The Basic Japanese Sentence Structure

There are a lot of particles in Japanese and they can be confusing!

But don’t worry, when making Japanese sentences, keep the following in mind.

The part conveying information in the middle is not in particular or strict order.

Let’s try making a few sentences!

●それは私わたしの車くるまです。Topic/Possession (‘s)
/sore wa watashi no kuruma desu/
That is my car.

●昨日きのう(x)、渋谷しぶやで買かい物ものをしました。Location/Object
/kinoo, shibuya de kaimono o shimashita/
I did some shopping in Shibuya yesterday.

●去年きょねんの11月がつに友達ともだちと日本にほんに行いきました。Time/With/Destination
/kyonen no juuichi-gatsu ni tomodachi to nihon ni ikimashita/
I went to Japan with my friend last November.

●明日あしたは、12時から20時まで仕事しごとです。Topic/Start-point/End-point
/ashita wa, juuni-ji kara hachi-ji made shigoto desu/
I will be working from 12:00 to 20:00 tomorrow.

●台湾たいわんから来きました。Origin
/taiwan kara kimashita/
I come from Taiwan.

●椅子いすの下したに猫ねこがいます。Existence/Subject
/isu no shita ni neko ga imasu/
There is a cat under the chair.

●今いまから会議室かいぎしつで話はなし合あいがあります。Start-point/Location/Subject
/ima kara kaigishitsu de hanashiai ga arimasu/
There is a meeting in the conference room from now.

●本ほんを読よむのが好すきです。Object/Subject
/hon o yomu no ga suki desu/
I like reading books.

●米粉こめこでパンケーキを作つくりました。Ingredient/Object
/komeko de pankeeki o tsukuri mashita/
I made pancakes with rice flour.

●山やまの頂上ちょうじょうまでゆっくり登のぼりました。End-point/Adverb
/yama no choojoo made yukkuri nobori mashita/
I climbed slowly to the top of the mountain.