Questions tagged [grammar]
文法. A collective term for syntax (the way sentences are put together) and morphology (forms of words, including the way new words are put together). Often used to describe function words such as particles, to describe word endings, and to talk about general sentence structure.
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How to use たがわず as “Regardless of"
Context: two smugglers arrive at village as part of their current assignment
Rock:それにしても閑散としてるな
Revy:人のいねえゴースト ･ ヴィレッジなのさ
この島じゃ ２
年も前から戒厳令が敷かれてる
昼夜たがわず治安部隊とゲリラが鉛弾ぶち込み合ってんだ
もっと都会の島にでも逃げちまったんだろここの連中は
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ように and ような difference
could anyone explain to me ような and ようにdifference because its so complicated for me. I have in my book N1のようなN2 and Nのように[v,adjい,adjな] but sometimes I see that after ように there is a noun for example; ...
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does ある and いる have つもりform and volitional form?
I cant find the answer because everywhere its different. I always have problem with ある and いる because sometimes you cant use it with some grammar. I would be very grateful if someone could explain ...
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Vocabulary question: usage of 推考
I ran across the following passage:
しかし、この集はまた実によくできていて、『奥の細道』にも十分に匹敵する文芸作品となっている。これは、集内の句を別にすれば芭蕉が『奥の細道』以後も、詞書などの句文等に推考しておいたためである。
(full text here)
My problem came up with the sentence in bold (the ...
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Understanding 良いって人だけ
I am uncertain about the meaning of 良いって人だけ below
誰かに愛されてもそれに何かを返す事はない
それでも良いって人だけ好きになってくれたら良い
I think the last sentence means "even so, it is fine if anyone takes liking of me because I am a ...
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Could someone explain the conjugation of ~だって？ Not to be confused with ~だった
I see ~だって in combination with some nouns in various sentences from different resources during my studies. I'm confused about it as I don't really understand it or know how to include it in my ...
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What is the difference between Xを同伴する and Xを同伴させる?
A military squadron was assigned a task by a supervisor:
この班への課題は十歳の少女を同伴させるというものに決まった。
It seems to me that 少女を同伴させる here means the same thing as 少女を同伴する. Is there any difference between these two?
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Does って have a conditional usage with verbs?
I was listening to a song (‘Found And Lost’ by Survive Said The Prophet) and the first lyric is:
「かかってこいよ」と叫んだってそう思っていない時もあってしまうんでしょ
I can understand the meaning of the sentence, however I’m a little ...
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Can 近く modify an adjective to mean "almost adjective"?
図書館からの道筋をもう一度たどりなおして、二人は一時間近く暗い通路をさまよった。
They re-traced the route from the library one more time and wandered the (almost/nearby) dark corridors for an hour.
I don't know if 近く means nearby (the ...
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Phrases involving どうした
スネイプがそれを盗んだところで、それがどうしたというんだ。 (Japanese TL)
What did it matter if Snape stole it, really? (Original English)
I'm struggling to understand それがどうしたというんだ. What does it actually mean, and is there are ...
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の after て-form in 期待してのものだった [duplicate]
I'm wondering about this sentence from Spy x Family, episode 7 (around 50 seconds in).
The main character is thinking about how to get closer to his target, Desmond, and is mulling over a recent ...
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言いたいところだ: Similar to English "I would say"?
This comes from the anime Black Lagoon where A and B are smugglers who are upset that a newer crew member isn't willing to do more dirty work (he cares too much about morals etc.) for the business. He ...
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What makes a compound lexical if it uses an auxiliary that can be attached to any verb?
I'd like to understand more about lexical compound verbs, specifically, lexical compounds that include an auxiliary that can be used with any verb. The verb 残す is an auxiliary that can be attached to ...
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Breaking down はそのままに grammar
I need help understanding the usage of はそのままに in this sentence:
この改訂版では、「げんき」の特長である「教えやすさ」はそのままに、私たちの経験や皆様の声を反映させて、新しい内容の追加、改訂を行いました。
I think は plays a contrastive role and そのままに is short for ...
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Understanding 責務と待遇が伴う無期限契約
This is the definition for 正規雇用
せいきこよう【正規雇用】
一つの企業に所属する者として相応の責務と待遇が伴う無期限契約の雇用形態。一般にフルタイムで働く。⇔非正規雇用。
I am confused about 責務と待遇が伴う無期限契約 part. It seems like 無期限契約 is either an object for 伴う or a ...
