N5 Practice Test Grammar Explanations

JLPT organizers have made practice tests available online ever since they changed the format back in 2010.  These ‘tests’ aren’t actually complete.  A lot of the sections only have 2 questions whereas the real test may have 5 or more for each.  I have added some comments to the practice tests that you can pick up for all the levels – N5, N4, N3, N2, N1.  There are also full-sized workbooks that are about the same size as the real test available for all the levels – N5, N4, N3, N2-N1.  You can also take the practice test online for N5 level.

This week, I’m going over the answers to the second section of the test, the grammar section or 言語知識げんごちしき（文法ぶんぽう）.  This is actually grouped together with the reading section or 読解どっかい, which I’ll be going over in a separate post.  These two sections can be the toughest for a lot of people taking the test. At the N5 level, a lot of the grammar focus on particles like は (topic marking particle), が (subject marking particle), を (object marking particle), も (too, also), etc…

Selecting Grammar Form

In this first part of the grammar section you must choose the appropriate grammar point that will fit in the sentence.  About the first 5 of the 16 questions will be about single-mora particles (も, が, を, etc..).  The rest will be a mix of multi-mora particles (だけ, しか, ぐらい, ごろ) as well as forms (e.g. past vs. present continuous) and phrases.

Let’s take a look at the answers to the two questions on the practice test:

1) 4 – の. Your first reaction might be to choose #2 を, the object marking particle.  Generally speaking, in well-formed sentences at this level, you are not going to see two を particles in the same sentence.  They do exist, just not in simple sentences like this.  

The に particle can mean ‘to’ as in traveling to a place.  So we can go to the room:

へやに　行いきます。
heyani     ikimasu.
I’m going to the room.

But, cleaning doesn’t usually involve moving to a new location so it sounds strange here.  Using the が particle, might sound like the room cleaned your poor younger brother:

弟おとうとは　へやが　そうじを　しました。
otoutowa heyaga   soujio      shimashita.
As for my brother, the room did the cleaning.

2) 3 – かえって. This is basically a question about the correct form to use.  As long as you know how to use these forms it is easy to eliminate answers:  

1 – かえる can not be used in front of 何 like this, you could use it in a clause before a noun, but not here.

2 –  かえるから is an incorrect form.  We can’t use から in this way to talk about the sequence of events.  We can however, use the te-form before kara to mean just after:

いえに　かえってから　くつを　ぬぎました。
ieni          kaettekara           kutsuo   nugimashita.
Right after (I) returned home, (I) took off my shoes.

4 – かえったり is a form used in the structure – 〜たり　〜たり　する, which typically doesn’t use 何.  Also, there are usually two verbs in the structure, not just one:

しゅうまつは　本ほんを　よんだり　テレビを　見みたり　します。
shuumatsuwa   hono    yondari       terebio        mitari     shimasu.
On weekends, I read books, watch TV and stuff like that.

Sentence Composition

In the 2nd part of the grammar section of the exam, you will see the scrambled sentence questions.  These seem a little complicated at first, but once you get used to them, they are not that bad.  Basically, you need to unscramble the answer parts and place them into the blanks.  The answer you mark on the mark sheet is the one that goes where the star is.

３）2 – (1423).  Looking at the answers you see the casual past tense of とる – とった.  This needs to go in front of a noun to make a clause.  You can’t take an ocean, so it probably goes in the last position in front of しゃしん.  

Then, you have が, which marks the subject of the clause.  In other words, who took  (とった) the picture?  The answer is probably わたし, so let’s put が after that to mark it.  That leaves us with 海うみ and で. で can mark the location where something takes place, so it makes sense to use it with 海うみ.  In the end, we have the following sentence:

これは　きょねん　わたしが　海うみで　とったしゃしんです。
korewa   kyonen        watashiga  umide  tottashashindesu.
This is a picture I took at the ocean last year.

４）１- (2413). Quickly looking at the answers we see 行いきました.  Since it is in polite form, we can make a guess that it will either be at the end of the sentence, or it may go in front of a conjunction like から, ので, or が.  Since there are no conjunctions here, we can assume it will go at the end.  Remember the structure “V-masu + に + 行いく”?  You can use it to show the purpose of going somewhere. In this sentence, we literally went to shopping.  

