N5 Grammar · Test 41

の is the noun-linking particle. '駅のちかくの店でこれをかいました' = 'I bought this at a store near the station.' The blank connects ちかく (vicinity) and 店 (store): ちかくの店 = 'a store near…' The で at the end of the phrase (店で) already marks the location of the action, so the blank only needs to link the two nouns.

• 1で marks the location where an action takes place, but it cannot connect two nouns. The location で is already present after 店.
• 2に marks a destination or existence location; it cannot link two nouns together.
• 3を marks a direct object; it cannot connect two nouns and there is no transitive verb requiring it in this position.

• ちかく — vicinity, nearby area
• の — linking particle (NのN = N linked to N)
• 駅えき — station

だけ means 'only/just' and can be used with an affirmative verb. '一人だけ早くかえりました' = 'Only one person went home early' (or 'I went home early by myself'). だけ restricts the meaning to 'just one person.'

• 1しか means 'only' but MUST be used with a negative verb (しか…ない). The verb here is かえりました (affirmative), so しか is grammatically impossible.
• 3から means 'from'; '一人から早くかえりました' does not make sense — there is no source/starting point being expressed.
• 4まで means 'until'; '一人まで早くかえりました' does not make sense in this context.

• だけ — only, just (works with affirmative verbs)
• しか — only (requires a negative verb: しか…ない)
• 一人ひとり — one person / alone
• 早はやく — early, quickly

The correct answer is 3 (が). The sentence is 「あ、あそこで鳥が鳴いていますよ」(Ah, a bird is singing over there). The particle が marks the subject of an intransitive verb. 鳴く (ないく/なく) is an intransitive verb meaning 'to cry/sing (of birds)', so the bird is the subject performing the action, requiring が.

• 1を marks the direct object of a transitive verb. 鳴く is intransitive, so there is no direct object — を cannot be used.
• 2に marks a location/target/indirect object. While あそこに could mark location, the blank is after とり (bird), not after あそこ, so に does not fit grammatically here.
• 4の would make 鳥の a possessive/modifying phrase, but 鳥の鳴いています is ungrammatical — you cannot connect a subject to a te-iru verb with の.

• 鳥とり — bird
• 鳴なく — to cry, sing (of birds/animals)

The correct answer is 2 (か). The sentence is 「この料理は牛肉か豚肉を使います」(This dish uses beef or pork). The particle か between two nouns means 'or', forming the alternative 牛肉か豚肉 (beef or pork), which then takes を as the object of 使います.

• 1が marks the subject, but 牛肉 is not the subject here — it is part of the object phrase with 豚肉. The subject is この料理 (marked by は).
• 3も means 'also/too'. To say 'both beef and pork' you would need も…も (牛肉も豚肉も), not just one も. A single も after 牛肉 would imply 'beef also uses pork,' which is nonsensical.
• 4で marks means/method/location. 牛肉で豚肉を使います would mean 'uses pork by means of beef,' which makes no sense.

• 牛肉ぎゅうにく — beef
• 豚肉ぶたにく — pork
• 使つかう — to use

The correct answer is 4 (の). The sentence is 「田中さんの来る日は火曜日です」(The day Tanaka-san comes is Tuesday). Here の connects the relative/modifying clause 田中さんが来る to the noun 日. In Japanese, when a clause modifies a noun, the subject が can optionally be replaced by の (a classical pattern still common at this level): 田中さんの来る日 = 'the day Tanaka-san comes'.

• 1を marks a direct object. 来る is intransitive and there is no object relationship between 田中さん and 日 that を would express.
• 2へ marks direction. 田中さんへ来る日 would mean 'the day of coming toward Tanaka-san,' which reverses the intended meaning — Tanaka is the one who comes, not the destination.
• 3で marks means/location/context. 田中さんで来る日 would mean 'the day of coming by means of Tanaka-san,' which is nonsensical.

• 来くる — to come
• 火曜日かようび — Tuesday

The sentence means 'My older brother likes soccer.' The adjective すき (好き, 'liked/like') takes the subject of liking with が: Xがすきです ('X is liked / I like X'). So サッカーがすきです is correct.

• 1と means 'with/and'; it does not mark the object of liking.
• 2の is a possessive/modifying particle; サッカーのすきです is ungrammatical here.
• 4に marks a target/destination; it is not used with すき to mark what is liked.

• あに — older brother
• サッカー — soccer
• すき（好き）（すき） — liked, favorite (な-adjective); Xがすきです = like X

The sentence means 'It became 12 o'clock. It's lunch time.' The verb なる ('to become') takes に to mark the result/state that something changes into: 12時になりました ('it became 12 o'clock').

• 1が marks the subject, but with なる the result is marked by に, not が.
• 3から means 'from'; 12時から would mean 'from 12 o'clock,' not 'it became 12 o'clock.'
• 4へ marks direction of movement; it is not used with なる to express becoming a time/state.

• なる — to become (〜になります)
• ひるごはん — lunch
• 時間じかん — time

に marks the location where something/someone exists, used with います/あります. 車のうしろに子どもがいます means 'There is a child behind the car.'

• 2で marks the place where an action occurs, not the location of existence with います.
• 3を marks a direct object of a transitive verb; います is intransitive here.
• 4へ indicates direction of movement, not a fixed location of existence.

• うしろ — behind, back

で marks cause or reason. かぜでびょういんへ行きました means 'Mother went to the hospital because of a cold.'

• 1に does not express cause/reason in this pattern.
• 2が is a subject marker, not a cause marker.
• 4は is a topic marker and cannot express 'because of'.

• かぜ — cold (illness)
• びょういん — hospital

と is used in the pattern 〜という (called/named). カトレアという店 means 'a shop called Cattleya.'

• 1を cannot precede いう in this naming pattern.
• 2が is not used in the 〜という pattern.
• 3に is not the particle used before いう to mean 'called'.

• 〜という — called/named ~
• 店みせ — shop, store