Learn Japanese - JapanesePod101.com

Do you have any questions about basic grammar point?

Naomi-sensei and Eric-sensei decided to make Special Newbie Lesson #26!

Those sensei will get 5 questions related to newbie level grammar from listeners and answer them in Newbie Lesson #26.

We already have two quesitons from lesson comments: 1. need to practice Hiragana? 2.what's the difference between [wa] and [ha], [o] and [wo]?

You can still ask 3 questions more! If you had a question about grammar from Newbie Lesson, this is a chance to get the answer from your teacher.
Please hurry up to drop your question on this topic, we will choose 3 more( or 4 more....)

yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

For #2 you might as well add the difference between [e] and [he]. Same idea, right? I'm not a newbie, but I do have a few suggestions:

1. About the sokuon -- crucially important. Illustrate with stuff like きいて、きて、きって/まって, まて, etc.

2. Pitch accent. I've probably mentioned it to death on the forum but I stand by it-- knowing how words such as 以前 and 依然, 和紙 and 鷲, 雨 and 飴 differ is important for anyone planning to study long-term. There are benefits to this simple awareness-- nip the bud early!

3. Holding the lips steady when pronouncing お so it doesn't turn into an う, as with the American accent.

Admittedly these are on pronunciation rather than grammar, but I believe them to be important, easily understood topics which will aid the learner greatly in developing proper pronunciation.

ご覧いただいてありがとうございました。

I think the difference between で and に are often overlooked.
For example, knowing when to say 日本で and 日本に...

I definitely agree with Psy's pronunciation points. Especially since words like 昨日 are broken down き-の-う in the lessons, but pronounced きのお. I was corrected on this long after beginner level, and if it wasn't for shadowing, I'd sound like an idiot by now

You might even want to introduce the idea of shadowing briefly as well

WalterWills wrote:I think the difference between で and に are often overlooked.
For example, knowing when to say 日本で and 日本に...

Good point! Especially in why you use で in 公園でコンサートがあります rather than に. The very implication of an action taking place requires で.

WalterWills-san
That difference definitely confuses Japanese learners. Good point!

Javizi-san,
う and　お　sounds too! Even Japanese native kids sometimes make that mistake.

Psy-san,
Small つ sound, むずいっすよね～！　
I think we need to take close look at more pronunciation stuffs.
but まって/まて、きって/きいて, these are te-form which is not even introduced at Newbie Lessons yet. But that's good point too!

みなさん、どんどん質問（しつもん）、おねがいしまーす！

Explaining the pronunciation such as ii, ei, ou, oo sounds is a good idea!!!
Thanks!

Psy wrote:

WalterWills wrote:I think the difference between で and に are often overlooked.
For example, knowing when to say 日本で and 日本に...

Good point! Especially in why you use で in 公園でコンサートがあります rather than に. The very implication of an action taking place requires で.

Yes, even when saying that somewhere has nice food!