Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is an excelent book. Having gone through a course in elementary Japanese, I wanted a book to quickly review the basic grammar and speech patterns. This little book does a marvelous job. It explains all the main patterns concisely, yet sufficiently. The organization and clarity of the book are its main assets. There is a detailed index at the beginning of the book, containing key examples of the pattern. That way you can jump right to the page you need. At the end of the book there are handy appendices (with examples) on counters (some 25 of them), plus charts on adjective inflections and verb conjugations. All in alphabetical english order. Every pattern, or variation, is clearly explained with 3 examples. This is followed by 3 more examples for you to try. Then, the answers are given in smaller print. All examples are given in Japanese characters plus romaji transliteration. Every unit has a few new words of vocabulary, which are then used in the examples that follow. I admired the economy of this book. Nothing is superfluous. And yet, everything is sufficient, within the constraints of its size. It is published by Kodansha International, not Oxford University Press as the Amazon description says. Very few books on Japanese language instruction are suitable for self study. This one clearly is.
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An indispensable tool for acquiring basic communication skills in a limited amount of time.With Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication, even absolute beginners can learn to communicate in Japanese in a matter of days. Designed specifically for native-English speakers approaching Japanese as a second language, this book presents 142 essential Japanese sentence patterns, first by giving equivalents in English, then following with Japanese translations. Each pattern is accompanied by a concise, easy-to-follow explanation and several Japanese example sentences that demonstrate its usage. In addition, practice sections for each pattern allow the student to test his or her understanding of the material presented.Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication is organized into twelve chapters according to communicative function, including such tasks as making simple, declarative statements about people and things in the world; making comparisons; talking about events in the past, present and future; expressing desire, conjecture and intention;stating causes or reasons; making requests; asking and giving permission; and using the passive and causative-passive voices. Extensive charts at the back of the book outline the rules for inflecting and conjugating adjectives and verbs-essential to fluent communication.
