日本語の動詞

Japanese Verbs at a Glance is unique in its concise coverage of Japanese verbs from four points of view: conjugation, usage, compound verbs, and idiomatic expressions. This diversity makes the book a godsend to students at both beginning and intermediate levels. This book opens with an outline of verb forms, dividing all verbs into three conjugation groups. Each of these groups is discussed in terms of conjugation and tense, with numerous examples in Romanized form and Japanese script. The student is then shown how the different forms of verbs are used in everyday life, in both formal and informal situations. Included here are the proper expressions for requests, commands, permission, intention, wishes, conditionals, and habitual action. Next the student is taught how to combine two verbs into one form to express actions that in English would make use of phrases like "start to rain." Without an understanding of these compound verbs it is impossible to indicate whether an action has, for example, been taken to completion, halted in midcourse, done mutuallym undergone gradual change, or been taken to an extreme. The last chapter introduces idiomatic expressions that involve a special verb usage. These phrases require extra study and are often ignored in standard textbooks. At the end of the book is a twenty-three-page chart showing the conjugations for the most common Japanese verbs. This in itself is a tremendous boon to students. A six-page index makes the book eminently useful as a reference book. All of these factors contribute to the usefulness of Japanese Verbs at a Glance at beginning and intermediate levels.