// Japanese · Part 1 of 7 · original 2026-10-10 · rewritten and checked on this site 2026-10-12
Japanese notes 1 | Sentence structure: predicates, case frames and particles
Find the predicate first, then sort out the roles; complete the inner event first, then decide on the connection and the mood. This note sets out the method of analysis used throughout the series: a seven-step parse of a Japanese sentence, the root causes of common errors, and noun sentences, case frames, は／が and expressions of movement.
- Beginner course L1–L21 and later class notes
- Original notes, “Editor’s analysis” and revisions are marked separately
- Japanese example sentences stay in the original in all three language editions
01 | Build the structure first, then choose particles and endings
Read a long sentence as “event content” embedded in an “outer predicate,” rather than translating it word by word into English.
Editor’s analysis
This set of notes keeps the core of the source handbook: predicate → case role → clause level → connecting form. The predicate is the action, state or judgment that the sentence ultimately expresses; a case role is the part each noun plays relative to the predicate.
Read from the outside in; build sentences from the inside out. When reading, find “待っています” first; only then do you know that everything before it is what is being waited for. When building the sentence, complete “友達が来る” first, then nominalize it with “の” and attach “を待っています”.
“Plain form” answers only part of the question of form. You also have to decide: are you describing a fact, expressing a purpose, passing on a request, or making a guess? The same verb changes meaning when it attaches to a different outer structure.
- Inner event ［友達 が 来る］ Who comes? が belongs to 来る
- Nominalizing the event の The whole event becomes one constituent
- Outer case and predicate を 待っています Waiting for what? を belongs to 待つ
Seven steps to parse a Japanese sentence
| Step | Question | What to do | 例：友だちが来るのを待っています |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is the outermost predicate? | Look at the end of the sentence first; don’t guess particles yet. | 待っています |
| 2 | Which cases does the predicate need? | Check its basic case frame. | Nを待つ |
| 3 | Is that N a thing or an event? | If it is an event, build the inner clause first. | “A friend comes” is an event |
| 4 | What is the inner predicate? | Identify the inner subject, object and place. | 友だちが来る |
| 5 | How does it fit into the larger sentence? | Use の／こと, a relative clause, etc. | 友だちが来るの |
| 6 | What form does the connection on the right require? | Choose the plain form, te-form, ta-form or masu stem. | 来る + の |
| 7 | Outermost tense and politeness? | Decide ます／ました last. | 待っています |
Outer: 私は ［ ］を 待っています。
Inner: 友だち が 来る
Embed: ［友だちが来る］の
Complete: 私は ［友だちが来るの］を 待っています。
Source handbook pages: P1, P2, P6, P7, P8, P24, P37, P53, P64, P69, P76, P86
02 | Diagnosing errors: which layer to fix first
A quiz reflects your weak points at the time you took it; it is not a rating of your ability.
Editor’s analysis
The source handbook records the answers to one post-lesson quiz (L19–L21) and points out eight items to correct. This is a historical record of answers from the source; this edition did not retest, nor does it convert the result into a JLPT level. It keeps only the types of errors and their root causes.
Regrouping the eight errors by root cause is more useful than memorizing answers by question number: mixing up inner and outer layers (experience / occasional / forgetting), case frames and viewpoint (要る, くれる, 同じ), and collocation and comparison (ほど, もう一度).
Read “Nominalization and 忘れる” and “Giving and receiving” first, then check back against the connection chart and the “Common trap” notes. The word-order items that were answered correctly are kept, because they show a way of analyzing that you can reuse.
