Mastering JLPT Grammar Questions: Sentence Assembly & Grammar-Form Judgment (N4-N3) [JLPT N4]
Content by NTJ Kuma · Nihongo to Japan editorial team · Updated July 27, 2026
“Which best fills the blank?” “Which goes in ★?” — strategies for JLPT grammar question types
How to solve JLPT grammar questions: three question types, each with a trick
Many people know the grammar yet still miss JLPT grammar questions — because “knowing grammar” and “solving questions” are two different things. JLPT N4–N1 grammar has three question types: form-choice (pick the right pattern), collocation (pick the right attachment), and ordering (★ sentence-building). Each has its own technique and traps. This guide breaks down the three types and the most common ways to lose points, so you turn “grammar you know” into “points you get.”
Core: knowing grammar ＋ knowing technique — both needed
Grammar-question points come half from skill, half from technique:
- Knowing grammar (skill): the meaning, attachment, and feel of each pattern.
- Knowing technique (strategy): for ordering, anchor on a “fixed collocation”; for form-choice, use elimination; don't get stuck on time.
Knowing grammar without the technique gets you stuck on ordering and fooled by similar options.
Three question types and techniques
| Type | Format | Technique |
|---|---|---|
| form-choice | pick the right pattern for the blank | check attachment, eliminate |
| collocation | pick the right attaching form | memorize fixed collocations (〜によって etc.) |
| ordering (★) | rebuild the sentence | anchor on a fixed collocation first |
Worked examples
- 「風邪を引いた（ ）、学校を休んだ」→ pick 「ので」 (cause). — read the logical relation
- 「〜によって」 vs 「〜によると」 → the first “by means of/according to a method,” the second “according to (a source).” — memorize collocations
- 「彼女は ＿＿ ★ ＿＿ です」→ for ordering, first find a fixed collocation like 「〜ば〜ほど」 to lock the order. — the anchor method
- similar options (そうだ／ようだ／らしい) → recall the “basis” difference. — distinguish
- running out of time → be fast on grammar, save time for reading. — time allocation
⚠️ Where points are lost
① Brute-guessing ordering. Don't start from the first blank — find a fixed collocation (〜ば〜ほど, 〜わけには…) as an “anchor,” lock two or three slots, and the rest follows.
② Fooled by similar options. For near-synonyms (そうだ／ようだ／らしい, ために／ように), rote meaning isn't enough — memorize the attachment difference and feel (what form precedes).
③ Stuck on grammar time. Grammar should be fast (under 30 seconds each); save time for the time-hungry reading section. If stuck, skip and come back.
🔄 Strategy at a glance
| Situation | Strategy | Example |
|---|---|---|
| two both look right | check if the attachment is legal | na-adj ＋ な? |
| stuck on ordering | anchor on a fixed collocation | 〜ば〜ほど |
| similar patterns | recall feel／basis difference | そうだ vs らしい |
| totally unsure | eliminate clear wrongs, guess | elimination |
💡 The one thing to remember
What hurts most on JLPT grammar is “knowing the grammar but not the technique.” Three tricks turn skill into points: ① for ordering, anchor on a fixed collocation (don't brute-force from the first blank); ② for similar patterns, memorize the attachment difference (そうだ on the ます-stem = appearance, on the dictionary form = hearsay); ③ be fast on grammar (30 seconds each, save time for reading). In practice, study patterns grouped by attachment, and you'll be fast on test day. Grammar is the “should-ace” section — don't bleed points here.
❓ Quick FAQ
Q: I keep getting the ordering (★) questions wrong — what do I do?
The key is don't start from the first blank. Scan the four options for a fixed collocation (〜ば〜ほど, 〜わけにはいかない, 〜も〜ば〜も…) — their order is fixed, so assemble them as an “anchor,” lock two or three slots, and the rest becomes easy to infer. Finding the anchor sharply raises your ordering success rate.
Q: How much time should grammar take?
As little as possible (about 20–30 seconds each). JLPT grammar and reading share one timed section, and reading eats time, so be fast on grammar and give the time to reading. Skip a stuck question, mark it, and return after the ones you know. Don't burn three minutes on one grammar item — it wrecks your reading.
🖊️ Practice Questions (5)
Q1. 「風邪を引いた（ ）、学校を休んだ。」(Because I caught a cold, I took the day off school — reason, objective)
(A) だから (B) ので (C) から (D) のに
Q2. 「〜によって」と「〜によると」の違いは？
(A) exactly the same, interchangeable
(B) によって: method/cause; によると: source of information
(C) によって：過去；によると：現在
Q3. 「彼女は ＿＿＿ ★ ＿＿＿ 上手です。」 options: ①歌う ②こと ③が ④とても. ★の位置の正解は？
(A) ① (B) ② (C) ③ (D) ④
Q4. 「〜がち」の核心語感は？
(A) easy to do ~ (neutral)
(B) tends to do ~ (usually with a negative nuance)
(C) don't want to do ~
(D) finished doing ~
(A) 長い読解から先に読む
(B) 文法（問題4→5→6）から始めて、残り時間で読解
(C) とにかく読解を先にやる
(D) 全部ランダムに解く
Answer Explanations
1. (B) ので ── 「風邪を引いたので、学校を休んだ」(I took off school because I caught a cold) = ので expresses objective cause-and-effect; when giving a reason it's more objective and polite than から. (C) から is also grammatically fine but more subjective; (A) だから is a sentence-initial conjunction with a different connection; (D) のに is concessive, the opposite meaning.
2. (B) ── 「によって」(due to / through / by means of): 電車によって (by the means of taking a train), 努力によって (through effort); 「によると」(according to ~): 天気予報によると (according to the weather forecast), ニュースによると (according to the news).
3. (C) ③が ── Arrangement: 「彼女は（④とても）（①歌う）（②こと）（③が）上手です」→ 歌うことが上手 (good at singing); ★ is in the ③が position. Fixed collocation: 〜ことが + 上手/好き.
4. (B) tends to do ~ (usually with a negative nuance) ── 「〜がち」means 'tends to / is prone to (usually something negative or undesirable)': 病気がち (prone to illness), 遅刻がち (often late), 忘れがち (forgetful). It carries a more negative tone than やすい.
5. (B) grammar first ── N3 grammar + reading, 70 minutes: it's recommended to do grammar first (questions 4, 5, 6 — about 30 minutes), then use the remaining 40 minutes for reading. Grammar questions take little time each, while long reading passages require concentration, so it's better to knock out grammar first.