こんにちは!
Since I reached level ten I’ve been wanting to begin my grammar studies. I want a physical book, and I am considering Tae Kim guide and the Practice Makes Perfect Complete Japanese Grammar. I’ve heard that Tae Kim’s book doesn’t have enough exercises, so the Complete Japanese Grammar would be more suited.
Has anyone had any experiences with both books, or at least the Complete Japanese Grammar?
Tae Kim’s book doesn’t have any exercises. I’ve not had any experience with the other.
That said, I am reading through Tae Kim at the moment (since it is free and all) to get an overview of basic grammar before getting stuck into the text and exercise books again.
Give the LingoDeer app a try, it’s free,at least to start with, and a good complement to working through a textbook or grammar guide.
Tae Kim goes a bit of a slower pace and, at least for me, did a better job of explaining the concepts in a “Japanese Way”. Complete Grammar, on the other hand, goes much faster but has a lot of practice exercises. I do like Complete Grammar, but I feel the explanations are less satisfactory and are more of the style “It’s done this way because it is”.
Personally, I’d say use Tae Kim as your primary method to study of the two, but you can use Complete Grammar as a workbork/reference book to help solidify concepts with practice and an alternative explanation.
You can also read other ressources, some might explain some things better than others !
Is there a reason you’d rather not use a more traditional textbook such as Genki?
I don’t have any experience with PMPCJ, but in my opinion Tae Kim is not a learning resource; it’s a reference resource. Add to that the fact that you can find all of it for free online. I’d choose to pay for something that you can’t get for free online (assuming your funds are limited).
I’d also recommend Human Japanese If you don’t need a physical book. It has very clear explanations and it’s affordable with several free chapters to see if you like it.
I’ve already seen and read some of Genki and I would like it more in a classroom setting. I think I want a more “pure” grammar book, so I’ll go with PMPCJ and read/print Tae Kim if I want more in-depth explanations.
みんな、ありがとう！
If you want a pure grammar book, I’d also suggest Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. It’s what Tae Kim tries to do, except better. (The grammar isn’t organised by learning order though, as it’s a reference book.)
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