Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

these two sentences in English/ $/ >o yo! take anything in yo!r coffeeE Formal: ./ % prefer my coffee with milk" please. Casual: ./ ?ilk wo!ld be great. Thanks. <sing the formal lang!age creates a little barrier between yo! and the speaker. %t is the same in Japanese" so it is best to try to match what the person yo! are talking to is doing. %n the =ansai area" people are )!ite cas!al and often !se the cas!al form or even =ansai dialect. +hereas" in the Tokyo area people can be a little more formal. There are always e'ceptions tho!gh.

Verb polite ne,ati'e form

Forms: nPP Example: 5 $ ashita gakko!he ikimasen. % will not go to school tomorrow. %t is pretty simple to make the polite past negative form. J!st replace n of the polite form with and yo! have it. There are no irreg!lar verbs or any e'ceptions to this r!le.

How does this look on the JL T!

The big iss!es that come with verbs is conj!gation. 4o! will probably st!dy these verbs in their dictionary form like ?4 " b!t yo! also need to know and be able to recognize in listening and reading their other forms as well. +hen yo! are first learning these words" it doesn t h!rt to conj!gate their different forms when yo! are drilling them with yo!r flashcards" or $nki" or ?emrise.

-e sure to use the plain form in clauses

,la!ses" those little pieces of sentences that can go before no!ns and other particles" !s!ally Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

!se the cas!al tense. &or e'ample before the particles (ato)" (mae)" (ya)" or (ka) yo! wo!ld !se the cas!al tense. Cere is a )!ick e'ample/ n4 % % 7R9$ sh!ppat!s!r! maeni watashini denwashitek!dasai. 2lease call me before yo! leave. Br if yo! want to !se it before a no!n. 3 n A n$ nihongowo hanas! tomodachiga kimas!. ?y Japanese speaking friend is coming.

.ith con/unctions0 be sure to match politeness

+ith conj!nctions like A (b!t) yo! have to match the politeness level of the two sentences it is connecting. &or e'ample" yo! can t link a sentence that !ses the cas!al form to one that !ses the polite form. Take a look at the following e'ample/ /ncorrect: W"X n4A"7 $ b!raddowa manbowo s!r!ga makk!wa shimasen. .rad does the ?ambo" b!t ?ac doesn t. Correct: W"X 7nA"7 $ .!raddowa manbowo shimas!ga makk!ha shimasen. .rad does the ?ambo" b!t ?ac doesn t.

'erbs are a little unintuiti'e

verbs like = and G= can be a little conf!sing when yo! go to conj!gate them/ =PG mats! matanai = PG tats! tatanai This is probably pretty straightforward for a lot of people" b!t it tripped me !p when % first Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

started learning the lang!age. @ometimes % wo!ldn t be able to recognize simple words like G (tatanai) as the negative form of = (tats!) in listening and reading. =eep in mind that some words might appear in kana only even tho!gh they are normally written in kanji natively. @o yo! might j!st see GG instead of G.

Example Sentences
9" =R4$ mainichiwo asagohanwo ts!k!r!. AR$ tegamiwo kak!. 97G?$ sashimiwo tabenai. V%#$ s!keetoboodoni norenai. E<17n$ makk!to mo!shimas!. IAn$ eigawo mimas!. E mC $ f!tonde nemasen. , $ hipp!hopp!wo kikimasen. % make breakfast every day. % write letters. % don t eat sashimi (raw fish). % don t skateboard. % m called ?ac. (formal way of introd!cing yo!rself.) % watch movies. % don t sleep on a f!ton. % don t listen to Cip Cop.

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Grammar Exercises Sentential %uestions &

^ %n I$m<`9$ ^_"7n b_"7) a_"7)n c_"7

a"D"=<;@mnAG7"HZ$ ^_G b_( a_ c_G

bD#"'nmnA$

^_

mn a_

m7G

b_

c_

Sentential %uestions &&

c -%R$

JK )
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LKMK NK

=IA4 $
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JK'LK 'MK7nNK%R

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"nswers
7) - 0 $ltho!gh" "74 (hashir!) ends with ir!" it is a type 7 verb so it needs to be conj!gated by changing 4 to ) and adding n. There are n!mero!s e'ceptions like this when it comes to conj!gating" so yo! have to be caref!l and practice conj!gating a lot. -) 8 0 Herbs ending with = can be a bit tricky to conj!gate. &or the polite tense" yo! need to change =(ts!) to ((chi). %t is easy to miss this in the listening where yo! might not be e'pecting to hear that so!nd. 8) 8 0 @ince the past tense polite form is before mn (des!). 9) 9 (8 9 - 7) 4o! have to !se the cas!al tense before . The !nscrambled sentence wo!ld be/ -%R) $ paatiini ik!ka ikanaika wakarimasen. % don t know if % m going to the party or not. :) 9 (7 9 - 8) 4o! !se the cas!al form with '" so one ' goes after 4" the other ' goes after %R (nomini ik!). +e have to p!t 7n at the end beca!se it can t go anywhere else. @o the final sentence is the following/ F= IA4'%R'7n$ konsh!!mats! eigawo mir!ya nominiik!ya shimas!. This weekend % m watching a movie" going drinking" or something else. m7G (kaimasen deshita)" yo! might think that the present tense can take mn (des!)" b!t it can t. Herbs never go

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1ast 0ense $er%s

(,lick to view the video) This all abo!t the basics of past tense verbs in Japanese. $gain" the most diffic!lt part of this grammar point is the different conj!gations" especially of the cas!al past tense. %t can be a little diffic!lt to get these down pat" so be s!re to practice often with the conj!gations. &or e'ample" the first time yo! see a new verb" try practicing the conj!gations a few times in yo!r head.

Casual ast Tense

Form: nP7G RPG ;P; QP 7:P7 @P@

"74P"7*G >1P>*G =P*G ?4P?G n4P7G 4PG RP*G

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Example: n7G?G$(% ate s!shi.) s!shiwo tabeta. Mnemonic: @< is the @C%T$. =< looks like a mo!th that % %T$ meal with. (with *< j!st change t to d ). +hen there is a th!nderstorm" every #<.<?< (new boom) is the so!nd of th!#>$. &or all of the verbs ending in :" " or Q we change the ending to . +hen % p!ll something o!t by the I<<T@<" yo! make a *G so!nd. %magine p!lling a plant o!t by the roots and yo! are straining !ntil finally" T$( % got it( &or all of the verbs ending in 4" 1" or =" we change the ending to *G. &or the irreg!lars" j!st remember yo! want to %TT$" @<-@C% (s!shi) and a =<-=% (cookie). %TT$ is for the irreg!lar R" s!-shi is for n4 becoming 7G" k!-ki is for 4 becoming G$

Casual 1e,ati'e ast Tense

Forms: ,tep : Conjugate the ver% into its negative tense. ##$ ,tep ": 0hen cut o!! the and add %&. #$#$%& Example: -%*G$ pateiini ikanakatta. % didn t go to the party.

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Mnemonic: ,onvert it to negative and then !se a =$TT$ to c!t the % off and add =$TT$. 4o! can think of negative past tense like this. +hen yo! convert the verb to the negative tense it becomes like an i-adjective. Then yo! j!st have to conj!gate it like one.

ast olite Verb 2orm

Forms: 0ype : ## '(tep )* #+#& '(tep 2* 0ype ": +&& /rregular: & !& Examples: E1Z1%7G$ to!kyo!ni ikimashita. (%) went to Tokyo. %t is really easy to make the polite past tense. The main thing to keep in mind with the polite form is that it will !s!ally go at the end of a sentence and not in a cla!se. &or e'ample" look at the following two sentence parts/ /ncorrect: 7G3 (the book that % bo!ght) kaimahita hon Correct: *G 3 (the book that % bo!ght) katta hon $s a matter of fact" at the #: level" yo! will only see cas!al forms of verbs in cla!ses. $ll of Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

the other sentences incl!ding the reading section are in the polite form. @o" they will !se this tense as well as mn to make sentences so!nd more polite.

ast olite 1e,ati'e Verbs

Forms: 0ype : ## '(tep )* #+,&#,& '(tep 2* -.pe 2: +,&,& /rregular: ,& !,& Example: . m7G$ biir!wo nomimasendeshita % didn t drink beer. &orming this tense is even easier" all yo! have to do is add m7G to the end of the negative form to make it abo!t the past.

How does this look on the JL T!

$gain" the big iss!es here will be with conj!gating these verbs )!ickly and smoothly. <s!ally when yo! are reading" yo! can !se kanji to cl!e yo! into what verbs are being !sed" b!t at the #: level some of the more diffic!lt kanji will not be printed in the book" instead" they will !se hiragana. @o" it is important to recognize these verbs in there conj!gated (witho!t kanji) forms. 2ractice going over them in yo!r head when yo! first enco!nter a new one and when yo! are drilling them so that yo! can !se these smoothly.

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&n the Grammar Section of the JL T

They will test yo! more on yo!r ability to recognize the meaning of each tense more than how to conj!gate. &or e'ample" )!estions (generally speaking) will look more like this/ $/ ?7G ./JJJJJJJJJJJJJ ^_"`?7G b_"`?n $nd not like this/ $/ ?7G ./JJJJJJJJJJJJJ ^_"`?7G b_"`?>7G a_"`?)7G c_"`7G a_"`?7G c_"`? m7G

%n the first )!estion" they are asking what tense sho!ld yo! !se in this conversationE 7) polite past tense (% ate)" -) polite past contin!o!s (% was eating) 8) polite present tense (% eat) or 9) polite negative past tense (% didn t eat). The answer is" of co!rse" 7. %n the second )!estion only 7 has a correct conj!gation. $ll the other answers are incorrect conj!gations. They probably won t try to trick yo! like this. They want to know if yo! can recognize the correct pattern not conj!gate properly.

&n the 3eadin, and Listenin, Section of the JL T

,onj!gations of verbs can really trip people !p in these sections" beca!se yo! might have only st!dy the base form and are not !se to recognizing the conj!gated form of the word. This is something that also comes !p in real life as well. To add to the conf!sion" if yo! st!died the word with the kanji it !s!ally !ses (in native Japanese)" yo! might not be able to recognize the word when yo! are reading beca!se the #: only !ses aro!nd 7AA kanji. @o" if the kanji that is !s!ally !sed for that word is not one of those 7AA" they will replace the kanji with hiragana. The moral of the story here is to !se the lang!age and foc!s on how it is !sed as well. 4o! might feel like it is really diffic!lt to strike !p a conversation at this level" b!t yo! d be amazed at what yo! can e'press with a few words. Br if yo! are feeling a little shy" try doing some writing and have a native friend check it" or !se a service like lang-K. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

+riting might even be better" beca!se yo! can vis!ally see and track yo!r mistakes so that yo! can review them more easily. +hen yo! are speaking there is a tendency to j!st want to keep going and not stopping to make note of anything.

Example Sentences
G$ madowo aketa. 9" ?G$ asagohanwo tabeta. *G$ abinakatta 9>>*G sarawo arawanakatta 7G$ k!r!mawo kaimashita. 'm7G$ izakayade nomimashita. m % m7G$ denwani demasendeshita. 11%7E7 m7G$ do!yo!bini shigotowo shimasendeshita. % opened the window. % ate breakfast. % didn t shower. % didn t wash the dishes. % bo!ght a car. % drank at an izakaya. % didn t answer the phone. % didn t work on @at!rday.

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Grammar Exercises
(@pecial note/ These are a lot easier than the )!estions on the test. The idea is to j!st introd!ce some of the basic types of )!estions they might ask.)

Sentential %uestions &

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Sentential %uestions &&

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"nswers
7) 9 0 7G matches the tense of the )!estion 0 1m& $nd we need to !se 4" which is !sed to talk abo!t living things that e'ist. -) - 0 +e need to !se the past tense here beca!se of ;EE (the day before yesterday). @ome )!estions in the grammar section are act!ally kind of vocab!lary )!estions. They are testing if yo! know the right tense" b!t also what ;EE means. .e s!re to st!dy !p on some of these special time e'pressions like ;EE and 9* (the day after tomorrow) or ZC (last year) and DE7 (this year).

