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Time, place and existence – Japanese N5 grammar

に, から〜まで, ごろ, ぐらい, へ, あります and います – nine points about when, where, and whether something is there at all.

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

  • 六時ろくじに晩ばんごはんを食たべます。I have dinner at six.The hour is a point that can be pinned down by a number.
  • 日曜日にちようびに友ともだちと会あいます。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

  • 九時くじから五時ごじまで働はたらきます。I work from nine to five.A stretch of time bounded at both ends.
  • 駅えきから家いえまで歩あるきます。I walk from the station to my house.The same pair handles distance in space.
  • 会社かいしゃから駅えき迄まで歩あるきます。I walk from the office to the station.迄 is read まで: the endpoint of a span. The course uses まで as its default spelling; official documents write particles in kana.

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

  • 三時さんじごろ電話でんわします。I will call around three.に can be omitted after ごろ.
  • 毎日まいにち、六時ろくじごろ帰かえります。I get home around six every day.A recurring habit at an inexact hour.
  • 電車でんしゃは九時くじごろ駅えきに着つきました。The train arrived at the station at about nine.ごろ marks the approximate time of a single arrival.
  • 飛行機ひこうきは二時にじごろ空港くうこうに着つきました。The plane arrived at the airport at about two.ごろ marks the approximate time of a single arrival.
  • 明日あしたは八時はちじ頃ごろに家いえを出でます。Tomorrow I will leave home at about eight.頃 is read ごろ: an approximate point in time, here around eight. The course uses ごろ as its default spelling.

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

  • 一時間いちじかんぐらい待まちました。I waited about an hour.A duration, not a starting moment.
  • 学校がっこうまで十分じゅっぷんぐらいかかります。It takes about ten minutes to get to school.An estimated walking time — again a quantity, not a point in time.
  • 駅えきまで十五分じゅうごふん位ぐらい歩あるきます。I walk for about fifteen minutes to the station.位 is read ぐらい: an approximate duration. The course uses ぐらい as its default spelling; くらい is another form.
  • 空港くうこうまで一時間いちじかんくらいかかります。It takes about an hour to get to the airport.「くらい」 is another form for an approximate duration.

へ · toward a place or person — direction or addressee

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

  • 来週らいしゅう、大阪おおさかへ行いきます。Next week I am going to Osaka.に is just as natural here — with ordinary motion the two are interchangeable.
  • みんなが海うみへ向むかいました。Everyone headed toward the sea.向かう itself means taking a direction, so へ suits it well; に works here just as well.
  • 母ははへの手紙てがみをまだ出だしていない。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.
  • これは友ともだちへのプレゼントです。This is a present for my friend.へ marks the recipient of the present, and の links that phrase to the noun.

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

  • つくえの上うえに本ほんがあります。There is a book on the desk.There is no action, only location.
  • 部屋へやにだれもいません。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

  • 寝ねる前まえに歯はをみがきます。I brush my teeth before going to bed.寝る stays in the dictionary form — the sleep has not happened yet; the same goes for a sentence about the past: 寝る前に歯をみがきました。
  • 食事しょくじの前まえに手てを洗あらってください。Please wash your hands before the meal.After a noun, の comes in.
  • 出でかけるまえに、窓まどを閉しめます。I close the window before going out.まえに is the hiragana spelling of 前に. The preceding verb stays in its dictionary form.

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

  • 冷蔵庫れいぞうこに牛乳ぎゅうにゅうがあります。There is milk in the fridge.An object — あります.
  • 教室きょうしつに学生がくせいがいます。There are students in the classroom.People — います. Swapping the verbs would sound jarring here.
  • 図書館としょかんに先生せんせいが居います。The teacher is in the library.居ます is read います. Here it expresses a person’s presence; kana is the usual spelling.
  • 冷蔵庫れいぞうこに牛乳ぎゅうにゅうが有あります。There is milk in the fridge.有ります is read あります. Here it says that milk is present, not who owns it. The usual spelling is あります.
  • 駅えきの前まえに公園こうえんが在あります。There is a park in front of the station.在ります is read あります. This spelling emphasizes location; kana あります is usual.

〜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 in meaning, 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

  • 仕事しごとが終おわったあとで、買かい物ものに行いきます。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.
  • ごはんを食たべたあとで、薬くすりを飲のんでください。Please take the medicine after eating.てから would say almost the same here, with more stress on the order: the medicine only after eating, not before.
  • 授業じゅぎょうが終おわった後あとで、図書館としょかんへ行いきます。I go to the library after class.後で is read あとで: after an earlier action is completed. The course uses あとで as its default spelling.

Where this comes from

Everything above comes from the free part of the Kaname app and has passed its content review.

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