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~を～をする construction
I was watching a video of 参議院議員 speaking and noticed this construction used twice by two different people.
https://youtu.be/F2YHiMV8BcM?si=Dvy9tvSNGjgYcedk&t=379 6:19
その上で 改正後の子供・子育て支援法におきましては ...
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meaning of だからさ in this context
I checked some translations and I got something like "you see, I'm a mage..." or "you know, I'm a mage...".
I"m still not 100% sure
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why is で being used in 買ってくるか で
The following is my transcription from a podcast for learners of Japanese. The speaker is listing a few 家庭料理 dishes.
コロッケはね、どこのうちでも作るか, それかスーパーとかで買ってくるかで、よく食べる料理の一つだと思います。
Why is the で in bold being ...
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How do I connect a list of items to a previous sentence together?
I think how it's said in English is "My family has 4 people in it; my dad, my mom, my older brother, and me," and in Japanese, I know how to say that. What I don't know is how I'm supposed ...
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Understanding ごとに in ～種類ごとに分ける
I am bit confused about the meaning of ごとに in this sentence
服を下着や寝間着など種類ごとに分ける。
In one of my previous questions, in 区分特性ごとに区分する, the meaning of 区分特性ごとに is clear: for each characteristic. However, I ...
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Understanding あながち for "not necessarily"
I understand that this phrase is used with a negative to create a "not entirely" or "not necessarily" sentence. But I am having trouble distinguishing it from 必ずしも.
Online ...
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Understanding [number]+つ手前
I am bit confused with the construction [number]+つ手前. Here are some examples of its usage:
終点の二つ手前で降りる
名古屋の一つ手前の駅
橋の一つ手前の角を右に曲がる
信号の 1 つ手前の角を右に曲がる
I kind of understand how it works in the first ...
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Understanding やる vs. できる in "To finish"
I just randomly had this thought when I was reviewing the use of できる. One of the meanings is "to finish," but these two sound...similar.
宿題をやった。
宿題ができた。
Not going to pad this out with ...
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Some questions on the use of つつある
Harry has just evaded pursuit:
フィルチやスネープの足音も聞こえなくなり、ハリーは落ち着きを取り戻しつつあった。
The sound of Filch and Snape's footsteps faded away and Harry was recovering his composure.
"Harry was recovering his ...
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What am I not understanding about the grammar of 箱の中身、()にしよう。
This is a grammar question on jtest4you grammar exercise 26. The answer choices are
A. 見ないこと
B. 見なかったこと
C. 見ないもの
D. 見なかったもの
I chose A but the answer is B. Both sounded correct to me. I do not ...
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Understanding 区分特性ごとに区分する
While reading the definition for 交差分類, I am uncertain with this sentence:
区分特性ごとに区分し，区分特性適用の優先順位を定めておけば，交差分類は生じない.
It seems like 区分特性ごとに区分する has two possible interpretations:
To classify by ...
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What is the meaning and background of やうな
私は童話でも書くやうな、または刺繍でも見るやうな気持で. I assume that the meaning of the YAUNA is a combination of YA to repeat and NA to make it negative, but what does the U mean? Can anybody help?
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“自分” not referring back to the subject?
This particular usage of “自分のためにやっているんだ” caught my eye. I would have originally interpreted it as meaning “Don't mind it; I'm doing this for myself you see.” with “自分” referring back to the subject, ...
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How to say "to know" a language?
I ran into the sentence in Duolingo:
本当に? 弟も中国ができます
which I was supposed to translate as:
Really? My younger brother also knows Chinese.
I was a little rusty about the usage is "ができます" so ...
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Does “〜でいたい” assume already being in that state?
Consider for instance “元気でいたい” does that imply the speaker is at this point already healthy and wants this state to persist, or can it also be used when the speaker is not yet healthy but simply wants ...
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What does 腕鳴らしに殺されてくれ mean
For context. The character is introducing herself to the villain. After she states her name, she wields a sword made from the bones of someone she just killed and says this before engaging in a fight ...
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Can 持っていく be used with a group of people?
I had read this post:
Using 持っていく with people
But recently I am reading a manga, there is a bubble of text says 食堂に入って 大丈夫なら 持っていくけど? which is heavily like "bringing a group of people to ...
