This guide presents Lessons 11 through 25 of the Japan Ready Coach JLPT N5 grammar curriculum, completing Sentence Builders 3, 4, and 5. Having mastered basic particles in Lessons 1–5 and existence and questions in Lessons 6–10, you are ready to construct compound thoughts, express reasons, give permissions, explain ongoing activities, state obligations, and share past experiences.
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Curriculum Modules
- Sentence Builder 3 (Lessons 11–15): Frequency adverbs, reasons with から, desires with たいです, polite invitations with ましょう／ませんか, and time markers with に.
- Sentence Builder 4 (Lessons 16–20): Ongoing actions with ています, permissions with てもいいです, prohibitions with てはいけません, sequences with てから, and comparisons with より／のほうが.
- Sentence Builder 5 (Lessons 21–25): Obligation with なければなりません, ability with ことができます, past experiences with ことがあります, advice with のほうがいいです, and intention with つもりです.
Lesson 11: Frequency adverbs
Use よく and ときどき with polite positive verbs, and あまり with polite negative verbs.
Pattern note: あまり pairs with a negative verb ending such as ません to mean not very much or not often.
Helper vocabulary: よく (yoku) - often, ときどき (tokidoki) - sometimes, あまり (amari) - not very much (with negative)
わたしはよくほんをよみます。
Romaji: Watashi wa yoku hon o yomimasu.
Meaning: I often read books.
ときどきコーヒーをのみます。
Romaji: Tokidoki koohii o nomimasu.
Meaning: I sometimes drink coffee.
あまりテレビをみません。
Romaji: Amari terebi o mimasen.
Meaning: I do not watch TV very much.
Lesson 12: Giving reasons with から
Place から after a polite reason clause to explain why the next part happens.
Pattern note: In Japanese, the reason clause with から comes before the result, or answers a どうして question directly.
Helper vocabulary: から (kara) - because / so, どうして (doushite) - why
あついですから、みずをのみます。
Romaji: Atsui desu kara, mizu o nomimasu.
Meaning: Because it is hot, I drink water.
やすいですから、これをかいます。
Romaji: Yasui desu kara, kore o kaimasu.
Meaning: Because it is cheap, I will buy this.
きょうはさむいですから、いえにいます。
Romaji: Kyou wa samui desu kara, ie ni imasu.
Meaning: Because it is cold today, I stay at home.
Lesson 13: Expressing wants with たいです
Use the polite たいです form to say what you want to do.
Pattern note: たいです replaces ます at the end of a polite verb stem to express the speaker's own desire to do an action.
Helper vocabulary: いきたいです (ikitai desu) - want to go, たべたいです (tabetai desu) - want to eat, のみたいです (nomitai desu) - want to drink
にほんにいきたいです。
Romaji: Nihon ni ikitai desu.
Meaning: I want to go to Japan.
あさごはんにパンをたべたいです。
Romaji: Asagohan ni pan o tabetai desu.
Meaning: I want to eat bread for breakfast.
おちゃをのみたいです。
Romaji: Ocha o nomitai desu.
Meaning: I want to drink tea.
Lesson 14: Polite invitations with ましょう and ませんか
Use ませんか to politely invite someone and ましょう to suggest doing something together.
Pattern note: ませんか asks 'won't you...?' as a gentle invitation, while ましょう means 'let's...!' and can also answer an invitation.
Helper vocabulary: ませんか (masen ka) - won't you / would you like to, ましょう (mashou) - let's, いっしょに (issho ni) - together
いっしょにえきにいきませんか。
Romaji: Issho ni eki ni ikimasen ka.
Meaning: Won't you go to the station together?
コーヒーをのみませんか。
Romaji: Koohii o nomimasen ka.
Meaning: Would you like to drink coffee?
いっしょにひるごはんをたべましょう。
Romaji: Issho ni hirugohan o tabemashou.
Meaning: Let's eat lunch together.
Lesson 15: Asking when and marking time with に
Use いつ to ask when something happens and に after specific clock times.
Pattern note: Relative time words like きょう, あした, and まいにち do not take に, while specific clock times like しちじ take に.
Helper vocabulary: いつ (itsu) - when, しちじ (shichiji) - seven o'clock
いつにほんにいきますか。
Romaji: Itsu Nihon ni ikimasu ka.
