Grammar

〜てしまう / 〜ちゃう

Finish completely / by accident 〜てしまう

Two senses: (1) completion — "finish doing ~ completely"; (2) regret/accident — "do ~ by accident (unfortunately)". The nuance is conveyed by context.

〜ていく

Continue / change from now 〜ていく

An action or state that continues, changes, or develops FROM NOW ON into the future — "will go on ~ing / will continue to ~". Also: do something and then go (away).

〜てくる

Has become / do and come back 〜てくる

Three uses: (1) a change that has occurred UP TO NOW — "has come to ~"; (2) do something and come back; (3) an action beginning/emerging now.

〜ていた / 〜ていました

Was doing 〜ていた (past progressive)

Past progressive — "was doing ~". Describes an action that was ongoing at a point in the past, or a past state.

〜るところ / 〜ているところ / 〜たところ

Just did / about to do 〜ところ

Expresses the TIMING of an action relative to now: (1) 〜るところ = "about to ~"; (2) 〜ているところ = "in the middle of ~ing"; (3) 〜たところ = "just finished ~ing".

〜たばかり

Just (recently) finished 〜たばかり

"Just finished doing ~ / only recently did ~". Indicates an action was completed a short time ago. Broader time window than 〜たところ.

〜出す / 〜始める / 〜続ける / 〜終わる

Begin / continue / finish doing 〜出す・始める・続ける・終わる

Auxiliary verbs attached to a verb stem to mark phase: 出す/始める = "begin to ~" (suddenly or on purpose); 続ける = "continue ~ing"; 終わる = "finish ~ing".

〜そうだ (伝聞)

I heard that 〜そうだ (hearsay)

Hearsay — "I heard that ~ / they say that ~". Reports information obtained from another source (news, rumor, someone else).

〜そうだ (様態) / 〜そうに / 〜そうな

Looks like 〜そうだ (conjecture)

Visual conjecture based on appearance — "looks like ~ / seems about to ~". Based on what you directly observe (not hearsay).

〜らしい

Apparently / seems 〜らしい

Conjecture based on some evidence or hearsay — "apparently ~ / I hear that ~ / it seems ~". Stronger evidence-base than そうだ (hearsay); more objective than みたいだ.

〜みたいだ / 〜みたいな / 〜みたいに

Looks like / seems 〜みたいだ

Conjecture based on appearance or impression — "it looks like ~ / it seems ~". More casual/conversational than ようだ. Three forms: みたいだ (predicate), みたいな (modifies noun), みたいに (modifies verb).

〜ようだ / 〜ような / 〜ように

Appears / seems 〜ようだ

Conjecture or resemblance — "it appears that ~ / it seems ~ / like ~". More formal than みたいだ. Used for inference, resemblance, example, and purpose.

〜かもしれない

Might / perhaps 〜かもしれない

Expresses possibility — "might / perhaps / may". Indicates something is possible but not certain. Roughly equivalent to "maybe".

〜はずだ / 〜はずです

Should be 〜はずだ (expectation)

A strong expectation based on logic or evidence — "should be ~ / ought to ~ / is supposed to ~". Not a moral "should" (that's べき).

〜はずがない / 〜はずありません

Cannot be / no way 〜はずがない

Strong denial of possibility — "there's no way ~ / it cannot be that ~ / impossible". The negative of はずだ, but stronger.

〜と思う / 〜と思います

I think that 〜と思う

States an opinion or belief — "I think that ~". The quotative particle と marks the thought, and 思う reports it.

〜と言う / 〜と言いました

Say that 〜と言う

Reports speech — "(someone) says/said that ~". The same quotative と, this time with 言う. Also names things: "X is called Y".

〜ようになる

Come to be able to 〜ようになる

Marks a change over time — "come to ~", "start to ~", "become able to ~". The state now is different from how it was.

〜ように、〜

So that / in order to 〜ように

States the goal a action serves — "so that ~", "in order to ~". The clause before ように is the desired outcome, not a deliberate act.

〜ことにする

Decide to 〜ことにする

A decision you make yourself — "decide to ~". 〜ことにしました reports the decision as settled.

〜ことになる

It has been decided 〜ことになる

A decision or arrangement reached by someone else, by a group, or by circumstance — "it has been decided that ~", "it turns out that ~".

〜ことがある (頻度)

There are times when 〜ことがある

Says something happens occasionally — "there are times when ~", "sometimes ~".

〜間に

While / during 〜間に

"While ~", "during ~" — a one-off event happens inside a stretch of time.

〜うちに

While it lasts 〜うちに

"While ~ (before it changes)" — do it now, because the condition will not hold for long.

〜まま

As it is 〜まま

A state left unchanged — "as it is", "still ~", "without changing".

〜ために

In order to 〜ために

A purpose you act on deliberately — "in order to ~", "for the sake of ~". With a past clause it can also mean "because of".

〜やすい

Easy to 〜やすい

"Easy to ~", "tends to ~". Attaches to a verb stem and turns the whole thing into an i-adjective.

〜にくい

Hard to 〜にくい

"Hard to ~", "does not easily ~". The opposite of 〜やすい.

〜たがる / 〜たがっている

Someone else wants 〜たがる

Reports that a THIRD PERSON wants to do something — "he wants to ~", "she is eager to ~".

〜がする

Senses 〜がする

Reports a sensation that reaches you — a smell, a sound, a taste, a feeling.