| Acknowledgments | ix |
| Introduction | xi |
Part 1. | Grammatical Categories and the Basic Architecture of a Sentence | 1 |
1 | The subject corresponds to an item around which an event evolves | 3 |
2 | Use the verb at the end! | 5 |
3 | An explicit subject is optional | 6 |
4 | Pay attention to the last part of a sentence | 7 |
5 | There are three types of verb-like constituents | 9 |
6 | The noun in the sentence gakusei-desu is not the subject! | 11 |
7 | Japanese speakers avoid certain pronouns | 13 |
8 | You cannot always guess the grammatical category of a Japanese form from the grammatical category of its English counterpart | 15 |
9 | Dictionary forms of all Japanese adjectives end with -ii, -ai, -oi, or -ui | 16 |
10 | "Noun" is an open category in Japanese | 17 |
11 | Use the same word order for questions. Attach -ka to a statement to turn it into a question | 19 |
12 | Do not hesitate to use the same verb over and over again | 22 |
13 | Japanese particles are postpositions | 23 |
14 | Classification of particles | 25 |
Part 2. | Phrase Particles: Marking the Functions of Noun Phrases in a Sentence | 29 |
15 | A phrase particle determines the function of the noun | 31 |
16 | The particle -wa identifies what the sentence is about and urges the listener to pay attention to the part that follows | 33 |
17 | The particle -mo adds the preceding noun phrase to a list of objects | 36 |
18 | Use of -wa and -mo presupposes a contextual set | 38 |
19 | -ga is the subject marker; -o is the direct object marker | 40 |
20 | -ga and -o mark a fresh participant; -wa marks a familiar participant already anchored in a context | 43 |
21 | Do not attach -wa to interrogative WH-phrases | 46 |
22 | Only one direct object particle -o appears per verb | 48 |
23 | The subject and the direct object are the primary grammatical categories | 50 |
24 | Two types of locational particles: -de and -ni | 53 |
25 | Three reasons not to use phrase particles | 57 |
26 | "Exceptional" uses of -ga | 60 |
27 | Grammatical reasons for alternations of particles | 64 |
28 | The person marked with the particle -ni is an active participant in an interaction | 66 |
29 | The person marked with the particle -to is a "reciprocal" participant in an interaction | 71 |
30 | Certain auxiliary verbs take the non-subject participant particle -ni | 73 |
31 | The auxiliary verb-morau comes with -ni; the auxiliary verbs -ageru and -kureru do not | 76 |
32 | Another consequence of the double-o constraint | 79 |
33 | Phrase particles are powerful! | 80 |
Part 3. | Expanding Noun Phrases | 83 |
34 | The particle -no between two nouns turns the first noun into a modifier | 85 |
35 | A noun modified by an adjective functions like a noun | 87 |
36 | The modifier consistently precedes the modified | 88 |
37 | Spatial relationships are expressed with stacked nouns | 90 |
38 | The particle -no mediates a wide range of relationships. Mekishiko-jin-no tomodachi, for instance, means either "a friend of a Mexican" or "a friend who is Mexican" | 92 |
39 | The particle -to connects noun phrases representing separate objects | 94 |
40 | Na-nouns behave like nouns, but they have "fuzzy" meanings | 96 |
41 | To say something more complex, use complex noun phrases | 99 |
42 | The head noun of a complex noun phrase carries with it only the particle which marks its function in a larger sphere | 101 |
43 | Japanese does not employ WH-phrases for creating complex noun phrases | 103 |
44 | Mekishiko-jin-no tomodachi "a Mexican friend" is a complex noun phrase | 105 |
45 | Atarashii tomodachi "a new friend" is also a kind of complex noun phrase | 107 |
46 | One more way to create a complex noun phrase | 109 |
47 | No is for a familiar event; koto is for an abstract idea | 111 |
Part 4. | Tense and Events | 115 |
48 | There are only two tenses in Japanese: non-past and past | 117 |
49 | Special use of past tense forms | 119 |
50 | Te-forms connect very closely related events | 121 |
51 | Tense markers separate events | 124 |
52 | Events are tied with varying degrees of cohesion inside a sentence | 129 |
53 | Two perspectives for tense inside a subordinate clause | 133 |
54 | The main clause perspective means involvement | 137 |
55 | The speaker's perspective means incidental connection, speaker's recollection, or speaker's reasoning | 140 |
Part 5. | Miscellaneous Topics | 143 |
56 | Hai and ee mean "I agree" or "I hear you"; iie means "I disagree" | 145 |
57 | Are "that" is for things known to both speaker and hearer; sore "that" is for something just mentioned | 149 |
58 | The longer and vaguer, the more polite | 152 |
59 | Polite forms and direct forms | 153 |
60 | Reality consists of continuous-grade scales; language makes things discrete | 156 |
61 | Interpretations of -te-kuru/-te-iku | 159 |
62 | Expressing solidarity with -te-kuru/-te-iku | 163 |
63 | -n-da expresses expectation of mutual understanding | 165 |
64 | -n-da-kara does not provide personal information. Do not overuse it! | 167 |
65 | There are ways to identify hidden subjects | 170 |
66 | Do not be intimidated by apparent complexity | 175 |
| Answers to the Questions | 179 |
| Glossary | 193 |
| Index | 197 |