8) 7 0 This is a small cla!se modifying the no!n IA. 4o! have to !se the cas!al tense when yo! !se a cla!se even in polite sentences (sentences that end with n or m n.) 9) 7 (- 9 7 8) 4o! have to !se cas!al tense in cla!ses before no!ns so we can link !p *G and 3 to make *G3. +e can g!ess that 7G goes at the end of the sentence. <s!ally Gn goes at the end !nless yo! are !sing a conj!nction like A (b!t) or Hm (so). +e need after 3 to mark it as the object. @o the final sentence is the following/ *G3 7G$ zenb! katta honwo yomimashita. % read all the books that % bo!ght. :) 7 (8 - 7 9) The sentence starts with H1" so we know we need to !se the past tense. @ince there are two Gn verbs we know there needs to be a conj!nction too. +e can !se A as the conj!nction. @o the final sentence is the following/ H1""G%7GA "AH%n$ =ino!wa hakatani ikimashitaga kyo!wa naganoni ikimas!. 4esterday % went to Cakata and today % ll go to #agano. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

Adjectives More 2ses

(click to view the video) #ow" that yo! have some of the basics down pat" we are going to go back and practice some more advanced !ses of adjectives.

Linkin, "d/ecti'es To,ether

i-adjectives Form: i-adjective ; R Example: DH5'"Rumn$(This apartment is big and e'pensive.) konoheyaha ookik!te takaides!. Mnemonic: i-adjectives like the R (c!tie) adjectives. na-adjectives Form: na-adjective ; m Example: #m;<7B$(a pretty and interesting person) kireide omoshiroihito. Mnemonic: % imagine na-adjectives gnawing on things and the m looks like an open mo!th with two teeth biting into the adjective after it.

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This form is !sed to connect two adjectives together. #ote that the two adjectives have to be of the same connotation or feeling. %n other words yo! can not p!t a negative so!nding adjective with a positive one. $lso" this connection is not the e'act same as and with adjectives in English. There s a feeling that the first adjective modifies the second. &or e'ample" yo! might think the following sentence means red and bl!e shirt/ R; akak!te aoishats! .!t" it act!ally means something more like a reddish bl!e shirt as in the two colors are mi'ed together. %f yo! want to talk abo!t a red and bl!e shirt (two separate colors) yo! sho!ld say/ E;H akato aoshats! and ; are the no!ns for red and bl!e" so we can link them with E(to) and have them modify the no!n by p!tting the particle H (no). $lso" there are some adjectives that will j!st so!nd weird when paired together or paired in the wrong order. .!t" don t lose any sleep over it. This isn t something that they will test yo! over on the test. $nd it will j!st have to be picked !p from trial and error and developing yo!r ear for the lang!age. The biggest thing to remember is that yo! only have to change the first adjective (by adding either R or m). $nd yo! can mi' na-adjectives and i-adjective if yo! like.

Con'ertin, "d/ecti'es to "d'erbs

i-adjectives Form: i-adj ; R Example: "'R"74$(% r!n fast.) hayak! hashir!. na-adjectives Form: Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

na-adj ; Example: XA 3 Z1U%7n$(John speaks Japanese well.) jyonga nihongowo jyo!z!ni hanashimas!. This is very commonly !sed in Japanese to form adverbs and a lot of set phrases !se them. %n cas!al Japanese" they can be !sed by themselves. &or e'ample" one that !s!ally comes !p in a lot of action movies is the following/ "'R(C!rry !p( or L!ickly() hayak!(

*akin, 1ouns out of "d/ecti'es

i-adjectives Form: i-adj ; H Example: @H9H"#C$(The small one is pretty.) sonochiisainoha na-adjectives Form: na-adj ; H Example: @H#H"umn$ @onokireinanoha takaides!. H(no) is a particle that we will cover later in more detail. &or now j!st think of it as a magic no!n maker. %t can change an adjective into a no!n j!st by going after it. %t ro!ghly translates as the one " and can be !sed in sit!ations where the kind of item we are talking abo!t is !nderstood. &or e'ample" if we are looking at a gro!p of cars" and yo! like the red one. 4o! can simply say/ HAnmn$ Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com kireidane.

The particle H acts e'actly as a no!n" so yo! can do things like add a A or " after it and !se it as the topic or s!bject of a sentence.

3ow does this loo- on the 4510?

The biggest problem yo! might have with these forms on the J12T is recognizing them )!ickly in the reading or listening sections. $lso" it is easy to get things mi'ed !p in the scrambled sentence )!estions as well.

4on5t Get your s0 s0 and s *ixed 6p

These particles can serve other f!nctions in sentences. The m particle can be !sed to mean by or with. H can show possession (e.g. H3" ?ac s book). $nd % can be !sed to mean in" on" or at. .e caref!l not to get their !ses conf!sed. This is something that co!ld come !p in the scrambled sentences section.

6se the articles to Help you

@peaking of scrambled sentences" yo! can !se particles" and endings to give yo! cl!es as to how to lock the pieces together. &or e'ample" if yo! see F# yo! know that a no!n will follow it. Cere s a short cheat sheet to help yo!/ #oun !ollows: na-adj ; ; no!n # kireina hito i-adj ; no!n akai shats! H akano shats!

#o!n H no!n

Adjective +o!ten' !ollows: %-adj ; R ; adjective #a-adj ; m ; adjective 9R'n chiisak!te yas!i ? )m4 benride kar!i

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Example Sentences
DHR="G>7R#mn$ konok!ts!ha atarashik!te kireida. G7"@A7RG5 mn$ watashiha isogashik!te taihendes!. 9" ;@R?n$ asagohanwo osok! tabemas!. HZ"#%4n$ kanojoha kireini ar!kimas!. ;H"^I mn$ aoinoha senendes!. )BH"^I mn$ midoriironanoha sengohyak!endes!. H"? )m'nmn$ akainoha benride yas!ides!. RH 3"' These shoes are new and pretty. % am b!sy and dreadf!l. % ate breakfast early. @he walks bea!tif!lly. The bl!e one is 7AAA yen. The green one is 7:AA yen. The red one is convenient and cheap. The big" yo!ng g!y speaks Japanese fast.

R7n$ ookik!te wakai otokonohito nihongowo hayak! hanashimas!.

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Grammar Exercises
(@pecial note/ These are a lot easier than the )!estions on the test. The idea is to j!st introd!ce some of the basic types of )!estions they might ask.) $oca%ulary: m< 5demo6 (conj) 0 b!t <1 5mo!6 (adv) 0 more 7 5s!koshi6 (adv) 0 little <17 5mo! s!koshi6 (e'p) 0 do something a little more (caref!lly)

Sentential %uestions &

R4

H
G

"n8>7mnm<$ mn a_'nR?
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Sentential %uestions &&

N @Hmn$ JK mLK #MK H"7UNK

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O XHmn$
R4

JK HLK "MKRBNK

"nswers
' 0 $ltho!gh G is !s!ally seen as a positive thing" yo! can pair it with G5 mean something like terribly e'pensive. #!mber - is incorrect beca!se 'n (cheap) is !s!ally considered a bad thing and ? (convenient) is a good thing" also there is m< (b!t) which means the last part of the sentence sho!ld contrast with the first. The first part of the sentence is positive" so the second part sho!ld be negative. #!mber 8 !ses " b!t the first part of the sentence !ses mn. 4o! can t mi' politeness levels. 1ook o!t for these small little details. #!mber 9 has two positive answers" which beca!se there is m< we need something contrasts against the first part of the sentence. "' ) 0 The )!estion is asking (> (which)" so we need to choose an answer describing which one. ? ) is a na-adj" so we j!st need to add H. to

#!mber 7 j!st means (%t s) convenient . #!mber -" is the adverb form (conveniently). $nd n!mber 8 literally means convenient things or conveniences . (' - +e need to p!t the adverb here and the adverb form of "' (fast) is "'R.

#!mber - is incorrect" we add m to na-adjectives to connect them to other adjectives. #!mber 8 is incorrect beca!se we add % to na-adjectives to make them adverbs. #!mber 9 is incorrect beca!se we !se the R form to link adjectives and 7 is not an adjective. )' ( "( ) 0 This is a simple game of linking !p parts of the sentence. &irst" n!mber -" #" needs to have a no!n after it (beca!se it has ). The only thing that makes sense to link it to is the H in H"7U. m can be !sed with na-adjectives to link them to other Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

adjectives so yo! can p!t that ne't beca!se 7U is a na-adjective. Then yo! j!st have which goes at the end. The f!ll sentence wo!ld be the following/ @H#H"7Ummn$ sonokireinanoha shiz!kade iides!. The pretty one is nice and )!iet.

*' ( )"( 0 &rom the start we have XH" so we know we need a no!n in the first
R4

space beca!se H is the possessive. +e can t !se the particle H" so we ll !se

instead.

The H can be !sed after RB to mean the black one . #ow" we j!st need to place the "
R4

particle" which makes the most sense after f!ll sentence wo!ld be the following/
R4

to mark it as the topic of the sentence. The

XH

"RBHmn$

jonno k!r!maha k!roinodes!. John s car is the black one.

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/0/,/1 1articles

(click to view the video) These fo!r particles" `>`m`5 can be !sed to talk abo!t space and time.

7st use 8 the basic direct ob/ect marker

Form: #o!n ; Example: G7"IA7G$(% watched a movie.) watashiwa eigao mimashita. The particle is !s!ally not !sed with other particles" b!t it can be replaced by other particles like " and A in certain sit!ations. &or e'ample" it can be replaced by A if yo! are talking something yo! want to do something with/ .AG$ (% want to drink beer) biir!ga nomitai. %t can also be replaced with " as well if yo! want to it to be the topic of the conversation/ @HIA"nm"$(% don t like that movie.) sonoeigawa s!kidewanai. Bne more r!le abo!t in general is that it can only be !se once in a cla!se. 4o! ll have to

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replace the other with another particle like %`"`A`or E.

9nd use 8 marks a space that somethin, or someone mo'es throu,h0 across0 in0 on0 or alon,(
Form: no!n ; Example: G7""7G)n$(% walked across the bridge.) watashiwa hashio watarimas!.

:rd use 8 shows where an action be,an

Form: no!n ; Example: %7EmG$(% left work at M.) nanajini shigotowo deta. The emphasis here is on the starting point. The r!le here is if yo! can make a sentence that doesn t !se from with it" yo! can !se in this sense" like % e'ited the b!ilding or % left the ho!se. and #BT % traveled from Tokyo to =yoto by train.

0 2 the startin, point in time or space of an action ;emphasi<in, the mo'ement between two points=
Form: no!n ; > Example: > Im"7)7G$(% ran from the school to home.) gakko!kara iemade hashirimashita.

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This has a very similar meaning to " b!t j!st keep in mind that it emphasizes movement between two points. %t is often times !sed with m" b!t it doesn t have to be. > can also be !sed for both time and space" b!t can only be !sed for space.

, the ending point in time or space o! an action

Forms: no!n (time3space) ; m verb in dictionary or reg!lar form ; m n!mber-co!nter ; m Examples: 1m"G>R$es hqzk k~kz{ i{ zq }qh f}xryf} zfi{ yg }qg igyzi{lK wigiziyl 47G$es hirk gq gwk jxwqqr f} J f}ygkjK izyfijwfgil $es zki yp gq i} f}xryf} pik ONlK ^m f}{qyfik m

iqyik yppy}k ON m goj!!yonpeejimade yonda.