Where the errors cluster
| Scope | Diagnosis |
|---|---|
| Vocabulary in context | The viewpoint of くれる and the look-alike verbs 要る／入る／いる／入れる need to be reinforced as a set. |
| Particles | The main problem is linking nouns in Aと同じN. |
| Word choice | ほど〜ない, もう一度／また and time adverbs are easily confused. |
| Conjugation | Vたことがある／Vないことがある／Vるのを忘れる are the top priority. |
| Word order | Relative clauses, place particles and しか + negative were put together correctly overall. |
Three misconceptions added in this revision
| Topic | Tempting wrong rule | What to think instead |
| 原因 から | Only the plain form can come before から | Both 要るから and 要りますから work; the plain and the polite form are both fine. Nouns and na-adjectives need だ in the plain affirmative. |
| Time adverbs | また = “not yet”; もう = only “already” | もう = already / more / no longer; まだ = still / not yet; また = again; もうすぐ = soon. |
| 忘れる and its scope | Because the result is “the light wasn’t turned off,” the inner verb gets written as 消さない | In 消すのを忘れた, 消す is the action that was supposed to be done; 消さなかった is the outer result and must not leak back into the inner clause. |
Current priorities: ① inner and outer layers in ことがある／のを忘れる; ② viewpoint in giving and receiving, and 要る; ③ plain or polite style before cause-marking から; ④ もう・まだ・また; ⑤ ほど・同じ.
The 18 items below aren’t simply “right answers”; they confirm which rules you can already use in mixed questions. The right-hand column still flags the traps that are easy to get backwards.
| Status | Correct form | Why it works, and the reverse trap |
| ○ | 簡単な料理だから、すぐ作ることができます。 | 簡単 is a na-adjective, so it takes な before a noun; the meaning also explains “can make it quickly.” |
| ○ | 弟は今年四歳になります。 | Age uses the counter 歳; 四歳 is read よんさい. |
| ○ | 部長はめがねをかけています。 | Glasses take かける; ています shows the ongoing state after putting them on. |
| ○ | 日本では靴を脱ぎます。 | Shoes are the object of 脱ぐ; entering the house is うちに入る. |
| ○ | 会議の前にコピーをしてください。 | A noun connects to 前 with の; the whole time point takes に. |
| ○ | 佐藤さんは渋谷に住んでいます。 | With 住む, the place of residence takes に, not で for the place of an action. |
| ○ | ケーキの作り方を教えてください。 | ケーキの作り方 is a noun phrase; the content of 教える takes を. |
| ○ | 飲み物とか、新聞とかがあります。 | AとかBとか is a colloquial way of listing examples; with や you would usually say AやBなど. |
| ○ | ぜひ来てください。 | ぜひ usually goes with wishes, invitations and requests; it is not a degree adverb like とても. |
| ○ | 先生が50人います。ほとんど女の先生です。 | ほとんど means “most”; to be more explicit, you can say ほとんどが女の先生です. |
| ○ | 友だちが妹におみやげをくれました。 | Unmodified 妹 usually means the speaker’s own younger sister, who is on the speaker’s side; hence くれる. |
| ○ | 田中さんは知らないと思います。 | The ordinary present negative of 知る is 知らない; quoted content uses the plain form. |
| ○ | 青いスーツを着ている人です。 | A relative clause uses the plain form; the state of wearing something is 着ている. |
| ○ | 今朝、出かける前にエアコンを消しました。 | Even when the main clause is past, the verb before 前に stays in the dictionary form. |
| ○ | 昨日、友だちが来たから宿題ができませんでした。 | A cause that already happened yesterday uses the past plain form 来た. |
| ○ | 明日、授業が終わった後で先生と話します。 | た shows that the first event is completed before the second; it doesn’t make the whole sentence past. |
| ○ | うちの近くにある映画館で映画を見ました。 | うちの近くにある modifies 映画館; the place of the outer action takes で. |
| ○ | うちから駅まで行くのに5分しかかかりません。 | しか must be paired with a negative; 行くのに expresses the time needed to get there. |
Restore the full sentence first, then pin down the real error pattern. The bold part is the form the exercise expects; the rightmost column marks the neighboring structure that is easiest to misjudge.
