N5 Grammar · Test 20

Yan called Ooyama to wish him a happy birthday: '大山さん、おたんじょうび、おめでとうございます。' Option 4, '大山さんのたんじょうびだから電話しました' (called because it was Ooyama's birthday), captures this reason. Despite the likely missing だ in the transcription (たんじょうびから should be たんじょうびだから), this is clearly the intended correct answer.

• 1This says Yan called because he wanted to meet Ooyama. While Yan does express interest in meeting, that topic only arises later in the conversation after Ooyama mentions his trip. The call was initiated for the birthday greeting.
• 2This says Yan called because Ooyama is going to America. Ooyama's trip is mentioned during the call as new information, not the reason for calling.
• 3This says Yan called because Ooyama was having a party. The party is discussed during the call, but it was not the reason Yan called — the birthday greeting was.

• たんじょうび — birthday
• おめでとうございます — Congratulations / Happy (birthday, New Year, etc.)

The correct answer is 1 (どの). どの is a 連体詞 (pre-noun adjectival) that must come directly before a noun. どのでんしゃ means 'which train.' The sentence means 'Which train is your mother coming by?'

• 2どれ means 'which one' and is a pronoun used standalone, not before a noun. You would say でんしゃはどれですか (Which one is the train?), but どれでんしゃ is ungrammatical.
• 3どこ means 'where.' どこでんしゃ is ungrammatical. If asking 'from where,' you would use どこから.
• 4どちら means 'which direction/which one (polite)' and is used standalone, not modifying a noun. どちらでんしゃ is ungrammatical.

• おかあさん — (your) mother
• でんしゃ — train (electric train)
• 来くる — to come
• どの — which (used before a noun)

The correct answer is 4 (がた). あなたがた is a polite/plural form of 'you' (you all / you, sir/madam). あなたがたのへや means 'your room.' The sentence means 'This is your room.' Among the options, only がた forms a grammatically valid word with あなた.

• 1など means 'etc., and so on.' あなたなど would mean 'you and others like you,' which is unnatural and somewhat dismissive in this context.
• 2ごろ means 'around (a time)' and is used with time expressions (e.g., 6時ごろ). あなたごろ is meaningless.
• 3ほど means 'degree/extent, as much as.' あなたほど would mean 'as much as you,' which does not fit before のへや.

• あなたがた — you (polite/plural form)
• へや — room

The correct answer is 3 (ごろ). ごろ is a suffix meaning 'around (a time),' attached to a specific clock time. 何時ごろ means 'around what time.' The sentence means 'This morning, around what time did you arrive at the company?'

• 1まで means 'until.' 何時まで means 'until what time,' which would ask about a duration or deadline rather than an approximate arrival time. While grammatically possible, it does not fit the natural context of asking when someone arrived.
• 2でも means 'even.' 何時でも means 'at any time,' which does not fit as a question asking for a specific approximate time.
• 4ぐらい means 'about, approximately' and is used for approximate quantities or durations (e.g., 1時間ぐらい 'about one hour'). While 何時ぐらい can sometimes be heard, ごろ is the standard and more natural suffix for asking an approximate point in time (何時ごろ), especially at the 4級 level.

• けさ — this morning
• 何時なんじ — what time
• ごろ — around (a time), about (a time)
• かいしゃ — company, office
• つく — to arrive

The correct answer is 4 (どちら). どちら is the polite form of どこ (where). お国はどちらですか is a standard polite expression meaning 'Where are you from? / Where is your country?' The honorific お is attached to 国, and どちら is the appropriately polite question word for asking someone's origin.

• 1何 means 'what.' お国は何ですか ('What is your country?') sounds like asking for the name or definition of the country, which is unnatural for asking someone's nationality or origin.
• 2どの means 'which' and must be followed by a noun (e.g., どの国). Used alone here, it is grammatically incomplete before ですか.
• 3どこか means 'somewhere.' It is an indefinite pronoun, not a question word, so it cannot be used in a question asking for specific information.

• お国（おくに） — your country (honorific)
• どちら — where (polite); which direction

The correct answer is 2 (どの). どのぐらい (also written どのくらい) is a fixed expression meaning 'how much / how long / to what extent.' The sentence means 'About how much does it snow in a year?' Among the options, only どの can combine with ぐらい to form this expression.

• 1どこ means 'where.' どこぐらい is not a valid expression.
• 3どう means 'how (in what way).' どうぐらい is not a valid expression.
• 4どんな means 'what kind of.' どんなぐらい is not a valid expression.

• 一年いちねん — one year
• どのぐらい — how much, how long, to what extent
• ゆき — snow
• ふる — to fall (precipitation), to come down