N3
Intermediate
This is where the bridge from the textbook to the real language is built: passive and causative, conjecture, intention, and the polite language of everyday life.
Everyday texts — notices, short articles, messages from friends — can be read given a little time, and conversations turn to opinions and reasons rather than facts alone.
Particles2
Particles
2N3は and が in depth: contrast, focus and clausesは also contrasts, が also means "it is this one", and inside a clause the subject takes が.N3さえ, こそ, でも and なんか: words of emphasisさえ is "even" for an extreme case, こそ is "this one and no other", でも is a softer "even" or "something like", and なんか plays something down.
Verbs and adjectives6
Verbs
1Using the te-form
1Giving and receiving
1Passive and causative
3N3The suffering passiveA passive built to say that somebody was put out by what happened — even when the verb has no object.N3Being made to do somethingCausative plus passive: somebody made me do it, and I did not choose to.N3Let me do itThe causative turned round: asking to be allowed to act, and announcing it humbly.
Joining sentences3
Conditions
1Probability and hearsay
2Register and expressions17
Politeness
3N3The regular honorificAny verb without a special honorific can be made one with お, the ます-stem and になる.N3The regular humble formお, the ます-stem and する: something you do for somebody you respect.N3ございます and the formal registerThe most formal way to say "there is" and "is" — and the vocabulary that comes with it.
Expressions (N3)
14N3わけ: when the reason adds upわけだ draws a conclusion, and its two negatives mean very different things.N3ところ: a point in the life of an actionところ pins an action to one moment: just before it, in the middle of it, or just after it.N3ばかり: only just, and nothing butAfter the た-form ばかり means "only just"; after a noun or a て-form it means "nothing but".N3ようになる and ようにする: change and habitようになる reports a change that came about; ようにする is an effort to make something happen.N3ことがある: sometimes, and everAfter the dictionary form ことがある means "sometimes"; after the た-form it means "have ever".N3ば〜ほど: the more, the moreA word in its ば-form, the same word again, then ほど: as one thing grows, so does another.N3ずに: without doingずに is a slightly more formal ないで: one thing happens without another happening first.N3として: in the role ofA noun plus として says in what role, capacity or status something is done or seen.N3について and にかんして: what it is aboutについて marks what you talk, think or write about; にかんして is its more formal twin.N3によって: depending on, by, because ofによって names what something depends on, who made or did it, or what caused it.N3にとって: from where someone standsにとって says from whose point of view a judgement holds: important to me, hard for children.N3もの: how things are, how they were, and whyものだ states how things naturally are or used to be; ものの means "although"; a final もの gives a reason.N3かわりに: instead, and in returnかわりに means "instead of" or "on behalf of" — and after a clause, "in return for".N3ほど and くらい: how far something goesほど and くらい measure extent: "about", "so … that", and "not as … as".