Learn Hardcore Japanese: mensetu no mae ha itumo kintyousimasu. - I always get nervous before an interview.

面接 (めんせつ) – interview (usually formal, like a job or school interview)
の – connects 面接 to 前; roughly “of” → “the time before the interview”
前 (まえ) – before / the time before
は – topic marker; “as for …” / “when it comes to …”
いつも – always
緊張します (きんちょうします) – polite form of 緊張する, to get/feel nervous, to feel tense

So the structure is:

[面接の前] は [いつも緊張します]。
“As for (the time) before interviews, (I) always get nervous.”

Why is there no “I” in the sentence? How do we know it means “I always get nervous”?

Japanese often omits the subject if it’s obvious from context. Pronouns like 私 (I) are used much less frequently than in English.

In a conversation about your own feelings before interviews, the default interpretation is “I”.
If the context clearly made it about someone else, it could mean “He/She always gets nervous before interviews.”
In a very general, explanatory context, it could even mean “People always get nervous before interviews.”

So the subject is understood from situation + common sense, not from an explicit word. If you really want to say it explicitly, you could say:

私は面接の前はいつも緊張します。 – As for me, before interviews I always get nervous.

Why is の used between 面接 and 前? What exactly is 面接の前?

の between two nouns usually does a “linking” or “of” function:

N1 の N2 ≈ “N2 of N1” / “N2 related to N1”

Here:

面接の前 = the time before the interview / before an interview

So 前 is literally a noun (“front/before”), and 面接の前 is a noun phrase:

面接の前 (NOUN PHRASE) = “before the interview”

This is why you don’t see a particle like を after 面接: 面接 is not the direct object of a verb here; it’s just modifying 前 through の.

Why is there a は after 前? Could I use が instead?

Here, は marks 面接の前 as the topic of the sentence:

面接の前は → “As for before interviews / When it comes to the time before interviews…”

After that topic, the comment is:

いつも緊張します → “(I) always get nervous.”

So the pattern is:

[Topic] は [Comment].

Using が here (面接の前がいつも緊張します) would be ungrammatical, because:

The thing that is or does 緊張します is not 面接の前 (the time), but (I), which is omitted.
が usually marks the grammatical subject; 面接の前 is not the subject of “to be nervous.”

So は is correct because it’s setting 面接の前 as the time/topic, not as the subject that is nervous.

Can I say 面接の前にいつも緊張します instead? What’s the difference between 前は and 前に?

Yes, you can say:

面接の前に、いつも緊張します。

It’s natural and means essentially the same thing: I always get nervous before interviews.

Subtle differences:

前に – に marks a time point: “before the interview (at that time) I get nervous.” It’s more directly an adverbial time phrase modifying 緊張します.
前は – は makes “the time before interviews” the topic: “As for before interviews, I always get nervous.” It feels a bit more like a general/habitual statement.

You can also combine them:

面接の前にはいつも緊張します。

Here に marks time, and は marks the topic. This is also very natural. In everyday conversation, all three:

前は
前に
前には

are possible here, with only very slight nuance differences.

Is 緊張する a verb or a noun + verb? Why 緊張します and not something else?

緊張する is a classic “suru-verb” pattern:

緊張 – noun meaning tension, nervousness
する – verb “to do”

Combined, 緊張する literally is “to do tension,” and as a set phrase it means “to feel/get nervous; to become tense.”

Polite form:

Dictionary: 緊張する
Polite non-past: 緊張します (what you see in the sentence)

Other common forms:

緊張しません – don’t get nervous
緊張しました – got nervous (past)
緊張している – be (currently) nervous

So 緊張します is simply the standard polite present/future form of 緊張する.

Does 緊張します mean “I get nervous” (become) or “I am nervous” (state)?

In this kind of sentence, both ideas are wrapped together. Japanese doesn’t always separate “become” vs. “be” as clearly as English.

面接の前はいつも緊張します。
→ Depending on context, it can feel like:
- “I always get nervous before interviews.” (focus on the process of becoming nervous)
- “I’m always nervous before interviews.” (focus on the state)

We usually translate it as “(I) get nervous” because the timing (前, “before”) suggests the change into that state, but the Japanese itself is neutral enough to cover both the becoming and the being.

How is 緊張します different from 緊張しています or 緊張しました in similar sentences?

Compare:

面接の前はいつも緊張します。
- General/habitual statement.
- “I always get/am nervous before interviews.”
- Talking about what typically happens.
（今）面接の前で、緊張しています。
- Progressive/ongoing state right now.
- “(Right now) I’m nervous before the interview.”
- Used when you are currently in that situation.
昨日は面接の前に緊張しました。
- Completed past event.
- “Yesterday I was/got nervous before the interview.”

So:

緊張します – neutral non-past: habits, general truths, or scheduled/future things.
緊張しています – emphasizes the current, ongoing state of being nervous.
緊張しました – describes a specific past episode.

Can いつも go in other positions, like at the beginning of the sentence? Are all of these natural?

Natural patterns:

面接の前はいつも緊張します。
(original; very natural)
いつも面接の前は緊張します。
Also natural; slightly more emphasis on “always”.

Both are fine. In Japanese, adverbs like いつも have quite flexible placement, especially:

[Time/Topic] は [Adverb] [Verb]
[Adverb] [Time/Topic] は [Verb]

Less natural or odd:

面接の前は緊張をいつもします。 – Sounds unnatural; we don’t usually say 緊張をする in everyday speech.
面接の前は緊張します、いつも。 – Possible in spoken language for strong emphasis, but feels a bit marked or dramatic.

So for normal usage, stick to:

面接の前はいつも緊張します。
いつも面接の前は緊張します。

Is this talking about one specific interview or interviews in general? There’s no plural or article like “a/the”.

Japanese doesn’t mark plural or articles (a/the) the way English does. The interpretation comes from context and adverbs like いつも.

Here:

いつも = “always” → suggests a habit, something that happens repeatedly.
So 面接 naturally reads as “interviews (in general)” or “whenever I have an interview.”

If you were clearly talking about one upcoming interview, it could also be understood as:

“Before the interview, I always get nervous.”
(Meaning: Whenever I’m about to have the interview, I’m always nervous at that time.)

But the most natural reading, with no extra context, is a general statement about interviews in general.

How would I say this more casually to a friend instead of using 緊張します?

The polite -ます form can be made casual by using the dictionary/plain form:

Polite:
面接の前はいつも緊張します。
Casual:
面接の前はいつも緊張する。

You could also sound more colloquial with adverbs or intensifiers:

面接の前はいつもめちゃくちゃ緊張する。 – “I always get super nervous before interviews.”
面接の前って、いつも緊張するんだよね。 – “Before interviews, I always get nervous, you know.”

Key change: します → する to move from polite to plain/casual speech.

Are there other common ways to say “get nervous” here besides 緊張します?

Yes, several expressions are common, with slightly different nuances:

ドキドキします
- I feel my heart pounding / I’m all excited/nervous.
- More on the physical heartbeat or fluttery feeling.
- 面接の前はいつもドキドキします。
不安になります
- I become anxious / uneasy.
- Focus on worry/anxiety rather than just tension.
- 面接の前はいつも不安になります。
そわそわします
- I get fidgety / can’t sit still.
- Describes restless behavior.
- 面接の前はいつもそわそわします。

緊張します is the most neutral and standard way to say “I get nervous” in this context, especially for formal situations like interviews.