A friend of mine once told me that your ability in your second language cannot exceed your ability in your first language. (Unless, I guess, you moved to a foreign country as a child) In essence, what he was eluding at was that if you want to improve your understanding of Japanese language, you need to improve your understanding of English grammar.

I am not a big fan of a grammatical approach toward learning language but can tell you that a decent understanding of grammar is a definite plus to learning Japanese.

One area of study,  where grammar may come in handy, is Transitive verbs vs. Intransitive verbs. What are Transitive verbs in English? What are Intransitive verbs in English? What are they in Japanese?

I will keep it simple.

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In English,

Transitive Verbs have a direct object.

ex:  John plays guitar. (John-subject   plays-verb   guitar-object)

Intransitive Verbs have no direct object.

ex.  John plays well

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In Japanese (unlike English)  the verb changes form

ex: tomaru  (something has) stopped

kuruma ga tomatta  (The car has stopped) Intransitive

tomeru  to stop (something)

kuruma o tomete (Stop the car)                    Transitive

Lesson ga hajimaru    (The lesson will start)   Intransitive

Lesson o hajimete       (Start the lesson) Transitive

*notice how the particle changes from “ga” to “o”.

There is no simple way to remember these.  To be honest, just use it…. just speak and if you make a mistake, someone will correct you.