NAOKO CHINO

Students of Japanese are familiar with the term "particle," and realize that they, like English prepositions, require a special effort to master. This handbook provides all the information one would need on these tricky units of grammar. All About Particles covers more than 70 particles those that are used regularly as well as those used less frequently in more than 200 uses. The book can be approached as a guiding textbook and studied from beginning to end. It is as a reference book, however, that All About Particles shines. It is light and easy to carry, slim enough to fit into the corner of a shoulder bag, and concise enough to quickly clarify particle-related questions. It is a priceless tool for any serious student of Japanese.

This book provides useful information about verbs for beginning and intermediate students of Japanese. It''s a handy reference to turn to when you have questions about Japanese verbs and how to use them. Charts and tables make the key points understandable at a glance, and the many example sentences show how to use verbs correctly in context. This book does not attempt a complete exposition of Japanese grammar. Instead, it provides a wealth of practical information in one specific area for people who need to speak or write Japanese. The book is organized according to how verbs are used. If you want to know how to ask a person to do something, for example, just check the Index for "Asking Favors and Making Requests" and go to that page. Special sections are devoted to areas of Japanese verbs that often cause difficulty for students, including polite forms, causatives, passives, and transitive/intransitive pairs. Each of these areas is covered clearly and in detail with charts, explanations, and example sentences. Previously published under the same title in the Power Japanese series.

A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Sentence Patterns is a fundamental learning tool for all students of the Japanese language, whether they be unblemished beginners or scarred veterans. With both types of struggling student, as well as for all the gradations that fall in between, there is a strong tendency, in the heat of battle, to lose sight of the essential nature of the Japanese sentence. It is for just such people that this dictionary has been created, to help them keep their eyes fixed firmly on the target and not be led astray. The dictionary contains fifty of the most fundamental Japanese sentence patterns as well as sixty-nine variations. This number covers all the patterns that are needed for levels 3 and 4 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Each pattern and variation is clearly defined by a formula given in Japanese, romanization, and English. Each is exemplified by sample sentences (both in single sentences and in dialogues), and each is represented in both polite and informal usage. By means of this approach, the essential nature of the Japanese sentence is clarified, and once that has been done, the many patterns and variations fall easily into place. The simple, undisguised truth is that there are only three types of sentence in Japanese, and all of the convolutions and complications that distract and bemuse the student are nothing more than modifications of these three fundamental types. The study of the Japanese sentence need not be as difficult as it is seems. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Sentence Patterns may be used as a reference book to look up individual patterns for the purpose of learning, confirming, or reapproaching them, or it may be usedas a textbook to be read from beginning to end, providing an overview of the Japanese sentence while buttressing the student''s grasp of individual patterns. Naoko Chino, the author of the best-selling All about Particles and Japanese Verbs at a Glance, has again presented one of the more forbidding aspects of the language in a way that is both approachable and eminently comprehensible.

Particles are one of the most difficult aspects of the Japanese language. This is precisely why there are a good number of books on the market dealing with the subject. Most of these books take up particles as independent entities, so that after having studies them, students are, if all goes well, familiar with the functions of the individual particles. One unfortunate side to this approach is that some of the particles share the same functions (but with slight differences), and so even though students may have grasped the general nature of each particle, they are not sure about the differences between the particles that have similar functions. Well-known language book author Naoko Chino solves this problem by grouping the particles by function, defining them, giving samples of usage, and clarifying differences. Each section is followed by dual-purpose quizzes that allow readers to test and practice their knowledge. In this way, while not replacing general reference books on particles, this book goes a step beyond them and helps students nail down the troubling differences between particles. For students who find themselves befuddled when confronting such differences, How to Tell the Difference Between Japanese Particles should prove the perfect tool to further their understanding. By grouping particles that are similar in function, this book helps students pin down differences in usage that would ordinarily take years to master. Definitions, sample sentences, usage notes, and quizzes enable students to move to a higher level of comprehension.