Essential Japanese grammar : a comprehensive guide to contemporary usage

"Essential Japanese Grammar" is an indispensable reference for students of Japanese at all levels, as well as anyone seeking to brush up on the language. Providing clear, jargon-free explanations of how Japanese grammar works and offering hundreds of example sentences, it is an essential handbook for self-study or for the classroom and should be a valued resource for years to come. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 gives a comprehensive overview of Japanese grammar, including the parts of speech, sentence word order, verbs, polite language ("keigo"), counters, and other facets of everyday language. Part 2 is a dictionary of usage, and explains and illustrates the correct uses of hundreds of Japanese suffixes, prefixes, grammatical words, and phrases. The two parts are closely coordinated through cross-referencing. Each entry includes example sentences given in both Japanese orthography (kana/kanji) and romanized form, with the English equivalents. The introduction to the grammar overview summarizes the fundamental differences between the English and Japanese grammar. Appendices offer extensive words lists for adjectival nouns, nouns formed from verbs, counters, and other categories. For students seeking to master the language and speak and write like a native, "Essential Japanese Grammar"