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Japanese from zero · N3 Lesson 39

Every form compared (1)

ために/ように/には/おかげで/せいで ・ について/に対して/にとって/において/によって ・ ば/たら/と/なら/としたら/さえ〜ば ・ ても/たって/にしても/くせに/ながらも/といっても

In this lesson, you will learn to choose the right form when several N3 patterns look alike: reasons and purposes, the formal phrases built on に, the six ways to say 'if', and the ways to say 'even though'. On graduation day, Matsumoto tidies Lisa's grammar one last time.

By the end you will be able to say

Thanks to you, senpai, my Japanese got good.
For a newspaper, the facts matter most.
If it's Nagano, I'll show you around.
Even far apart, we're friends.
The suit really suits you.

The grammar in this lesson

  1. Reasons and purposes compared: ために / ように / には / おかげで / せいで — ために, ように and には give a purpose; おかげで and せいで give a cause, good or bad.
  2. The formal phrases compared: について / に対して / にとって / において / によって — Five phrases built on に: about, toward, for (whose view), in (a formal setting), and depending on.
  3. Conditions compared: ば / たら / と / なら / としたら / さえ〜ば — Six ways to say 'if', each with its own job.
  4. Concessions compared: ても / たって / にしても / くせに / ながらも / といっても — Six ways to say 'even if' or 'even though', from neutral to blaming.