The 「て」(te) form of an adjective or verb has no meaning on its own (although it may be implied), but is used to connect the verb to the words that follow it in some conjugations.
18
votes
3answers
749 views
When is Vている the continuation of action and when is it the continuation of state?
Last night, when I asked my wife to send an email to me, she said もう送っている which I took to mean that she was "sending the message". (The message had a big attachment so I imagined that it could take a ...
20
votes
3answers
935 views
Difference between -ていく and -てくる
Can someone explain the differences between v-ていく and v-てくる for me. I know that they both express some kind of ongoing action (like a place getting crowded). For example, what's the difference between ...
6
votes
1answer
565 views
Difference between ~なきゃ and ~なくちゃ
I know what one of them is なくてはいけません and the other one なければなりません, I just don't know which is which, also a few example sentences would help a lot, thank you.
6
votes
1answer
229 views
なく vs. なくて and stem form vs. てform as conjunctions
I have been wondering about this, since every time I hand in a 作文 in a Japanese class, I'm corrected on conjunctions. It seems to me that whenever I use a てform as a conjunction, a response comes back ...
17
votes
5answers
547 views
What does the final て in 待ってて signify?
In this scene a young girl, Yotsuba, drops in on her neighbors for some breakfast. The mother who's cooking breakfast says 「今お父さんの焼いてるからその次ねー。ちょっと待っててー」.
So I guess she's preparing her husbands food ...
5
votes
1answer
241 views
Understanding “よりを戻す” and “止めておこう”
I don't think us getting together tonight is such a good idea.
やっぱり今夜、よりを戻すのは止めておこう。
I would like to understand this sentence better, specifically the (idiomatic?) expression, "よりを戻す." I ...
15
votes
1answer
913 views
What does っつの mean?
I recently saw 冗談だっつの. What does it っつの mean, or how does it modify the meaning of a sentence?
10
votes
1answer
558 views
Where does the verbal form しとく come from?
In a manga I am currently reading, one of the character exclaims:
安心しな。秘密に しとく から。
The general meaning of the second part ("I'll keep it a secret") is quite obvious, and it seems that "しとく" ...
6
votes
2answers
689 views
Contrasting 〜てならない、〜てしょうがない and 〜てたまらない
These three phrases can be used to express emotions and feelings that cannot be controlled.
For example in the following sentences:
a) １点差で負けたので、悔しくてならない。
b) １点差で負けたので、悔しくてしょうがない。
c) ...
6
votes
2answers
342 views
Is it ok to use ～て下さりました instead of ～ていただきました?
Just to avoid repeating saying いただきました too much, can I occasionally switch it with 下さりました or 下さいました?
4
votes
2answers
294 views
Does anyone know which おり this is?
彼女は表情が生き生きとしておりとてもかわいい。
was translated awkwardly on ALC as
She is very pretty for the liveliness of her expression.
Which おり is this? I think I know it from the polite しております but is it here ...
8
votes
1answer
297 views
How the ～にあって form works - situations, places, times, what?
I finally started going through some JLPT N1 grammar the other day, and one of the ones I'm looking at has me a bit confused: the ～にあって・～にあっても form. The book describes its usage as such:
...
4
votes
1answer
160 views
When you combine adjectives with the て-form does it imply a relationship between them?
For example, if I said...
きれいで静かな町
Does that mean there's a relationship between きれい and 静か (like the relationship that happens when you combine two verbs with the て-form)? Or do the two ...
