30
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the logic behind "te" in "chotto matte te"
ちょっと待ってて (chotto matte te) literally means "Keep waiting for a while (please)." That て (te) at the end does not mean "I'll be back shortly", at least grammatically.
ちょっと (chotto) just means "for a ...
- 306k
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Why is a verb in the past (た形) contradicted with ～ていない?
@snailplane introduced this interesting article to me!
山下 好孝. テンスの「た」とアスペクトの「た」 (PDF)
初級日本語教科書では「～ましたか」の質問に対して，「～ていません」と答えるのを初級の学習者に導入する時は、「もう」と「まだ」を教える時である。（略） しかし、実際は、去年のことやもっと昔のことを開いても、「～ていません」「...
- 306k
14
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Ai oboete imasu ka, what does "imasu" add here?
A note on translation
Expressing the same ideas in different languages inevitably results in all kinds of things that don't fit very well, if we try to look only at the individual words used in those ...
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11
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meaning of 歩けなくなっちゃって
Here's where 歩けなく comes from:
Start with the verb 歩く, "to walk".
Turn it into its potential form: 歩ける, "able to walk".
Make it negative: 歩けない, "unable to walk".
Turn the newly formed i-adjective into ...
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10
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Confused in choosing 早い versus 速い
Your understanding is correct. 速い refers to one's speed and 早い refers to time. However, 早い has more uses than just meaning early. Check:
How to distinguish between the meanings of "quickly", ...
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10
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Grammar and aspect of 「コーヒー飲んでき！」
Here in all of your examples, it's a contraction of 飲んでいき～ (飲んで行きい) in regional dialect mainly used in the Kansai area, meaning 飲んでいけ (飲んで + subsidiary verb 行け), or 飲んでいって(ちょうだい), literally "(Please) ...
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10
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Must I use past tense before 後?
This た doesn't mean "past" but "completion". It isn't unnatural that た which means "completion" is used in things in the future.
So 明日は、朝ご飯を食べた後、学校に行く is correct.
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10
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Are Japanese "tenses" aspects in disguise?
The real lie is in the assumption that the Japanese language is genetically related to Chinese. There is long cultural contact, and heavy lexical/morphological borrowing, but the underlying structures ...
- 836
10
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Usage and meaning : 寝ろ vs 寝てろ?
This type of いる is called a subsidiary verb, and what it means roughly depends on the context and the verb type. For details, see: When is Vている the continuation of action and when is it the ...
- 306k
9
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How to say "started to do something"?
If you had to construct the sentence using 〜はじめる, that would be:
傘を持っていきはじめなければいけなくなった。
I had to start bringing an umbrella.
Since that is quite a mouthful (and not very natural despite its ...
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why they used -ていれば instead of -ば?
俺がもっと早く飛天を倒していれば… If only I had defeated Hiten much earlier...
俺がもっと早く飛天を倒せば… If I defeat Hiten much more quickly...
ている here describes the continuation of state. See: When is Vている the ...
- 306k
8
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Intransitive verbs and ている
Short answer: Yes, it's a loose rule of thumb with many exceptions. Personally, I wouldn't even bother with memorizing that rule; it seems more trouble than it's worth.
Long answer:
Verbs in the -te ...
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8
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The difference between する and している with onomatopoeias
Generally, 〜してる indicates the state of that onomatopoeia, while 〜する is describing the stimulus that caused it.
Say you are watching an intense movie with a friend.
ドキドキしてる = (My/your/his/their/our) ...
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8
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Aspects in stylistics/meaning of 東雲
東雲【しののめ】 fell out of use many years ago, and it's marked as a 古語 (archaic word) in dictionaries.
It's now mainly recognized as an uncommon proper noun (e.g., 東雲駅, list of fictional characters named ...
- 306k
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Why does 疲れた translate to the present tense
疲れる is not an unusual verbal, so there is no need to identify verbals like it. Rather, understanding how Japanese expressions tend to be expressions of changes of state will help with interpreting ...
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When is <verb stem>+かける's meaning to start and leave unfinished?
Unfortunately your first example doesn't tell the same meaning as your English. You have to say:
ビールを飲んでみたことがあるんだけど、味が全然好きじゃなかった。
Plainly speaking, ～しかける has only one meaning: aborting before the ...
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Difference between 感謝している and 感謝する
感謝する is "to thank", and 感謝している is "to have been thankful (since sometime in the past)" or "to be (always) thankful". Use 感謝します when someone just did something for you. Use 感謝しています when someone did ...
- 306k
8
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Why 忘れてる in「来週（明日）には忘れてる」?
I think the main difference lies in when the said action (instant-state-change verb, 忘れる in your case) can happen. 来週には○○する implies something will happen around or (shortly) before 来週 but not now, ...
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7
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How to say, "I've been living in America for 9 months" (and still am)?
The construct is more or less correct, but there are a few grammatical errors in your proposal.
アメリカで９月間ぐらいに住んでいます。
I believe 住む takes に for the location of residence.
アメリカに住んでいます。
「９月間ぐらい」 ...
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7
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だんだん読めないようになった versus だんだん読めなくなってきた
A is less natural than B, because だんだん, which stands for a gradual change, doesn't really get along with なった, which is an instantaneous change.
But it sounds like approximation of だんだん読めないようになっていった. ...
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7
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For 知る what is the difference between the simple present (知る) and 知っている forms?
知る means something more akin to "get to know". So by saying 電話番号を知ります you're saying that you "are getting to know something ", you don't know it yet.
So if you're asking whether someone knows a ...
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Are Japanese "tenses" aspects in disguise?
It is a bit controversial whether Japanese really has tenses or aspects, but it may be more correct to think of them as aspects, as Japanese tends to refer to changes in state. Either way, there are ...
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the logic behind "te" in "chotto matte te"
(1) chyotto matte tte
(2) why does the tte mean "... and I'll be back shortly".
(1) ちょっと待｛ま｝ってって
↓
「ちょっと待｛ま｝って」って
↓
「ちょっと待って（ください）」って
↓
「ちょっと待って（ください）」と
↓
「ちょっと待って（ください）」と（私｛わたし｝が言｛い｝ってるのに、...
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6
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What is the difference between Vてはじめる and はじめてV meaning?
[初]{はじ}めてする means I do for the first time. しはじめる means I start to do.
しはじめる implies that you are doing that now.
So, sentence 1 is "I drank coffee for the first time" and 2 is "I started to drink ...
- 24.1k
6
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What does ていた mean?
ていた doesn't mean anything on itself, because it's a part of conjugation:
晴れる{はれる} - the verb - which means roughly "to become clear" (as in clear weather).
晴れて{はれて} - verb's te-form
て+いる - a grammar ...
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Confused with verb form ( I am eating vs I was eating, vs I haven’t eaten (yet))
To form the past progressive form (was ～ing), just change the います/いる to the past tense.
食べています。 / 食べている。
I am eating (now). [present progressive]
食べていました。 / 食べていた。
I was eating (at that ...
- 306k
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た particle usage in のど乾いた
The verb 乾く describes a change of state (to get dry) rather than a lasting state (to be dry). Therefore, when used in the present tense, it means such a change either happens usually, as opposed to at ...
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