The important thing to remember abo!t !sing m with times is that it incl!des the time mentioned. @o for e'ample in the previo!s e'ample" F talking abo!t every day incl!ding &riday. 1m"G>R$ we are

1 2 toward0 to
Form: no!n (space) ; 5 Example: G7"D1I 547G$(% walked to the park.) watashiha ko!enhe ar!kimashita. 5 and % have pretty m!ch the same meaning" b!t 5 emphasizes the direction of the movement more. Bther than that they can !s!ally be !sed in the same sit!ation" even for Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

the meaning of into or onto / 8 53 #G$ (% p!t the book into my bag.) kabanhe honwo ireta

How does this look on the JL T!

$s with a lot of these particles" they will try to test yo!r knowledge on the differences between < E and ' vs. other particles.

's(
These two particles can sometimes have a similar meaning and be !sed interchangeably" b!t they have a slightly different meaning. 7st thing to remember is that is !sed with motion verbs only. @o for e'ample" the following sentence is incorrect/ Z17=?n$(% m eating in the classroom) kyo!shits!o tabeteimas!. The sentence sho!ld be/ Z17=m?n$(% m eating in the classroom) kyo!shits!de tabeteimas!. $lso when yo! !se there is less emphasis on the action in general. +hen we !se m we are talking abo!t the method or tool we are !sing so there is more of a feeling that there are other options we can !se" b!t with there is no s!ggestion of this. &or e'ample" =<D1I m"7)n$(% always r!n in the park.) its!mo ko!ende hashirimas!. This sentence" % always r!n in the park needs m beca!se there other options. % co!ld r!n in other places like the gym or on the street on a reg!lar basis" b!t instead % m r!nning in the park. A *7G$@79n#GHmD1I Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com "7)7G$

amega f!tteimashita. soshite kasao was!retanode ko!eno (%t was raining. $nd" % forgot my !mbrella" so % ran thro!gh the park.)

hashirimashita.

This sentence is a little different beca!se the reason why % m r!nning is beca!se it is raining not beca!se % want to. @o !sing m here to talk abo!t the method is a little strange.

's(
$gain" keep in mind that yo! can !se both of these to mean the starting point of an action" b!t emphasizes j!st a point" while > emphasizes movement between two points. 4o! can !se it with s!ch verbs as m4 (to leave or e'it)" "#4 (to leave or become disconnected from)" or ;)4 (to get off sth)

Example Sentences
67 X*G$ atarashii conpy!!taawo katta. @HE)"@>E7G$ sonotoriwa sorawo tobimashita. >&A)n$ ky!!jikara kaigiga arimas!. G7"E<(>A<> 7G$ watashiwa tomodachikara tegamiwo moraimashita. =#4m? Z17G$ t!karer!made benkyo!shita. G7"D1I m"7)7G$ watashiha ko!enmade hashirimashita. G7"I5I)7G$ watashiwa iehe kaerimashita. % st!died !ntil % got tired. % ran as far as the park. % ret!rned home. % bo!ght a new comp!ter. The bird flew thro!gh the air. There is a meeting from N. % received a letter from my friend.

?y mother went to the department store and "5<H%7G$ went shopping. hahawa depaatohe kaimononi ikimashita. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

Grammar Exercises Sentential %uestions &

J V_;)GEE<(%m JK m a_%
:

7G$

b_c_5

L "@D_4n$ ^_% a_5 b_ c_A M -G9

"Dmn
G

-`G$_?n$ ^_" a_m b_% c_

Sentential %uestions &&

N 9E19

"E<(H7G$

JK L LK IMK >NK %
G>

O G7"6

7 H*G$ 7!NKD1I

JK mLK MK

"nswers
7) 8 0 +ith ;)4 we are foc!sing on the point of depart!re so we can !se . +e can also !se >. -) - 0 This one is a close call. 4o! co!ld almost !se with @D" b!t D1 (other side) so!nds more nat!ral with . &or this sit!ation" we need 5. 8) - 0 m is the only particle that fits. +e !se % for the location of something !sing ) n or n. +e can not !se beca!se G9 is not moving.

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9) 9 (- 9 7 8) Io!ghly translated this sentence means F?r.@ato went to his friend s ho!se from - pm.O #ote that yo! can also say 9E19 "a>E<(HI% 7G b!t since E<(H is before the blanks" only I can go in the first blank. 1ook for cl!es like this to p!zzle o!t what parts go where in these scrambled sentences. :) - (8 - 9 7) The key here is that the verb H4 0 to ride" !s!ally takes an object. %n this case" it takes the bike as the object" so we need to mark it with . +e know that 7! goes in the first blank beca!se of 67. +e might be able to say a new park" b!t new parks aren t very common.

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0he , 1article

(click to view video) The grammar particle or de has 9 different !ses in Japanese.

7= at0 in0 on ;place= where an action takes place

Form: no!n ; m Examples: G7"*9 m? Z1n4$(% st!dy at a cafe.) watashiha kissatende benkyo!s!r!. ]4" "m?G$ hir!gohanha mak!dode tabetta. (% ate l!nch at ?c>onald s.)

.e caref!l( This m can not be !sed with 4 or 4. &or e'ample/ CD"Im%4$(There is a cat in my ho!se.) nekoha ieni ir!. "m% 4$(The bag is in the car.) bagg!ha k!r!mani ar!.

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9= by0 with0 or usin,(

This can be !sed to describe both a method and a tool. Form: no!n ; m Examples: Z1E5m *G$ (% went to =yoto by train.) =yo!tohe denshade itta. VSm 77G$ s!kaip!de hanashimashita. This can also be !sed for abstract things like money and time" not j!st physical objects.

:= and0 because of0 or due to(

This m is !sed to show a weak cas!al relationship between two items. Form: no!n ; m Example: #m)*+,-.$(lit. .eca!se it is bea!tif!l" it is a splendid hotel.) kireide rippana hoter!da. %n the sentence above the prettiness (#) of the hotel is adding to the splendor()*+) of the hotel. %t can also be !sed for a weak ca!se and effect relationship. &or e'ample" m m E*G$(The trains stopped beca!se of the big storm.) ooamede denshade tomatta. #otice that the marks something that is beyond yo!r control. 4o! didn t ca!se it to rain hard.

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>= at0 on ;time=(

This is !sed to indicate when something ends. %t implies that an action contin!ed !ntil this point. Form: no!n ; m Example:

DH-"^m;)n$(The party finishes at 7A.) konopatiihaP 7Ajide owarimas!. P To type this with an %?E" yo! need to type konopate'i-ha . The ' (or l for little) before the i makes it small.

How does this look on the JL T!

Bn the J12T" they will try to trick yo! by testing yo!r knowledge of how to !se m compared to other particles beca!se some other particles share similar b!t different meanings.

, 's( 3
.oth of these particles can be !sed to talk abo!t time and places" b!t each has its specific !se. &irst for time" % is !sed for when an action occ!rs" whereas m is !sed to mark where a state changes. Correct: Q % 7Z1$(1et s meet at Q.) rok!jini aimasho!. /ncorrect: 6 m 7Z1$(1et s meet at Q.) rok!jide aimasho!. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

m marks a change in state" and meeting someone is more of an event than a change of a state. is !s!ally !sed for closing (724)" finishing (;4)" or changing3becoming (% 4). @econd for places" % can be !sed to talk abo!t where something or someone e'ists (like the dog and cat in the e'ample earlier). %t can also be !sed to indicate direction of movement/ G7"E1Z1%*G$ (% went to Tokyo.) watashiha to!kyo!ni itta.

, 's(
@ince A can be !sed to indicate something or someone that is doing an action and m can be !sed to mark a tool that is doing something" these are pretty easy to get conf!sed. .X@1n4$ (The Ioomba (Iobot vac!!m cleaner) is cleaning.) r!nbaJ so!ji s!r!. 4o! might think yo! can !se A here beca!se it is doing the work" b!t we can t personify a tool like we do in English so be caref!l. To think of it another way" the thing doing the action has to have a brain and an intention" like an animal or a h!man" not a machine" like this robot vac!!m cleaner.

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Example Sentences
G7"m 7!m Q$ watashiha denshade honwo yom!. G7"D1I mCG$ watashiha ko!ende neta. XmIG$ pende namewo kaita. %VmR$ shigotoni bas!de ik!. m#,-.$ shiz!kade kireina hoter!da. m-%*G$ y!kide paatiini ikanakatta. @H*9 "m4$ sonokissatenha gojide shimar!. WV"bm;4$ k!ras!ha sanjide owar!. % read books on the train. % slept in the park. % wrote my name with a pen. % go to work by b!s. L!ietly pretty hotel. .eca!se of the snow" we didn t go to the party. The coffee shop closes at :. ,lass finishes at 8.

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Grammar Exercises Sentential %uestions &

Z1 % "

H&_ 7n$

JK LK mMK A NK % L DHE)"_=R*G$ JK mLK % MK NK A

I

M ]4"

" _STTVWXA4$

JK "LK AMK %NK m

Sentential %uestions &&

N 4n$

JK ^ LK mMK "NK 5
H

O ^ 7Z1$ JK LK mMK%NK*9

"nswers
7) - 0 this sentence is asking abo!t an action (talking) that is taking place in a location (today s meeting) -) 7 0 the particle is !sed beca!se the paper is being !sed to make the bird. 8) 8 0 the resta!rant e'ists at the station" and there is no action taking place there so we m!st !se . 9) - (9 8 7 -) the particle describes how long it takes to walk to the school. :) 8 (8 9 - 7) we need to !se to mark the time" and to mark where the action is taking place.

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0he 3 1article

(click to view video) The grammar particle or ni has a variety of !ses" b!t for the #: level" there 9 different !ses that are important.

7= at ;time=
This is the general time marker. Form: no!n ; % Example: %WVA"4$(,lass starts at 7-.) nij!!jini k!ras!ga hajimar!. %t can be !sed to mark any point in time" a month" a year" etc... .!t look o!t some time e'pressions can not be !sed with %. &or e'ample" the following sentence is incorrect/ 7G%E1Z1%n$ (% m going to Tokyo tomorrow.) ashitani to!kyo!ni ikimas!. @ome common time e'pressions that can t be !sed are 9 (morning)" H1 (yesterday)" 9 (lately)" ZC (last year)" etc... .asically" if yo! can represent the time e'pression as a n!mber yo! can !se % otherwise yo! can t. &or e'ample" =1 can !se % beca!se it is the first day of the week.

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@easons (" =" 0" "4) are a bit strange" beca!se the % is optional for them. 4o! can also !se % to talk abo!t the fre)!ency of an event for e'ample/ *=% 3H WVA4$ ikkagets!ni yonkai nihongono k!ras!ga ar!. (There is Japanese class 9 times a month.) F% *9 7n$(% go for a walk once a week.) issh!!kanni ikkai sanpo shimas!.

9= in0 on0 at ;place= where somethin, exists(

Form: no!n ; % Examples: -.% A)n$ (There is a pen on the table.) teeb!r!ni penga arimas!.

n%8 fjy}f

A4$evwkzk fj i i q} gwk xwifzlK izyl

ii}i

.e caref!l not to mi' this !p with m. The m particle is !sed to mark the location of where something happens. The particle % is !sed to mark where something e'ists.

:= to or toward ;place=
Form: no!n ; % Example: G7A%*G$(% went to the station.) watshiga ekini itta.

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>= in order to do somethin,

Form: no!n ; % Example: .5]4" ?%*G$(% went to the station to eat l!nch.) moor!he hirogohanwo tabeni itta. To !se this str!ct!re" yo! need to !se the -mas! stem of a verb" which is pretty simple to form. J!st take the -mas! form a of a verb and c!t off the mas!. 1ike so/ ?nP?nd%P?% nPnd%P% nPnd%P% Yqy wi~k gq k xizkyr hfgw gwfj jgzyxgyzk kxiyjk gwk jkxq} ~kz wij gq k i ~kz q qgfq}l v{pfxirr{ q}k q gwkjk O ~kzj fj yjk gq q fy 4 gq xqk yzy 5 gq zkgyz} 6 gq k}gkz 7 gq k|fg ikzy wifzy kzy

@ome verbs that seem like they wo!ld work (like 4R" to walk) can t be !sed in this str!ct!re. &or e'ample the following sentence is incorrect/ .5]B" ?%4G$ moor!he hirogohanwo tabeni ar!ita. The verb has to show the direction of movement not the action.

