13 articles
grammar
N5 gave you あげる・もらう・くれる. N4 upgrades them to honorific forms. How to pick くださる, いただく, or さしあげる? Plus potential forms and the に vs を trick.
grammar
The 'doer' in a passive sentence isn't always marked with に -- there's also から, によって, and で. Picking the wrong one sounds off.
grammar
How do you form causative? How does passive attach? Why does causative-passive have two forms? One table covers every voice conjugation, plus mnemonics to remember them.
grammar
Causative means 'make someone do it.' Causative-passive means 'I was forced to do it.' Master this flip and Japanese voice is yours.
grammar
Japanese has three different words for「give」— pick the wrong one and a kind gesture turns into self-congratulation. Understand the in-group/out-group dynamics and direction of benefit, and you'll never mix up くれる, もらう, and あげる again.
grammar
One single られる can express passive, ability, respect, and spontaneity. Add adversative passive and causative-passive, and this article covers all six faces at once.
grammar
「休ませてもらった」vs「休んでもらった」— one means asking for time off, the other means asking someone else to rest. Causative + giving/receiving: reverse the direction and the meaning flips entirely.
grammar
Plain, general passive, adversative passive, causative, causative-passive — same event, five ways to say it. One table to sort them all out.
grammar
止まっている vs 止めてある vs 止められている — what's the difference between three ways to say 'parked there'? Understand transitive-verb passive intransitivization and never stumble on news Japanese again.
grammar
What's the difference between に and から in passive sentences? When do you use によって? Why do natural phenomena use で? One article to clarify the selection rules for all four particles.
