JLPT N2 Grammar
The grammar tested at JLPT N2, in sets of patterns the exam deliberately puts against each other. Each one carries what it attaches to, when it is used, and the line that separates it from its neighbours — because 文法 questions are a discrimination test, not a vocabulary test.
Study in confusion sets
20 patterns and 0 practice items in 2 sets. Each set groups patterns the exam sets against each other — 問題7 never asks what a pattern means on its own, it asks which of four near-identical ones fits. So the ones you keep mixing up are deliberately on the same page, each with a line on what separates it from its neighbours.
Occasions and moments
10 patternsTen patterns that all translate as "when" and all attach to the same thing. The exam never asks which one means "when" — it asks which one means this particular kind of when.
〜にあたって／〜にあたり 〜において／〜における 〜に際して／〜に際し 〜に先立って／〜に先立ち 〜うちに 〜ないうちに 〜最中に 〜たとたん（に） 〜かと思うと／〜かと思ったら 〜か〜ないかのうちに
Standards, sources and correspondence
10 patternsTen patterns that all take a noun and all translate as "based on", "according to" or "along with". Four of them describe one thing changing with another, and separating those four is the single most-tested distinction at N2.
〜をもとに（して） 〜に基づいて／〜に基づく 〜に沿って／〜に沿う 〜に応じて／〜に応じた 〜にしたがって／〜にしたがい 〜につれて／〜につれ 〜とともに 〜に伴って／〜に伴い 〜からすると／〜からすれば 〜にとって
Practise N2
Telling patterns apart on their own page is easier than doing it mid-sentence. Sit a N2 mock test — one section at a time, or a full timed paper.