exists, in・at・to, for・on
Structure
- Noun + に
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I have seen に used in places where I would assume で to be used.
東京に住む。
(I) will live in Tokyo.猫がソファに寝ている。
The cat’s napping on the couch.庭に桜の木が立っている。
There is a cherry tree standing in the yard.
Why is this? Is に okay to be used with verbs denoting very little volitional action?
I have a question regarding 駅へ行く and 駅に行く
As far as I’m concerned they mean the exact same thing in both of these sentences. Now which one of those should I use, when saying that i am going towards something. (駅 just as an example)
Edit: Does the first one focus more on the act of going and the second one more on the destination? 
Basically yes, but Japanese people themselves don’t seem to realise this and tend to use them interchangeably, so don’t worry too much about this nuance.
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In the まだ grammar point, there’s a sentence:
お前にはまだ早いよ。
Which it says means “It is still (too) early for you.” Makes sense.
I’m a bit hung up on the お前に part though. The に grammar point says it can mean “for,” but the example given uses “for” as in “for my birthday,” which doesn’t really feel like the same meaning of “for” as in “for you.”
Can に be used to mean “for someone” in general (like “I bought a shirt for him” ->「彼にシャツを買った」), or is there some special nuance that’s applying here?
It’s the には combo that makes the nuance.
には | Japanese Grammar SRS
"When には follows a noun denoting person it means “for (someone as opposed to others)”
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why is に used when “旅館に泊まる” Speding the night at a ryokan? but で is used “教室で寝る” when Sleeping in the class room?
Is it still correct grammer in japanese if I used に？ is でjust being used for a more accurate translation? ie if I said I stay at the ryokan I could use で instead of に?
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The verbs that use に just show that you exist at a location.
The verbs that use で show that you are actively doing something at a location.
So, with the example, you might be thinking that “stay” (泊まる) is an action, but it’s really just describing that you exist at that hotel, and then the actions you take at that location are check-in, eat, talk, sleep. The hotel is the stage/setting for the actions that you do.
今夜、ホテルに泊まって、ホテルのレストランで食べて、ホテルの部屋のベッドで寝ます。
This evening, I’ll stay at the hotel (I’ll be at the hotel), and eat at the hotel restaurant, and sleep in the hotel bed.
Here’s a link that even has examples where both に or で could be used and the different nuances of each.
に (Ni) vs で (De): How These Two Particles Define Location and Time Differently
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この漫画にはフリガナがついているから読よみやすいです.
I also saw this example sentence, what nuance would it make if it’s just ‘この漫画はフリガナがついているから読よみやすいです’? without the ‘に’? Thank you in advance!
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For には, it’s probably better to think of it as a different particle from either に or は.
には (JLPT N2) | Bunpro
You’ll see it gets used in its own way like in these expressions…
わけにはいかない (JLPT N3) | Bunpro
からには (JLPT N2) | Bunpro
ないことには～ない (JLPT N2) | Bunpro
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