After you put 買かいに in front of 行いきました. You just need something to buy.  Luckily じしょう (dictionary) is marked with an を particle, which makes it the object (i.e. what you are shopping for).  That just leaves 日本語にほんごの, which describes what kind of dictionary you are shopping for – a Japanese one.  Put it all together and you get the following:

きのう、日本語にほんごの　じしょうを　買かいに　行きました。
kinou, nihongono     jishouo            kaini        ikimashita.
Yesterday, I went shopping for a Japanese dictionary.

Text Grammar

In the 3rd and final part of the grammar section of the test, you are giving a paragraph of Japanese text that you must choose the correct answers to fill in the gaps.  The idea here is to give you more context and test your ability to see if you understand what forms fit into the particular context.  This is something that language teachers sometimes call appropriateness.  More than one answer might be grammatically correct, but only one answer is correct in this context.  

 

５）4 – 来きました.  Although, some of the other answers are technically grammatically correct, This is the only answer that makes sense based on what is written later about being in Japan:

日本にほんでは〜
nihondewa~
As for (doing something) in Japan

Also, when using the particle から (from), it isn’t common to use 行いく (to go), at least when introducing yourself.  So, that only leaves 来きます and 来きました. We know the author is Japan, so they must have already came – 来きました.

６）3 – でも. The sentence before this is affirmative:

アメリカの　えいがは　よく　知しっています。
amerikano      eigawa        yoku    shitteimasu.
I know American movies well.

The sentence after it is negative:

日本にほんの　えいがは　あまり　知しりません。
nihonno  eigawa        amari      shirimasen.
I don’t know Japanese movies that well.

To show a contrast between two sentences, we need to use でも (but).  The other answers simply don’t fit here – では (well), だから (so), and それから (after that).

７）2 – 見みたいです. In the previous sentence the author says they don’t know much about Japanese movies:

日本にほんの　えいがは　あまり　知しりません。
nihonno  eigawa       amari      shirimasen.

So, we can assume that the author hasn’t seen many movies.  That means answers 1 – 見みましたです and 3 – 見みていました are probably not right.  Answer 4 doesn’t sound right either.  When we end a sentence with から like this, it is to show a reason for something:

日本にほんの　えいがは　あまり　知しりません。日本にほんでは、日本にほんの　えいがを　たくさん　みるからです。
nihonno  eigawa       amari      shirimasen.   nihondewa, nihonno eigao          takusan mirukaradesu.
I don’t know much about Japanese movies.  The reason is in Japan I’m going to see many Japanese movies.

Doesn’t exactly make much sense, does it?

８）1 – さびしくありません. The author wouldn’t be asking the audience a question here.  She is obviously talking about herself and her sister – 姉あね.  So, we can eliminate the two answers with か.  That just leaves us with the non-past sentence (さびしくありません) and the past sentence (さびしくありませんでした).  Since all of the sentences before this one are in non-past, the non-past sentence makes the most sense.

９）3 – うちに　あそびに　来きて　ください (Please come to my house and play).  In the previous sentence, the author says that they want to have friends in Japan:

わたしは、日本にほんで　たくさん　友ともだちが　ほしいです。
watashiwa, nihonde takusan      tomodachiga hoshiidesu.
In Japan, I want to have lots of friends.

So, it makes sense that they want to have fun with their classmates.  Let’s take a look at some of the other answers:

1 – 学校がっこうに　毎日まいにち　行いきませんか。
gakkouni mainichi ikimasenka.
Why don’t you come to school every day?

2 –  学校がっこうで　友ともだちと　あそびました。
gakkoude tomodachito asobimashita.
I had fun with my friends at school.

4 – うちで　姉あねと　あそびたいです。
uchide   aneto   asobitaidesu.
I want to have fun with my older sister at home.

For answer 1, you could make friends at school, but this sounds more like a request from someone that wants to learn.  Answer 2 is talking about the past, and the author doesn’t seem to have so many friends currently.  Answer 4 doesn’t seem very friendly at all.

Did I Miss Anything?

That is it for the grammar section of the N5 practice test.  Let me know if you have any questions about the explanations.  Be sure to comment below, so that I can help you out.