I am still at a very low level but I have the feeling this will still affect me later. When I read something at the individual sentence level, some of the more important words like the nouns and verbs are easier to comprehend/remember. I think the reason is obvious.
But particles connect everything in the language. When I am rereading a sentence (because I will almost never get the meaning in one shot), I have to mentally connect the sentence by the particles that I “forgot” were in the sentence which takes most of the time of comprehension. Double particles make it even more difficult, but I know that I actually need to study those more.
In “A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar”, I think there is a good point made that “the modifier precedes what is modified”. I am wondering if anyone has come up with tricks they use to make these stick, or if they just keep using input and eventually pick it up.
4 comments
[Particles 1](https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/japanese-particles/japanese-particle-table/)
[Particles 2](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-particles-cheatsheet/)
[Particles 3](http://cheatsheets.nihonshock.com/sheets/basic-japanese/)
For reading a sentence, first look for は first and then the verb.
Next, move backward from the verb. And add the elements.
Also, look at page 20 of Basic Japanese Grammar.
It’s a big topic to tackle at once, so don’t pressure yourself too much to get it all immediately.
Focus on learning the functions of each particle. There are quite a few, and while they have generally very specific functions that rarely deviate in any way, there are nuances which can be difficult to wrap your head around if you’re thinking through English, or any other language.
This means that ultimately you’re gonna have to get immersed and keep at it until you’ve gone through enough examples, seen and heard enough of the language to start wrapping your head around the nuances and see the patterns in use.
But just start with mastering individual particles.
We learn from examples (whether that’s example sentences in a textbook or a line from a reality show), but we have to notice features of the language for our subconscious minds to make connections to the meaning behind it.
It sounds like you’re making yourself more aware of particles than someone would naturally be inclined to (English speakers focus on word order way more than they should, while tending to filter out particles and endings), so as long as you keep ‘using input,’ I’m confident you’ll eventually pick it up.
I find that obsessive people who are bothered by details they miss do eventually pick up on things other people miss, even if they can’t explain how they learned ‘wa’ or some pitch accent rule or nuance. Keep obsessing over things even if it doesn’t seem like you’re making progress and stay in the game 🙂
When starting out it is useful to think of the particle as attached to the word it is marking. You can also use them like that and have it make sense. Eg “how did you get here today?” 車で. “What country are you from?” アメリカから。Or attach them to question words for different meanings どこに? or どこで?