6.2 語彙・文法: Grammar in Business Sentences

BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test BJTビジネス日本語能力テスト

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 About the BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test 1.2 Test Structure, Scoring, and Levels (J5–J1+) 1.3 How to Use This Study Guide

2 Keigo Foundation: The Honorific System

2.1 The Three Keigo Categories: Sonkeigo, Kenjougo, Teineigo 2.2 Sonkeigo (Respectful Language) — Forms and Use 2.3 Kenjougo (Humble Language) — Forms and Use 2.4 Teineigo (Polite Language) and Business Set Phrases

3 Business Vocabulary and Grammar

3.1 Core Business Vocabulary: 役職, 部署, 会社生活 3.2 Honorific Prefixes お/ご, Counters, and Suffixes 3.3 Key Grammar Patterns for Business (～てまで, ～による, ～かねる, ～次第, ～際) 3.4 Fixed Business Expressions and Email Formulae (頭語, 結語, クッション言葉)

4 Part 1: Listening Comprehension (聴解)

4.1 場面把握問題: Photo Scene Comprehension 4.2 発言聴解問題: Keigo Greetings and Replies 4.3 総合聴解問題: Workplace Dialogues and Meetings 4.4 Listening for Numbers, Dates, and Decisions — Traps and Strategies

5 Part 2: Listening & Reading Comprehension (聴読解)

5.1 状況把握問題: Situation Comprehension (Photo + Audio) 5.2 資料聴読解問題: Graphs, Charts, and Tables 5.3 資料聴読解問題: Schedules, Advertisements, and Quotations 5.4 総合聴読解問題: Long Document/Audio Pairs and Time Management

6 Part 3 Reading: Vocabulary, Grammar, and Expressions

6.1 語彙・文法: Vocabulary in Context 6.2 語彙・文法: Grammar in Business Sentences 6.3 表現読解: Choosing the Right Honorific Form 6.4 表現読解: Business Set Phrases in Writing

7 Part 3 Reading: Comprehensive Reading

7.1 総合読解: Business Emails 7.2 総合読解: Internal Notices, Memos, and Meeting Minutes 7.3 総合読解: Reports and News Articles 7.4 Reading Strategy: Skim, Locate, Infer

8 Test-Day Strategy and Final Review

8.1 CBT Test-Day Logistics, ID, and NDA 8.2 Pacing Across the Three Parts 8.3 Common Traps and Distractor Patterns 8.4 Three-Month Study Plan and Final Review

6.2 語彙・文法: Grammar in Business Sentences

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Grammar items are recognizable because all four options are functional particles, auxiliary verbs, or sentence-ending suffixes rather than content words.

Polarity is the leading trap: おかげで requires a positive outcome, せいで requires a negative one, and てまで requires the speaker's negative judgment of an excessive action.

Verb-form gating is strict — 〜て以来 needs the て-form, 〜次第 needs the ます-stem, and 〜際に vs 〜際の take different noun-modifying forms.

〜かねる is the formal refusal form (cannot bring oneself), while 〜かねない always marks an undesirable possibility — never interchangeable.

Last updated: July 2026

6.2 語彙・文法: Grammar in Business Sentences

Section 1 of Part 3 also includes grammar items in the same single-sentence fill-in-the-blank format. Vocabulary and grammar items are interleaved; the test does not announce which is which. Grammar items are recognizable because all four options are functional patterns (particles, auxiliary verbs, sentence-ending suffixes) rather than content words. The skill is to identify the connector type the sentence requires — cause, condition, time, concession, restriction, possibility, information source, manner — and then match polarity, register, and verb form.

Grammar Pattern Families Most Often Tested

Family Patterns What the test checks
Causality / reason おかげで, せいで, ことから, だけに, ばかりに Polarity (positive vs negative outcome) and speaker attitude
Conditionals と, ば, たら, なら; もので, 以上 Nuance: habitual, hypothetical, temporal, formal commitment

Time / sequence 際に, 折には, 上で, てからでないと, 次第, にあたって, にかけて Verb form before the blank and the exact temporal relation

Concession ものの, ながら, つつ, とはいえ, にもかかわらず Register (formal written vs casual) and the size of the contrast
Restriction てまで, にかぎる, にすぎない, までのこと Negative judgment vs minimal scope
Possibility / inclination かねる, かねない, 得る, 恐れがある Whether the inclination is cannot or might undesirably
Information source によると, によれば, のことだから Whether the source is hearsay or inference from character
Manner / means によって, を通じて, を介して, をもって Written-style register
Focus / emphasis こそ, さえ, すら, も, でも Particle-level nuance
Politeness in grammar いたします, 申し上げます, ございます, 存じます, 拝見いたします Whether humble forms fit the subject
Causality and Reason

おかげで marks a positive cause (thanks to); the outcome must be desirable. せいで marks a negative cause (because of); the outcome must be undesirable. Polarity reversal is the most common trap in this family. ことから introduces an objective inference (from the fact that…); the second clause is a conclusion the speaker draws, not an evaluation. だけに means 「as might be expected from…」 and the second clause expresses a proportional result. ばかりに expresses regret: 「just because… (an unwanted result happened).」