| Correct sentence to remember | Why it works | Easiest point to misjudge |
|---|---|---|
| 母が誕生日に財布をくれました。 | The mother is the giver; the wallet moves toward the speaker, so くれる is used. | あげる looks outward from the giver; くださる is honorific, and the textbook does not treat one’s own mother as someone to elevate. |
| しょうゆが要りますから、スーパーに買いに行きます。 | The case frame of 要る is “必要な物が要る”. 要ります＋から is a valid reason clause in the polite form. | 入る = enter; いる = a person or animal is there; for 入れる you would say しょうゆを入れる. |
| 私はリンさんと同じクラスです。 | The standard of comparison takes と; 同じ modifies the noun directly, without の／な. | Neither リンさんの同じクラス nor 同じのクラス is correct. |
| 先月のテストは、このテストほど難しくなかったです。 | The frame for a negative comparison is AはBほど〜ない. | First identify A, the topic of the comparison; don’t mechanically pick より just because the meaning involves “than.” |
| 箱根はとてもきれいでした。もう一度行きたいです。 | もう一度 explicitly means “once more.” | また行きたい is also natural, but the question already prints 一度, so complete the fixed form もう一度. |
| ユーリアさんは一度学校を休んだことがあります。 | Life experience uses Vたことがある. | 休むことがある means “sometimes takes time off,” not a past experience. |
| 時々ジョギングをしないことがあります。 | “Sometimes doesn’t do it” uses Vないことがある. | したことがある is experience; することがある means sometimes doing it. They point in opposite directions. |
| 今朝、部屋の電気を消すのを忘れました。 | What was forgotten is the intended action of “turning off the light,” so the inner verb is 消す. | 消したのを忘れた means you did turn it off but forgot that you had; 消さないのを忘れた means you forgot “not to turn it off.” |
Source handbook pages: P3, P4, P5
03 | Noun sentences, demonstratives and polite questions
First tell “standing alone” apart from “modifying a noun”: これ can stand alone, while この needs a noun after it.
Editor’s analysis
これは本です has これ as a constituent in its own right; この本 has この only as a modifier of the following 本. 何ですか has なん as the reading of “何”, not as the explanatory んです.
こちら／そちら／あちら／どちら can refer to a direction, a place, a person or one of two options, so their scope is wider than “here / there” in English. Don’t treat どちら as a polite version of どれ that can replace it anywhere: in the source handbook’s choice questions, comparing two things uses どちら, while choosing one of three or more usually uses どれ.
Sort out the minimal sentence patterns, demonstratives, polite question words and position nouns first; only then do complex sentences have a stable frame.
Noun sentences
| Tense | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Present / future | 学生です | 学生ではありません |
| Past | 学生でした | 学生ではありませんでした |
| 私は学生です。 | I am a student. |
| 昨日は休みでした。 | Yesterday was a day off. |
| 先週は休みではありませんでした。 | Last week was not a holiday. |
Demonstratives and place demonstratives
| Type | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Can stand alone | これ・それ・あれ・どれ | 私のかばんはどれですか。 |
| Must be followed by a noun | この・その・あの・どの + N | どのかばんですか。 |
| Place | ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ | トイレはどこですか。 |
| Polite / direction | こちら・そちら・あちら・どちら | 受付はこちらです。 |
× どれ本ですか、× どのですか。
何 and polite question words
| Form | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 何ですか（なんですか） | Asks “what is it?” | これは何ですか。 |
| Form | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 何の + N | Asks about kind, content or relation | 何の本ですか。 |
| 何が | 何 fills the predicate’s が case | 何が必要ですか。 |
| 何で | Asks about a tool, transport or means | 何で書きますか。 |
| だれ／どなた | Who / which person (polite) | あの方はどなたですか。 |
| どこ／どちら | Where / which way (polite) | お手洗いはどちらですか。 |
Position nouns
Reference noun + の + position noun
机の上、箱の中、駅の前、銀行の隣、家の近く
| Word | Core nuance | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 隣（となり） | Right next to, adjoining; often things of the same kind lined up side by side | 銀行の隣に郵便局があります。 |
| そば | Right beside; feels closer | 駅のそばにコンビニがあります。 |
| 近く（ちかく） | The general vicinity; usually a wider scope | 家の近くに公園があります。 |
New from the handwritten notes: いかがですか
| Form | Key point of use |
|---|---|
| こちら | This way, this person; near the speaker or on the speaker’s side |
| そちら | That way, that person; the listener’s side or a side already mentioned |
| あちら | That way over there, that person |
| どちら | Which way, which person, which of the two; depends on the context |
| いかがですか | Asks “how is it?” or “how about it?” more politely |
こちらはいかがですか。
How about this one?
An applied example from the supplement, P94.
Source handbook pages: P9, P10, P94
04 | Case frames of predicates and the main particles
It isn’t “the noun decides the particle”; it is “what the noun does for this predicate” that decides it.
