A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar Tankobon Softcover – 24 April 2008

I completed a first class honours degree with this in my arsenal, so easy to navigate when you’re studying. Then ordered the whole series to keep as a reference. You cover almost any grammar point you could come across through owning all 3. A very good set, headache free grammar guide recommended by students and professors.

The most accessible, professional and comprehensive monograph on Japanese grammar ever published. The price is a bit steep but the quality is even higher.

I have used the first two volumes for years. So I had high expectations. Those expectations were fulfilled. Each entry follows a standard schema, which makes comparisons easy. I can recommend this dictionary series to any learner of the Japanese language. Of course, the dictionary approach is also its limitation. The entire material is organised according to keywords. So there is no overarching concept structure as it is common in grammar texts for Western languages. However the first 50 pages of the book discuss some special topics.

All 3 of these books (beginners, intermediate and advanced) are brilliant for Japanese learners. If like me you are learning Japanese at degree level they are invaluable for formal writing. Each grammar point is clearly explained with a concise English meaning and then the formation is set out. There are lots of example sentences to put the grammar in context. Similar grammar is also explained with the often very subtle, differences in formality or context explained. They even give you example sentences where the grammar point has been used wrongly.You can look up a grammar point in English in the index in the back, or in Japanese. It will give the page number and the book if the grammar is in a different level of book.I browsed the bookshop in Japan thoroughly before I bought these, and despite the steep price (and weight) they are well worth the investment. I've finished my degree now but I can't bring myself to part with them, as they're a really interesting read, and there's still so much grammar I never learnt!

The delivery was very quick and the book arrived in perfect condition with some additional information on other texts you can purchase in order to improve your language skills, as well as specializing in certain aspects of the language such as working in the business or science industry. The book itself is very useful and like the previous books, it explains the grammar in a context relative sense with translations that help relate between both languages.