Description

Published in 1991. A user review:”Loved it! (Well, as much as I could love a book focused on grammar.) The book is both a good read for an overview of “basic” grammar (“overview” = 600+ pages) and an excellent reference book. Reading through it, there were items that I already knew well, ones that I knew from example but didn’t necessarily have a firm grasp of yet (i.e. never personally used), and a few that I had only seen used a handful of times in my studies so far. Each construct has detailed examples, subtleties in usage, and usage differences between similar constructs. There’s some grammar terms strewn here and there but the provided examples are enough to explain things if you’re one to just gloss over formal grammar terms. Also, the beginning intro sections, grammatical terms and characteristics of Japanese grammar, and appendices are great, especially the list of onomatopoeia, the conjugation charts, and summary charts. What’s also nice is the book touches on all levels of formality — formal, casual, and honorific speech — as well as male vs female speech.”