Japanese grammar

I have decided to learn some Japanese grammar, before starting on a Japanese language learning course. But I am not quite sure if my understanding of what little I have read about so far is sufficient.

Particles: <ga, va>, <o>, <no>, <ka, ne>
<ga, va> - How do I know which of the two I need to use in a sentence ?

<o> - If I have a sentence with <ga,va>, do I have to use thisparticle ?

<ka, ne> - ka is the equivalent to a "?", and ne function as a "right?"

I was hoping whether someone might tell if there are some speciel rules as to when these are applied, or replaced by something else, I would be very grateful if you could give me some examples (with english translations please).

I'll go on to secondary particles when I am sure I have understood this perfectly well.

Saithan said:

Particles: <ga, va>, <o>, <no>, <ka, ne>
<ga, va> - How do I know which of the two I need to use in a sentence ?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you got "va," but Japanese has no "v." You must mean wa. About when to use one or the other, ga is the subject marker, so you use it to mark the subject of sentences and clauses. Wa is the topic marker, and you use it to mark the topic of sentences. The difference between subjects and topics is the same as the difference between topics and focuses.

Saithan said:

<o> - If I have a sentence with <ga,va>, do I have to use thisparticle ?

Click to expand...

This usually marks direct objects, but also marks location when you travel through something. E.g. Kouen o aruku would be "walk through the park." So, use it to mark direct objects (e.g. booru o utsu -> "hit the ball")

Saithan said:

<ka, ne> - ka is the equivalent to a "?", and ne function as a "right?"

Click to expand...

Uh, yes for the first part, and usually to the second part. The use of ne can be a bit complex, so I would just say to stick with the "right?" interpretation for now.

Yea know....I never paid attention to rules like that. I just let it slide.....

while there's nothing wrong with Glenn's post, i think the use of particles is quite a complex thing that will improve with time. if you've got a basic understanding of their usage at this stage that will suffice.

StarCrap said:

Yea know....I never paid attention to rules like that. I just let it slide.....

Click to expand...

I completely agree! Who needs particles and correct sentence structure? Being able to express yourself in an intelligible and coherent fashion is overrated anyway! I just pick my particles out of a hat and hope the person I'm talking to will be able to guess what I'm really trying to say. It's like a fun game for everyone!

okaeri_man said:

while there's nothing wrong with Glenn's post, i think the use of particles is quite a complex thing that will improve with time. if you've got a basic understanding of their usage at this stage that will suffice.

Click to expand...

But the question is, what level of understanding is really good enough? Something like the proper usage of "wa" and "ga" is challenging and perhaps nearly impossible for a non-native to master to the point of _never_ making a mistake with it. Still, does this mean you shouldn't even make an effort to understand concepts like topic-vs.-subject?

I would advise against that line of thinking. Sure, there are tricky concepts that won't completely sink in without exposure and time, but learners who gloss over these important points from the start thinking "ehh, this is close enough" are, I think, unlikely to achieve a particularly deep understanding of the language no matter how long they study.