# JFT-Basic Grammar (2-1): the form the conversation needs

Category 2-1 gives a short dialog with a gap and asks which grammar fits the context. Why all four options are correct Japanese, with three worked items.

## The short answer

Grammar is category 2-1, the first of the two Conversation and Expression categories. A short dialog appears with a gap in one speaker's line, and you choose the form that fits. The Japan Foundation's purpose for it is to test whether you can use the appropriate grammar matching the context. Every option is usually correct Japanese on its own. What decides the answer is the situation the two speakers are in.

## Key facts

- **Section:** Conversation and Expression
- **Category number:** 2-1
- **What it tests:** Grammar that matches the context
- **Questions in the section:** Around 12
- **Stimulus:** A short dialog between two people
- **Review:** Allowed anywhere inside the section

Sections, categories and rules come from the Japan Foundation's JFT-Basic pages and its "About the JFT-Basic" deck, checked 27 September 2026.

## How it's scored

The setting line above the dialog is part of the question. It names who the speakers are and where they are, and that is often what separates a plain form from a polite one.

The options tend to be endings rather than whole words: an intention, an obligation, a guess, a report of something heard. All of them attach to the same verb, so the verb tells you nothing and the context tells you everything.

> Read the other speaker's line first. A question about plans needs an answer about plans, and half the options will stop fitting as soon as you know what was asked.

## Grammar examples

Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test.

**Example 1 -- a plan, not a guess**

> 会社で 田中さんと リンさんが 話して います。
> 田中：「山田さんの あかちゃんに 何か プレゼントを 買いましたか。」
> リン：「まだです。こんどの 日曜日に 買いに 行く（　　）です。」

Prompt: Which choice fits the gap best?

- A. つもり
- B. はず
- C. ため
- D. まま
Answer: A.

Model response: つもり. Lin has not bought it yet and is stating what she intends to do on Sunday, and つもり is the form for an intention.

Why it scores: はず would be an expectation about someone else, ため gives a reason, and まま describes a state left unchanged. All four are real grammar; only one answers a question about what you have done so far.

**Example 2 -- asking a favor upward**

> 会社で リンさんが 先輩に 話して います。
> リン：「すみません、この しりょうを コピーして（　　）ませんか。」
> 先輩：「いいですよ。何枚 いりますか。」

Prompt: Which choice fits the gap best?

- A. さしあげ
- B. いただけ
- C. くださり
- D. いたし
Answer: B.

Model response: いただけ. 〜ていただけませんか is the polite way to ask someone senior to do something for you.

Why it scores: さしあげる and いたす are humble forms for what you do for someone else, which points the favor the wrong way. Direction is the thing this item tests, and the senior colleague in the setting line is the clue.

**Example 3 -- something you were told**

> 朝、リンさんと 同僚が 話して います。
> 同僚：「かさを 持って いますか。」
> リン：「はい。あしたは 雨が 降る（　　）ですから、持って 行きます。」

Prompt: Which choice fits the gap best?

- A. こと
- B. もの
- C. そう
- D. ため
Answer: C.

Model response: そう. 降るそうです reports what Lin heard, from a forecast or from someone else, which is why she is carrying the umbrella.

Why it scores: This is the reporting そう, attached to the plain form. It is a different pattern from 降りそう, which is a guess from what you can see, and the two are worth learning side by side.

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## Common mistakes

| What costs marks | Do this instead |
| --- | --- |
| Skipping the line that sets the scene. | It names the speakers and the place. Whether one of them is a senior colleague usually decides the answer. |
| Choosing a form that is correct but answers a different question. | Read the other speaker's line. The gap has to answer what was actually asked. |
| Confusing 降るそう with 降りそう. | Attached to the plain form it reports what you heard. Attached to the stem it is your own guess from evidence. |
| Getting the direction of a favor backward. | いただく is for what you receive, さしあげる for what you give. Decide who is doing the work before you choose. |

**See how far 200 is** The JFT-Basic score checker turns a total on the 10-250 scale into its level band, says whether it clears A2, and works out what you still need. [Open the JFT-Basic score checker](/jft-basic/score-checker)

## How to practice

1. Drill the endings in pairs that get confused: つもり and はず, そう reporting and そう guessing, ていただく and てさしあげる.
2. Practice with the setting line covered, then uncovered. If your answer changes, the setting was doing the work.
3. Write short dialogs of your own for a workplace situation, then swap one ending and say what changed.
4. Read the polite request forms as whole phrases. 〜ていただけませんか is one unit, not four.

## Common questions

### How much grammar does the JFT-Basic test?

Enough for everyday conversation at A1 to A2: intentions, requests, reasons, obligations and reported speech. The Japan Foundation publishes no grammar list for the test, so treat any syllabus you see elsewhere as somebody's reconstruction.

### Are the wrong options grammatically incorrect?

Usually not. They are correct Japanese that does not fit this situation, which is why the category is about matching grammar to context rather than about spotting mistakes.

### Is keigo tested on the JFT-Basic?

Polite forms and the common humble and respectful verbs appear, because the test is built around working life in Japan. It is not a keigo exam, but a dialog with a senior colleague can turn on which direction a favor runs.

**Sources**
- [The Japan Foundation: About the JFT-Basic, test structure and categories (PDF)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/pdf/describing_en.pdf)
- [The Japan Foundation: about the JFT-Basic (checked 27 September 2026)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/index.html)

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