Japanese Language Learning Reviews

Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs & Handbook of Japanese Verbs, by Taeko Kamiya

Score:
8 / 10
Pros:
these books cover every major aspect of Japanese verbs or adjectives; uses Japanese script and Romanization for all examples; multiple examples of every construction; practice exercises; short but relevant usage explanations for each construction

Cons:
missing a topic index; exercises are basic (you’ll need more practice for mastery); some pages look chaotic with all the kanji & kana, fonts, translations, footnotes and all; examples and approach are a bit stale

Late beginners and intermediate Japanese learners run into serious challenges when they start dealing with the complexities of adjectives, adverbs and verbs. These two grammar handbooks by Taeko Kamiya are intended to ease those growing pains.

Both The Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs and The Handbook of Japanese Verbs follow a very similar pattern and handle their material in much the same way. If you like one as a Japanese language learning reference, you’ll like the other one.

The books begin by discussing the use and structure of verbs or adjectives. This gives a good overview of all their properties and plenty of believable Japanese examples. The next section deals with conjugation (yes, Japanese adjectives are conjugated like verbs). The conjugation sections have useful tables and, again, plenty of sample Japanese phrases.

The rest of the handbooks deal with usage explanations and examples (except for a further overview on adverbs later in The Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs). In each of the remaining sections, you’ll find one or another construction in a long box, such as “Vneg + nai + tsumori da” (“don’t intend to ~”). Root forms are always abbreviated, so the basic dictionary form of verbs shows up as Vdic, negative verbs as Vneg, Adj cond stands for conditional adjective, and so on. This is explained in the text.

Below that box (which is given an index number for quick reference), there is a short explanation (“Vneg nai tsumori da expresses a person’s intention not to do something”). Then, there are a number of examples in romaji and full Japanese script – kana and kanji – also translated into English. The example phrases sound a bit formal, at least in English, but they are still realistic and convenient. The author even puts the adjective or verb construction in question in bold letters, so it stands out.

After a number of topics, you’ll find a practice exercise. Exercises are usually Japanese sentences that require you to fill in the blank or choose the correct form, but these simple grammar drills are welcome when dealing with such a complex aspect of Japanese grammar.

The books end with answers to the practice exercises, a numbered index of all sentence patterns discussed in the book (like Vneg or Adj cond) with reference to page numbers, and a verb or adjective word glossary in both English-Japanese and Japanese-English.

If you’re aiming to learn fluent Japanese, your mastery of grammar will eventually make or break you. Verbs and adjectives are two of the toughest points of Japanese grammar. For a reference trilogy on all the sore points of Japanese, add in All About Particles, too. If you’re a serious intermediate student or you want to become one, you’re just starting to crack the tough nut of Japanese grammar. These are handy go-to references to keep on your shelf.