文法JLPT N4 grammar
80 grammar patterns with meanings, usage and examples
- ～てくれるtekureru Someone does something for me or usDescribes a helpful action by someone else that benefits the speaker or someone in the speaker's group. It often communicates appreciation.
- ～てもらうtemorau Have someone do something; receive helpDescribes an action from the beneficiary's point of view. The subject receives the service or help, and the person doing it is introduced with に or,...
- ～ていただけませんか Could you please do something for me?A polite request that presents the action as a favor the speaker hopes to receive. It is more deferential than てくれませんか.
- ～Ｖ受身 Be acted on; passive verb formsThe passive makes the affected person or thing the subject. It can also describe an unwanted effect on the speaker or a general fact such as where a p...
- ～Ｖ禁止 Do not; prohibitionA direct prohibition telling someone not to perform an action. It is forceful and appears in warnings, signs, commands and close or rough speech.
- ～Ｖ可能形 Can; be able to; potential verb formsExpresses ability or practical possibility. The object of a potential verb can often be marked with が; を is also possible in appropriate contexts.
- ～V 使役 Make or let someone do; causativeDescribes causing, requiring or allowing another person to act. Context and the verb determine whether the meaning is coercion or permission.
- ～Ｖ使役受身 Be made to do; causative passiveDescribes someone being caused or compelled to perform an action. The person imposing the action is commonly marked with に.
- ～なさいnasai Do it; an instruction or commandGives an instruction, often from a parent or teacher to a child. It is less rough than a bare imperative, but it still assumes authority.
- ～ても（V/A/N) Even if; even thoughStates that the result remains the same even if a condition is true. It can refer to a real unexpected situation or an imagined condition.
- ～てしまうteshimau Finish completely; unfortunately end up doingEither emphasizes completing an action fully or presents an unintended, regrettable result. Context determines whether regret is involved.
- ～みたいmitai Seems; looks like; similar toAn informal expression for resemblance or an inference based on signs and information. It is often close in meaning to ようだ.
- ～ながらnagara While doing; doing two things at onceShows two actions performed by the same person at the same time. The main action normally appears in the second part.
- ～のにnoni Although; even thoughConnects a fact with a result that contradicts an expectation. It often conveys surprise, dissatisfaction or regret.
- ～はずです Should be; be expected toExpresses a logical expectation based on evidence, a schedule or previous knowledge. It is not an obligation imposed on someone.
- ～はずがない Cannot possibly be; there is no reason to expectStrongly rejects a possibility because it conflicts with what the speaker knows or expects.
- ～ずに～zuni Without doingDescribes doing an action without performing another. It is close to ないで and is common in written or slightly formal language.
- ～ないでnaide Without doingIndicates that one action is performed without another action being done. The second part supplies the main action or result.
- ～かどうかkadouka Whether or notEmbeds a yes-or-no question inside a larger sentence, often with 分かる, 知る or 調べる. It asks whether a proposition is true.
- ～という～toiu Called; the fact or report thatIntroduces a name or quotes the content that describes a following noun, such as a report, story or announcement.
- ～やすいyasui Easy to; prone toDescribes an action as easy to perform, or an event as likely to occur. The result conjugates like an い-adjective.
- ～にくいnikui Difficult to; hard toDescribes practical or psychological difficulty in carrying out an action. It can refer to an awkward object, a physical condition or something hard t...
- ～てあるtearu Have been deliberately done; be ready in a resulting stateDescribes a state resulting from someone's intentional preparation. The focus is the prepared result rather than the person who acted.
- あいだに、～ During; while; at some point withinPlaces an event within the time span of another situation. あいだに often describes something occurring at a point within that period.
- ～く/ ～にする Make something a particular wayExpresses intentionally changing something into a chosen state, such as making a room brighter or a sound quieter. With a noun it can also express sel...
- てほしい、～ Want someone to do; want someone not to doExpresses the speaker's wish about another person's action. The person hoped to perform the action is usually marked with に.
- ～たところ When I did; on doing; having just doneIn たところ、the speaker reports a discovery or outcome after trying an action. In たところだ, the expression marks the point immediately after comple...
- ～ことにするkotonisuru Decide to; decide not toExpresses a decision made by the subject. ことにした reports a decision already made, and ことにしている can describe a self-imposed continuing practi...
- ～とおりにtoorini As; exactly as instructed or shownMeans following a model, instruction, description or expectation without departing from it.
- ～ところに/ところへ Just as; at the moment whenIntroduces an arrival or event that occurs at a particular stage of another action. The verb form indicates whether the action is about to begin, in p...