From Passive to Possibility: The Birth of Modern Potential -e
Something that got my attention fairly early on was the question, why did 五段 (godan) verbs develop the potential -e…
The Passive Problem: Why 書かれる and not 書かられる
If you’re learning Japanese, you’ve probably noticed that potential and passive forms follow different patterns. With godan verbs like 書く,…
Coming And Going with てくる and ていく in Japanese
A comprehensive guide to these versatile grammar patterns Basic Distinction: Kanji vs. Non-Kanji Usage Kanji Form (て来る/て行く) When written with…
にてあり: The Origin of the Noun Copula だ
The modern Japanese copula だ stems from にてあり, where に (infinitive of copular なり) combined with て (conjunctive form of…
I love your こと: How to like someone in Japanese
I wrote this as a reply on a forum but I thought it might be good to dedicate a post…
The Deep Origins of Japanese と
Understanding Unity Through Conceptual Binding Introduction The Japanese particle と (to) represents one of the most fascinating examples of how…
From Possession to Subject Marker: Development of Japanese が
The Japanese particle が (ga) stands as one of the most fascinating examples of grammatical evolution in Japanese. While modern…
The Great Divide: Making Sense of 割る, 分ける, and 別れる
In Japanese, there are three main verb pairs that deal with concepts of separation and division. Each has its own…
The Curious Case of ありがとう and the を Particle
Have you ever wondered it’s プレゼントをありがとう? This seemingly odd grammatical construction might sound a bit puzzling to Japanese learners. After…
Boiling Water withてある and ている
Learners oftentimes question the difference between てある and ている. Let’s boil up some water and see what these auxiliaries really…