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I was talking to my friend, and she said

きれいにとれた!

What does after an adjective mean, or what does before a verb mean?
And where can I read more about this?

Thank you

1 Answer 1

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In this case, doesn't に just make きれい (a な adjective) an adverb?

きれいにとれた
You were able to take it beautifully.

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  • Are you asking another question as an answer?
    – AthomSfere
    Commented Jul 20, 2015 at 18:03
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    You are bringing English grammar into Japanese. In Japanese, no matter how you conjugate an adjective, it still remains an adjective as a part of speech.
    – user4032
    Commented Jul 20, 2015 at 21:37
  • @l'électeur Very interesting. I'm by no means a competent speaker of Japanese and I only answered this question because I was pretty sure I understood the sentence. You don't by any chance know of any source where I could read about Japanese grammar from a Japanese point of view without imposing English convention (written in English)? I feel such a perspective would greatly aid my study. Thanks!
    – G-Cam
    Commented Jul 22, 2015 at 13:32
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    @G-Cam The きれいに adjectivally modifies the verb 取れた, but きれいに is not an adverb but the ren'yo-kei (continuative form) of the na-adjective きれいな. (Have you learnt "ren'yo-kei"?)
    – chocolate
    Commented Jul 23, 2015 at 9:40
  • @choco I've learned of the 連用形 in the context of verbs and verbal adjectives but not with regard to na-adjectives. My understanding was that it could be used to create compound verbs, connect sentences in a way similar to the te-form, or stand alone as a noun. So, in a phrase like "食べ過ぎる", is 食べ still considered a verb that "verbally" modifies 過ぎる? Thanks
    – G-Cam
    Commented Jul 23, 2015 at 15:14

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