Meaning: When will you go to Japan?
しちじにがっこうにいきます。
Romaji: Shichiji ni gakkou ni ikimasu.
Meaning: I go to school at seven o'clock.
あしたともだちにあいます。
Romaji: Ashita tomodachi ni aimasu.
Meaning: I will meet my friend tomorrow.
Lesson 16: Ongoing actions with ています
Connect a て-form verb with います to describe an action happening right now.
Pattern note: ています links the て-form of a verb with います (exists for living things) to show an ongoing action or current state.
Helper vocabulary: いま (ima) - now, よんでいます (yonde imasu) - is reading, まっています (matte imasu) - is waiting
いまほんをよんでいます。
Romaji: Ima hon o yonde imasu.
Meaning: I am reading a book right now.
えきでともだちをまっています。
Romaji: Eki de tomodachi o matte imasu.
Meaning: I am waiting for my friend at the station.
いえでひるごはんをたべています。
Romaji: Ie de hirugohan o tabete imasu.
Meaning: I am eating lunch at home.
Lesson 17: Asking and giving permission with てもいいです
Add もいいです to a て-form verb to say something is allowed, and add か to ask permission.
Pattern note: てもいいですか literally asks 'even if I do this, is it good?' which is the natural polite way to ask 'May I...?'
Helper vocabulary: てもいいですか (te mo ii desu ka) - may I, すわって (suwatte) - sitting, つかって (tsukatte) - using
ここにすわってもいいですか。
Romaji: Koko ni suwatte mo ii desu ka.
Meaning: May I sit here?
このでんわをつかってもいいですか。
Romaji: Kono denwa o tsukatte mo ii desu ka.
Meaning: May I use this telephone?
このほんをみてもいいです。
Romaji: Kono hon o mite mo ii desu.
Meaning: You may look at this book.
Lesson 18: Polite rules with てはいけません
Use てはいけません after a verb's て-form to state that an action is not allowed.
Pattern note: In てはいけません, the particle は is pronounced wa. It is commonly seen on signs or when explaining house and school rules.
Helper vocabulary: てはいけません (te wa ikemasen) - must not, はいって (haitte) - entering
ここでたべてはいけません。
Romaji: Koko de tabete wa ikemasen.
Meaning: You must not eat here.
ここにはいってはいけません。
Romaji: Koko ni haitte wa ikemasen.
Meaning: You must not enter here.
そのでんわをつかってはいけません。
Romaji: Sono denwa o tsukatte wa ikemasen.
Meaning: You must not use that telephone.
Lesson 19: Sequential actions with てから
Use てから after a verb's て-form to say 'after doing A, do B'.
Pattern note: Unlike から after a full polite clause (which means 'because'), から right after a て-form verb means 'after doing that action'.
Helper vocabulary: てから (te kara) - after doing, あらって (aratte) - washing, かえって (kaette) - returning
てをあらってからごはんをたべます。
Romaji: Te o aratte kara gohan o tabemasu.
Meaning: After washing my hands, I eat a meal.
にほんごをべんきょうしてからねます。
Romaji: Nihongo o benkyou shite kara nemasu.
Meaning: After studying Japanese, I go to sleep.
いえにかえってからみずをのみます。
Romaji: Ie ni kaette kara mizu o nomimasu.
Meaning: After returning home, I drink water.
Lesson 20: Comparing two things with より and のほうが
Use より ('more than') and のほうが ('the side of... is more') to compare two items.
Pattern note: The noun before より is the standard ('than X'), while the noun before のほうが is the one that has more of the quality.
Helper vocabulary: より (yori) - than, のほうが (no hou ga) - is more, はやい (hayai) - fast, すき (suki) - liked / favorite
でんしゃはバスよりはやいです。
Romaji: Densha wa basu yori hayai desu.
Meaning: The train is faster than the bus.
きょうはきのうよりさむいです。
Romaji: Kyou wa kinou yori samui desu.
Meaning: Today is colder than yesterday.
コーヒーよりおちゃのほうがすきです。
Romaji: Koohii yori ocha no hou ga suki desu.
Meaning: I like tea more than coffee.
