N3 文章の文法: Grammar That Holds a Text Together
At N3, 文章の文法 (5 items) graduates from short diary blurbs to a full cohesive passage — an essay-let or explanatory text with numbered blanks testing connectives, reference, tense/aspect flow, and sentence-final forms as the text requires them. The skill is reading the author's line of thought and choosing what keeps it flowing. This chapter equips you with the N3 connector arsenal, the written-style toolkit, and a full worked passage.
1. The N3 Connector Arsenal
Beyond N5's そして/でも/だから, N3 texts steer with these — grouped by the turn they signal:
| Signal | Connectors | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Addition | さらに, そのうえ, しかも | stacks another point on top — さらに値段も上がった |
| Unexpected turn | ところが | reality defied the expectation just stated |
| Concession-turn | しかし, けれども, それでも, それなのに | それでも＝"even so (I persist)"; それなのに＝"and yet (unfair!)" |
| Cause→result | そのため（に）, その結果, したがって | formal versions of だから |
| Restatement | つまり, すなわち, 要するに | "in other words" — introduces a summary of what precedes |
| Example | 例えば | the following illustrates the previous claim |
| Comparison/choice | 一方（で）, それとも, または | 一方 pivots to the contrasting side |
| Topic shift | ところで, さて, では | さて opens a new stage formally |
| Ordering | まず, 次に, 最後に, 結局 | 結局 = "in the end, after all that" |
The precision pairs the exam probes: ところが vs ところで (surprise-but vs by-the-way), つまり vs 例えば (does the next sentence summarize or illustrate?), それでも vs それなのに (determined persistence vs indignant "and yet"). Always decide from the logical relation between the two sentences — never from which word "sounds smart."
2. Reference & Cohesion Devices
- その＋noun, それ, そこ, そう — pointing at just-mentioned content (as at N5, but now chains: そのこと→それについて→そう考えると…).
- この＋noun — in essays, points at what the writer is currently presenting: このように (in this way), この問題 (this issue I'm discussing).
- Ellipsis under one topic: a は topic now rules whole paragraphs. Blanks test whether you still know the invisible subject — especially after a quoted opinion or example interrupts.
- 〜のだ／〜のである — the explanatory ending that says "this sentence explains/asserts the foregoing." Cloze options often pit 〜のだ (explanation) against plain 〜だ (new statement); if the sentence justifies the previous one, のだ wins.
3. Written-Style Grammar (硬い文体)
N3 passages introduce formal written Japanese. Recognize these instantly:
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜である／〜であろう | written copula / conjecture (＝だ／だろう) | 日本は島国である。 |
| 連用中止（ます-stem linking） | written "and" between clauses | 朝早く起き、顔を洗い、出かけた。 |
| 〜により／〜による | due to / by (notice style) | 大雨により、本日の便は欠航します。 |
| 〜ず（に） | without doing (written ないで) | 何も言わずに帰った。 |
| 〜ている→〜ており | written mid-sentence ています | 人口は年々減っており、対策が必要だ。 |
In cloze items, register must match: a である-style essay will not take a です-ending option mid-paragraph. Register-mixing options are free eliminations once you notice the passage's style in the first two lines.
4. Tense, Aspect & Viewpoint Flow
- Narrative past with commentary present: Japanese essays hop between た (events) and る (general truths/comments). A blank inside a general-claim sentence wants る even in a past-tense story: 昨日公園へ行った。休日の公園は人が（多い）。
- 〜てくる／〜ていく: change arriving toward now (増えてきた "has been increasing") vs proceeding away (増えていく "will go on increasing"). Time-of-viewpoint decides — a paragraph about the past→present takes てきた; a forecast takes ていく. This pair is a signature N3 cloze item.
- 〜ようになった／〜つつある（preview）: gradual-change endings anchor "before vs now" paragraphs.
5. Worked Passage (Exam Simulation)
私は去年から自転車で通勤している。始めたきっかけは健康のためだった。【１】、続けているうちに、思わぬいいことに気がついた。
朝の道を走ると、季節の変化がよく見えるのだ。桜が咲き、緑が濃くなり、葉が落ちる。車で通勤していたときは、【２】ことに全く気づかなかった。
【３】、いいことばかりではない。雨の日は大変だし、夏は汗をかく。【４】、私はこれからも自転車通勤を続けるつもりだ。体だけでなく、心も元気になったからだ。
- Started for health → discovered unexpected benefits. Same story advancing with a twist of addition… the logical bridge is ところが? No — check: "began for health / but while continuing, noticed unexpected good things" — mild unexpected turn: ところが fits; しかし also possible; the options will offer one clean turn-signal. (Both mark the pivot from motive to discovery.)
- Reference blank: 車のときは「季節が変わっていく」ことに気づかなかった → options like そんな/この/その＋こと: そういう／その-series pointing at the just-described seasonal changes.
- Pivot to drawbacks: "not all good" → もちろん／しかし? The sentence itself concedes: もちろん、いいことばかりではない ("of course, it's not all good") — concession-marker before drawbacks.
- Drawbacks admitted, yet continuing → determined persistence: それでも. And note the final sentence justifies with 〜からだ — the explanation ending confirming the emotional arc.
Watch what happened in【3】-【4】: the text conceded (もちろん), listed the bad, then overrode it (それでも). This concede-then-override wave is THE structural rhythm of Japanese opinion writing — you will surf it again in every reading chapter and in 概要理解 listening.
6. Strategy Checklist for 問題3
- Read the passage start-to-finish first — blanks test the flow, and flow only exists whole. (~1 minute for an N3-length passage.)
- Classify each blank: connector? reference? tense/aspect? sentence-ender? Each class has its own decision rule from this chapter.
- For connectors, verbalize the relation between the two sentences in your own words ("this contradicts that") before touching the options.
- Register check: である-essay vs です-letter — eliminate style-mismatched options on sight.
- Expect the concede-then-override wave (もちろん…しかし…それでも) in opinion passages.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- N3 text grammar = connectors + reference + tense/aspect flow + register, tested inside one cohesive passage (5 blanks).
- Connector precision: ところが (surprise) / ところで (shift); つまり (summarize) / 例えば (illustrate); それでも (even so) / それなのに (and yet).
- Reference: そ-series points back; この〜/このように points at the writer's current thread; のだ endings explain the previous sentence.
- Written style: である, 連用中止 (起き、洗い、…), により, ず（に）, ており — match the passage's register.
- てくる (toward now) vs ていく (onward) — viewpoint decides.
- The concede-then-override wave (もちろん…それでも) is the skeleton of Japanese opinion prose — recognizing it answers multiple blanks at once.