兄は車を買ったもののあまり乗っていません。
- My older brother bought a car, but he doesn’t drive it much.

兄は車を買ったもののあまり乗っていません。 meaning: My older brother bought a car, but he doesn't drive it much.

The sentence follows a subject-topic-object-verb structure, typical of Japanese. ⚫︎ The subject is implied and can be understood from context. ⚫︎ The topic is established by は (wa). ⚫︎ The verb comes at the end. ⚫︎ The sentence also uses the conjunctive particle ものの (mono no) which creates a contrast.

This is an N3 level grammar point. ⚫︎ ものの (mono no) is a conjunction used to show a contrast or concession, similar to "although" or "but" in English. ⚫︎ It connects two clauses that express opposing ideas or situations. ⚫︎ The first clause presents a fact, and the second clause states something that contrasts with that fact. ⚫︎ ものの (mono no) can be used after the plain past tense of verbs (e.g., 買った (katta) - bought), adjectives (e.g., 暑かった (atsukatta) - was hot), and nouns (e.g., 学生だった (gakusei datta) - was a student) using the past tense of the copula だ (da). ⚫︎ The sentence above: 買ったものの (katta mono no) — "Although he bought (it)..." shows contrast. ⚫︎ Example: 勉強したものの、テストでいい点が取れませんでした。 (Benkyou shita mono no, tesuto de ii ten ga toremasen deshita.) - "Although I studied, I didn't get a good score on the test."

This is an N4/N5 level grammar point and is crucial for forming negative statements about frequency or degree. ⚫︎ あまり (amari) means "not very," "not much," or "hardly." ⚫︎ It always precedes a negative verb form (e.g., 乗っていません (not driving)). ⚫︎ This combination expresses a low degree or frequency of an action or state. ⚫︎ Example: 彼はあまり日本語を話せません。 (Kare wa amari nihongo o hanasemasen.) - "He doesn't speak Japanese very well."

This is an N5 level grammar point. ⚫︎ The verb 乗る (noru) is a godan (group 1) verb. ⚫︎ The plain form is 乗る (noru). ⚫︎ The negative plain form is 乗らない (noranai). ⚫︎ In this sentence, the verb is in the て-form + いる (iru) + negative ません (masen): 乗っています (not driving/riding). ⚫︎ The negative form is 乗っていません (not driving/riding). ⚫︎ The て-form is formed by replacing the -u ending with -tte for the godan verbs (ex: 乗る becomes 乗って). ⚫︎ Then, attaching いる (iru) - "to be" to indicate the present continuous/ state of being. ⚫︎ Finally, ません (masen) is the polite negative form.

These are foundational particles. ⚫︎ は (wa) marks the topic of the sentence. In this sentence, it can be implied that the topic is the speaker's older brother. ⚫︎ を (o) marks the direct object. In the example sentence, 車 (kuruma) is the object of the verb 買う (kau). ⚫︎ に (ni) has multiple functions. Some of them are: ⚫︎ Marking the indirect object (recipient of the action), or goal of action (direction, time and place). ⚫︎ Indicating the place or time of an action. Example: 週末に映画を見ます。 (Shuumatsu ni eiga o mimasu.) - "I watch movies on the weekend."