Intermediate Japanese Grammar Guide Part I

Hi there, how’s your progress in learning Japanese so far? We are launching a new blog series for you! This series focuses on explaining intermediate Japanese grammar you can use to improve your expressions in Japanese.

それでは、さっそく勉強しましょう!
Without further ado, let’s start learning!

Grammar point 1: Nばかり/ Vてばかりいる

Intermediate Japanese Grammar Guide - Nばかり/ Vてばかりいる
Noun+ばかり or Verb て form + ばかりいるmeans only / just / noting but.

Example:
お肉ばかりたべると太るよ
You will become fat if you eat nothing but meat.
週末、兄はゲームしてばかりいる
When it is the weekend, my brother will just play games all day.

Grammar Point 2: Vたばかり / Vたところ

Japanese Intermediate Grammar Vたばかり / Vたところ
Verb past tense + ばかり/ Verb past tense+ ところ are both used to express something that has just been done.

For example:
日本に来たばかりなので、日本語が全然わかりません I don’t understand Japanese because I just came to Japan.
一緒に映画を見に行きたいんだけど、今空いてる? I want to watch a movie together with you, are you free now?
いいよ、仕事が終わったところだから.  Sure, I just got off work.

Grammar point 3: おかげで/せいで

Japanese Intermediate Grammar Guide おかげで/せいで
おかげで can be used to express the reason of something positive happening.

How to use it:
Noun + の + おかげで
Verb short from + おかげで
いadjective + おかげで
なadjective + なおかげで

For example:
先生が指導してくれたおかげで、僕はいい大学に受かりました
I was qualified to enroll in a good university because of the guidance of my teacher.

せいで is the direct opposite of おかげで, it is used to express the reason for something negative happening.

How to use it:
Noun + の + せいで
Verb short from + せいで
いadjective + せいで
なadjective + せいで

宿題を家に忘れたせいで、先生に怒られてしまった
I was scolded by my teacher because I left my homework at home.

Challenge yourself – N2 upper Intermediate grammar

Grammar point 4: ものなら

N2 upper Japanese Intermediate grammar Grammar point 4: ものなら
Similar to n4 grammar なら, ものなら is used to express the wish of doing something. However, ものなら is usually used when the wish is very unlikely to happen

How to use it:
Verb short form + ものなら

For example:
できるものなら瞬間移動でアメリカに行きたい. I wish I can teleport to America if it is possible

Hope these grammar points are not too hard for you. Do practice them with your friends!

If you want to further improve your Japanese speaking in a short period of time, please consider trying out our Part-time Japanese Courses. Only applicable and useful Japanese is taught here.

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If these grammar points are too challenging, here are our Basic Japanese Grammar Guides!
Basic Japanese Grammar Guide Part I
Basic Japanese Grammar Guide Part II
Basic Japanese Grammar Guide Part III
Basic Japanese Grammar Guide Part IV

If it is not, this is the second part for you!


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