What's the difference between these two ways of saying "I'm driving to meet a friend"?
俺は友達に会いに運転している
俺は友達に会って運転している
Is this the difference between between V-stem and V-te conjunctives, one is written and the other colloquial?
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1@user3856370 I didn't see it anywhere, actually. See, you can use V-stem with に行く to mean "go to do". My thinking was that I could use the same construction with something other than 行く to express an action with a purpose behind it. I tried a few variations on it, and online translators understood it, which made me think I was doing something right.– LonelyDriverCommented Jan 10, 2021 at 16:28
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@LonelyDriver Do you mean 会いに行く– RingilCommented Jan 10, 2021 at 16:34
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@Ringil, I totally did. Oopsie. Thanks for noticing it. Anyway, the question still stands.– LonelyDriverCommented Jan 10, 2021 at 16:36
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1 Answer
In the form 「連用形(continuative form)+に+移動動詞(motion verb)」, the 移動動詞 can be 行く, 来る, 帰る, 戻る, 出る, 出かける, 入る, etc.
◎「会いに行く」"go to see" 「会いに来る」"come to see" 「会いに帰る」"come back to see" ...
✕「会いに運転する」 sounds incorrect.
Related threads:
- Is it true that only movement verbs can take [V-stem]に to express a purpose?
- When can you use (masu stem) + (another verb)
- Usage of に after verbs
俺は友達に会って運転している would be interpreted as "I met my friend and am driving."
To say "I'm driving to meet my friend", I would probably say...
「車で友達に会いに行く(ところだ)」 lit. I'm (on my way) going to meet a friend by car.
answered Jan 10, 2021 at 17:12
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Live and learn. Thank you. But as for 俺は友達に会って運転している, wouldn't it be interpreted differently based on context? You can use -te for purpose as in 俺は友達に会って運転している "I stopped a bullet to save her", at least if this lesson is to be believed jn1et.com/howto-tekei/#toc22. But again, if it's unnatural to say things like that, I guess it doesn't matter. Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 17:28
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"I stopped a bullet to save her"-- You mean 私は彼女をかばって銃弾を受けた? In that sentence, 彼女をかばう and 銃弾を受ける happen at the same time. The ～て is more like "in the manner of~~" or "while doing so" than genuine "for the purpose of". 友達に会う and 運転する might happen at the same time, but "I am meeting a friend and am driving", "I am driving while meeting a friend" won't be natural.– chocolate ♦Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 17:45 -