Note: Last Monday was Halloween, and I meant to do a horror film review, but didn’t get it done in time, so I might still post that up.
Japanese is an extremely interesting language, as anyone learning it can tell you, but it can also be very frustrating at times, especially when it comes to verbs and particles. Now, when it comes to the former, I’m afraid I don’t have any neat tips or tricks (at least not yet), but there’s an amazing reference book out there that makes learning particles amazingly easy! I already mentioned it in my post about reading in Japanese, and I keep this book by my side as I read, so when I get stumped, I can just look up the particles in question. So, allow me to introduce, All About Particles.
This is a great book that covers every single particle, , adn every last way to use them. For each particle, a description is given for each of its various usages, followed by several example sentences for each usage. It’s very brief, but very clear as the thumbnail below shows.
As I’ve already said, this is a reference book, so trying to study it or memorize it is both unproductive and headache inducing. As you reference it while doing something that is productive, like reading, you will eventually learn them through repetition.
I also wouldn’t use the example sentences for sentence mining, as they’re boring. I tried this and wound up deleting that Anki deck a month later because the sentences got too redundant.
So, here’s how I use it. Firstly, I grab a book. Second, I start reading, looking up the particles that trip me up. Thirdly, the particles slowly become like second nature to me. I also reference it as I write journal entries on Lang-8.
I recommend this book to everyone learning Japanese, regardless of your chosen method for learning. In fact, out of every book I’ve referenced on this site, this is what I recommend the most. It just makes dealing with those frustrating, confusing particles that much easier, and since it’s only around $11, it’s not like it takes a huge financial commitment, unlike a $40 textbook.
