Basic Grammar 1

1.Basic Word Order 
First, Japanese isn't English. As obvious as that sounds, it is important to keep it in mind. It is good to a certain extent to compare the languages to get a better feel for both, but a constant comparision can lead to disappointment and frustration.

English (SVO) Cats eat mice.

Japanese (SOV) ねこ は ネズミ を たべます。 neko wa nezumi o tabemasu. cats - mice - eat

English	S	V	O
	I	eat	bread.
Japanese	S	O	V
	watashi wa	pan o	tabemasu.

2. です  It shows that something is or isn't something else. It is one of the very few irregular forms in Japanese. です can act like the English "to be" (you know; is, am, are...)

Romaji:	zou wa ookii desu.
Literal:	elephants (topic particle) big are
Natural:	Elephants are large.

Romaji:	kore wa neko desu.
Literal:	this (topic particle) cat is
Natural:	This is a cat.

Main Points

•  is, are, am 
• always at the end
• it doesn't change like its English cousin (is, are, am) in the present tense 
•  usually pronounced like "dess"

3. "and" - と、そして 
 There are several ways to say "and" (connecting words and phrases). Let's look at two of them:
と (to) - connecting nouns
わたし　は　日本語　と　英語　と　フランス語　が　話せます。
watashi wa nihongo to eigo to furansugo ga hanasemasu.
I can speak Japanese and English and French.

 そして (soshite) - connecting phrases
 新しい本を買いました。
そして今日から読みます。
atarashii hon o kaimashita. soshite kyou kara yomimasu.
I bought a new book. And I today I will start to read it. (lit. And from today, I'll read.)