I need 2 grammar books which are going to give me a strong understanding (maybe with explanation), and cover all grammar points used in 二級
Here are the contestants:
完全マスター (Kanzen Master)
UNICOM Grammar book (a link for buying this book online would be appreciated)
どの時どう使う
日本語総まとめ問題集 (二級文法）

I was thinking of getting 日本語総まとめ問題集, but then people have said that the lack of explanations (example sentences only) was sometimes annoying. That being said, if I were to get that book, which would be the best book to combine it with to make sure I can comprehend every grammar point? I know that どの時どう使う has all grammar from 1 - 4級、but does it give explanations? All suggestions welcome.

Was it really necessary to start another thread on essentially the same topic? You could have just posted in the other one you created... And besides, I think you will find that all these books have been discussed elsewhere on this forum already.

どの時どう使う is very very very helpful. i would recommend buying that just because it will be come a great reference resource after you pass 二級 and 一級. It gives nice explanations in Japanese and just incase you get lost it also has it in English and also a translation of the particular grammar point. So if you are just getting started it makes it a bit easier to understand in what situations you would use the grammar.

Get the 完全マスター because it is relatively cheap and has some good sentences even if some of the explanations are a bit thin.

I also have the Unicom grammar book. It is nice to have, and it has a CD of someone saying the grammar sentences. so it is good for listening too.

Might set you back a little over US$60 to get all three, but i think it is worth it in the long run.

And if you only get one, get どの時どう使う.

SammyB Wrote:Was it really necessary to start another thread on essentially the same topic? You could have just posted in the other one you created... And besides, I think you will find that all these books have been discussed elsewhere on this forum already.

I needed a quick and efficient answer, and my problem has not specifically been addressed before. No one has asked for the best combination out of these choices.

You might also want to look into A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar- while it doesn't specifically cover 2級, it's explanations are gold.

I'm fairly sure I asked EXACTLY this question, and there was a fairly long list of replies.

The post title was something like "2 kyuu grammar books" or something

I found 完全マスター to be mind numbingly boring. This series of books kept my attention much more.

captal Wrote:You might also want to look into A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar- while it doesn't specifically cover 2級, it's explanations are gold.

For 二級 one would also need the Advanced book. They are an excellent series though. I just wish it was available in EPWING.

I also like the series that Jarvik7 recommended.

It has explanations of each grammar point use in every example sentence. The explanations are all in Japanese, but I think that is the case for all the books except どの時どう使う.

jarvik7 Wrote:For 二級 one would also need the Advanced book. They are an excellent series though. I just wish it was available in EPWING.

Really? There are things from the advanced book on 2級?? That's interesting, because there are also points in the basic book that are on 2級 They definitely didn't care about the JLPT when they made those books!

I think he was referring to the JLPT prep book series I linked. Honestly I barely touched it though, since I didn't really study grammar when I took JLPT2. I mostly used the reading, kanji, and vocab books of the same series.

Jarvik7 Wrote:I think he was referring to the JLPT prep book series I linked. Honestly I barely touched it though, since I didn't really study grammar when I took JLPT2. I mostly used the reading, kanji, and vocab books of the same series.

I clicked the wrong quote button- I meant to quote you re: the "dictionary of..." series. fixed.

I recommend Kanzen Master. Like Jarvik7 said, it might not be the most hilarious books out of the bunch but they are LOADED with nothing but useful grammar and example sentences. The descriptions of the grammar are definitely on the thin side... then again, many AJATTers would say that's a good thing, it forces you to understand in Japanese instead of just translating to and from English. If you mine every sentence in Kanzen Master, you should more or less be garanteed 100% on the grammar parts of the JLPT.

captal Wrote:You might also want to look into A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar- while it doesn't specifically cover 2級, it's explanations are gold.

Would this be the book you're all referring to:
http://cgi.ebay.com/bca-Dictionary-of-In...1|294%3A50

Want to make sure it's the right one before going out and buying something so expensive.

Hmm, if I can get them for a good price, perhaps I should buy the basic, intermediate and advanced dictionary of Japanese grammar, as there seems to be so many good reviews for them.

Okay, I've worked it down to this:
I'll firstly buy 日本語総まとめ問題集 and どの時どう使. I decided to buy the former instead of 完全マスター as the reviews for it have been more overall positive than the mixed reviews received for 完全マスター.
Then I'll buy 'A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar', and another good Advanced Japanese grammar book called "中上級を教える人のための日本語文法ハンドブック" that I found. I'll probably buy these two a little later on.
That's the plan, what do you think?