How does this look on the JL T!

$s with a lot of these particles" they will try to test yo!r knowledge

, 's( 3
.oth of these particles can be !sed to talk abo!t time and places" b!t each has its specific !se. % went over this before on the m cheat sheet" b!t here is a )!ick refresher. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

&irst for time" % is !sed for when an action occ!rs" whereas m is !sed to mark where a state changes. Correct: Q % 7Z1$(1et s meet at Q.) rok!jini aimasho!. /ncorrect: 6 m 7Z1$(1et s meet at Q.) rok!jide aimasho!. m marks a change in state" and meeting someone is more of an event than a change of a state. @econd for places" % can be !sed to talk abo!t where something or someone e'ists" whereas the m particle is !sed to talk abo!t a place where an action occ!rs. The key here is to look o!t for )n (arimas!" to e'ist inanimate object) or n (imas!" to e'ist living object).

3 's( nothin,
$s % mentioned earlier" the % particle is optional for seasons" and can not be !sed with some time e'pressions like 7G (ashita" tomorrow)" 9 (asa" morning)" etc... $lways remember the r!le abo!t n!mbers. %f the time e'pression can be specified with n!mbers than yo! can !se % otherwise no %. 1ook for this to be tested in the grammar section where yo! co!ld possibly !se a " to mark the time e'pression" b!t not %. &or e'ample yo! might see this on the test/ 9J01 ZR%R$ asaha y!!binnkyok!ni ik!. 7) "-) A 8) % 9) The answer wo!ld be 7)" this sentence can be loosely translated as $s for the morning" % m going to the post office. 4o! might !se this kind of str!ct!re if yo! were contrasting what yo! were doing at different times of the day. $s for the evening" % m R " $s for the Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

afternoon" R " etc... This really isn t too far off from how we !se in" on" at for time in English. &or e'ample" yo! can say on monday " b!t not on tomorrow . Bf co!rse this isn t tr!e for in the morning " which in Japanese does not take %" so it isn t e'actly like English.

Suru 'erbs with the >th use

@!r! verbs are no!ns that can take n4 (s!r!) to form a verb. &or e'ample" 7=< 7=< 0 )!estion n4 0 to ask a )!estion

+hen yo! !se % to show yo! are moving somewhere to do something (the 9th !se)" things get a little strange. Take a look at this conversation/ D%7G qq}f ffijwfgii? eWwkzk f {qy q?K XHV%7=< q}}q qyfjy}f 7_%7G$ ffijwfgil jwfgyq}ejwfK}f

es hk}g gq Jq}j qfxk gq ij i qykjgfq}lK s} j pizg hk yjk 7=< yg hk q}g }kk gq i gwk jyzye7 jwfK fgj qpgfq}irl
}

k q} gwk rqq qyg qz gwfj f} gwk jxzirk jk}gk}xkj eL

ziiz jkxgfq}Kl

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Example Sentences
G7"8 -7 %*D 77G$

% got married on ?arch -7st.

watashiwa sangats! nij!!nichini kekkon shimashita. =%_;%7G nat!(ni) okinawani ikimashita. :AI%n$ in!ga ieni imas!. #1D%;9A)n$ reizo!koni osakega arimas!. X"01 ZR%7G$ jonwa y!binkyok!ni ikimashita. #";%")7G$ karewa omiseni hairimashita. %CQ)%)7G$ ieni nem!rini kaerimashita. %1G% 7G$ bigg!ekkoni !taini ikimashita. % went to Bkinawa in the s!mmer. There is a dog in my ho!se. There is sake in the refrigerator. Jon went to the post office. Ce went into the store. % ret!rned home to sleep. % went to .ig Echo to sing.

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Grammar Exercises Sentential %uestions &

J G7HI_-A)n$ JK LK mMK A NK % L 7G_DHIAn$ JK "LK % MK mNK %" M G7"DH71=%_$

JK )ZD1n4%nLK )ZD1%n MK )ZD1%")n NK )ZD1%")n

Sentential %uestions &&

N n$ JK %LK "MK NK D O n$
*71 H %

JK %LK F

MK%NK

"nswers
7) - 0 This is a tricky little )!estion" it !ses 4" b!t we still need m beca!se an action is taking place (a party). .e on the look o!t for these e'ceptions. -) 7 0 +e can !se " here" b!t not % beca!se 7G (tomorrow) can not be represented as a n!mber. 8) - 0 &or s!r! verbs" we don t need to p!t any verb stem in front of %. 4o! can j!st !se the base form of the verb. )ZD1% or )ZD17% are both okay tho!gh. 9) - (8 - 9 7) the particle " can be !sed to talk abo!t the topic of fall (and other seasons). The particle % is optional. :) 9 (- 7 9 8) Iemember that when yo! talk abo!t fre)!ency" the word order is opposite to that in English" yo! have to p!t the period time first" then %" then the n!mber of times. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

0ransitive vs. /ntransitive $er%s

(click to view the video) %t s very easy to get these two types of verbs mi'ed !p" beca!se a lot of times in English we !se the same verb" where in Japanese it wo!ld be two separate verbs.

&ntransiti'e Verbs ;89=

Form: AR$ madoga ak!. J!st for a refresher" intransitive verbs don t take an object. They j!st have a s!bject that is doing something. 1ike the English sentence % sleep . 4o! can t sleep something. +e can t say for e'ample 0 % sleep myself. This makes to sleep an intransitive verb. $nd in English one verb can be !sed to be transitive and intransitive. &or e'ample" we can say the following two sentences/ % eat a lot. (intransitive) % eat pizza. (transitive) Cowever" in Japanese the verbs we !se are sometimes different and are marked with different particles. &or intransitive verbs" we !s!ally need to !se to mark the s!bject. %n Japanese" intransitive verbs are called (jido!shi) or self-moving part . %n other words the s!bject is doing the action by itself.

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Transiti'e Verbs ;&89=

Form: 4$ madowo aker!. Transitive verbs take an object and a s!bject. $ltho!gh in Japanese the s!bject is often !nderstood from conte't. These types of verbs are called G17 (tado!shi) in Japanese" literally meaning other move part or move another thing part of speech as in something is having the action performed on it" the s!bject is not performing the action by itself. These verbs re)!ire an object either implied (from an earlier part of the conversation) or directly stated in the sentence. This object is !s!ally marked with " the object marking particle.

3ow does this loo- on the 4510?

4o! obvio!sly need to know which verbs are strictly transitive and strictly intransitive beca!se they mean different things and yo! can only !se certain particles with certain verbs. >on t be s!rprised if yo! see something like this on the test/

_4$ ^_Aa_b_"c_m This is obvio!sly over-simplified" b!t this is a typical trap yo! might see on the test. @ince the no!n is at the beginning yo! might nat!rally be led to believe that it is the s!bject so yo! sho!ld !se A " b!t with this verb" yo! need " the object marker" beca!se someone or something is opening the door. The door is not opening by itself.

The Curious Case of

]>R is act!ally an #9 word" b!t if yo! are doing any kind of non-J12T st!dying" which yo! sho!ld be" yo! might come across this rather c!rio!s word. ]>R and R are written with the same kanji/

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]>

RR Bn top of that" they also have pretty m!ch the same meaning 0 to open . @o what givesE

+ell" altho!gh they have similar meanings" they don t have the e'act same meanings. R is to open something by sliding it open" with one sing!lar movement" like a sliding door3window" the lid of a container" or a book. ?eanwhile" ]>R is more comple'. This is to open something like a flower or a fist. There might be m!ltiple things moving to open. 4o! might want to think of this as to open !p .

6se the differences between these two types of 'erbs to Help you
There are a lot of verbs that are what ling!istics call omnitransitive in Japanese. %n other words they are both transitive and intransitive" j!st like English. Cowever there are these annoying little pairs of transitive and intransitive verbs that can trip yo! !p. >on t fear them tho!gh" they can really help yo! if yo! keep an eye o!t for them. %f the verb is transitive" yo! know that it needs to have an object and a s!bject. These can of co!rse be implied from an earlier part of the conversation or from the sit!ation. Transitive verbs j!st need a s!bject. This can help a lot in the scrambled sentences section where yo! ll need to find what needs to go where. &or e'ample" if yo! see the verb >?4" yo! know there needs to be a s!bject doing the arranging (!s!ally marked with A) and an object that the s!bject is arranging (!s!ally marked with ). C!nt these o!t when yo! go to arrange the sentences.

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Example Sentences
8 72*G$

% closed the bag. The store closed. % t!rned on the light. The light came on. % stopped the car. The car stopped. The class started. The teacher started the class.

kabanwo shimetta. A7*G$ misega shimatta. m =*G$ denkiwo ts!ketta. m A=G$ denkiga ts!ita. G7A E2*G$ watashiga k!r!mawo tometta. A E*G$ k!r!maga tomatta. WVA"*G$ k!ras!ga hajimatta. AWV"2*G$ senseiga k!ras!wo hajimetta.

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Grammar Exercises
(@pecial note/ These are easier than the )!estions on the test. The idea is to j!st introd!ce some of the basic types of )!estions they might ask.) $oca%ulary: 5agete6 ( form) 0 this is the command form of 4 (ager!)" to give. Hm5node6 (conj) 0 (polite) so 5biiz!6 (no!n) 0 beads

* 5kitte6 (no!n) 0 stamp n8>75s!barashii6(i-adj) - wonderf!l

Sentential %uestions &

J DH3 _R9$ JK Aa_"b_%c_

R4

"D%)n a_%E2*G b_mE*G c_mE2*G m7G$ c_7*G

@D_$ ^_%E*G

M %0

ZR_Hm* a_74 b_A7*G

^_74

Sentential %uestions &&

N n8>7<HmnC$ JK mLK#?GMK NK O ")n$
='n

mn

JK "LK >MK7GNK!"

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"nswers
' ) 0 +e know that somebody is giving an object back from the verb (the command form of " which is transitive). +e need to mark the object with and is obvio!sly the object that is being given. "' " 0 The Japanese lang!age is f!ll of things that are implied and this is one s!ch case. +e know from the conte't that we are talking abo!t a car. #ow" yo! have to ask yo!rself" did the car stop by itself or did yo! stop itE &rom the conte't" yo! can g!ess that . stopped the car somewhere" so we need , the transitive verb 'to stop' because we know a subject (you) stoppe the object (the car)! #otice this )!estion is also )!izzing yo! on yo!r !se of particles. %s it " or #E 4o!r first g!ess might be #" beca!se it is !sed to mark the location of where an action takes place. Cowever" in this conversation" $/ is asking abo!t the e'istence ($%&) of the car" and so so!nds more nat!ral (remember we can t !se # with $%& and '$%&). (' ( - Cere the post office (()*+,-.) is doing the closing (well" not literally of co!rse" b!t fig!ratively)" so we need to mark it as the s!bject with /. $lso notice that the verb before 0# is written in cas!al form. +e will go over 0# in a f!t!re chapter" b!t j!st keep in mind that altho!gh it is a conj!nction" it will take a cas!al verb before it" even if the sentence ends in #& or 1%& (polite form). )' ) (" 0 &irst" 2345 is the cas!al past tense of 264" a transitive verb" so we know we need an object and a s!bject. The s!bject is implied in this case - the speaker is asking yo! the )!estion" so we can ass!me yo! are the s!bject. +e can p!t the verb at the end beca!se that is the only thing that can go before +#&7. $lso" verbs !s!ally go at the end of the sentence in Japanese. There is an before 2645 so we need to stick the object before it. +hich no!n is the object tho!ghE (hand) or 89:(beads)E +ell" let s look at the other particle" #" which means with or by . +e !s!ally don t arrange hands with or by beads. @o!nds a little strange rightE

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+e wo!ld probably arrange beads with hands. @o the correct sentence wo!ld be/ &;6<'=0#&>? #@89:@2645+#&7A s!barashiimonodes!ne. tede biiz!wo narabetandes!kaE %t s an amazing thing( >id yo! arrange these beads by handE

*' ( ) (" 0 There is a B(wa) particle here" so we know there is a topic we are talking abo!t" and !s!ally the topic goes first" so let s find it. %s it CDE or <5E +ell" it co!ld be both" so let s try them both o!t real )!ick/ <5B@ CDE76 BF%$%&? ashitawa nats!yas!mikara hajimarimas! $s for tomorrow" from s!mmer vacation starts. !"" 7G>")n$ nats!yas!miwa ashitakara hajimarimas! $s for s!mmer vacation" from tomorrow it starts. The second one so!nds a little bit better don t yo! thinkE #otice here that yo! can mark the thing that is starting with " the topic marker. 4o! can act!ally !se A as well. %f yo! !se A it gives s!mmer vacation a little more emphasis" more importance. This is something someone might say on the last day of work" and they are relieved it is all over and it is time for s!mmer vacation.

