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情けないことに、今日もまともに記事を書く時間がありません。今日は、「Ｖルところです、Ｖテイルところです、Ｖタところです」の解説を書いていましたが、未完成のまま寝る時間になってしまいました。本来なら「Ｖタばかりです」を書くべきでしたが、英語のタイトルが思いつかず、こんな形で、連続投稿を止めないようにするだけにしました。
There are some types of the sentences using a verb, which expresses what phase the action is. Today’s post is going to deal with the word “tokoro” which emphasizes a sentence is to express the phase of action. The exercise A1 of the section 46 in Minnano Nihongo introduces the sentence construction that uses “tokoro”. Those sentences are okay, but I would like to introduce the word “tokoro” in a way that the phase of action is more clearly described.
In order to do so, we need to go a little beyond the elementary level books of Minna no Nihongo. Recently, we learned some combinations of “Verb in Masu-form without ‘masu’” and “Supplementary Verbs” in the post about A1 S44. There were six combinations as below;
(1) Tabe-masu + sugi mashita => Tabe sugi mashita. (ate too much)
(2) Tabe-masu + hajime mashita => Tabe hajime mashita. (started eating)
(3) Tabe-masu + owari mashita => Tabe owari mashita. (finished eating)
(4) Tabe-masu + tsuzuke mashita => Tabe tsuzuke mashita. (kept eating)
(5) Kagi i Kake-masu + wasure mashita => Kagi o Kake wasure mashita. (forgot to lock)
(6) Denwa o Kake-masu + naoshi mashita => Denwa o Kake naoshi mashita. (called again)
“(1) V+sugi mashita” was introduced in the A1 S44. And this time, let’s learn “(2) V+hajime masu” and “(3) V+owari masu” as preparation for sentences of action phases using “tokoro”. Actually these “V+hajimeru” and “V+owaru” are expressions that are introduced in the intermediate level books of Minna no Nihongo. This is why I wrote in the above, we need to go beyond .
<1> [V]+hajimeru/hajimemasu.
where, [V] is a verb in Masu-form without “masu”
1. Minna ga Tesuto no Kotae o Kaki hajime mashita. (Many had started writing the answers of the examination.)
2. Haru ni Natte, Sakura no Hana ga Saki hajime mashita. (Spring has come, and Cherry flowers had started blooming.)
<2> [V]+owaru/owarimasu.
where, [V] is a verb in Masu-form without “masu”
3. Kinou, sono Shousetsu o Yomi owari mashita. (Yesterday, I finished reading that novel.)
4. Denwa no Oto ga Nari owari mashita. (The sound of the phone has stopped ringing.)
All the four sentences from 1 to 4 use the verbs in Masu-form without “masu”;
– Kaki+masu => Kaki+hajimeru.
– Saki+masu => Saki+hajimeru.
– Yomi+masu => Yomi+owaru.
– Nari+masu => Nari+owaru.
And the sentences 1 and 2 are of “[V]+hajimeru” which means starting doing something, while the sentences 3 and 4 are of “[V]+owaru” which means finishing doing something.
Then, let me bring “[V-te] iru” up at this point. “[V-te]+iru” can expresses ongoing action, repetitive action, and continuing action. This time, “[V-te]+iru” for ongoing action is important because it can also express one of phases of action. Take a look at the following three sentences;
5. Satou-san wa Yuu-gohan o Tabe hajime masu. (Sato-san starts eating supper.)
6. Satou-san wa Yuu-gohan o Tabete imasu. (Sato-san is eating supper.)
7. Satou-san wa Yuu-gohan o Tabe owari masu. (Sato-san finishes eating supper.)
Thinking about action “eat”, it has some phases like the sentences 5 to 7. Those sentences describe a starting eating, an ongoing action of eating, and an end of action, respectively. When you want to empathize on what phase the action is in these sentences, the word “tokoro” comes in.
8. Satou-san wa Yuu-gohan o Tabe hajimeru tokoro desu. (It’s a moment that Sato-san is just about to start eating supper.)
9. Satou-san wa Yuu-gohan o Tabete iru tokoro desu. (Sato-san is eating supper at this moment.)
10. Satou-san wa Yuu-gohan o Tabe owaru tokoro desu. (Sato-san has almost finished eating supper.)
The word “tokoro” is a formal noun to emphasize that the sentence is about phase of action. Since it’s a noun, you can see that the verbs are in dictionary form; hajimeru, iru, and owaru.