Editor’s analysis
Memorize verbs as complete collocations that come with their roles: 電車に乗る, 電車を降りる, 電車で行く. These are not three contradictory rules but three different events: boarding something, leaving something, and traveling by a means of transport.
を marks not only objects but also paths and points of departure; で can mark the setting of an activity, a tool, or a group of people. に has to be sorted out by its predicate: location, destination, target, purpose or result. When you see に, don’t lock it into “in” or “at” right away.
Don’t “guess the verb from the particle”; decide the predicate first, then work out each noun’s case role in that event.
Right: First decide which predicate it is (“eat,” “read,” “start,” “move,” “understand”), then ask whether each noun is the subject, object, purpose, place or target.
Typical case frames
| Predicate | Ask first | Basic frame | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 食べる | Eat what? | Nを食べる | 昼ご飯を食べる |
| 読む | Read what? | Nを読む | 本を読む |
| する | Do what activity? | Nをする／Nする | 食事をする／勉強する |
| 始まる | What starts? | Nが始まる | 授業が始まる |
| 始める | Start what? | Nを始める | 先生が授業を始める |
| 終わる | What ends? | Nが終わる | 仕事が終わる |
| 行く | Go where? / Go to do what? | 場所に・へ行く／目的に行く | 東京へ行く／旅行に行く |
| わかる | Understand what? | Nがわかる | 日本語がわかる |
| 知る | Know what? | Nを知る | 読み方を知っている |
| 待つ | Wait for what? | Nを待つ | 友だちを待つ |
Activity nouns and する
| 食事をする。 | Do the activity of “having a meal.” |
| 勉強をする／勉強する。 | Both are fine. |
| ご飯を食べる。 | You don’t say ご飯する for a meal. |
Similar meanings, different case frames
| English | Japanese | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Understand Japanese | 日本語がわかる | The object of わかる is usually marked with が |
| English | Japanese | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Know the reading | 読み方を知っている | 知る is a transitive verb |
| Take the train | 電車に乗る | The goal of 乗る / what you board |
| Get off the train | 電車を降りる | The vehicle you leave |
| Go by train | 電車で行く | Means of transport |
| Ask the teacher | 先生に聞く | The person you ask |
| Listen to music | 音楽を聞く | What you listen to |
The same “電話” can take different particles
| Pattern | Role |
| 友だちと電話で話す | 電話 is the means of talking; 友だち is the person you talk with |
| 友だちに電話をかける | 友だち is the person receiving the call; 電話をかける is a fixed collocation |
| 電話を使う | 電話 is the thing being used |
| 電話に出る | Answer the phone; に marks what you respond to or enter |
Two ways to express an activity noun
| Form | Focus |
|---|---|
| 発音の練習をする | Doing the activity “pronunciation practice” |
| 発音を練習する | Treating “pronunciation” as what you practice |
Understand particles as semantic roles, not as one-to-one English translations.
を: object, path, point of departure
| Function | Example |
|---|---|
| Object of an action | 本を読む。／コーヒーを飲む。 |
| Path passed through | この道をまっすぐ行く。／公園を歩く。 |
| Place or vehicle being left | 家を出る。／大学を出る。／電車を降りる。 |
に: point, goal, target, result, purpose
| Function | Example |
|---|---|
| Location of existence | 教室に学生がいます。 |
| Exact time | 7時に起きます。 |
| Arrival / entry | 学校に着く。／教室に入る。 |
| Target of an action | 先生に聞く。／父に電話をかける。 |
| Where something is written | ノートに住所を書く。 |
| Result of a change | 医者になる。／半分に切る。 |
| Purpose of movement | 買い物に行く。／遊びに来る。 |
| Basis for frequency | 一か月に二回行く。 |
| Use / suitability | 旅行に便利だ。 |
で: setting, means, group size, total
| Function | Example |
|---|---|
| Place of an action | 図書館で本を読む。 |
| Place of an event | 学校でコンサートがあります。 |
| Tool / method / transport | ボールペンで書く。／電車で行く。 |
| Group size | 友だちと三人で料理を作る。 |
| Total amount | 三つで300円です。／全部で800円です。 |
へ、 と、や、か、も、しか、から、まで
| Form | Core | Example |
|---|---|---|
| へ | Direction of movement | 日本へ行く。 |
| と | Doing together, exhaustive listing, quotation, comparison | 友だちと見る。／「ありがとう」と言う。 |
| や〜など | Partial listing | 机や椅子などがある。 |
| AかB | Or | パンかご飯を食べる。 |
| も | Also, all, even | 私も行く。／六時間も勉強した。 |
| しか + 否定 | Only | 三時間しか寝なかった。 |
| から／まで | Starting point / end point | 9時から5時まで働く。 |
Natural phenomena and the scope of movement
| Sentence | Role of the particle |
|---|---|
| 雨が降る／風が吹く | The subject of a natural phenomenon takes が |
| 町が静かになる | The subject that undergoes a change takes が |
| 家で休む | The place where you rest takes で |
| 公園を散歩する | を marks the area or path walked through |
| 公園で散歩する | で marks where the walk happens |
Source handbook pages: P11, P12, P15, P16
05 | は／が／には, existence and quantity
は works at the topic level and が at the level of roles inside the sentence; the two can’t be reduced to an absolute rule of old versus new information.