0he :/;/< 1article

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(click to view video) These three particles" <"E and ' are good gl!e particles. They help gl!e sentences together and make yo! so!nd more nat!ral.

: 7st use 8 too0 also0 not either

Form: #o!n (particle) ; < Example: $/ #Anmn$(% like cake.) keekiga s!kides!. ./ G7<Anmn_$(% like cake" too.) watashimo (keekiga s!kides!). 4o! can combine particles when yo! !se <. &or e'ample" WXV5< 7G$es hk}g gq zi}xk gqqlK f!rans!hemo ikimashita. #" Im< m< =<?n$ kareha iedemo denshanakademo its!mo tabeteimas! (Ce is always eating whether at home or inside the train.) .!t" yo! can not combine A" " and with <" instead yo! j!st !se <. 1ike in the first e'ample/ G7"<Anmn_ Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

watashi(wa)mo (keekiga

s!kides!).

: 9nd use 8 nowhere0 nothin,0 etc((( or e'erywhere e'erythin, etc(((

Form: )!estion word ; < ; positive verb S everywhere" everything" etc... )!estion word ; < ; negative verb S nowhere" nothing" etc... Example: #"m< ?n$(Ce eats anything.) kareha nandemo tabemas!. #<7R"nm"$(#obody likes homework.) daremo sh!k!daiwa s!kidewanai.

; 2 and ;nouns=
Form: no!n ; E ; no!n Example: DH$E @H$" #$(This flower and that flower are pretty.) konohanato sonohanawa kireida. This is a pretty basic particle that means and. 4o! can !se it with no!ns anywhere no!ns are !sed like as an object or s!bject of a sentence.

< 2 and ;nouns0 not inclusi'e+exhausti'e=

Form: no!n ; ' ; no!n Example: %'$" #$(The trees" flowers and some other things are pretty.) kiya hanaha kireida. The ' particle also means and" b!t it is not incl!sive. %t hints at there being other things we Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

are talking abo!t" and the speaker is j!st mentioning a few of the key items. % try to remember this particle by imagining $rnold @chwarzenegger talking. Ce likes to talk a lot and say yaa as well" b!t always keeps talking" never stopping" so he doesn t get e'ha!sted. $nd ' is not e'ha!stive.

How does this look on the JL T!

$s with a lot of these particles" they will try to test yo!r knowledge on the differences between < E and ' vs. other particles.

can add to the ,eneral topic of con'ersation

4o! can !se < to add more to the topic or mood of conversation. This is a bit complicated so let s go over an e'ample. %magine yo! are having a f!n day at Tokyo >isneyland" so yo! say/ 7) WX";<7B*G$(The attractions were e'citing.) atorak!shonha omoshirokatta. 4o! co!ld add to this by saying/ -) G?<H<;7*G$(The food was also delicio!s.) tabemonomo oishikatta. #ormally" after we said sentence 7) we co!ld only talk abo!t another thing that was e'citing (;<7B*G)" b!t sentence -) is talking abo!t the food" which we can t say is e'citing. +hat is happening here is we are adding to the implied theme of it being a f!n day. .e caref!l to watch o!t for this in the grammar section where they might have two sentences where the second sentence is adding to the theme of the first.

with
.e caref!l with this combo. Take a look at the following e'ample/ DH]E" $DH]E<C$ konohitoha senseida. konohitomo aneda. (This person is a teacher. This person is also my older sister.) This might look correct" b!t we can t !se it for this meaning. +e have to !se a slightly more diffic!lt str!ct!re instead/ Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

DH]E" $@7Cm<4$ konohitoha senseida. soshite anedemo ar!. (This person is a teacher. This person is also my older sister.)

lo'es nouns
$lways remember that E is only !sed to link no!ns. &or e'ample" we can not say this/ ,-."? )E'n$(The hotel is convenient and cheap.) hoter!ha benrito yas!i. To connect i-adjective we need a special str!ct!re/ ,-."R'n$(The hotel is big and cheap.) hoter!ha ookik!te yas!i. $nd for adjectives" we can !se the m particle/ ,-."#m)*+$ (The hotel is prettily splendid.) hoter!ha kireide rippada.

's(
=eep in mind that E incl!des everything while ' doesn t. @o" for e'ample" the following sentence so!nds strange/ (when ordering at a resta!rant) V-#'W&-R9$(@teak and french fries (etc..) please) s!tekiya f!raidopotetowo k!dasai. $lso" since ' is not specific" it can t be !sed with . ' 7!"? )$ =!r!maya jido!shaha benrida. is !sed to declare something (yo! are very certain of)" so !sing ' with it so!nds a bit strange.

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Example Sentences
<#1D%) $

% got married on ?arch -7st. % went to Bkinawa in the s!mmer. There is a dog in my ho!se.

nanimo reizo!koni arimasen. D%< m7G$ dokonimo ikimasendeshita. CE%A E1Z1%n mn$ aneto aniga to!kyo!ni s!ndeimas!. 9" E01" There is sake in the refrigerator.

,-.m?7G$ asagohanto y!!hanwo hoter!de tabemashita. V%"'9' %RA)n$ s!!paaniha yasaiya nik!ga arimas!. W'#HRG(A -%7G$ b!raddoya kareno kazokotachiga paatiini kimashita. $/ 67R=7G$ $/ Today" % bo!ght new shoes. ./ +ow" those are pretty. $/ Thank yo!" % bo!ght socks" too. Ce went into the store. Jon went to the post office.

kyo! atarashii k!ts!wo kaimashita. '`#C$ waa" kireidane. $/)AE1`R=7G<7G$ arigato!" k!ts!shitamo kaimashita.

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"G5

@A7mn$ isogashii ikimashita. des!.

$/ Today" % m really b!sy. % went to the mall and post office. % cleaned my room.

kyo!wa taihen .E01 mar!to y!!binkyok!ni heyawo so!ji G5 taihen. $

ZR%7G$

5'@177G$ shimashita. ./ Bh my gosh. $/ % went to the department store" too.

%<7G$ depaatonimo ikimashita.

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Grammar %uestions Sentential %uestions &

D 71 'n

J F

<R1_ a_E(<

1_" mn$

JK <(<

b_E(Ec_<(E

L `=#7G$7E"=>$) _4$ ^_" a_< b_A c_m M DHn7"_$ ^_;7R# a_#m'n b_;7E'n c_;7R'n

Sentential %uestions &&

N -G9 JK G9 "Dmn LK EMK "NK Q>9 $ - IA%7G$ O

JK SWELK %MK7ZRNK71=

"nswers
7) 7 0 This is really tricky" we need to !se < beca!se we already have the weekend off. -) - 0 Cere we are adding to the theme of a bad day. +ork is boring and also the weather is bad. 8) 9 0 remember can not be !sed to link two adjectives" only no!ns. 9) 8 (7 8 9 -) +e are asking abo!t G9 answer and Q>9 is with G9 so he is the topic of conversation for the " so we !se E.

:) 8 (9 7 8 -) 71= does not need the % particle and E particle !s!ally has a no!n after it" so we know that 7R will follow it" b!t we need something to connect 7R with " so the % particle goes last. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

0he /=/and 1articles

(click to view video) These three particles )``7 are !s!ally !sed in negative sentences.

2 ;not= 'ery much0 ;not= 'ery

Form: ) ; negative form of a verb Example: *+")G? $($melie doesn t eat m!ch.) ameriwa amari tabemasen. Mnemonic: %magine $melie from the &rench film of the same name. @he doesn t eat m!ch" so she is slender. ) is almost always !sed in a negative sentence" b!t can be !sed in a positive sentence. %f yo! !se it this way it has a negative connotation. &or e'ample/ @#")mn$(That s too cr!el3too m!ch.34o! went too far with that.) sorewa amarides!.

=2 only? /ust? that5s all

Forms: no!n ; ; (A_,"_,_ no!n ; (other particles) ; ; (other particles)P Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

H 43H G3$ 3$ *G ; na or na *G ; Pother particles S all particles 0 A" "" and Examples: VWW<*7G$ s!kottodake f!rassh!raitowo mottekimashita. (@cott was the only person that bro!ght a flashlight.) G7"*9 m? Z1n4$(% only st!dy at the coffee shop.) watashiwa kissatendakede benkyo!s!r!. %(1"-T4$(Bn @at!rday" % j!st watched TH.) nichiyo!biwa terebiwo mir!dakeda. Mnemonic: %magine yo! are in a dark cave and yo! forgot yo!r flashlight. @cott" an $!stralian" shows !p and says >ark" ehE (dake). Ce is the only one with a flashlight. 4o! might be wondering 0 is there a difference between m and m or other s!ch formations with other particles. $nd yes there is" b!t it is very s!btle. 1et s take a look at the second e'ample again/ G7"*9 m? Z1n4$

This sentence means yo! only st!dy at the coffee shop and nowhere else" not at home" not at school" only the coffee shop. Cow abo!t this sentence/ G7"*9 m? Z1n4$

%t has a slightly different meaning of something like yo! only st!dy at the coffee shop" b!t yo! co!ld st!dy at other places" it is j!st that yo! only need to st!dy at the coffee shop beca!se it doesn t take that long to st!dy or it is easy for yo! to st!dy. %n other words" yo! are not e'cl!sively st!dying at the coffee shop.

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 2 nothin, ;but(((=0 nobody ;but(((=0 used in ne,ati'e sentences

Forms: no!n ; 7 no!n ; %_,5_; 7 co!nter or n!mbers ; 7 Examples: G9 "%R7? $(?r. Tanaka doesn t eat anything b!t meat.) tanakasanwa nik!shika tabemasen. G7"E1Z1m7*G$(% didn t go any farther than Tokyo.) watashiwa to!kyo!madeshka ikenakatta. Q>9 ".37 m7G$ #akam!rasanwa biir!ipponshika nomimasendeshita. (?r. #akam!ra only drank one bottle of beer.) Mnemonic: %n the Carry 2otter series" they play a sport called )!idditch. %n this sport" there is a player whose job it is to find the golden snitch. #obody on a )!idditch team is looking for the golden snitch" b!t the @C%=$. 4o! can not !se " A or " with 7T % and 5 are optionally" and all other particles are necessary and go before 7.

How does this look on the JL T!

These particles can only be !sed in partic!lar sit!ations and have a few irreg!lar things abo!t them.

is usually used in ne,ati'e sentences

.!t not always( %t can be !sed with positive sentences if the overall meaning is negative. .asically" keep in mind that ) is !sed in negative sit!ations.