Conditionals: と, ば, たら, なら

と marks habitual or inevitable sequences (If you do X, Y happens) and cannot be used for the speaker's volitional hypothetical. ば is the general conditional, often paired with なら for 「if it is the case that.」たら is the most flexible: hypothetical, temporal, and discovery (if/when I did X, Y was the case). なら explicitly takes up someone else's stated premise. In formal written business Japanese, ものに (since) and 以上 (since, given that) carry commitment stronger than から. 以上 in particular implies the speaker's resolve: 「since I have undertaken it, I will see it through.」

Time and Sequence

際に means 「when/in case of」 (formal). 折には means 「on the occasion of」 (more formal, often written). 上で after the た-form means 「after doing X」; after the stem it means 「in the course of doing X.」〜てからでないと means 「only after doing X.」〜次第 means 「as soon as X happens.」〜にあたって means 「on the occasion of, before undertaking.」〜にかけて means 「over a span」 (今週にかけて). Verb-form mismatch is the most common error here: て以来 needs the て-form; ×するて以来 is ungrammatical.

Concession

ものの means 「although」 (written). ながら means 「while」 (often formal). つつ means 「while」 (written, often with a nuance that the two clauses are in tension). とはいえ means 「although that is so」 (formal written). にもかかわらず means 「despite」 (formal written, stronger than でも). A sentence that uses とはいえ is asking for a formal, written register; choosing でも would be a register mismatch.

Restriction

てまで means 「going so far as to (do something excessive)」 — the sentence expresses the speaker's negative judgment about the action. 〜にかぎる means 「it is best to.」〜にすぎない means 「merely.」〜までのこと means 「just to.」 In the second official sample, 「住民運動の反対を押しきって[ ]、工場建設をすすめくるのはいかがなものかと思います」, the speaker is criticizing the excessive action, so まで is correct; the positive alternatives てこそ and てのみ are wrong because the sentence is not a positive evaluation.

Possibility and Inclination

かねる means 「cannot bring oneself to do」 (formal, often used in refusals: 対しかねます). かねない means 「might end up doing」 (always an undesirable possibility). 得る means 「can / is possible」 (formal; 得る not える when used as a suffix). 恐れがある means 「there is a risk of」 (written, used for warnings). The trap is using かねる for 「unable to」 in a casual sentence — register mismatch — or confusing かねる (cannot) with かねない (might undesirably).

Information Source and Manner

によると / によれば means 「according to」 (the second clause is a citation or hearsay). のことだから means 「since it is [a person like X]」 (inference from character). によって means 「by means of / depending on.」を通じて / を介して means 「through」 (intermediary). をもって means 「by means of」 (formal, often with time: 5時をもって終了). によって cannot replace を通じて when an intermediary person is involved.

Politeness Markers in Written Grammar

Formal business documents use kenjougo verb endings even within compound patterns. いたします (instead of する), 申し上げます (say), ございます (be), 存じます (think or know), 拝見いたします (look). A sentence ending in させていただきます cannot use する in the blank; the register is already humble.

Selection Strategy

Identify the connector type the sentence is asking for (cause, condition, time, concession, restriction, possibility, source, manner, focus).

Match polarity: positive outcome → おかげで; negative → せいで; negative judgment → てまで.

Match register: formal written (ものの, とはいえ, にもかかわらず, かねる) vs casual (でも, だけど, できない).

Check the verb form immediately before the blank (て-form, stem, dictionary, た-form) — many patterns are gated on a specific form.

Worked Examples

「みんなががんばってくれた[ ]で、納期に間に合いそうだよ」 → おかげで. The outcome is positive; the cause marker for positive outcomes is おかげで.

「住民運動の反対を押しきって[ ]、工場建設をすすめくるのはいかがなものかと思います」 → てまで. The speaker is criticizing an excessive action; てまで is the only option that carries the excessive nuance with negative judgment.

「このデータも[ ]によっては、何かの役に立つのではないかと思いますが」 → 使いよう. The pattern 〜によっては (depending on) requires a noun that means 「way of using」; 使いよう is the only option that fits.

Grammar Reference Table

Pattern Meaning Required verb form Polarity / Register
おかげで thanks to noun / V-た positive
せいで because of (bad) noun / V-た negative
ことから from the fact that V-普通形 inference
だけに as might be expected V-普通形 proportional
ばかりに just because (regret) V-普通形 regret
〜と if/when V-辞書形 habitual/inevitable
〜ば if V-仮定形 general conditional
〜たら if/when V-た + ら flexible
〜なら if it's the case noun / V-普通形 premise uptake
〜際に when V-辞書形 / noun formal
〜折には on the occasion V-辞書形 / noun formal written
〜上で after / in course of V-た / V- stem depends
〜てからでないと only after V-て negative follow-up
〜次第 as soon as V-ます formal
〜て以来 since V-て temporal continuity
〜てまで going so far as V-て negative judgment
〜かねる cannot bring oneself V-ます formal
〜かねない might undesirably V-ます negative risk
〜得る can / possible V- stem neutral / formal
〜恐れがある risk of V-辞書 / noun formal warning
〜によると according to noun hearsay
〜のことだから since it's noun inference
〜によって by / depending noun neutral
〜を通じて / を介して through noun intermediary
〜をもって by means of noun / time formal
〜ものの although V-普通形 written
〜とはいえ although V-普通形 / noun formal written
〜にもかかわらず despite V-普通形 / noun formal written
〜にすぎない merely noun / V-普通形 formal
〜にかぎる best to noun / V-辞書形 recommendation