Questions tagged [て-form]

テ形. A non-finite form of a verb or adjective primarily used to connect to a following predicate or subsidiary verb, with some secondary uses derived by ellipsis (e.g. of くれ or ください). In many cases it corresponds to English "and". Linguists often refer to it as the "gerund" form, and some have also called it the "gerundive" or "past participle" form.

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Meaning of verb followed by ちゃ

A mother is scolding her daughter. The uncle (Tomozou) speaks first: 「おかあさん、お歳暮の広告見ちゃダメ?」 友蔵が頼んでもおかあさんは首を縦に振らなかった。 「ダメですっ。」 "Mother, is looking at year-end adverts not allowed?" Even though ...
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What does the word 「しおって」 mean?

Here are the sentences including the word. では おまえたちがここへくるまでのいきさつをいちおう記録するから正直にのべるんだ。 まあ こんなところでよかろう まったくよくもくだらん まねばかりしおって I'm not sure if it is a colloquial form of 「しまう」.
George's user avatar
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How to conjugate multiple adjectives using て-form with conflicting tenses?

I know how to say something when both adjectives are the same tense, such as: あの 人 は かわいくて ちいさい です。 That person is cute and small. However, how would you say something like, "That person is cute ...
Summer's user avatar
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ておく → とく in other contexts; similar 2-kana to 1-kana shortcuts?

Recently I learned that おいておいて ("leave it there") can be shortened in casual speech (or speech to subordinates) to おいといて. (ておく → とく). I also learned that this can be used for any verb ...
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Use て form to talk about two or more activities you like?

If I want to list two or more activities I like to do in one sentence, do the verbs preceding the last one that comes before のが have to be in て form, as in this sentence: 旅行をして、映画を見るのが好きです。 I like to ...
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た or ていた? Is "turned right" a state or an action?

In this link, Past Unreal Conditional, user l'électeur has given an answer pointing to the tense issues in the original sentence given in the question, stating that ていた needs to be used instead of た: ...
rhyaeris's user avatar
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て-form of いる in compound sentence

In English, we can say, "Brad Pitt is living in Los Angeles and is a famous actor". I wrote this sentence as two Japanese sentences. ブラッド・ピットはロサンゼルスに住んでいます。有名な俳優です。 Brad Pitt is living in ...
BJ Dela Cruz's user avatar
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When to use these plain Te-Forms?

I've studied the use of a polite(?) te-form conjugation that is used to enumerate actions or for a request (adding ください). Examples would be 聞いて, 死んで. But what about non-polite(?) te-form conjugations?...
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して行{い}かない versus しないで行{い}く

Do they have the same meaning? A: 宿{しゅく}題{だい}をして行{い}かない生{せい}徒{と}が多{おお}いです。 B: 宿{しゅく}題{だい}をしないで行{い}く生{せい}徒{と}が多{おお}いです。
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What's the difference between あって vs ありまして?

I was taught that the て form of the verb ある is あって, but I sometimes see the word ありまして acting in the same way. What's the difference and when would you use one or the other?
charlieshades's user avatar
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Exact nuance between 方が、たら、えば and テ形 in this sentence

I would like to know the exact nuance between all these forms in these example sentences : そうした方がもっと可愛くなる。 : This one feels like she would become cuter if she did that (instead of something else) ...
Tchang's user avatar
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何 + te-form + も (何 by itself to mean "something")

I recently came across this sentence, and I'm having trouble figuring out what 何 is doing. (I'm fine with the rest.) 何があっても、大丈夫だろ。 Based on context, my best attempt is: even if something were to ...
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Which form is 切り?

On a Japanese package I've found this inscription: ここからお切り下さい。 This obviously means: "Please cut here (to open)". With my very basic knowledge of Japanese I would instead of お切り (お being the ...
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The grammar of てちょうどいい

Same sentence, different question: 「あんたなんて甘やかしたらどこまでもツケあがるタチだから、厳しくされてちょうどいいのよ。」 If I pamper the likes of you, you'll be endlessly spoiled, so ... The grammar in the clause in bold is confusing ...
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Use of かける (N5 question)

An N5 vocabulary question I'm having trouble understanding: わたしの となりの (   ) を かけた ひとは すずきさんです。 1 くつ   2 かぎ   3 めがね   4 でんわ The answer is 3: わたしの となりの ( めがね ) を かけた ひとは すずきさんです。 Which I ...
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Is it possible to make a V-causative-te construction?