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 is always used in a ne,ati'e sentence

This can ca!se tro!ble in a co!ple of places. &irst" in grammar )!estions involving 7 make s!re to end the sentences with a negative. %f yo! are not a Carry 2otter fan" 7 is also the word for deer in Japanese" so yo! can imagine an angry negative deer" while all the other deer are happy and friendly. Take a look at this sentence/ =1E<R1E 17]m"$ gets!yo!bito mok!yo!bito kinyo!bishika himadewanai. (% m not free e'cept on ?onday" Th!rsday and &riday.) 2retty conf!sing sentence isn t itE This is j!st the kind of sentence that might pop !p d!ring the listening section of the e'am or in the reading section. %t is very easy to )!ickly read this sentence and interpret it as F% m not free only on ?onday" Th!rsday and &riday.O J!st like driving" if yo! see a 7 (a deer) it is best to slow down and re-read it caref!lly. % ve missed #7 )!estions beca!se % slipped !p with 7.

doesn5t /ust party with eni one ;anyone=

7 doesn t party with "" A" or and it optionally parties with % and 5. %t does party with all the other cool particles like m and > tho!gh. 4o! can remember this with the mnemonic 7 doesn t j!st party with 5% one (anyone). 5 and % are optional" where as the main 8 (A" "" ) are not !sed at all. $ll other particles come before 7. =eep this in mind for the grammar section of the e'am" especially in the second section where yo! have to !nscramble the sentences.

0 = and
4 Fto take (time)O can be !sed with 7" b!t not . &or e'ample" m : 7 ) $(%t is only : min!tes to the station)

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Ekimade gopp!nshika kakarimasen. 4o! can t !se in the same sentence. 4o! can try to remember it as a 7 (a deer) takes time to get somewhere beca!se it has to walk.

Example Sentences
)<H m7G$ amari monowo kaimasendeshita. 0GB@%$@H0I@<J'%K+? anohitowa amari sonokotowo shitteimasen. LMNOP/@Q+#'%&? makk!dakega nondeimas!. R5<B@ STB+OP@ U4%<5? watashiwa asagohandakewo tabemashita. DHEAnmn =onotokeiga s!kides!kaE `u$ n" takaidakedayo. (%) didn t b!y many things. That g!y doesn t m!ch abo!t it. Bnly ?ac is drinking. % only ate breakfast. $/ >o yo! like this watchE ./ +ell" it s e'pensive" that s all. % m always sleeping on my holidays. %n one month" % didn t sell anything b!t one car. This week" % didn t work any days b!t ?onday.

V&EB@>'OPO? yas!miwa neteir!dakeda. WXYZ"@[@WO'<7@)$%K+#<5? ikkagets!kanni k!r!mawo ichidaishka !remasendeshita. \]B@ ^_)*<7@ B56,%K+? konsh!!wa gets!yo!bishika hatarakimasen.

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Grammar Exercises
Iewrite the sentence like the e'ample. JiK G7"3*9=7 xK G7")3 m7G$

K G7"3*9=7G$eK m7G$ e)K

]E=

LiK IA= 7G$ K e7K xK e)K

MiK )W

m7G$

K e_ xK e7K

NiK 2=7?

m7G$

K eK xK e)K

Sentential %uestions &&

"

O I n
]E

JK "G>LK MK 7NK E Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

"

6 G9

JK"LK EMK)NKQ>9

"nswers
-b) IA=7 -c) )IA m7G$ m7G$

8b) W37G$ 8c) W37 m7G$

9b) 2=?7G$ 9c) )2? m7G$

:) 9 (- 9 8 7) &irst" since the verb "n appears before the blanks we need to look for something that can go after it. 7 and "G> can t. E can in some sit!ations" b!t ] E can as well. 1et s try ]E first. Then" yo! can p!t "G> at the end beca!se it goes with . That only leaves yo! with E and 7.

+e know that particles have to go before 7 so E goes in the -nd blank while 7 goes in the 8rd blank. The final sentence is/ I"n]EE7"G> $ eigowo hanas! hitotoshika hataraiteimasen. (% work with nobody b!t an English speaking person.) Q) 9 (7 9 - 8) This is really a )!estion of where ) can go in a sentence. >oes it go toward the end with the verbE Br can it go toward the frontE The answer is it goes toward the end of the sentence with the negative verb. The final sentence is/ G9 "Q>9 E)7 $ Tanakasanwa nakam!rasanto amari hanashimasen. (?r. Tanaka doesn t talk to ?r. #akam!ra very m!ch.)

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0he />/?/and @ 1articles

(,lick to view the video) These three particles ```C can be !sed to assert certain things.

2 or ;marks an alternati'e=
Form: no!n or sentence ; Examples: ]]!) $ himaka himajyanaika wakarimasen. (% don t know if % m free or not.) 11TVWX% kinyo!bika doyo!bi res!toranni ikimasenkaE (>o yo! want to go to a resta!rant on &riday or @at!rdayE) Mnemonic: %magine someone with a .oston accent selling yo! cars - F>o yo! want that =$ or this =$EO +hen yo! !se ka in this way with a sentence" the sentence m!st be in informal form and not have " (the topic marking particle). &or e'ample" Correct: G9 A4Q>9 A4) $ Tanakasanga k!r!ka nakam!rasanga k!r!ka wakarimasen. % don t know if ?r. Tanaka or ?r. #akam!ra is coming. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

/ncorrect: G9 "nQ>9 " n) $ Tanakasanwa kimas!ka nakam!rasanwa kimas!ka wakarimasen. % don t know if ?r. Tanaka or ?r. #akam!ra is coming. The reason for this is that the sentences before the are technically s!bordinate cla!ses and s!bordinate cla!ses can t !se "$

2 )uestion markin, particle

Form: sentence ; Examples: A nmn naniga s!kides!kaE (+hat do yo! likeE) 11TVWX% kinyo!bika doyo!bi res!toranni ikimasenkaE (>o yo! want to go to a resta!rant on &riday or @at!rdayE) Mnemonic: %magine a raven =$-ing" like it is asking a )!estion. =eep in mind that this is pretty polite and is often !sed for polite conversation" b!t other )!estion markers are often !sed. &or e'ample" in most cas!al sit!ations" people will !se H as a )!estion marker. $nd older men will generally !se .

? 2 &5m tellin, you(((0

This particle is !sed to ass!re someone. Form: sentence ; Examples:

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D#";7 korewa oishiiyo( % m telling yo!" this is delicio!s( Mnemonic: This is pretty easy to imagine a wanna be rapper saying yo yo yo" ass!ring everyone how cool he thinks he is. This particle is !sed to ass!re someone of something. 4o! wo!ld !se it if yo! think the person yo! are talking to doesn t know the information yo! are trying to comm!nicate. &or instance" in the above e'ample" yo!r friend might be looking at some food in disg!st" b!t yo! know it tastes good" so yo! want to ass!re him that it is.

> 2 &5m ;softly= tellin, you(((

This particle is !sed by women to softly ass!re someone. Form: sentence ; Examples: D#";7 korewa oishiiwayo( % m telling yo!" this is delicio!s( Mnemonic: +amen !se . This particle gives a feminine feeling to the sentence" at least in the standard dialect of Japanese. %t means the speaker wants to place emphasis on what is being said" b!t it doesn t have the same meaning as " which is !sed to provide new information in an ass!ring way. This is more like the speaker is somehow emotional attached to what is being said. %n reality" the !se of this particle is starting to die o!t. %t is often !sed by older women in the standard dialect of Japanese. %t might also be !sed by characters in a book to emphasize their femininity. $lso" different regions" like =ansai" !se this particle differently. %t is good to know abo!t" b!t % haven t heard of it showing !p on the test that m!ch.

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@ 2 you know
This particle has a similar meaning to ehE or isn t itE or don t yo!E Form: sentence ; C Examples: ;7C oishiine( %t s delicio!s" isn t itE Mnemonic: C serves the same p!rpose and so!nds similar to eh( that some speakers of English !se to get a confirmation from the listener. %t s delicio!s" eh( This particle can be tho!ght of as saying % think this" yo! think this too rightE . %t is !sed to get a confirmation or an agreement on yo!r opinion. The only form yo! can t !se it with is the r!de command form/ /ncorrect: C ikene *o" will yo!(

How does this look on the JL T!

4o! probably won t see these particles a lot in the act!al grammar section of the test" b!t they will most likely pop !p in the listening where the !se of the particle might change the meaning slightly of what is being said.

4on5t for,et to use

<sing for )!estions (the -nd !se) seems pretty straightforward. 4o! j!st slap a on the end of a sentence to make a )!estion and call it a day. $nd for the most part that is what it is there for. .!t" it might not be obvio!s in some other sit!ations" like take a look at this conversation/ $/ &1%1A) ./ `@1mn$) $ $

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The . part of the conversation might look perfectly nat!ral" b!t act!ally" to make this response the most nat!ral" yo! wo!ld need / $/ &1%1A) ./ `@1mn$) $ $

This is a pretty common mistake among Japanese learners" and it might pop !p in the )!ick response section of the listening part of the e'am.

is for new information0 is for confirmin, or expressin, opinions

%t s easy to make the mistake of thinking of as an e'clamation point" b!t act!ally it performs a slightly different task. +hen yo! think the listener doesn t know something yo! want to give them some new information" and yo! want to show that new information is important" then yo! !se . %f both yo! and the listener already know abo!t the thing yo! are commenting abo!t" yo! !se C$$lways remember for sharing new information" C for e'pressing and confirming opinions. This is something to look o!t for in the listening section.

Example Sentences
A/) $ pattoga onnaka otokoka wakarimasen. $-I)B@`abc7@ cdeb"@f,%&7A ryoko!wa f!rans!ka s!peinni ikimas!kaE 2"@ <'%&7A naniwo shiteimas!kaE D%n dokoni ikimas!kaE 7*n jwfggkfijy{q(An chigaimas!yo( % m telling yo! yo! are wrong( % don t know if 2at is a woman or a man. $s for yo!r trip" are yo! going to &rance or @painE +hat are yo! doingE +here are yo! goingE % m telling yo! % know(

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VXnC$ s!peingowo hanas!ne. "n1C$ kyo!wa s!iyo!bidane.

(4o!) speak @panish" don t yo!E Today is +ednesday" rightE

Grammar Exercises Sentential %uestions &

J . E1%mn b_m7G c_mn $

$ ^_mnC a_mn

L . G9

"

`@1mn$ ^_Ca_b_c_
G>

M . H16

7*9

%7G$

<#$ ^_Ca_b_c_*GC

Sentential %uestions &&

N G9

"n 7!b_Vc_ b_c_) "$

^_ma_m O Q>9 ^_a_

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"nswers
7) 9 0 ./ is reass!ring $/ that he can do it" so we need to !se and not C. @ince we are talking abo!t the non-past (present or f!t!re) answer 8 is wrong. $nswer - is wrong beca!se it mi'es cas!al with polite mn. -) 8 0 This is the most nat!ral answer in this sit!ation. @1mn can be sort of translated as %s that soE or IeallyE depending on the conte't. %t is a set phrase that comes in handy and might pop !p in the )!ick response section of the test. 8) 9 0 . wants to e'press his opinion abo!t the resta!rant and knows that $ has already been there so it is not new information. +e need C in this sit!ation. @ince . and $ are not at the cafe we have to !se the past form (*G). %n English" we might say the ,afe is pretty. " b!t in Japanese we wo!ld !se the past tense since yo! visited it in the past. 9) 9 (-987 or 89-7) 4o! don t need for the second option in a sentence. 4o! also don t need to p!t m for both options. @o the f!ll !nscrambled sentence wo!ld be/ G9 "m 7!Vmn tanakasanwa denshaka bas!de ikimas!kaE (%s ?r. Tanaka going by train or carE) :) 7 (-798) needs to go at the end of the sentence. $nd altho!gh yo! can p!t verbs before " they need to be in plain form (>) and ) . +e can t p!t after "" so we need to p!t it after !nscrambled sentence wo!ld be/ Q>9 " 9) $ nakam!rasanwa sensaika wakarimasenyo. (% don t if ?r. #akam!ra is a teacher.) is in in polite 9 form" so it goes at the end of the sentence before . That j!st leaves and . The final

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4510 #* 0est
The J12T #: is the easiest of the tests. %t corresponds to the old level 9 or test. %t is where yo! will probably want to start when yo! are first st!dying. %t only re)!ires abo!t 7AA ho!rs of classroom work to pass. This is e)!ivalent to a little !nder a year of a college class in Japanese.