Editor’s analysis
教室に先生がいます answers “Who is in the classroom?” and 先生は教室にいます answers “Where is the teacher?” The difference lies in how the information is organized, not just in the fact that both translate as “the teacher is in the classroom.”
には still keeps the location or target meaning of に and adds the topic or contrast meaning of は on top. For the subject of an inner clause, start from が as the basic pattern; even so, the source handbook makes it clear that contrastive は is not banned outright in subordinate clauses.
Judge quantity words within the whole sentence: Tシャツを三枚買います already uses を to mark the object, so don’t mechanically add a second を. This edition’s error marks follow that full context and do not treat every “quantity word + particle” as wrong.
は: topic and contrast
私は学生です。
As for me, I am a student.
テレビはありますが、コンピューターはありません。
There is a TV, but there isn’t a computer.
Here は creates a contrast.
が: subject of an event, new information and what exists
| 母が来ます。 | My mother is coming. |
| 桜が咲きました。 | The cherry blossoms have bloomed. |
| 教室に先生がいます。 | There is a teacher in the classroom. |
| Sentence | Focus |
|---|---|
| 教室に先生がいます。 | “Who” is in the classroom; 先生 is new information. |
| 先生は教室にいます。 | “Where” the known teacher is. |
Subjects of inner clauses
［友だちが来る］前に、部屋を掃除します。
Before my friend comes, I will clean the room.
友だち is the subject of the inner 来る, so it takes が.
Special predicates that usually take が
| Predicate group | Example |
|---|---|
| わかる | 日本語がわかります。 |
| 好き／嫌い | 音楽が好きです。 |
| 上手／下手／苦手 | テニスが上手です。 |
| できる | フランス語ができます。 |
| Predicate group | Example |
|---|---|
| 欲しい | 新しいかばんが欲しいです。 |
には＝に＋は
| Sentence | Point of contrast |
|---|---|
| 本は机の上にあります。 | The book is on the desk; に keeps the location of existence. |
| 本は机の上にはありません。棚の中にあります。 | The book isn’t on the desk but on the shelf; には adds a contrast of place. |
| 東京にはありますが、大阪にはありません。 | Tokyo has one; Osaka doesn’t. |
The same noun changes its particle depending on whether the predicate expresses existence, an action or a quantity relation; prices and requests in shops are covered together in section 29.
Existence and events
| Frame | Example | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 場所に物があります | 机の上に本があります。 | Existence of a thing |
| 場所に人／動物がいます | 教室に先生がいます。 | Existence of a person or animal |
| 場所でイベントがあります | 学校でコンサートがあります。 | An event takes place there |
Four arrangements of existence sentences
| Frame | Focus |
|---|---|
| Nは場所にあります | Where the known N is |
| Nは場所にはありません | N is not there; with contrast |
| 場所にNがあります | What is in a place; N is new information |
| 場所にNはありません | There is no N there; N is contrasted |
Position of quantity words
| 学生が四人います。 | There are four students. |
| Tシャツを三枚買いました。 | I bought three T-shirts. |
| 一週間に三回運動します。 | I exercise three times a week. |
| 一回に二時間運動します。 | I exercise for two hours each time. |
Source handbook pages: P13, P14, P17
06 | Movement, transfers, asking the way and 出る
Destination, starting point, means of transport, boarding place and purpose of the action must be kept apart.
