Time, place and existence – Japanese N5 grammar
Meaning, explanation and example sentences with translations.
に（時） · at…, on… (a specific moment)
a specific point on the clock or the calendar
Used with a time that can be pinned down by a number or a name: an hour, a date, a day of the week. With relative expressions — today, tomorrow, next week — に does not appear.
time expression with a number or a name + に
Examples
- 六時に晩ごはんを食べます。I have dinner at six.The hour is a point that can be pinned down by a number.
- 日曜日に友だちと会います。I am meeting a friend on Sunday.The name of a weekday is specific too. With 明日 or 今日 there will be no particle.
から〜まで · from… to…
a span fixed by its start and its end
Marks off a stretch, in time or in space. Either half can stand on its own — から alone speaks only of the beginning, まで alone only of the end point.
noun + から + noun + まで
Examples
- 九時から五時まで働きます。I work from nine to five.A stretch of time bounded at both ends.
- 駅から家まで歩きます。I walk from the station to my house.The same pair handles distance in space.
ごろ · about (around some time)
an approximate moment — roughly around that time
Attaches to a point in time and loosens it. It applies only to moments, never to quantities or durations — that is ぐらい’s job.
expression for a moment + ごろ (the particle に usually drops out)
Examples
- 三時ごろ電話します。I will call around three.We do not add に after ごろ.
- 毎日、六時ごろ帰ります。I get home around six every day.A recurring habit at an inexact hour.
ぐらい · about (how many, how long)
an approximate quantity or length of time
Loosens a number: how many items, how many minutes, how far. It answers “how much”, not “when” — and that is the line separating it from ごろ.
numeral with a counter + ぐらい (interchangeable with くらい)
Examples
- 一時間ぐらい待ちました。I waited about an hour.A duration, not a starting moment.
- 学校まで十分ぐらいかかります。It takes about ten minutes to get to school.An estimated walking time — again a quantity, not a point in time.
へ · the direction of the movement
where something is headed, or who a thing is addressed to
Puts the weight on the direction taken rather than on arrival. With verbs of motion it is interchangeable with に and both are correct; the difference is that に looks at the point reached, while へ looks at the direction the movement takes. The one place に cannot replace it is before の: 母への手紙.
noun denoting a place or an addressee + へ (in this role the character へ is pronounced “e”); before a noun: noun + への + noun (母への手紙)
Examples
- 来週、大阪へ行きます。Next week I am going to Osaka.に is just as natural here — with ordinary motion the two are interchangeable.
- みんなが海へ向かいました。Everyone headed toward the sea.向かう itself means taking a direction, so へ suits it well; に works here just as well.
- 母への手紙をまだ出していない。I still have not sent the letter to my mother.Of these two, only へ can come before の: 母にの手紙 does not exist. It is the one place where the two particles are not interchangeable.
に（存在の場所） · where someone or something is located
the place where someone or something is located
The third job of the same particle: it marks location with verbs of existence and residence. Nothing is happening here, so で would be wrong.
noun denoting a place + に + あります / います / 住む
Examples
- つくえの上に本があります。There is a book on the desk.There is no action, only location.
- 部屋にだれもいません。There is nobody in the room.The particle does not change when existence is negated.
〜前に · before…
an action done earlier than another one
Puts two events in order. The verb before 前に always stands in the dictionary form, whatever tense the whole sentence is in — that is the most common slip at this level.
verb in dictionary form + 前に; noun + の前に
Examples
- 寝る前に歯をみがきます。I brush my teeth before going to bed.寝る stays in the dictionary form even though it names the earlier action.
- 食事の前に手を洗ってください。Please wash your hands before the meal.After a noun, の comes in.
あります / います · there is, is located
existence — separate verbs for things and for living beings
Japanese splits existence between two verbs. います covers people and animals, あります everything else — including plants, objects and events. It is a division Japanese draws in its own way, not along biological lines: a tree is alive and still takes あります. The safest rule for a learner is: people and animals — います, the rest — あります.
place + に + noun + が + あります / います
Examples
- 冷蔵庫に牛乳があります。There is milk in the fridge.An object — あります.
- 教室に学生がいます。There are students in the classroom.People — います. Swapping the verbs would sound jarring here.
〜たあとで · after doing something, once it is over
placing an action after another one that has closed
Places the second action after the first. The ta-form stands before あとで even when the whole sentence is about the future — this is relative time, not absolute. 〜てから is close by, but てから ties the two actions into one sequence more firmly, while あとで only places the second after the first.
verb in ta-form + あとで; noun + の + あとで
Examples
- 仕事が終わったあとで、買い物に行きます。After work I’ll go shopping.終わった is in the ta-form although the sentence is about the future — the form describes order, not tense.
- ごはんを食べたあとで、薬を飲んでください。Please take the medicine after eating.てから would say almost the same thing here, with more stress on one following from the other.
Where this comes from
Everything above comes from the free part of the Kaname app and has passed its content review.
- Kaname: Japanese GrammarJLPT practice: N5 N4 N3 N2 N1
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