Learn Hardcore Japanese: oozei no mae de hanasu toki, watasi ha itumo sukosi kintyousimasu. - When I speak in front of many people, I always get a bit nervous.

It is a noun, not an adjective.
It is almost always used about people, not things.
Examples:
- 大勢の人 = a lot of people
- 大勢が集まりました = A large crowd gathered.

In the sentence 大勢の前で, you can think of it as “in front of a large crowd (of people).”

Why is it 大勢の前で and not 大勢の人の前で?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

大勢の前で
- Literally: “in front of a large number (of people).”
- The “people” part is understood from context; Japanese often leaves out obvious words.
- Sounds natural and not truncated to Japanese ears.
大勢の人の前で
- Literally: “in front of many people.”
- Perfectly correct, just a bit more explicit.

You will also commonly hear:

大勢の人の前で話す
大勢の前で話す
大勢の人たちの前で話す

All are natural; the original sentence simply chooses the slightly shorter 大勢の前で.

How can 前（まえ） mean “in front of people” when there is no word for “people”?

In Japanese, X の前 often means “in front of X,” but X doesn’t always have to be a concrete object.

Here:

大勢 = a large number (of people)
大勢の前 = the position in front of that large number (of people)

Because 大勢 almost always refers to people, Japanese speakers automatically understand:

大勢の前 → “in front of a lot of people / in front of a crowd.”

So even though 人 isn’t written, it is implied by 大勢. This kind of omission is very common in Japanese.

What is the role of the particle で after 前 in 前で?

The particle で marks the place where an action happens.

前で = “at/in front (of something)”

So in:

大勢の前で話す

it means:

“to speak in front of a large crowd”
(i.e., that’s the physical location where the speaking happens)

Other examples of this usage of で:

教室で勉強します。 = I study in the classroom.
駅の前で待ちます。 = I’ll wait in front of the station.
人前で歌う。 = sing in front of people.

Why is the verb in 話すとき in dictionary form and not 話しているとき or 話す時に?

The construction [dictionary form] + とき is the standard way to say “when [you/I/someone] do ~” in a general or habitual sense.

話すとき = “when (I) speak / when speaking (in general situations)”

If we changed it:

話しているとき
- “when (I am) speaking / while (I am) speaking”
- Focuses more on the ongoing action at that moment.
- Could work, but it slightly shifts the nuance to “while I’m in the middle of speaking…”
話す時に
- Adding に emphasizes the time point: “at the time when I speak.”
- Still okay, but 話すとき alone is the most natural and neutral here.

For habitual, general conditions like “when I speak in front of a crowd, I always get a little nervous,” the simple 話すとき is the most typical choice.

Can I say 話すと instead of 話すとき to mean “when I speak”?

Not in this sentence. と and とき are different:

話すと often means “when/if (I) speak, then … (something automatically follows)”
It has a stronger sense of a cause-effect or automatic result.
話すとき = “when (I) speak / at times when I speak”
It just sets the time/situation.

In your sentence, you want a neutral “when” describing a situation, so 話すとき is correct.

話すと would sound more like:

“If I speak in front of many people, then I end up nervous (as a result).”

It’s not completely impossible, but it changes the nuance and isn’t the most natural phrasing for this kind of self-description.

Why does the sentence use 私は? Could we drop 私 or say 大勢の前で話すときは、いつも…?

Yes, both of those are possible.

Dropping 私:
- 大勢の前で話すとき、いつも少し緊張します。
- This is very natural, especially in spoken Japanese.
- The subject “I” is understood from context.
Using は after the time phrase:
- 大勢の前で話すときは、私はいつも少し緊張します。
- 大勢の前で話すときは、いつも少し緊張します。
- Here, 大勢の前で話すときは becomes the topic:
  “As for times when I speak in front of many people, I always get a little nervous.”

In the original, 私は marks “I” as the topic:

私はいつも少し緊張します。
As for me, I always get a little nervous.

All versions are grammatically correct; they just highlight different parts as the topic.

Where can I put いつも in the sentence, and does the position change the meaning?

いつも is an adverb meaning “always”. Generally, adverbs are flexible in position, and here it doesn’t change the basic meaning much. Some natural options:

私はいつも少し緊張します。 (original)
私は少しいつも緊張します。 (less natural)
いつも私は少し緊張します。 (emphasis on “always”)

Most natural are:

（大勢の前で話すとき、）私はいつも少し緊張します。
（大勢の前で話すとき、）いつも少し緊張します。

If you put いつも at the very beginning:

いつも、大勢の前で話すとき、少し緊張します。

this makes “always” more prominent, like: “Whenever it happens that I have to speak in front of many people, I always get a bit nervous.”

So the nuance of emphasis can change slightly, but the core meaning “I always get a little nervous in that situation” stays the same.

What nuance does 少し add before 緊張します? Is it the same as ちょっと?

少し（すこし） literally means “a little, a bit”.

In 少し緊張します, it:

Softens the statement
Makes it sound less dramatic and more modest
→ “I get a little nervous / I get a bit nervous.”

Comparing with ちょっと:

少し緊張します。
- Slightly more neutral or formal.
ちょっと緊張します。
- Very common in speech, can sound a bit more casual or colloquial.

In everyday conversation, ちょっと緊張します is extremely common.
In writing or slightly more formal contexts, 少し is also very natural, as in the original sentence.

Does 緊張します mean “I get nervous” or “I am nervous”? Why is the polite 〜ます form used?

緊張します comes from the verb 緊張する, which can mean both:

“to get nervous” (the process)
“to be nervous” (the state)

In context:

いつも少し緊張します。

is best translated as:

“I always get a little nervous.”
or
“I’m always a little nervous (in that situation).”

Japanese doesn’t always clearly separate “get” vs “be” like English; the present polite form just states what happens/happens habitually.

As for 〜ます:

緊張します is the polite form.
It fits polite or neutral contexts: talking to someone you don’t know well, writing an example sentence, class, textbook, etc.
The plain form would be:
- 緊張する = I get/am nervous (casual)
- いつも少し緊張する。

Why is the present tense used in Japanese for something that happens repeatedly, like いつも少し緊張します?

Japanese uses the non-past form (often called “present”) to express:

Present actions
Future actions
Habitual or repeated actions

So:

いつも少し緊張します。
= “I always get a little nervous.” (habitual)

This is very similar to English simple present:

“I always get nervous.”
“I study every day.”
“He plays tennis on Sundays.”

No special tense is needed in Japanese; the adverb いつも (“always”) makes the habitual meaning clear.

Can 話す take a direct object with を here? For example, how would I say “talk about my job in front of many people”?

Yes, 話す can take a direct object with を, especially for “talk about / speak of”.

To say “talk about my job in front of many people”:

大勢の前で、仕事のことを話す。
- 仕事のこと = “about my job / about work”
Or more natural:
- 大勢の前で、自分の仕事について話す。
- 〜について話す = “to talk about ~”

Your original pattern can be expanded like this:

大勢の前で自分の仕事について話すとき、私はいつも少し緊張します。
When I talk about my job in front of many people, I always get a little nervous.

Is the comma 、 after とき necessary, and what does it indicate?

The 、 (Japanese comma) is not grammatically required, but it is very common and helps readability.

大勢の前で話すとき、私はいつも少し緊張します。
大勢の前で話すとき私はいつも少し緊張します。 (also grammatically OK, but harder to read)

The comma here:

Marks a pause after the “when…” clause
(大勢の前で話すとき = “when I speak in front of many people”)
Visually separates the condition/situation from the main statement
(私はいつも少し緊張します)

So it’s mainly for clarity and natural rhythm, not a special grammatical marker.