According to Genki II, "any causative verb can be interpreted either with the "make somebody do" reading or the "let somebody do" reading". In English, it's not uncommon to hear a construction such ...
Kennedy Ryan's user avatar
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Meaning of んな after verb in て form

関口やナベちゃんに「そんなとこ、ボッと立ってんなよ」と言われたことを思いだし、情けなさそうにうなずいた。 He recalled being told by 関口やナベ that ??? and bowed his head miserably. To be honest, I'm stuck on everything in the quotes (something about ...
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「〜ている」Sentence Translation

When you have a phrase like, 起きたばかりでまだなにも食べていない。 does it feel more like "I just woke up, so I haven't eaten anything yet" ? or "I just woke up, so I'm not eating anything yet".
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から usage as "after" [duplicate]

In the simple sentence 電話を掛けてから、友だちうちへ行きます。I want to know how kara is used. It didn't feel like it's meaning is "because" here it is more like "after". I think this translates to " After I make call, ...
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Adverb followed by って

おいらなんて、怒られっぱなしの人生だもんねーー。アハハ。でもおもしろくって仕方ないもんねー。 For me, it's the life of being got angry at. Ha Ha. But, interesting(ly)...it can't be helped ?? I'm guessing this is おもしろく (interestingly) with either ...
user3856370's user avatar
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How would you say "doing something in preparation for something else"?

I was trying to make a Japanese sentence using て form to make a sentence that "Describes the manner in which the second verb is performed". While making my sentence I ran into a snag. Here what I was ...
Nate's user avatar
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Ending sentences with the て form

I have a question pertaining to the following line in a manga. いや実【じつ】は最近【さいきん】下【した】の名前【なまえ】で呼【よ】び合【あ】う事【こと】になってよ The speaker just called his girlfriend by her first name, and this surprises ...
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Using 〜てある as a future tense?

I've been taught that 〜てある is used to express that something has been done already in preparation for something, similar to 〜ておく (with a lot of nuance that I'm going to ignore here). However, just ...
charlieshades's user avatar
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What is it about ~まして?

Is it just the て-form of ます? So, could I just use 食べまして instead of 食べて? Leading to my next question (everything from here on is assumed): Since 食べまして is the polite form of 食べて, why wouldn't you use ...
thz's user avatar
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Japanese て form with いる verb groups

In my textbook it states there are three groups of verbs used with て form when followed by the helping verb いる (1) verbs that describe continuous states (2) verbs that describe activities that ...
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落としちまった - what form is this?

The phrase is pretty simple: デスノート 落{お}としちまった Which is obviously, "I dropped my Death Note". The verb (and the kanji) is for おとす or おちる, which is "to drop" or "to let fall", yet this is a ...
Sophie Proud's user avatar
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Keigo form of ~てみる

What is sonkeigo form of verb-て/で+みる? I've heard somewhere 思い出してごらんになる as a keigo form of 思い出してみる, but I doubt if it's correct.
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もらわれていくの grammar

I have problem understanding grammar in this sentence: アニー、もらわれていくのがいやになったの。。。 Could you help to translate it and give links to grammar?
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Using て form to connect two activities

In my textbook book It states that the て from of a verb can be used to connect two activities together similar to the particle と and how it connects nouns but with verbs. ex given in textbook: ...
Nate's user avatar
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Explanatory particle「の」 comes from 「ので」?

I just saw on Imabi.net : http://www.imabi.net/karanodenoda.htm That 「ので」 is actually the て form of the explanatory particle の with だ... It actually makes a lot of sense if it is true. I`ve always ...
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Why use ん here?

車は駐車場から出てきていったん止まりました. why use ん here? why dont' use ~ 出てきていって止まりました.
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Understanding 生きていて~

私たちはこの時代に生きていて邪悪さがいよいよ増していることを知っています。 I was given this sentence from a friend and I'm having trouble with the extra て in 生きていて。 Could someone explain what grammar is being used here? Why it needed ...
ジョーダン's user avatar
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Sentence Ending て form

妻が死んで、子供が家を出て。 Then my wife died, and my kids left home. Is the sentence ending て a contraction for another expression? If so can someone list the possible expressions for any sentence ending て form? ...
Darren Teo Zhong Ying's user avatar
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2 answers
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て形 to express 原因・理由, as opposed to から

Im having so much troubles trying to find a good explanation on how to use the て形 to express a cause, I saw that its more natural to use when the second part of the sentence is either a potential form ...
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How to explain the use of the -te form in "takasugite kaemasen"?