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Use of が in 「毎日が地獄です。」
Recently, I came across the following phrase written on a T-shirt:「毎日が地獄です。」. I'm trying to understand the use of が in this context. After discussing with native speakers, I gathered the following ...
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Adding emphasis to "was"
I know (at least I think I do) that you can add contrast to verbs by adding は e.g. 食べてはいる = "I'm eating it (not drinking it/rubbing it on my skin etc)".
I'm wondering, specifically, how you ...
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How do we know which particle to use for がっかりする？
I'm confused over when to use which particle for the word, がっかりする, as well as other verbs that may use a range of different particles in different contexts. Is there a specific rule to knowing when to ...
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Distinguishing between an adverbial phrase and a part of a compound noun
I am reading an article entitled 日本の従業員が｢世界一やる気がない｣本当の理由 and I am having trouble translating this title. Seems like 世界一やる気がない is translated as "the least motivated in the world" so that 世界一 ...
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Using 方が in a comparative clause
What about this sentence:
ジュリアのかみの方が僕のかみより長いです
How would you translate 方が?
As: Concerning... ?
and
Concerning Julia's hair, it is longer than mine.
as a translation for the whole sentence.
I would ...
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Using はず in a relative clause
I'm practicing using relative clause in Japanese and I'm stuck on how should I use はず in a relative clause. My sentence is as follows:
かぜをひいていて家にいるはずのみやさんは...
Should I use はずの or simply はず？
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Role of に in もどかしさに喉の奥から叫び声が迸ってしまいそうな感情
I am uncertain about the role of に here:
もどかしさに喉の奥から叫び声が迸ってしまいそうな感情
I initially thought もどかしさ is where 叫び声 will end up in. But I think it is better to understand the に in もどかしさに as a reason or cause ...
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Understanding ということにさせて
I am not quite sure about the meaning of ということにさせて in this panel:
I think this usage of にする is similar to the one used in 無かった事にする. One thing I don't get is why させて is used instead of して.
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Parsing 彼の優しさが一人の女の子へ向ける感情
The below is a monologue made by a speaker who happened to become more conscious of a guy close to her:
だってもう無意識に彼を目で追ってしまっている。かっこよく見えてしまっている。彼の優しさが一人の女の子へ向ける感情なのではないかと...
I have trouble making ...
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Parsing それとも俺の経験と想像力が足りないだけで
I am not sure how to parse それとも俺の経験と想像力が足りないだけで. I initially parsed it as
それとも((俺の経験)と(想像力))が足りないだけで
but I later realized that it makes more sense to understand that way:
それとも(俺の経験)と(想像力が足りないだけ)で
...
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Positive 〜る to 〜らん conjugation? [duplicate]
I'm playing the game 'Hades' and came across:
ハデス神の名において、オリュンポスの神の御言葉を賜らん！
The character seems to be requesting/demanding/etc the words of the gods, so why is 賜る conjugated to 賜らん?
This game is ...
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I want to climb smth: should I use に or を
I'm a little confused about whether you should use に or を with the verb のぼります。Should we say 富士山に登りたいです or 富士山を登りたいです？
Also, I think the word 登ります is also used for describing the action of getting on a ...
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How is 今の (ima no) / 今のは (ima no wa) formed grammatically?
I understand the usage and the meaning is obvious, however I want to know how it is actually formed. The meaning makes sense as "of now" for eg. in this funny clip:
https://www.youtube.com/...
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What syllables can cause Sokuon?
I started studying kanji and found out about sokuon. But I have noticed that other than the last つ of the first syllable, there are other syllables that also can cause sokuon.
What I want to know is ...
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Decomposing grammar of "内戦の続くソマリアで見た光景"
This is a grammar question.
When looking for “悲惨” in the Kenkyusha’s dictionary (5th ed), there is the following example sentence:
内戦の続くソマリアで見た光景は実に悲惨であった. Somalia, with it’s ongoing civil war, was a ...
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How do you negate っこない
I don understand how to negate the grammar point of っこない
I get that you put the verb in the ますstem before っこない
Like in the example
泳げっこない
--> There is no way I can swim
But what if I've always been ...
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Are these two sentences interchangeable? What is the difference?
１．荷物はここに置いてください。
２．ここに荷物を置いてください。
What is the difference between these two sentences?
Is the location of the placing (ここに) interchangeable before or after the direct object?
