Grammar
There are several significant grammar differences between Japanese and European languages. Verbs do not change according to the person or number, so that ikimasu can mean "I go", "he/she/it goes", or "we/they go". Pronouns , such as i and they, are usually omitted, since it's clear from the context who or what the speaker is referring to. There are no definite articles , and nouns stay the same whether they refer to singular or plural words. From the point of view of English grammar, Japanese sentences are structured back to front. An English speaker would say "I am going to Tokyo" which in Japanese would translate directly as "Tokyo to going". Placing the sound "ka" at the end of a verb indicates a question , hence Tokyo e ikimasu-ka means "Are you going to Tokyo?". There are also levels of politeness to contend with, which alter the way the verb is conjugated, and sometimes change the word entirely. For the most part, stick to the polite masu form of verbs and you'll be fine. If you want to learn more about the language and have a wider range of expressions and vocabulary at your command than those listed here, invest in a phrasebook or dictionary. Japanese: A Rough Guide Phrasebook is user-friendly and combines essential phrases and expressions with a dictionary section and menu reader. The phonetic translations in this phrasebook are rendered slightly differently from the standard way romaji is written in this book, as an aid to pronunciation. One of the best books for learning Japanese more thoroughly is Japanese For Busy People (Kodansha), which comes in three parts and is often used as a set text in Japanese-language classes. A worthy alternative, although more difficult to buy outside of Japan, is Communicative Japanese for Time Pressed People (Aratake Publishing).
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