Thursday, March 27, 2014

Visualizing Japanese Grammar
















The Visualizing Japanese Grammar website looks very simple, but the information is extremely detailed.

There are 66 flash animations, each of which deals with a grammatical point of the Japanese language.



The explanations are very full and detailed and a quiz accompanies each section.

[Note for teachers of Japanese]
At the bottom of the web-page there are PowerPoint presentations which can be downloaded.

The index of specific Japanese grammar patterns is very good, but because it is in an excel spreadsheet some people may not be able to use it and so I am going to reproduce it here -

文法項目 grammatical items 意味 meaning first VJG unit
sentence types 1
word order 2
noun phrase + の (particle) 3
まえ、うしろ、みぎ、ひだり、うえ、した、むこう、てまえ、さき (spatial expressions) 4
いadjectives、なadjectives 5
noun phrase + へ、に、で、から、まで、を (particles) 6
noun phrase + が、を(particles) 7
noun phrase + は (particle) 8
noun phrase + も (particle) 9
noun phrase + へ、から、まで、に、までに、で、と、を (particles) 10
こ…、そ…、あ…、ど… (demonstrative pronouns) 11
つ、にん、まい、ほん、さつ、はい、ひき、だい (counters) 12
だれ、なに、どれ、どちら、どっち、どこ、いつ、どの、どうして、いくら、etc. (wh expressions) 13
adjective stem + く (adverb) 14
adjective stem + くなる (expression of change) 14
direct-style sentence + ようになる reach a point where X does ~ 14
noun phrase + になる (expression of change) 14
stem + にくい hard to do 14
stem + やすい easy to do 14
なadjective/noun + に (adverb) 14
ねん、がつ、にち、じ、ふん、etc. (temporal expressions) 15
particles and verbs 16
adverbs and modifiers of nouns 18
です・ます vs. だ・る (speech styles) 19
direct-style conjugations of verbs 20
sentence + から (subordinator) reason 21
sentence + が (subordinator) but/background information 22
sentence + け(れ)ど (subordinator) although 22
てform 22
てform + いる (progressive) be doing 23
てform + 来る come having done; event comes into view; have been doing for a long time 24
てform + 行く go having done: event is receding from view; go on doing 24
てform + いる (resultant continuative) 25
verbs for clothing 26
noun phrase/direct-sytle sentence + より 27
particle combinations にも、へも、でも、からも、までも 28
stem + 方(かた) how to do 28
stem +  たい(desiderative) desire: want to 29
てform + ほしい want X to do 29
direct-style sentence + かもしれない/かもしれません maybe; there is the possibility 30
direct-style sentence + だろう/でしょう high probability 30
stem + ながら while doing 31
stem + に行く go to do 32
~たり~たりする sample activities: do such things as ~ and ~ 33
しか~ない no morer than 34
だれも、なにも、どこも、etc. 34
だれか、なにか、どこか、etc. 35
~よう (tentative form) let's do 36
stem + ましょう (polite tentative form) let's 36
tentative form + とする attempt to do 36
tentative form + と思う consider doing 36
tentative form + と思っている be considering doing 36
complex noun phrases 37
direct-style sentence + の (nominalizer) nominalizer: that ~; ~ing; ~to 38
direct-style sentence のだ/んだ circumstance: I'd like you to understand that ~ 39
direct-style sentence + と思う think that 40
direct-style sentence + と言う say that 40
direct-style sentence + ようだ appearance: it looks like ~ 41
direct-style sentence + そうだ hearsay: I hear that ~ 42
direct-style sentence + つもりだ intention: I intend to ~; I plan to ~ 42
direct-style sentence + はずだ expectation: my understanding is that ~ 42
direct-style sentence + ために purpose in order to ~ 43
direct-style sentence + のに in doing; in order to ~ 43
stem + そうだ (intuitive judgement) it looks like that ~ 44
direct-style sentence +ように (quoting requests) 45
direct-style sentence (past) + 方(ほう)がいい strong advice for an action: had better do 46
direct-style sentence + 方(ほう)がいい judgement: it is better to do 46
particle より 46
~ら、 if/when 47
~ら、どうですか suggestion; how about doing  47
direct-style sentence + か(どうか) (embedded question) whether (or not) 47
direct-style sentence + と (subordinator) whenever ~; if ~ 48
てform + あげる do others a favor 49
てform + くれる do me a favor of doing 49
direct-style sentence + こと (nominalizer) that ~; ~ing; ~to 50
direct-style sentence + ことがある significant experience 50
direct-style sentence + ことにする decide to do 50
direct-style sentence + ことになっている be supposed to ~; regulation is ~ 50
direct-style sentence + ことになる be decided for X to do; be decided for X to have done 50
direct-style sentence + まで until 51
direct-style sentence + 前に before doing 51
tense marking 51
の and こと (pronominal) 52
てform + ある have done 53
てform + おく preparation: do in advance 53
てform + しまう do against expectation; do prematurely 53
てform + みる adventurous first try: do and see 53
wh expression + てform + も no matter wh~ 54
てform + も multiple options, same consequence 54
てform + も + てform + も multiple options, same consequence 54
てform + もいい permission 54
~なくては{いけない/ならない}/   なくちゃ obligation: must 55
~なくてもいい exemption 55
てform + はいけない/ならない prohibition: must not 55
honorifics いらっしゃる、おかえりになる、etc. 56
てform + くれてありがとう thank you for doing 57
てform + すみません apology: sorry for doing 57
imperative たべろ、のめ、etc. 58
stem + なさい imperative: do! 58
てform + ください please do 58
させられる (causative passive) be made to do 59
られる (passive) be done 59
adversity passive 60
させる (causative) make X to do 61
てform + もらう have X do as a favor 62
gender differences in speech 65
られる (potential) be able to do potential forms