1

(Names below have been changed.)

I received the following (partial) message from B先生, my previous teacher, after going through a JLPT class with C先生 and passing the N2 exam. How should I interpret the bolded sentence?

おおお〜〜〜！Aさん、おめでと〜〜〜〜〜＼(^o^)／Aさんなら大丈夫だと思っていましたよ！次はN1ですか？C先生になんでも聞いて、合格できるように頑張って！

The って at the back confuses me. To me, it can mean either one of these two things:

  1. Quotation particle って, in which case the quote doesn't make sense to me (shouldn't it be something like 頑張っていたって?)

  2. Te-form of 頑張る, in which case it signals a request (so is she asking me to work hard for N1?)

Please advise.

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  • It's your option 2. – user3526 Feb 16 '17 at 6:17
2

Maybe I'm having trouble understanding your English, but って here is not related to quotation.　

Instead, it's a command form of 頑張る

頑張る

頑張らない

= 頑張る is a 五段動詞

Then there's the command forms for it:

頑張れ - do your best

頑張って - do your best

頑張ろう - let's do our best

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  • Hm, but the sentence starts with C先生になんでも聞いて, which seems to suggest that it's not a がんばってください！ ... or am I mistaken? – rhyaeris Feb 13 '17 at 1:39
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    @rhyaeris This text was written as if talking, so don't try too hard to look too for proper written Japanese in there. Also, I don't see how the first part prevent the second part from being command form. The sentence says : "Ask the teacher anything, and try your best to pass the test!" – stack reader Feb 13 '17 at 1:49
  • @stack reader I see; thank you! Upon checking the definition of なんでも I get the following: "I am told; I understand; they say; I hear. —At start of sentence." This prevented me from seeing the って as a command/request. If you were to write your comment as an answer I'll gladly provide credit! – rhyaeris Feb 13 '17 at 4:22
  • Think of なんでも as なん + でも (何でも), so like, "No matter what it is, ask C-sensei, and do your best so that you may pass the test!" I would recommend doing some language exchanges and switching to a J-J dictionary, as that may really benefit your study! – Nicholas Mar 16 '17 at 10:32
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"て（って）" of "頑張って" can be understood as te-form connecting verb sentences.

"頑張って合格してください、そして有意義な大学生活を楽しんでください！"
" Do your best to pass the examination and enjoy your meaningfull college life."
can be abbreviated to
"頑張って合格して、有意義な大学生活を楽しんでください！",
"頑張って合格して、有意義な大学生活を楽しんで！",
"頑張って合格して！"

I'm wondering why you didn't ask this question C先生. (^^)

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