There’s some pieces of grammar I have memorized really well. But in other moments, I struggle. I have recently started immersing through reading and I’m thinking of reading one article a day while doing grammar on here (maybe bunpro) too. Is this a good idea to learn it?
For me, it’s more so sentence structure that’s messing me up, instead of words. Like I can tell when someone likes or hates something, possessives, iru/aru, o, but whenever it gets to be a placement that isn’t English I get confused.
Listening and reading are always a good thing to do, regardless.
If you are feeling lost, try to stop translating word-for-word and start Logical Mapping. Think of a Japanese sentence like a set of LEGO bricks:
Find the Engine (The Verb): In Japanese, the verb is almost always at the very end. It’s the anchor of the whole sentence. Look there first!
Identify the Actors (Particles): Instead of looking at the position of a word (like we do in English), look at the Particle attached to it.
は (wa) or が (ga) = This is your Subject/Topic (The "Who").
を (o) = This is your Object (The "What").
The "Descriptor" Rule: Anything that comes before a noun—even a whole mini-sentence—is just a "modifier" describing that noun. Treat it like one big adjective.
Before you try to understand the meaning, try to "dissect" the sentence. Label the subject, the object, and the verb. Once you see the "skeleton" of the sentence, the meaning will click into place much faster!
は (wa) or が (ga) = This is your Subject/Topic (The "Who").
を (o) = This is your Object (The "What").
Note, there are some more advanced topics relating to how these work, but there are also a couple other things.
There's such a thing as Øが, where it's something in a sentence that doesn't mention a subject, in which case, is implied by context.
There is another, when something is mentioned, but there is a は that is missing. This isn't Øは like the case for が, but it is something that changes the nuance of the sentence towards something personal and emotional in the perspective of the speaker.
But it's also possible for は to be omitted in another way like が, but it is inherently there as well when the topic is also omitted, unlike the above. This is more like Øが as well.
I like to look at grammar as math formulas. If I know A + は + B + のほうが means A is more _whatever property/adj_ than B then I can see that formula in a longer sentence and get a general understanding of what the translation would be. Of course some grammar isn’t as plain as that so for more difficult formulas I try to remember the context that the grammar would have in a simple sentence. That way I see a grammar point and recognize the words from my simple sentences and reapply the meaning to the sentence I’m translating
I like this analogy. While it certainly is possible to prepare for your math exam by memorizing a lot of formulas, that’s not the way mathematicians do it. To learn grammar by memorizing grammar rules seems like it has a lot in common with that approach, though.
You need to use the grammar to have it stick in your head longer. I find the grammar that I don't use is the ones I will never remember. Even regularly reading or listening to videos with or without subtitles can help retain the grammar because your brain is using it in some capacity.
@Henrietta2011 Honestly this is so true because I actually learned A LOT of grammar rules before properly learning JP because I watched tons of subbed anime. I also notice when I immerse, I’m able to do grammar quizzes better because I’m thinking about how the sentence would be formatted if I put it all together