JL T 1@ 8 -asic &nfo
The #: tests the ability to !nderstand some basic Japanese. The keyword is some . 4o! sho!ld be able to read and !nderstand typical everyday e'pressions and sentences written in hiragana" katakana" and kanji. 4o! sho!ld also be able to listen and comprehend daily life topics as long as someone is speaking slowly. The main objective of the J12T #: is to test yo!r ability to read hiragana" katakana" and few basic kanji. This is a major h!rdle for new learners of Japanese. %t may seem a little painf!l" b!t the sooner yo! learn to read and write hiragana3katakana the better. %f yo! are still !sing romaji (romanization of Japanese) yo! are crippling yo!rself. Take the time now to lay down a solid fo!ndation of these writing systems. %t will pay off in the long r!n. #ote that since the J12T is not a speaking or writing test" the test will only j!dge yo!r reading and listening levels. %n other words" yo! can theoretically not speak a word of Japanese" b!t be able to pass if yo! can listen and read the lang!age.

JL T 1@ Grammar
There are no official lists of grammar that will be on the #: test. 4o! can look over the old lists of grammar for to get an idea of the types of grammar that yo! will be tested over tho!gh. There are a few lists o!t there on the net as well as decks in $nki that can help yo! st!dy them. %n general" this level will test basic particle !sage ( etc...)" basic formal and cas!al conj!gations of verbs and adjectives for past and non-past" as well as making comparisons and a few other simple grammar points. Cere is a short list of the top : grammar points to worry abo!t/

@( Counters
,o!nters themselves seem to be pretty easy in concept. $ll yo! have to do is add , g etc!!! behin a nuhber an you are set! injortunateky, there are severak oj these kittke luys an sohe can be use jor sohethinls that aren't emactky intuitive! nike or hon can be use jor konl cyn ricak objects an not books, which is what it heans ij it is by itsekj! Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

+here these often come !p is in the listening section beca!se they have different pron!nciations depending on how many n!mbers of objects. @o make s!re yo! know what they so!nd like by doing some listening practice before the test. % know Japanese2od7A7 has a few good beginner !nits that foc!s on this.

>( Con/u,atin, Verbs

$t the #: level" yo! will learn how to conj!gate verbs into their basic forms. &or e'ample" past tense" negative tense" past negative tense" polite form" etc... The thing yo! need to foc!s on is how each type of verb is conj!gated. Herbs ending in o) are ijjerent than verbs en inl in o jor instance! phe pokite jorh or 1hasu jorh is pretty easy to be honest, but the casuak jorh is a kittke trickier! qe sure you know how to conjulate it, an alain what it soun s kike, so you can pick it up in the kisteninl section!

:( Con/u,atin, "d/ecti'es
These are very similar to the verbs" yo! can conj!gate adjectives to talk abo!t the past" nonpast" negative" etc... There is no polite form that yo! have to conj!gate" j!st have to add des! or datta" which is pretty easy. The main thing to look o!t for here is the little more advanced !ses" for e'ample" the . jorh where you are cohbininl severak a jectives tolether! rkso, be aware that you can nohinakise the a jective, chanle it into a noun, by puttinl 0 at the en oj it!

9( Time + 4istance articles

These things can especially be a pain in the b!tt. % m talking abo!t 76, %#, ", .6', an T t! phese are essentiak to beinl abke to takk about tihe as wekk as istance in sohe cases, but they can easiky let conjuse !

&or e'ample" take a look at the following sentence/ u vv w0x6'77$%&7A

,an yo! g!ess what particle goes in the blankE 4o!r first g!ess might be " because it is a pkace we are loinl to! qut, in jact, the answer is %#! qe sure to lo over the ijjerences an practice a jew oj these types oj yuestions! Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

7( Sub/ect+Topic+Ab/ect articles
% always wondering how something so small co!ld be so conf!sing and diffic!lt to learn. % specifically remembering sitting thro!gh an entire one ho!r class where my professor attempted to e'plain the difference between B(wa) an /(la)! z wakke out oj that ckass onky with a briej un erstan inl oj the ijjerence! $nd even at the #- level" these difference can be pretty diffic!lt to wrap yo!r head aro!nd. There is a small section of the #ew =anzen ?aster #- *rammar book that goes over this very difference. @o" % wo!ld say it is almost cr!cial that yo! get a good !nderstanding of the difference early on in yo!r st!dies. &or more in depth look at the particle wa" read abo!t the topic-marking wa and the contrastive wa. To a slightly lesser e'tent" is also important to have a good feel for when to !se the object marker ! phey can sohetihes pukk a jast one on you with this kittke luy as wekk!

JL T 1@ Ban/i
$gain" there is no official list of kanji that will be covered on the #: test. The old or level 9 list is a good place to start st!dying for the e'am tho!gh. 4o! can p!ll !p a list of these on $nki or on i=anji on the i2hone. 4o! can also pick !p the raw list of these kanji on vario!s sites aro!nd the web. %n general" yo! need to know the kanji for n!mbers" time incl!ding days of the week" for family members (father" mother" etc...)" directions and for basic verbs (read" write" b!y" etc...). These are all kanji that wo!ld nat!rally come !p in simple daily conversations. The #: level contains aro!nd G7AA kanji that cover most of the basic vocab!lary yo! ll need when yo! are first starting o!t. <nfort!nately" at this level yo! can t make !se of kanji radicals that m!ch beca!se a lot of the kanji are radicals themselves. 4o! are going to have to learn them from scratch. % try to think of these kanji in Q major gro!ps 0 nat!re" directions and locations" h!mans" n!mbers and time" adjectives and actions. % kind of cheat with a few of these to match a partic!lar category" b!t for the most part yo! can gro!p them this way.

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1ature Elements
This incl!des everything from {(yama" mo!ntain) to |(kawa" river). These are kanji that represent something that e'ists in nat!re. $ lot of these kanji look very m!ch like the thing they represent. { looks like a mo!ntain" | looks like a river" and } looks like a tree. Bf co!rse" ~ doesn t really look like air" b!t yo! can imagine a little g!y j!mping on a spring into the air. The is the spring and the top part is the little g!y. {@|@@@~@Y@}@@@@@@@@@

4irections and Locations

These can be a little bit more diffic!lt to be honest. &or e'ample" doesn t look m!ch like north at all. There are definitely some mnemonics that can come in handy here when yo! practice. % also p!t and in this gro!p as well even tho!gh they can be !sed for time. % also p!t some common locations into this category as well. @@@@@@@@@@@@@Z@@@@@@u

Humans
This is a bit of a stretch for some of these kanji" b!t % think yo! can gro!p all the family kanji together with body parts and tools (like [). $ll of these kanji basically involve h!mans in some way. &or e'ample" yo! can incl!de (onna" woman) and (otoko" man) beca!se they are only !sed with h!mans. There are act!ally different" m!ch more complicated kanji !sed for the se' of plants and animals. @@@ @@@@@@@@@@[@

1umbers and Time

The first few n!mbers are pretty easy (W" " )" b!t then it gets a lot more complicated after that. =eep in mind that the first 7A n!mbers are hardly !sed. 4o! will see them in fancy Japanese resta!rants or other places like some shops that sell omiyage (edible so!venirs Japanese give to co-workers or family). and tend to show !p at $T?s and some stores more often tho!gh. W@@@-@@@@@@@@@@@@\@@@@@]

"d/ecti'es
#o lang!age wo!ld be complete witho!t some adjectives to add color to what yo! are saying. The #: kanji doesn t give yo! too m!ch to work with" b!t yo! have the basics" big and small" Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

long b!t not short ()" old and new" and mysterio!sly" only the color white. @@@@@ @@

"ctions
The final category is actions" which again cover a lot of the basic actions yo! do on a daily basis 0 entering (a place)" leaving (a place)" eating" drinking" b!ying" coming" going" etc... % also think (nani" what) belongs to this gro!p as well" beca!se yo! will probably want to ask abo!t what someone is reading" eating" etc.. @@f@@D@U@Q@@@@@@@@@@

" Good Start

$s yo! can see" #: kanji don t e'actly cover everything" b!t they can help yo! get aro!nd and !nderstand a few simple things. Bne thing to note is that for the J12T" these are the kanji that will probably appear on the test" and #: vocab!lary that contains non-#: kanji will appear in kana. &or e'ample" (keikan" policeman) will be written as P'7+ not in kanji" even tho!gh in native materials it wo!ld be written in kanji" .

JL T 1@ Vocabulary
The #: level covers aro!nd MAA of the most common words in Japanese. There is no set list of vocab!lary that yo! can memorize to cover everything that yo! might see on the e'am" b!t my ?emrise #: co!rse is a good g!ess of the most common words that might come !p on the e'am. %f yo! are st!dying a newbie to beginner level te'tbook" it sho!ld cover this vocab!lary. 4o! can also find decks in $nki that go over the old level 9 vocab!lary which sho!ld serve as a good base. The important thing to keep track of for vocab!lary is the vowel so!nds. There are big differences in one e'tra vowel so!nd. &or e'ample" means a!nt" b!t means grandmother. 4o! can remember this difference by remembering that grandmother is older" so she has been aro!nd longer" so we need to !se a longer so!nd. J12T #: will test yo! over these differences so be on the look o!t for long vowels and short vowels. 4o! sho!ld try the ?emrise J12T #: co!rse or if yo! prefer $nki" check o!t the <ltimate #: >eck. *enerally speaking tho!gh" the vocab!lary yo! see at this level will be pretty common st!ff that yo! will see3hear on a daily basis if yo! are !sing Japanese. Things like common actions" family members" n!mbers" directions and common f!nction words that are !sed very often. $nd act!ally MAA words seems like a lot" b!t it is still not as m!ch as yo! need to have a comfortable conversation. %t is a good start tho!gh. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

1earning vocab!lary at any level involves two things 0 @I@ (@paced Iepetition @ystem) and e'pos!re. @I@ is a system of learning vocab!lary (and sometimes grammar) that involves spacing o!t the items yo! are learning so that yo! review them at reg!lar intervals" read this for more details. E'pos!re involves reading" listening" and !sing lang!age as m!ch as yo! can periodically. Hocab!lary is something that needs time to grow" )!antity is better than the amo!nt of time of each st!dy session here. There are a few main gro!ps of #: words/ actions" family" n!mbers" directions" and f!nctions. 1et s take a look at a few approaches we can take to knock each of these o!t.

4aily "ctions
There are a lot of words for things yo! do every day like eat ( " taber!)" drink (!"" nom!)" sleep (# " nem!r!) or shower3bathe ($% " abir!). @ince yo! do these every day" it s pretty easy to practice !sing these in a daily diary of some kind. Br j!st practice !sing the vocab!lary while yo! are doing it.

2amily
+ords for different family members can be a real headache at times. &irst of all" there are two different sets of words for family" one set is !sed to talk abo!t yo!r family while another set is !sed to talk abo!t another person s family. The second problem yo! have to deal with is that these words are !sed a lot more often in Japanese. &or e'ample" siblings might refer to each other as Fyo!nger sisterO ( &" imo!to) and Folder brotherO ('" ani) instead of by first names. This can make listening a little more diffic!lt. $ good way to practice this is to make yo!r own family tree and label all yo!r family. Try to attach a personal image to each word. %f yo! happen to have a rather small family yo! co!ld !se an imaginary family or a famo!s family like the @impsons or another TH family.

