Found it. A Handbook of Japanese Grammar Patterns for Teachers and Learners English Version. It has quite a lot of entries. For each one there are quite a few example sentences but a very terse explanation. I used it more when slogging my way through the first couple of manga book clubs I did (where it was recommended). Haven’t picked it up in a long time, though I guess if I was reading more challenging material than I am…
Hey! I live in Japan so going to bars and talking to people. Also the listening on here, anime and YouTube videos. Going and speaking to people helps the most though. If you don’t live in Japan find a language exchange, use hello talk or look into other online things. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Good luck studying.
Judging by only the first review and a few tid bits here and there, it seems it goes into a little less detail, but overall it’s still great a great resource
also interested what did you do for listening practice?
Am I correct in thinking that Genki 2 takes you up towards end of n4?
I thought this as well when I started Genki 2, but now I don’t believe it’s the case. I used the Genki 2 deck from Bunpro and it only got me to about 1/3rd of the the grammar points from N4 plus a couple from N3.
I taught myself with Genki 1 and about halfway through Genki 2 before discovering this site, and at least for me, I’ve enjoyed this service far more than what I got out of textbooks. At least for me, I much prefer the way that BunPro explains grammar, and it provides (if not all, then) almost every grammar point around, so I wouldn’t imagine there’s anything found in textbooks but not here. And even though I don’t utilize it, I appreciate the fact that it sources other websites if you want alternative explanations.
With that being said, is there any reason in particular why you guys are looking for books covering grammar if you are already using BunPro? Do you not like how the teachings are structured, do you just prefer learning from a book instead of a screen, or is it something else?
It’s a topic that interests me, so I like books that cover it. Similar reason to why I read those cheesy isekai light novels…
Bunpro also more or less only does one thing - fill in the gap according to a hint in English. That’s not something that appears in JLPT, so JLPT focused series like 新完全マスター will have completely different exercises. They also have more context and will cover differences between similar expressions. It’s not just more of the same.
There also are resources that cover specific aspects of the language in more detail. E.g. there’s a series that I like called 日本語文法演習 (doesn’t really fit into an N3 thread though). And then of course there are topics that bunpro doesn’t cover at all, for example everything that isn’t modern spoken Japanese. It’s not like we have to stop learning once we’re done with the grammar on bunpro.
Just to follow on. It doesn’t have to be a binary choice - you learn grammar from this resource OR that resource. When I see the same grammar point explained in multiple ways with different resources, it finally starts to seep into my thick old skull.
Also I think I’m guilty of not really engaging my brain enough when using BP - I got into this ‘leveling up’ mentality from my gaming days. “Must do more grammar points because when I get the N4 badge it will mean I know all N4 grammar”.
Now I take it much more slowly, I add new grammar on BP when I encounter it elsewhere - it’s more exciting as I’ve caught some new grammar in the wild (I visual Ash and his pokeball - in this visualization I’m Ash and BP is the pokeball). I’m starting (!) to get a little weird so I’ll stop now.