The explanation above uses “[V]+hajimeru”, “[V-te]+iru”, and “[V]+owaru” for introduction of “tokoro”. However, the exercise A1 in the section 46 of Mina no Nihongo doesn’t use “[V]+hajimeru” and “[V]+owaru”, while it does use “[V-te]+iru”. It is probably because “[V]+hajimeru” and “[V]+owaru” are expressions of intermediate level. The followings are example sentences based on A1 S46.
{1} Action is just about to start
Note that a verb in front of “tokoro” is in Dictionary form.
11. Choudo ima kara Bangumi ga Hajimaru tokoro desu.
(Just now, the TV program is going to start.)
Choudo : adverb : just
Hajimaru : intransitive verb <=> Hajimeru: transitive verb
12. Korekara Tomodachi to Isshoni Shukudai o Suru tokoro desu.
(Now I am starting doing homework with my friends.)
{2} Action is Ongoing
Note that a verb in front of “tokoro” takes the form of “[V-te]+iru”.
13. Ima Ban-gohan o Tsukutte iru tokoro desu.
(Now I am cooking dinner.)
14. Shuushoku Katsudou o Shite iru tokoro desu.
(I have been doing job hunting.)
where; Shuushoku Katsudou is a noun which means job hunting
{3} Action is just about to end
Note that a verb in front of “tokoro” is in Ta-form.
15. Tatta Ima, Pan ga Urikireta tokoro desu.
(Only a moment ago, the bread was sold out.)
16. Choudo Furo kara Agatta tokoro desu.
(It’s right after I got out of bath.)
For the case “{1} Action is just about to start”, the verbs in front of “tokoro” are in Dictionary form. This is because Dictionary form usually functions as future tense. For the case “{2} Action is Ongoing”, the verbs in from of “tokoro” take the form of “[V-te]+iru”. This is because one of functions of “[V-te]+iru” is to indicate action is ongoing. And for the case “{3} Action is just about to end”, the verbs are in Ta-form. This is because Ta-form functions as perfect tense. Then now you know that the phase of action is defined by what form the verb takes in front of “tokoro”, NOT by the word “tokoro” per ce. In fact, the word “tokoro” originally means “place”, but in the sentence like todays’, the word functions to make it stand out that the sentence describes a phase of action.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 of Section46 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Actually, I wanted to take pictures of Iide mountains with snow on the top. But the sky was not so clear today.
Last time, we have learned how to use the conjunctive particle “-noni,” when it is used with subordinate clause whose predicate is a verb in Ta-form or Dictionary form. “-noni,” is used for contrast connections between a subordinate clause and a main clause. And “-noni,” is not just a functional word as a conjunctive particle, by using it, the sentence will have a modality to express that unexpected thing, complaint, and/or disappointment.
In this post, we are going to learn also how to use the conjunctive particle “-noni,”. But this time, the predicates of a subordinate clause is an I-adjective, a Na-adjective, or a Noun. The followings show how to connect these predicates to “-noni,”
(1) — [Stem of I-adj]+ i + noni, [Main Clause].
(2) — [Stem of Na-adj] + na + noni, [Main Clause].
(3) — [Noun] + na + noni, [Main Clause].
Let’s take a look at example sentences of (1) to (3).
1. Kono Supo’otsu Kurabu wa Kaihi ga Takai noni, Eigyou-Jikan ga Mijikai desu.
(Even though this sport club charges high, opening hours are short.)
“Takai” is an I-adjective, therefore it connects to “-noni,” like “Takai noni,”. This sentence, of course, mentions a complaint about short opening hours despite of high fee.
2. Kono Eiga wa Omoshirokunai noni, San-jikan mo Tsudzuki masu.
(Even though this movie isn’t so interesting, it takes three hours.)
The word for nigation “-nai” takes the same conjugation pattern as I-adjectives*. As an I-adjective connects to “-noni,” with “i”, “-nai” also connects to “-noni,” with “i”.
3. Kono Hoteru no Sotogawa wa Kireina noni, Naka wa Kitanai desu.
(This hotel looks beautiful outside, but the inside is dirty.)
Note that “Kirei” is not an I-adjective, but a Na-adjective “Kireina”. Its spelling is Kire<i> but the pronunciation is Kire<e>.
4. Mayonaka na noni, Dareka ga Denwa o Kakete ki mashita.
(Even though it’s middle of the night, someone called me.)
This is an example of “[Noun]+na+noni,”and shows a similarity to Na-adjectives.