1umbers+Counters+Time
%n the book F?ade to @tick"O the Ceath brothers describe the difference between learning math in $merica and in m!ch of $sia. $pparently" in $sia more physical e'amples are !sed. The teacher act!ally co!nts o!t books in front of the st!dents so they can see with their eyes things being added and s!btracted. They take abstract ideas and make them concrete which is something % try to stress a lot to learners. @o instead of staring at some chart f!ll of n!mbers and co!nters in a book" try to !se co!nters to co!nt things in yo!r real life. Bf co!rse" yo! also might want to verify with a native if yo! are !sing the right co!nters for each object" b!t whenever yo! find yo!rself co!nting something" co!nt in Japanese. The same goes for the 7st 7A days of the month. These are tricky little devils that will probably come !p on the listening section. %f not on #:" % m s!re it will crop !p somewhere" Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

so it is best to make them a!tomatic. $lso" if yo! are in Japan" yo! ll need them to make appointments.

4irections
Cere are another set of words that yo! can !se in yo!r everyday life. Try to write directions and locations of things in yo!r neighborhood. +hen yo! go for a walk" talk to yo!rself abo!t where things are. % know this is a little strange at first" b!t everybody talks to themselves" so don t worry abo!t getting embarrassed too m!ch. 4o! might want to talk softly tho!gh.

2unction .ords
These are words like ()*(tab!n" probably) and (amari" not very) that border on grammar. They tend to have a few r!les to how they are !sed and might act!ally be listed in a grammar book for #:" b!t they will show !p in the vocab!lary section. $lso in this gro!p are +,-. (kosoadokotoba" ko-so-a-words)" these are things like +/ (kochira" this way)" ,+ (soko" there)" and +0 (kore" this thing). These are pretty abstract and hard to relate to the real world. Try to !se them as m!ch as possible and make them a!tomatic thro!gh !se more than j!st memorizing a definition with a flashcard or a @I@.

3eadin, Section
The reading section of the #: is a little bit of a warm !p for what is ahead. %t doesn t involve that many tricks for yo! to get h!ng !p on which will come !p on the later tests. There aren t a lot of )!estions that involve inference for e'ample or having to read between the lines. 4o! do need to familiarize yo!rself with what is on the test tho!gh. J!st knowing the flow of the )!estions and what to e'pect can help yo! have a cool head and will probably end !p boosting yo!r score. %t certainly won t h!rt to do a little refresher. The reading section for the #: is administered separately from the lang!age knowledge section" b!t on yo!r res!lts yo! will only see one combined score for both sections. This section is scored o!t of 7-A points and yo! ll need a 8K37-A to pass it. Bverall" the #: has a lower pass mark of KA37KA total points. .!t" don t let that fool yo!. The score is based on a c!rve and so yo! can" in theory" get :AU of the answers right" b!t still fail the test. &or general preparation for the #: reading section" it is best to do a lot of vocab!lary practice. That will be the main target of this section. They will try to trip yo! !p with directional words" words for different family members" and )!estion words. ?ake s!re yo! drill yo!r vocab!lary so yo! know it inside and o!t. .e s!re to also take a J12T #: practice test (free" b!t shorter)" the official practice book" or a mock test (paid" b!t f!ll-sized) before the e'am to give yo! an idea of what to e'pect as well.

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: Types of %uestions
There are only 8 types of )!estions at this level 0 short passage" medi!m passage" and information retrieval. Each have their own strategies to foc!s on.

Short assa,e
These are )!estions involving a passage of abo!t KA characters long with one )!estion each. %f yo! are wondering what abo!t KA characters looks like abo!t a paragraph long or a little shorter act!ally. There is not a lot of detail in these passages act!ally" they are generally straightforward. The main thing they are testing here is yo!r comprehension of the vocab!lary. There will be some minor inference that yo! might have to do" b!t overall these are clear c!t )!estions. .e s!re to polish !p on yo!r )!estion words (10) and the kind of answers that are e'pected with them. ,ommon tricks in this section incl!de somewhat complicated time references like 23 or 4. They will !se words like this and then ask yo! for the specific date (this is a common trick in the listening" too). This also e'tends to past tense and terms like ,0 (and then). .e caref!l to look for details.

*edium assa,e
These are )!estions involving a passage of abo!t -:A characters long with - )!estions for one passage. -:A characters comes o!t to be abo!t a half a page of te't. These passages are generally easy eno!gh to read" b!t be s!re to read the )!estions first to know what to look o!t for. They are generally looking for some key pieces of information. The main thing they are testing here is comprehension of the grammar. The hardest part will be keeping track of all the details that they might try to overwhelm yo! with. >on t be afraid to take some notes to sort all the details o!t in yo!r head. @ome tricks they might try to p!ll is adding in a cla!se at the end that changes the answer to the )!estion. .e s!re to read thro!gh everything. They are looking for details here and not overall comprehension.

&nformation 3etrie'al
These are a new type of )!estion that started appearing on the #-series of tests. They are generally a little long (aro!nd -:A characters) and involve train or class sched!les" notices or advertisements among other things. They are designed to test yo!r ability to retrieve necessary information from the material. The main thing they are testing here is yo!r ability scan a given material for necessary information. 4o! sho!ldn t act!ally read the entire passage. %nstead" read the )!estion and scan thro!gh it to find the answers. This is" of co!rse" a very !sef!l skill in real life. 4o! don t want to spend 7A to -A min!tes reading the entire train sched!le" yo! j!st need the Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

information that is important to yo!. $gain" don t be afraid to take notes or draw pict!res to make the )!estion clearer to yo!. These kinds of )!estions can really trip people !p that have a hard time doing math in their head" so it might be best to j!st vis!alize it on the paper (in English or Japanese).

Summary
Bne of the biggest iss!es people have with the reading section is that only the words that contain #: kanji will be written in kanji (with f!rigana on top). $ll the other words of the passage will be in kana. This is something that is !nfort!nately !navoidable on the test" so be caref!l. 4o! might want to practice with the kana-only version of words at least a few times before the test. The reading section is one place where yo! can prioritize yo!r test taking a little bit. .e s!re to attack the easier )!estions first (information retrieval for most people) and then move on to more diffic!lt )!estions" so yo! have a better idea of how m!ch time yo! have.

Listenin, Section
&or some" the #: listening section can almost be embarrassingly easy. $nd if yo! have a pretty good !nderstanding of the lang!age" it can even invoke some la!ghter with some of the blatantly incorrect answers they present for the )!ick response section. %t is after all the easiest level of the test and as s!ch is more of an introd!ction to the lang!age than a solid challenge. Cowever" it is best to at least have a basic !nderstanding of what to look o!t for before yo! go into the test. @imply knowing a few key points to look o!t for can earn yo! some e'tra points and p!ll !p yo!r score" which can help yo! o!t if yo! are weaker in other areas of the test. J!st for a refresher" yo! only need 7N3QA to pass the listening section and a total of KA37KA for the entire test. There really aren t any things yo! can drill to get good at listening. %t is a skill" and so yo! need to practice the skill j!st as yo! wo!ld practice different golf co!rses if yo! wanted to become a professional golf player. The more e'pos!re yo! get the better off yo! will be.

> Types of %uestions

&or the #: test" there are 9 types of )!estions 0 task-based comprehension" comprehension of key points" verbal e'pressions" and )!ick response. Each of these )!estions test a different aspect of yo!r listening skills and re)!ire different strategies.

Task$-ased Comprehension
These )!estions are act!ally hold overs from the old 56 (yonky!!) test. They are e'actly what they so!nd like" )!estions that test yo!r ability to accomplish a task that is given to yo!. They will first e'plain the sit!ation and give yo! a task (a )!estion). $fter that" yo! ll hear the conversation and the task again at the end. Copyright 2013 JLPTBootCamp.com

There will always be two people talking in this section" and it !s!ally involves a sit!ation that sho!ld fairly familiar to yo!. Typically yo! will hear a teacher and a st!dent" family members talking" or two co-workers. The big thing to look o!t for here is twists. ?ost likely the )!estion will be leading yo! to one answer" b!t at the last moment there will be one line that changes the answer to something else. %t !s!ally comes in a )!estion" or one of the speakers changing their minds.

Comprehension of Bey oints

These )!estions are also hold overs from the old test. The flow is the e'act same as the Task.ased )!estions/ first" )!estion and e'planation" second" conversation listening and the )!estion again. These )!estions are really testing yo!r ability to pick o!t key points in a conversation. There will typically be a lot of information and yo! m!st chose the one piece of information that yo! need. These )!estions differ from the Task-.ased in that yo! often times don t act!ally have to listen to the entire conversation. 4o! j!st have to pick o!t the one sentence that answers the )!estion. Typical )!estions incl!de talking abo!t a partic!lar pict!re or daily activities. Things to look o!t for here is listening for j!st what the )!estion asked and not getting fooled by the e'tra info that is presented in the conversation. To take an e'ample from the practice test" they try to fool yo! by talking abo!t &2*789 (yo!nger sister s friend) and &2* (yo!nger sister).

Verbal Expressions and %uick 3esponse

These )!estions go over appropriate e'pressions that are !sed in partic!lar sit!ations. The verbal e'pression )!estions have a pict!re in the test booklet. 4o! ll hear an e'planation of the sit!ation and then 8 possible e'pressions. &or the )!ick response section yo! ll also see a pict!re" b!t this time yo! have to choose the correct response to what the speaker is saying on the ,>. %n both sit!ations" yo! have 8 answers to choose from. These are not printed in the test booklet. @o" yo! m!st listen caref!lly to the ,>. This is one part of the listening section where yo! ll have to listen to pretty m!ch every word" so listening stamina will be pretty important here. The key to this section is answering )!ickly. >on t second g!ess yo!r answers. J!st p!t something down and move on. %f yo! linger to long thinking abo!t a different answer" yo! might end !p missing o!t on the ne't )!estion that comes !p. @tay foc!sed.

Summary
The #: listening does not incl!de that many s!rprises" b!t yo! do have to stay foc!sed and know yo!r easily conf!sable vocab!lary (like names of family members). $lso" it is important to mark yo!r answers and go on" don t get st!ck on one )!estion.

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<nfort!nately for yo!" this section keeps p!shing yo!r forward !ntil the end" and shortly after the last )!estion" the proctors will tell yo! to p!t yo!r pencils down and close yo!r test booklets" so yo! can t go back and change an answer.

So0 what is this thin, ,ood for anyway!

4o! might be thinking" if this test is so easy" why take itE +hat good will passing this test doE This level is too low for yo! to get a job !sing Japanese. %t only proves that yo! are capable of a very simple conversation (abo!t the e)!ivalent of a kindergartener in Japan). $nd that is j!st barely eno!gh to get aro!nd in the co!ntry when yo! come to visit. @o" why even botherE +ell" it will help yo! !nderstand yo!r strengths and weaknesses for one thing. %t s important to !nderstand these early on. That way yo! can foc!s on them more as yo! move !p and become more fl!ent in Japanese. &or e'ample" knowing now that yo! are not so hot at grammar will help yo! st!dy more efficiently in the f!t!re by foc!sing on that weak point and not st!dying so m!ch on" say" kanji" which yo! are better at. %t can also serve as a mini-goal. %t s important that yo! have a long term goal for st!dying Japanese" b!t it will also help yo! if yo! have smaller goals along the way. .eing able to monitor yo!r progress and being able to have that Ceck yeah( % did it( moment are both important to keeping yo!r motivation high. 4o! can also still p!t it on yo!r res!me beca!se" of co!rse" it will make yo! look like a total bad ass. % mean who else on yo!r block has passed the #:E 2robably not a lot of people. % m j!st saying.

&n Summary
@ome people skip over J12T #: on their way !p the J12T ladder" b!t % wo!ld recommend giving it a try even if yo! feel it might be too easy for yo!. $t least yo! ll get the e'perience of taking the test" and yo! ll have a pretty little certificate to hang on yo!r wall and brag to yo!r friends abo!t. #ow it s yo!r t!rn to take action. %n the comments below" let me know any reso!rces yo! are !sing to st!dy for the J12T #:. >id they helpE +hat wo!ld yo! recommend to someone that is st!dying for the #:E >on t be afraid" help yo!r fellow man (and woman) pass the test(

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