N5 Grammar · Test 40

The correct answer is 1 (まえに). 「食べるまえに手をあらいましょう」means 'Let's wash our hands before eating.' The pattern (verb (dictionary form)) + まえに means 'before doing…' When the word before まえに is a verb, you attach まえに directly without の. The child is about to eat (いただきます), so the mother reminds them to wash hands before eating.

• 2のまえに is used after NOUNS (e.g. 食事のまえに 'before a meal'), not after verbs. After a verb like 食べる, you must use まえに without の.
• 3あとに means 'after.' The mother wants the child to wash hands BEFORE eating, not after, so the meaning is wrong.
• 4のあとに means 'after' (used with nouns). It is both the wrong meaning (before, not after) and the wrong form (の is not used after verbs).

• まえに — before (used after a verb dictionary form or a noun + の)
• あらいましょう — let's wash (from あらう)
• いただきます — phrase said before eating (expression of gratitude)

The correct answer is 1 (ふりませんでした). The sentence is「でも、きょねんは あまりふりませんでした」meaning 'But last year it didn't snow much.' Two key clues: きょねん (last year) requires the PAST tense, and あまり ('not much') requires a NEGATIVE form. ふりませんでした is the past negative of ふる (to fall, as in snow/rain), satisfying both conditions.

• 2ふりません is present/negative ('doesn't snow'). It has the correct negative form for あまり, but it is not past tense, which is required by きょねん.
• 3ふりました is past/affirmative ('it snowed'). It has the correct past tense, but it is affirmative — あまり requires a negative form, so this is wrong.
• 4ふります is present/affirmative ('it snows'). It is neither past nor negative, so it fails on both counts.

• きょねん — last year
• あまり — not much (when used with a negative verb: あまり～ない)
• ふる — to fall (rain/snow)
• 雪ゆき — snow

The correct answer is 4. およんで います (泳いでいます, 'is swimming'). Speaker A is looking at the river right now and describing what they see — small fish currently swimming. The 〜ています form describes an ongoing action or state visible at the moment of speaking, which fits perfectly here. B confirms by saying 'You're right, there are about 30 of them.'

• 1およぎます (泳ぎます) is the plain present/future form. It describes a habitual action or future event ('swims' / 'will swim'), not something happening right now before one's eyes.
• 2およぎません (泳ぎません) is the negative present ('does not swim'). This contradicts the context — A is pointing out fish that are clearly visible and swimming.
• 3およぎました (泳ぎました) is the past tense ('swam'). A is seeing the fish at this very moment, so a past-tense form does not fit.

• 泳およぐ — to swim
• 〜ています — is ~ing (ongoing action/state)
• 匹びき — counter for small animals/fish

The correct answer is 2. もらいました (貰いました, 'received'). Nakagawa asks where Yamada bought the camera. Yamada replies いえ ('no, that's not right') and then says 兄にもらいました — 'I received it from my older brother.' The verb もらう indicates receiving something from someone, and the particle に marks the giver (兄に = 'from my older brother'). This directly contrasts with かいました ('bought').

• 1あげました (上げました, 'gave') indicates the opposite direction — Yamada giving something TO his brother. The camera is in Yamada's possession, so this is wrong.
• 3うりました (売りました, 'sold') means Yamada sold something, which makes no sense in this context — he has the camera and is explaining how he got it.
• 4かいました (買いました, 'bought') directly contradicts the いえ ('no') at the start of Yamada's reply. The whole point is that he did NOT buy it.

• 貰もらう — to receive (from someone)
• 上あげる — to give (to someone)
• 売うる — to sell
• 買かう — to buy
• 兄あに — older brother

The correct answer is 4. 何かで (なにかで, 'in/with something'). The sentence means 'I read, in something (a book, magazine, website, etc.), how to make egg dishes well.' The particle で indicates the means or medium through which an action is done — here, the source/material in which the person read the recipe. 何か ('something') + で ('by means of / in') naturally expresses 'in some publication or medium.'