Lesson 21: Expressing obligation with なければなりません
Attach なければなりません to the negative stem of a verb to say that you must do something.
Pattern note: なければなりません literally means 'if not done, it will not do'. In casual speech people often shorten this, but in polite beginner Japanese, なければなりません is standard.
Helper vocabulary: なければなりません (nakereba narimasen) - must / have to, くすり (kusuri) - medicine, いかなければなりません (ikanakereba narimasen) - must go
きょうがっこうにいかなければなりません。
Romaji: Kyou gakkou ni ikanakereba narimasen.
Meaning: I have to go to school today.
くすりをのまなければなりません。
Romaji: Kusuri o nomanakereba narimasen.
Meaning: I must take medicine.
もういえにかえらなければなりません。
Romaji: Mou ie ni kaeranakereba narimasen.
Meaning: I must return home already.
Lesson 22: Expressing ability with ことができます
Place ことができます after a dictionary-form verb to state that you can do that action.
Pattern note: こと turns the preceding verb phrase into a noun ('the act of...'), and ができます means 'is possible / can be done'.
Helper vocabulary: ことができます (koto ga dekimasu) - can do, およぐ (oyogu) - to swim, ひらがな (hiragana) - hiragana
ひらがなをよむことができます。
Romaji: Hiragana o yomu koto ga dekimasu.
Meaning: I can read hiragana.
うみでおよぐことができます。
Romaji: Umi de oyogu koto ga dekimasu.
Meaning: I can swim in the ocean.
すこしにほんごをはなすことができます。
Romaji: Sukoshi Nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu.
Meaning: I can speak a little Japanese.
Lesson 23: Sharing past experiences with ことがある
Attach ことがあります to a verb's past plain form (た-form) to state that you have had that experience.
Pattern note: た-form + ことがあります means 'have the experience of having done X'. To say you have never done it, use ことがありません.
Helper vocabulary: ことがあります (koto ga arimasu) - have done before, いった (itta) - went, たべた (tabeta) - ate, いちど (ichido) - once
にほんにいったことがあります。
Romaji: Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasu.
Meaning: I have been to Japan.
すしをたべたことがありますか。
Romaji: Sushi o tabeta koto ga arimasu ka.
Meaning: Have you ever eaten sushi?
ふじさんにのぼったことがありません。
Romaji: Fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasen.
Meaning: I have never climbed Mount Fuji.
Lesson 24: Giving advice with のほうがいいです
Use たほうがいいです to advise doing something, or ないほうがいいです to advise not doing something.
Pattern note: ほう means 'alternative / direction'. たほうがいいです literally suggests 'the alternative of having done X is better'.
Helper vocabulary: ほうがいいです (hou ga ii desu) - had better / should, ねた (neta) - slept, はやい (hayai) - early
はやくねたほうがいいです。
Romaji: Hayaku neta hou ga ii desu.
Meaning: You had better go to sleep early.
びょういんにいったほうがいいです。
Romaji: Byouin ni itta hou ga ii desu.
Meaning: You should go to the hospital.
よるコーヒーをのまないほうがいいです。
Romaji: Yoru koohii o nomanai hou ga ii desu.
Meaning: You had better not drink coffee at night.
Lesson 25: Stating intentions with つもりです
Place つもりです after a dictionary-form verb to state what you intend or plan to do.
Pattern note: つもり expresses personal intention or resolution. For negative intention ('intend not to do'), use negative plain form + つもりです.
Helper vocabulary: つもりです (tsumori desu) - intend to / plan to, らいねん (rainen) - next year, りょこう (ryokou) - travel / trip
あたらしいカメラをかうつもりです。
Romaji: Atarashii kamera o kau tsumori desu.
Meaning: I intend to buy a new camera.
らいねんにほんをりょこうするつもりです。
Romaji: Rainen Nihon o ryokou suru tsumori desu.
Meaning: I plan to travel in Japan next year.
きょうはにくをたべないつもりです。
Romaji: Kyou wa niku o tabenai tsumori desu.
Meaning: I intend not to eat meat today.
Continue Your Progress
After completing all 25 N5 grammar lessons, strengthen your reading fluency with our Hiragana Reading Practice scenarios or step into the JLPT N4 Foundation Guide to begin Sentence Builder 6.