When it comes to the connections to “-noni”, the following holds true for verbs and I-adjectives;
– Verbs and I-adjectives : [Short Ending style] + noni.
But for Na-adjectives and Nouns, “Kirei+da+noni, -” and “Mayonaka+da+noni,-” are hardly used. “Kirei+na+noni, -” and “Mayonaka+na+noni,-” should be treated as the right way.
*Usually the same, but you can find a difference between “-nai” and “I-adjectives” in the following sentences;
<I-adj> Omoshiro+soudesu. (It seems interesting) — [Stem]+soudesu
<-nai> Omoshiroku nasa+soudesu. (It doesn’t seem interesting.) — [na]+ sa + soudesu
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 of Section45 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
It is important to learn some complex sentence structures consisting of two clauses.
– [Subordinate Clause] + [FW], [Main Clause].
where, [FW] means functional words that are placed at the end of the subordinate clause and works to bring the main clause up.
Just before, we have learned the following sentences in the exercise A1 of the section 45.
– [Subordinate Clause] + ba’ai wa, [Main Clause].
This sentence in A1 has the following two features:
(1) It uses a noun “ba’ai” and the particle “-wa” as the functional word.
(2) The main clause mentions a thing that can be expected from the subordinate clause.
On the other, today’s sentences in the exercise A2 are;
– [Subordinate Clause] + noni, [Main Clause].
and have two features that are different from the sentences of A1.
(3) It uses a conjunctive particle “-noni,” as the functional word.
(4) The main clause mentions a thing that contrasts from the subordinate clause.
And “contrast” is important when dealing with conjunctive particles. Some conjunctive particles are used to array clauses parallelly. But most time, you need to be aware of a conjunctive particle that you are looking now is whether for direct or contrast connections between the subordinate clause and the main clause. When it comes to the conjunctive particles for contrast, we have already learned two;
<1>“-ga,” in the section 8
Example: Kono Resutoran no Tabemono wa Takai desuga, Oishikunai desu.
(Although foods in this restaurant are expensive, they are not tasty.)
If prices of foods in a restaurant are high, you would expect that the foods are delicious. But an unexpected thing happens. The subordinate clause starting with “Kono -” and the main clause with “Oishikunai – ” shows a contrast. “-ga,” is a conjunctive particle for contrast.
<2> “-temo,” in the section 25
Example: Ame ga Futtemo, Dekake masu.
(Even if it rains, I will go out.)
If it’s a job or duty, you have to go out of house even under the rainfall. But in general, people want to stay at home when it rains. “-temo,” is a conjunctive particle for contrast.
As well as “-ga,” and “-temo,”, the conjunctive particle “-noni,” is also a kind of contrasting. But not just making a contrasting connection, “-noni,” expresses a little bit of modality. In this regard, calling “-noni,” a functional word may be insufficient. Using “-noni,” for contrasting connection, you can express a feeling when something against expectation had happened, or a feeling that you are disappointed.
1. Gita’a o Isshou-Kemmei Renshuu-Shita noni, Minna no Mae de Umaku Hikemasen desshita. (Even though I had practiced a guitar hard, I couldn’t play it well in front of people.)
This sentence expresses his/her lamenting with use of “-noni”. Note that the connection between the verb “Suru/Shimasu” and “-noni,” is done with the Ta-form of “Suru/Shimasu”, which is “Shita”.
2. Mou Ichi-jikan mo Matte iru noni, Basu ga Kimasen. (Even though I have been waiting for one hour, no bus has come.)
You want to say a complaint if having been waiting for a bus for one hour. Note that the connection to “-noni,” seems to be done with a dictionary form “iru”, but it may be better to think it as “[V-te]+iru+noni,”.
Since using “-noni,” brings up a little modality of against-expectation, complaint, and disappointment, the main clause may have a tendency to be a negative comment as seen in the sentence 1 and 2.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A2 of Section45 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
1. Oyu ga Nurui Ba’ai wa, Furonto ni Itte kudasai. (If the hot water is not worm, tell it to the reception.)
2. Kopi’i-youshi ga Hitsuyouna Ba’ai wa, Jimushitsu ni Tori ni Itte kudasai. (If you need paper for photocopy, go getting it to the office.)
3. Shisetsu ga Teikyu’ubi no Ba’ai wa, Renraku-Shite kudasai. (If the facility is day-off, please contact to me.)
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 of Section45 in “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
