#beginner
Tag hub for beginner articles.
Kore vs Kono Practice: Point to a Thing or Describe a Noun
Choose a demonstrative that fits the sentence structure. これ can stand alone as a noun phrase; この must modify a following noun.
Dake vs Shika Practice: Only, Negatives, and Sentence Endings
Express a limit with だけ or しか. Pay attention to the negative predicate required by the ordinary limiting use of しか.
Kara vs Node Practice: Give a Reason and Build the Connection
Both から and ので can introduce a reason. Practise the forms they follow, and avoid treating one as always polite and the other as always rude.
Ta Form vs Te Form: Change the Ending Without Losing the Sound Pattern
The ta form and te form share sound-change patterns, but they do different jobs. Practise switching between them and choosing a form for a specific construction.
Japanese Adjective Past and Negative Forms: Six Input Exercises
Keep adjective class and time separate. This drill changes 高い, 寒い, いい, and 静か into precisely specified past or negative forms.
Japanese Te Form Input Drill: Six Conjugations You Need to Recall
Practise producing the te form from a dictionary form. The focus here is spelling and sound changes; the linked grammar lesson explains how to use the resulting form.
Japanese Nai Form Input Practice: Verb Groups and Exceptions
Produce six plain negative verbs. Pay special attention to verbs ending in う and to the difference between a dictionary form ending in る and an 一段 verb.
Masu Form vs Dictionary Form: Polite-to-Plain Verb Practice
Change the verb form without changing the action. Distinguish a dictionary form from a plain past or negative form, which are also plain but are not dictionary forms.
I vs Na Adjective Practice: Describe Nouns Without Guessing from Spelling
Practise how adjectives connect to nouns. Some words ending in the sound i, including きれい, still belong to the な-adjective pattern.
Ni vs De Location Practice: Where Things Are and Where Actions Happen
Use に for the location of existence and で for the place an action happens. Practise the distinction with the same room, shop, and library vocabulary.
Desu vs Da Practice: Noun Sentences in Plain and Polite Style
Change noun predicates between plain and polite forms while preserving tense and meaning. Keep this pattern separate from the endings of verbs and い-adjectives.
Arimasu vs Imasu Practice: People, Animals, and Objects
Decide whether a simple existence sentence needs あります or います, then practise the negative and past forms without changing the location particle.