13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For extensive verb training, May 21, 2004
This review is from: Japanese Verbs and Essentials of Grammar (Paperback)
I bought this book as a beginning Japanese student, and the scope of it blew my mind and I quickly put it away. However, after some basic grammar and vocabulary training, I soon after picked this book up again and found it to be a gem! It goes through every possible verb conjugation, with Japanese and English examples, and teaches you new and different ways to use what you know and make your sentences more meaningful. After the verb section is also a grammar section which outlines the essentials of grammar (hence the name I suppose). This is also a priceless guide. At the back, there is a small dictionary type section of basic commonly used words, both Japense-English and English-Japanese. There are also appendixes with common and useful phrases, broken down into when and where you can use them. Last of all, the back of the book hold a guide chart with both hiragana and katakana characters, which is helpful because the book is all written in roomanji. My only complaint with this book is that the sections are mixed up: The essentials of grammar should be the first section, with the verbs as the second. You could even read it that way if you would like, and I think it will be more enriching if you do. Be forewarned, however, that the verb section, while it covers all basic conjugations (-masu), also goes very deep into additional (and much more difficult) conjugations. It's helpful if you need more extensive training or to enrich your verbage, but just don't get in over your head and be overwhelmed.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very useful, August 26, 2005
This review is from: Japanese Verbs and Essentials of Grammar (Paperback)
Ok, this book is very useful for studying japanese grammar and for quick reference. It's a very good idea though to have some basic knowledge about the language and have a, if not decent, then small vocabulary.
Also being 'in' to grammar in general will help you a lot. But great book if you want to look at the very technical side of the language.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Book for its Declared Purpose, March 3, 2009
This review is from: Japanese Verbs and Essentials of Grammar (Paperback)
This book fully lives up to its purpose, to teach Westerners about Japanese grammar, and especially verbs.
In my opinion there are four major challenges to learning Japanese -- vocabulary, verbs, particles and alphabets. This book addresses verbs and particles, with strong emphasis on verbs. Presenting the stems, bases and endings in an ordered way, it makes a great deal of sense out what might otherwise be a difficult subject.
Some of the reviews here complain that the book is written entirely in Romaji -- the reviewers think that Westerners should be learning the Japanese alphabets.
I agree with them, but I don't believe this book is or ought to be the means for teaching the alphabets. If the book undertook instead to be teaching the alphabets, would the same reviewers complain that it wasn't also teaching grammar?
The point is that some people may learn best when presented with all features of the language simultaneously, but people learn differently. I for one study alphabets and vocabulary together, but when I go to understand verbs and particles, I don't want to be delayed by a book written in an alphabet and a language I'm still trying to master.
The only caution I would give is that not everyone learns language systematically, as this book presents it -- with charts and lists. I think that most people do learn well that way, though.
For the majority of people trying seriously to learn the language, not just in tourist phrases "I'm sorry, how far is it to the Oosaka train station?" but in a structured way, this book is the best and simplest teacher of basic verb forms I've seen.
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