Mimi

Grammar reference

The 50 grammar patterns an N5 learner is likely to meet, each taught first in one lesson and used freely after — the same chain rule the vocabulary follows. Find a pattern here, or meet it in its lesson, where the story puts it to work.

Lesson 1 · Greetings

— topic particle: marks what the sentence is about. は (said "wa") comes after the thing you are talking about: "as for X..." Everything after it is what you say about X.

— polite copula: 'is / was'. です makes a sentence polite and means "is"; でした is its past, "was". です at the end is like a full stop with good manners.

— possessive / noun linker: 'of, 's'. の links two nouns: A の B means "B of A" or "A’s B", like 私の 犬, "my dog".

— question particle. Put か at the end of a sentence to turn it into a question. No word order changes, no question mark needed.

— 'like N' (好き takes が). To say you like something, the thing liked takes が: 犬が 好きです, "I like dogs".

Lesson 2 · Numbers and Time

— telling the time; 'at about ...'. Hours take 時, minutes take 分: 三時十五分 is 3:15. ごろ after a time softens it to "at about ...".

— counting things, flat objects, long objects, people. Japanese counts with helper words that match the thing: 〜つ for plain things, 〜枚 for flat ones, 〜本 for long ones, 〜人 for people.

Lesson 3 · Home and Family

— polite verb endings, present and past. Polite verbs end in ます for "do / will do", ました for "did", and ません for "don’t / won’t".

— subject particle. が marks the subject: the person or thing the sentence says something about, especially new information.

— particle: at (time), to (place), in (existence). に points at a target: a time (七時に, at seven), a place you arrive at, or where something exists.

— existence: 'there is' (things / people and animals). To say something exists or is there: あります for things, います for people and animals. Their dictionary forms, ある and いる, get full word lessons later (57 and 69).

Lesson 4 · Food Basics

— object particle. を (said "o") marks the thing an action lands on: パンを 食べます, "eat bread".

— 'and' (complete list); 'with'. と joins nouns into a complete list: "A and B, that’s all". It also means "with" a companion.

— 'and' (partial list, 'and so on'). や joins nouns as examples: "A and B and things like that" — the list is deliberately left open.

Lesson 5 · Colors and Describing

— adjective present, negative and past forms. い-adjectives change their own ending: 寒くない "not cold", 寒かった "was cold". です after them is just politeness.

— な-adjectives before nouns and at sentence end. な-adjectives need な before a noun (静かな 部屋, a quiet room) and です at the end of a sentence.

— adjectives used as adverbs ('early, quietly'). To describe HOW something happens, い-adjectives swap い for く and な-adjectives add に: 早く "early, quickly".

Lesson 6 · Going Places

— direction particle 'to, toward'. へ (said "e") marks direction: 学校へ 行きます, "go to(ward) school". It cares about heading, not arrival.

— particle: at (place of action), by (means). で marks where an action happens (家で 食べます, eat at home) or the tool/means used (バスで, by bus).

— 'also, too'. も means "also, too" and replaces は or が: 私も, "me too".

Lesson 7 · Every Day

— question words inside sentences. Question words sit inside the sentence where the answer will go: 誰が 来ますか, "who is coming?"

— 'from ...' / 'until ...'. から is "from" a starting point and まで is "until" the end point, for times and places alike.

— 'this / that / that over there'. Close to you: これ/この. Near the listener: それ/その. Far from both: あれ/あの. The 〜の set needs a noun after it.

Lesson 9 · More Set Phrases

— 'please give me ...'. Asking for a thing: noun + を ください, "please give me ...". The shop-counter workhorse.

— verb て-form: joining actions. Every verb has a て-form, the great connector: it strings actions together and feeds dozens of other patterns. Learn each verb’s て-shape as you meet it.

— 'please do ...'. Verb て-form + ください is "please do ...": the polite way to ask for an action.

Lesson 10 · Even More Phrases

— 'is doing / is in the state of'. て-form + います means "is doing" right now, or a state that continues: 結婚しています, "is married".

Lesson 11 · Polite Phrases

— casual past tense of verbs. The casual past tense: swap the て-form’s て for た. Same shape, friendlier register.

— 'have done ... before'. て-form’s past cousin: verb-た + ことが あります means "have done it before", talking about experience.

Lesson 12 · Numbers, Counters and Money

— 'please don't do ...'. The negative request: verb-ない form + で ください, "please don’t do ...".

— casual negative verbs. The casual "don’t / won’t": verbs drop their ending sound and add ない. It is also the base other negative patterns build on.

Lesson 13 · More Numbers, Counters and Money

— 'want to do ...'. What YOU want to do: verb stem + たい です. The thing wanted takes が or を.

— 'want (a thing)'. What you want to HAVE: the thing takes が + ほしい です, "I want (a thing)".

Lesson 14 · Counting Things

— go (somewhere) in order to do .... Purpose trips: place へ + activity-stem + に 行きます, "go (there) to do ...".

Lesson 15 · Big Numbers

— 'may do ..., it is OK to'. Permission: て-form + も いい です, "may I do ...? / it’s OK to do ...".

— 'must not do ...'. The prohibition twin: て-form + は いけません, "must not do ...".

Lesson 16 · Time and the Calendar

— 'must do ...'. Obligation: negative stem + なければ なりません, literally "if I don’t do it, it won’t do" — "must do ...".

Lesson 17 · Weeks and Birthdays

— 'let's ...' / 'won't you ...?' invitations. Invitations: ましょう is "let’s ..."; ませんか asks "won’t you ...?" — the softer, politer offer.

Lesson 18 · Holidays and Autumn

— comparisons: 'more than', 'the most'. Comparisons: A より B means "B more than A". いちばん before an adjective says "the most".

Lesson 19 · Tonight, Spring and Summer

— 'too much, excessively'. すぎます after a stem or adjective means "too much": 高すぎます, "too expensive".

Lesson 20 · Winter, Nice and Slow

— listing sample activities: 'things like ... and ...'. Sampling activities: verb-た + り, listed two or three times, + します — "things like X and Y (among other things)".

Lesson 21 · Family and People

— 'after doing ..., then ...'. て-form + から: "after doing ..., then ...". The sequence is part of the meaning.

Lesson 22 · Parents and Family

— 'while doing ...'. Two actions at once: main verb stem + ながら + second verb, "while doing ...".

Lesson 23 · More Family

— 'before ...' / 'after ...'. Timing anchors: noun/verb + 前に "before ...", verb-た + 後で "after ...".

Lesson 24 · The Exchange Student

— 'when ...'. とき pins a clause to a moment: "when ...". The clause before it stays in plain form.

Lesson 25 · A Cold and Medicine

— listing reasons: '... and what's more ...'. し after a plain clause lists a reason, with a hint of "and there’s more where that came from".

Lesson 26 · Body and Face

— 'because ...'. "Because ...": から is the everyday choice; ので is its softer, politer cousin.

Lesson 27 · Eyes, Ears and Nose

— 'not very' / 'not at all' (with negatives). With a negative verb: あまり〜ません "not very, not much"; ぜんぜん〜ません "not at all". The pair always travels together.

Lesson 28 · Food, Drink and Taste

— 'probably ...'. でしょう ends a sentence with "probably ..." or a gentle "..., right?" — confidence with the edges sanded off.

Lesson 30 · The Kind Greengrocer

— 'can do ...' (ability). Ability: activity noun or dictionary verb + こと + が できます, "can do ...".