In the exercise section of the chapter on potentials in my textbook, the answer to the question "kimono wo, kaimashita ka?" is given as "iie, takasugite kaemasen deshita." Unfortunately, in neither ...
kenny's user avatar
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Do dictionaries indicate whether a verb should be used with -て + いる form?

Some verbs are commonly used in the -て + いる form. For example, "住んでいる" or "知っている". Do dictionaries typically indicate that they're used that way? jisho.org (which is sometimes described as being a ...
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て form followed by て, 「見てて」

I have heard a couple of times now the て form of a verb followed by て (or perhaps it was って?) used as an imperative. Some examples are 見てて and 黙ってて, when asking someone to look and be quiet ...
seafood258's user avatar
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When to use Vている and when to use the dictionary form?

Say that I am currently eating something, would I say 今食べています, or would I say 今食べます? Similarly, if I want to say that I know English, would I use 英語をしります or would I use 英語を知っています? What's the ...
q3d's user avatar
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Te-form beginner question [duplicate]

いもうとは東京に行っています。 How can I discover the meaning of this sentence? I'm studying the te-form and I'm a little bit confused. The correct translation will be: My little sister is in Tokyo (she´s ...
Helen M.'s user avatar
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Why don't we use ~なくて instead of ~ないで?

Background In my understanding that might be wrong, I think the ~ない form of a verb becomes an i-adjective. For example, 納{なっ}豆{とう}を食{た}べない人{ひと}が多{おお}いです。 where 納{なっ}豆{とう}を食{た}べない modifies 人{ひと}. ...
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How to correctly intepret the following clause?

This is a paragraph taken from a novel. It describes an outlawish group of people who decided to run away from civilized society. Simplified part with bolded clause that I'm having trouble with: ...
user10334's user avatar
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What is the て-form doing in this sentence?

当初とすげ替わった目的、アイズ・ヴァレンシュタインさんのことも含めて。 I'm not sure what the て-form does in this sentence. Could it be short for ている?
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Grammatical Pattern : VerbてのNoun

What does this grammatical structure/pattern mean? I am trying to understand the meaning of the following sentence where the VerbてのNoun pattern appears. "昭和64年に起きた誘拐事件を巡る物語だけに、“昭和な顔”を買われての起用だったという"...
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Using と to link clauses instead of て

I've seen several posts saying that と cannot be used to mean 'and' when linking clauses. They say it should be treated as 'when'. I have come across several sentences in my studies that do not support ...
user3856370's user avatar
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Sentence Polarity when connecting sentences/clauses with て/で

I was reading the Tobira textbook recently and I became a little confused when reading the following passage. "日本語では、会話をスムーズに進めるために「あいづちをうつ」ということをします。「はい/ええ」「うん」「そうですか」など色々ありますが、これらは ″Yes, I'm ...
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て form of adjective in 'no matter how much' clause

My story book says this: どんなに寒いでも... No matter how cold it is ... but my grammar book says this: どんなに寒くても... Both of them seem reasonable to me. Are they both correct? Is there any difference in ...
user3856370's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
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Intransitive verbs and ている

I was re-reading my Genki text the other day regarding intransitive verbs and ている and it stated that when intransitive verbs take the ている form they exclusively refer to the state resulting from the ...
mattb's user avatar
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15 votes
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て versus combining-form for joining clauses

Is there a difference between these two sentences 昨日はビールを飲んでパイを食べました。 昨日はビールを飲みパイを食べました。 More generally, when should I choose one form over the other?
user3856370's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Meaning of 「つりたくない者が、つるわけない」 and 「よけいな心配しないで、のびのびと育ってね」

I've come upon a couple of phrases in Doraemon I quite don't understand. The first is said by Nobita's mother, trying to calm Nobita down after finding him freaked out by his first encounter with ...
Daniel's user avatar
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Difference between 〜てみたい and 〜たい

I just learnt about 〜てみる and the book introduced 〜てみたい in an exercise. I can see the difference between, say, 食べたい and 食べてみたい, but with 行きたい and 行ってみたい it's not so clear. Would I be right to assume ...
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