Japanese grammar, step by step
A guided tour through Japanese grammar with glossed examples that show how each piece of a sentence fits together.
Grammar Walkthrough
Discover how the language works through examples
Japanese builds sentences from the end — the verb comes last, particles tell each word's role, and politeness is baked into every verb form.
The polite verb ending
～ます form| Verb | ます form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 話す | 話します | speak |
| 食べる | 食べます | eat |
| 見る | 見ます | see |
Look at all three verbs below. The first part is different every time, but what stays exactly the same at the end?
The -ます ending marks polite speech. It is the default form for speaking to anyone you don't know well — and it is where all learners should start.
Verb comes last, particles mark roles
SOV + particlesThe verb is at the very end of the sentence. What are those small words that appear after 私 and after 日本語?
Particles are postpositions — they follow the noun and tell you its role. Remove the verb and rearrange everything else: the meaning stays the same because particles, not word order, carry the grammar.
Topic vs. subject: は vs. が
は vs. が| Particle | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| は | topic — "as for me..." | 私は話します |
| が | subject/focus — "I am the one" | 私が話します |
Both は and が can come after 私, but the meaning shifts. What is different between the two sentences below?
は (wa) marks the topic — what you're already talking about. が (ga) marks the grammatical subject and emphasizes new information or contrast.
Location and destination: に and で
location particles| Particle | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| に | destination or existence | 学校に行く (go to school) |
| で | location of action | 学校で話す (speak at school) |
Both に and で can translate as "at" or "in" in English, but Japanese uses them differently. Can you spot what is happening differently in each example?
に marks destination or the location where something exists. で marks the location where an action takes place.
No articles, no plural — but counters
counters| Counter | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 冊 (さつ) | bound objects (books) | 一冊の本 (one book) |
| 人 (にん/り) | people | 三人 (three people) |
| 枚 (まい) | flat objects (paper, tickets) | 二枚 (two sheets) |
| つ (general) | general objects | 一つ (one thing) |
Between the number and the noun, there is always an extra word. What is it doing, and why does it change depending on what is being counted?
Japanese has no articles and no plural marking on nouns. To count things, you add a counter word that depends on the category of object being counted.
Connecting actions with て-form
て-form| Verb group | Dictionary form | て-form |
|---|---|---|
| Group 2 (ichidan) | 食べる | 食べて |
| Group 1 (godan) -す | 話す | 話して |
| Group 1 (godan) -く | 書く | 書いて |
| Group 1 (godan) -む | 飲む | 飲んで |
The verb ending changed from -ます to -て. What can this new form do that -ます cannot?
The て-form links verbs sequentially ("and then") and, combined with います, expresses an ongoing action.
Past tense: -ました and -た
past tense| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 話します | 話しません |
| Polite past | 話しました | 話しませんでした |
| Plain present | 話す | 話さない |
| Plain past | 話した | 話さなかった |
What changes between 話します (now) and 話しました (before)? And how does the plain-form past look different from the polite past?
In polite speech, replace -ます with -ました for past tense. In plain speech, the verb's own past suffix -た (or -だ) is used directly.
Negation
negation| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 話します | 話しません |
| Plain present | 話す | 話さない |
| Polite past | 話しました | 話しませんでした |
| い-adjective | 大きい (big) | 大きくない (not big) |
The verb ending changes completely to make a sentence negative. And adjective negation works differently from verb negation — can you spot both patterns?
Verbs are negated by changing -ます to -ません (polite) or adding -ない (plain). い-adjectives drop -い and add -くない.
Two types of adjective
adjective types| Type | Before noun | Predicate |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | 大きい本 (big book) | 本が大きい |
| な-adjective | 静かな部屋 (quiet room) | 部屋が静かです |
Some adjectives end in -い and can conjugate on their own. Others need な before a noun and です to make a predicate. What tells them apart?
い-adjectives end in -い and conjugate directly. な-adjectives behave more like nouns and require な before a noun and です as a predicate copula.
Potential: can do
potential form| Verb | Dictionary form | Potential form |
|---|---|---|
| Group 2 (ichidan) | 食べる | 食べられる |
| Group 1 (godan) -す | 話す | 話せる |
| Group 1 (godan) -く | 書く | 書ける |
| General ability | (する) | できる |
The verb changed form to express "can." How did the ending change, and is the pattern regular?
Group 2 verbs replace -る with -られる. Group 1 verbs replace the final -u sound with -eru. できる (can do) also expresses general ability and is very common.
Saying you want to
～たいHow does 話したい differ from 話します? What did the ending change to signal, and how does this new form then get negated?
-たい attaches to the verb stem to express "want to." It conjugates exactly like an い-adjective: -たい → -たかった (wanted to) → -たくない (don't want to).
Plain form vs. polite form
register| Tense | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| Present+ | 話します | 話す |
| Past | 話しました | 話した |
| Negative | 話しません | 話さない |
| Negative past | 話しませんでした | 話さなかった |
The sentences below say exactly the same thing — but they feel completely different. What changes between the polite and plain versions?
Japanese has two registers that cannot be mixed: polite speech (丁寧語) using -ます/-です, and plain speech (普通体) using dictionary/plain forms. Mixing them in the same sentence sounds ungrammatical.
Conditionals: ～たら and ～と
conditionals| Conditional | Nuance | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ～たら | general if/when | 雨が降ったら、行きません |
| ～と | natural/automatic result | ボタンを押すと、ドアが開きます |
| ～ば | hypothetical/counterfactual | お金があれば、行きます |
These three sentences all express an "if" or "when" condition, but the endings are different. What does each one imply about how certain or automatic the outcome is?
～たら expresses a general "if/when" condition. ～と expresses a natural, automatic consequence. ～ば expresses a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact condition.
Giving and receiving
giving/receiving verbs| Verb | Direction | て-form compound |
|---|---|---|
| あげる (ageru) | give (to others) | てあげる — do for others |
| もらう (morau) | receive (from others) | てもらう — have someone do for you |
| くれる (kureru) | give (to me/my group) | てくれる — do for me (as a favor) |
Three different verbs all express giving or receiving. What determines which one to use — the object being given, or the direction of the action?
The verb depends on the social direction: あげる gives away from you, もらう receives toward you, くれる is given to you by someone else. These also combine with て-form to express doing a favor.
Passive voice
passive| Verb | Dictionary form | Passive form |
|---|---|---|
| Group 2 (ichidan) | 食べる | 食べられる (to be eaten) |
| Group 1 (godan) -す | 話す | 話される (to be spoken about) |
| Group 1 (godan) -く | 書く | 書かれる (to be written) |
In these sentences, something happens to the subject rather than the subject doing it. How did the verb ending change to express this?
Group 2 verbs use -られる for passive. Group 1 verbs use -（a）れる (the final -u becomes -（a）れる). Japanese passive is especially common when the speaker is affected by an action, even negatively.
The full picture
putting it togetherHow many patterns from earlier steps can you find in this single sentence?
Particles mark roles, the plain form serves as a relative clause, potential and progressive forms combine, and the polite verb comes last — all in one sentence.