• 1何に (なにに) uses the particle に, which marks a destination or indirect object. It does not express the medium/means of reading, so it is grammatically unnatural here.
• 2何も (なにも, 'nothing') requires a negative verb (e.g., 何も読みませんでした = 'read nothing'). Since the verb is the affirmative 読みました, 何も is incompatible.
• 3何かへ (なにかへ) uses へ, which marks direction of movement. It does not pair with 読む ('read') — one does not 'read toward something.'

• 何なにか — something
• で — particle: by means of / in / with
• 卵料理たまごりょうり — egg dishes
• 上手じょうず — skillful, good at
• 作り方（つくりかた） — way of making, method

The correct answer is か (option 2). The pattern 「AかB」 means 'A or B,' offering a choice between two alternatives. 「きょうかあした」= 'today or tomorrow.' Ann is suggesting they eat together either today or tomorrow.

• 1が marks the subject of a sentence; it cannot link two nouns as alternatives.
• 3だけ means 'only.' 「きょうだけあした」is grammatically nonsensical.
• 4まで means 'until' or 'as far as.' It does not express a choice between two items.

• きょう — today
• あした — tomorrow
• いっしょに — together
• ～か～ — ～or～ (listing alternatives)

The correct answer is が (option 3). 「すみませんが」is a common set phrase meaning 'Excuse me, but…' The が here functions as a softening conjunction that connects the apology to the following request. This is a standard telephone greeting pattern: 'もしもし、すみませんが、山下さんをおねがいします' = 'Hello, excuse me, but may I speak to Yamashita-san?'

• 1と means 'and/with' and cannot be used this way after すみません.
• 2か is a question/alternative marker and does not fit here.
• 4から means 'from/because' and is not used in this set phrase.

• もしもし — hello (used on the phone)
• すみませんが — excuse me, but… (set phrase)
• おねがいします — please (used when making a request)

The correct answer is ぐらい (option 4). 「1時間ぐらい」means 'about one hour.' ぐらい (or くらい) is used to express an approximate amount or duration.

• 1で marks means/location of action, not approximation. 「1時間でまちました」would mean 'waited in 1 hour' (completing within that time), which is unnatural here.
• 2ごろ is used for approximate clock times (e.g., 1時ごろ 'around 1 o'clock'), not for durations like 1時間.
• 3など means 'etc./things like,' which does not express approximation.

• 1時間（いちじかん） — one hour
• ～ぐらい — about/approximately～ (used with quantities/durations)
• まちました — waited (past tense of まつ)
• ごろ — around (used with specific times, e.g., 3時ごろ)

The correct answer is か (option 1). This is an embedded question. 「どこで買ったか覚えていますか」= 'Do you remember where you bought (it)?' The か turns the clause 「どこで買った」into a noun-like embedded question that becomes the object of 覚えていますか.

• 2を is a direct object marker, but an embedded question requires か (or のか), not を alone.
• 3は is a topic marker and cannot embed a question clause.
• 4の can appear in embedded questions (のか), but at this level the plain か is the standard and expected answer. 「買ったの覚えていますか」without か sounds incomplete/ungrammatical in this context.

• おぼえていますか — do you remember?
• ～か — question marker used to embed a question inside a larger sentence
• 買かった — bought (past tense of 買う)

The correct answer is で (option 4). 「かぜで」= 'because of a cold / due to a cold.' The particle で can indicate cause or reason. 「かぜで学校を休みました」= 'I took a day off from school due to a cold.'

• 1は is a topic marker and does not express cause/reason.
• 2や means 'and' (for an incomplete list of items, mainly nouns). It does not indicate cause.
• 3も means 'also/too' and does not express cause/reason.

• かぜ — cold (illness)
• ～で — due to/because of～ (indicates cause/reason)
• 学校がっこう — school
• 休やすみました — took a rest/day off (past of 休む)