Editor’s analysis
上野で電車に乗る has 上野で as part of “getting on”; 上野まで電車で一時間かかる instead gives the time it takes “to get to Ueno.” Don’t carry the particles of the first sentence straight over to the second.
母が来る means the mother is the one who comes. 母に会いに来る has two particles: the first に belongs to 会う, and the second に marks the purpose of the movement. Meanwhile, 母に来てもらう has a person-marking に that belongs to yet another layer, the outer giving-and-receiving structure.
Mark “destination, purpose, means of transport, what you board, point of departure and place of action” separately.
Three core particles with 電車
| Pattern | Role | English |
| 電車に乗る | What you board / goal | Take the train |
| 電車を降りる | The vehicle you leave | Get off the train |
| 電車で行く | Means of transport | Go by train |
電車に乗って、東京へ行きます。
電車に belongs to 乗る; 東京へ belongs to 行く.
上野まで電車で一時間かかります。 = it takes an hour to get to Ueno by train; まで marks the end point, 電車で the means, and 一時間 directly modifies かかる.
× 上野で電車に一時間をかかります。
A complete transfer sequence
A駅で電車に乗って、B駅で地下鉄に乗り換えて、C駅で降ります。
| Element | Reason |
|---|---|
| A駅で | Where boarding happens |
| 電車に乗る | The vehicle you board |
| B駅で | Where the transfer happens |
| 地下鉄に乗り換える | The new vehicle you switch to |
| C駅で降りる | Where you get off |
| 電車を降りる | The vehicle you leave |
Destination and purpose
| 東京へ行く。 | Go to Tokyo. | Destination / direction |
| 買い物に行く。 | Go shopping. | Purpose (an activity) |
Destination and the activity as purpose
日本へ旅行に行きます。
I’m going on a trip to Japan.
日本へ: where to go; 旅行に: what to go and do.
Asking the way and turning
| この道をまっすぐ行ってください。 | Please go straight along this road. |
| 二つ目の角を右に曲がってください。 | Please turn right at the second corner. |
| 二つ目の角で右に曲がってください。 | Please make a right turn at the second corner. |
| Form | Focus |
|---|---|
| 角を曲がる | Going around that corner; path / turning point |
| 角で曲がる | Making the turn at that corner |
| 右に曲がる | Result / direction of the turn |
来る is an intransitive verb. First ask “Who or what is coming?” The answer is the subject of the event and takes が. Then ask “Coming to where?” The destination takes に／へ.
母が 私の家に 来ます。
Who comes? 母が ／ To where? 私の家に ／ Predicate: 来ます
| Form | Verdict | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| 母が来ます。 | ○ | 母 is the subject of 来る. “My mother will come.” |
| 母は来ます。 | ○ | Makes 母 the topic or a contrast. “As for my mother, she will come.” |
| 母に来ます。 | × on its own | A noun for a person usually can’t serve directly as the destination of 来る. Add a place or another verb. |
| 母を来ます。 | × | 来る doesn’t take a direct object を marking a person. |
When does “母に” work?
| Correct sentence | Which predicate does に belong to? |
| 母の家に来ます。 | 母の家 is the destination of 来る. |
| 母のところに来ます。 | 母のところ means “the place where the mother is.” |
| 母に会いに来ます。 | The first に marks the target of 会う; the second に marks the purpose of the movement. |
| 母に来てもらいます。 | 母に belongs to the outer てもらう: you ask the mother to come, or have her come. |
出る: judge by the noun and particle; it doesn’t just mean “go out”
| Full collocation | Reading / English | Role in the event |
|---|---|---|
| 家を出る | いえをでる / leave home | を: point of departure |
| 電車が出る | でんしゃがでる / the train departs | が: what departs |
| せきが出る | せきがでる / to cough | が: the symptom that appears |
| 授業に出る | じゅぎょうにでる / attend class | に: the activity you attend |
| 電話に出る | でんわにでる / answer the phone | に: what you respond to |
Source handbook pages: P18, P19, P23, P95