JLPT N4 — Grammar Patterns flashcards
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Sixty grammar points commonly listed for N4 — potential and volitional forms, the four conditionals, て-form helpers, giving and receiving, passive and causative, そう/よう/らしい, decisions and changes, and basic honorific speech — each with a rule and an example.
Learn deck · part of JLPT N4 · written against: Kanji, vocabulary and grammar commonly listed for N4 (no official list since 2010). Updated 2026-10-10.
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How is the potential form (can do) made for u-verbs, ru-verbs, する and くる?Potential form — u-verbs change the final -u to -eru (かく → かける, よむ → よめる); ru-verbs swap る for られる (たべる → たべられる); する → できる, くる → こられる. Every potential form conjugates as a ru-verb.Potential & Volitional
Example: かんじが すこし よめます。 — I can read a few kanji.
Watch out: The object is usually marked by が rather than を, and the shortened みれる / たべれる (ら-dropping) is common in speech but not standard. -
How is the 〜たら conditional formed for verbs, adjectives and nouns, and what does it mean?plain past + ら — いったら, たかかったら, しずかだったら, あめだったら. It means if or when (once) X happens, with the main clause following X; it is the most versatile conditional in speech.Conditionals
Example: せんせいが きたら、おしえて ください。 — Please tell me when the teacher gets here. -
My friend gave me a book — why is あげる wrong here, and how do you say it with くれる and with もらう?くれる / もらう — あげる gives outward from the speaker's side; くれる is used when the receiver is me or my group; もらう takes the receiver's viewpoint, with the giver marked by に or から.Giving & Receiving
Example: ともだちが ほんを くれました。ともだちに ほんを もらいました。 — My friend gave me a book. I got a book from my friend. -
How is the passive form made (かく, いう, たべる, する, くる), and how is the doer marked?Passive form — u-verbs change -u to -areru (かく → かかれる, いう → いわれる); ru-verbs swap る for られる (たべられる); する → される, くる → こられる. The doer takes に.Passive & Causative
Example: ははに にっきを よまれました。 — My diary was read by my mother.
Watch out: For ru-verbs the passive looks identical to the potential (たべられる); context decides. -
I sent the parcel yesterday, so it should arrive today — which pattern states what you logically expect, and how do you say there's no way?〜はずだ — plain form + はず (な-adjective + な, noun + の) states a confident expectation based on reasoning; はずが ない means there is no way that….Certainty & Guesses
Example: にもつは きのう おくったから、きょう つく はずです。 — I sent the parcel yesterday, so it should arrive today.
Watch out: By certainty: はずだ > でしょう > かもしれない. -
I watched too much TV last night — how is 〜すぎる attached to verbs and adjectives?stem + すぎる — Verb ます-stem, or an adjective without い / な, plus すぎる: たべすぎる, たかすぎる, しずかすぎる (いい → よすぎる). It conjugates as a ru-verb.Degree & Ease
Example: ゆうべ テレビを みすぎて、めが つかれました。 — I watched too much TV last night, and my eyes got tired. -
Even though I'd gone to bed early, I couldn't get up in the morning — which conjunction expresses frustration or surprise at an unexpected result?〜のに — plain form + のに (な-adjectives and nouns take な: ひまなのに, にちようびなのに) links a fact to a result that goes against expectation, often with disappointment.Contrast & Reasons
Example: はやく ねたのに、あさ おきられませんでした。 — Even though I'd gone to bed early, I couldn't get up in the morning.
Watch out: Unlike けど, the clause after のに cannot be a request or an intention. -
My little brother is eating an ice cream while he walks — which pattern links two actions done at the same time by one person?ます-stem + ながら — The two actions share the same subject; the main action comes last, and the ながら action is the background one.Time & Situation
Example: おとうとは あるきながら アイスクリームを たべて います。 — My little brother is eating an ice cream while he walks. -
How do ひまですか and これは なんですか sound in casual speech with friends?Plain-form speech — Use plain forms, drop the question particle か and use rising intonation; after nouns and な-adjectives drop だ in questions (ひま? / これ、なに?). The particles は and を are often dropped too.Plain Speech & Quoting
Example: あした ひま? いっしょに えいが みない? — Free tomorrow? Want to see a film together? -
Which honorific verb replaces いる, いく and くる when talking about a superior, and what is its ます-form?いらっしゃる — Honorific for be, go, come (someone else's action). Its ます-form is irregular: いらっしゃいます, not いらっしゃります.Honorific & Humble
Example: しゃちょうは いま かいぎしつに いらっしゃいます。 — The company president is in the meeting room now.
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About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Grammar points follow the patterns commonly listed for JLPT N4 (no official list exists since 2010) and exclude points covered in the JLPT N5 grammar deck; rules checked against Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0), JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Kotobank (デジタル大辞泉, 精選版 日本国語大辞典). Reference only; all example sentences are original.
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