JLPT BC 78 | N3 Grammar – the use of totanni

N3 Grammar totanniI’m starting to really put some pressure on myself to study these days.  The July test is coming soon and although I have no real aspirations of passing it, I still want to at least score slightly above zero on the test.  I still have a lot to go through before I even have a good foundation in place though.

I have finally made to the 25% mark with StickyStudy. Even though I’m a bit suspect of some of the words in its list, I really like the pacing and design of the whole app.  I, of course, am backing this up with plenty of words from reading on memrise.  I’ve managed to crack the top 200 over at the site, and I’m sure I’ll keep climbing the charts because I need to get as much vocab in my head as possible.

I’m starting to make pretty good progress with ほぼ日.  I can usually get through 5 or 6 pages a day.  That doesn’t sound like much I know but it is a lot better than I was doing when I first started.  Again, I’m looking forward to reading something with a little bit more of a flow.  ほぼ日 has great examples of the kind of stuff you see on the test, but it is a bit difficult to stay focused on.

Finished off Nagareboshi, which is a pretty good jDrama for studying.  It contains a lot of daily conversation language and expressions.  Although the story is pretty typical – a man’s sister will die if she doesn’t get a new liver, so he contracts a woman to marry him so she can donate her liver.  Like any  jDrama there are bumps and rough spots along the way of course.

N3 Grammar – とたんに – ‘as soon as’

This week I go over all the details you need to know about とたんに a Japanese adverb that basically means ‘as soon as’.  Of course, it isn’t just that simple.  There are a few other grammar points that share similar meanings, but are used differently, some of them include 次第, ついでに, and 以来.

I’ll give you the scoop on what to look out for and what the differences are between these different grammar points in this week’s podcast.  Be sure to sign up for the newsletter so that you can pick up the cheat sheets that I send out whenever I do a podcast like this.  If you missed out this time, I’ll be doing these types of podcasts on a regular basis, so if you sign up you won’t miss out again.

Give it a Try!

I’d love to hear your examples of some sentences using とたんに, give it a try in the comments below.

{ 4 comments… add one }
  • Daniel May 22, 2012, 2:57 am

    I liked this episode a lot. I’m currently studying for n2 but it was a good refresher. Covering a few grammar points per episode is quite helpful, keep up the good work!

    • Mac May 24, 2012, 3:32 pm

      Thanks, I’ll try to make a few more of these episodes. They definitely take a lot of time to do the research and write some example sentences, but it is great practice for me and for everybody. Glad you enjoyed it.

  • Sonal March 13, 2013, 11:22 am

    Hi Mac!

    I like your website a lot.It’s very helpful for preparing oneself for JLPT.
    Thank you!
    Would like to know which book should I refer for JLPT N3 Grammar??

    Thanks & Regards.

Leave a Comment

JLPT Boot Camp - The Ultimate Study Guide to passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test