The main item to learn in the Section 28 is the conjunctive particle “-shi,” that is for mentioning two things parallelly. Although the exercise A1 is not the sentence construction that uses “-shi,”, it has a common nature with sentences using “-shi,” in respect of mentioning two things parallelly. It is another conjunctive particle, “-nagara,”.
1. Shimbun o Yomi nagara, Asa-Gohan o Tabemsu. (Reading a newspaper, I eat my breakfast.)
2. Arubaito o Shi nagara, Nihongo Gakkou de Benkyou Shite imasu. (I work a part time job, and study at a Japanese language school.)
The sentence 1 expresses taking two actions simultaneously at a moment. On the other, the sentence 2 probably expresses a situation that “I” study in day time and work in the evening. There is not much difference between 1 and 2, but 1 is about short period of time, while 2 is about a little longer period of time.
In order to learn how to use “-nagara,”, let us examine the connection between a verb and “-nagara,”. As the conjugation pattern, a verb becomes “Masu-form without ‘masu’”. For example, in the sentence1, “-nagara,” is connected to the verb “Yomu/Yomimasu”. When getting rid of “masu” from Yomimasu, it becomes “Yomi”. Then you will get “Yomi+nagara,”. Likewise in the sentence2, the verb “Suru/Shimasu” and “-nagara,” are connected together. Since “Masu-form without ‘masu’” is “Shi”, you will get “Shi+nagara,”.
Group2 verbs + nagara,
– Miru/Mimasu (look, watch, see) => Mi/masu + nagara, => Minagara,
– Miseru/Misemasu (show) => Mise/masu + nagara, => Misenagara,
Group3 verbs +nagara,
– Kuru/Kimasu (come) => Ki/masu + nagara, => Kinagara,
– Suru/Shimasu (do) => Shi/masu + nagara, => Shinagara,
Gr1-W verbs + nagara,
– Iu/Iimasu (say) => Ii/masu + nagara, => Iinagara,
Gr1-K verbs + nagara,
– Hataraku/Hatarakimasu (work) => Hataraki/masu + nagara, => Hatarakinagara,
Gr1-G verbs + nagara,
– Isogu/Isogimasu (hurry) => Isogi/masu + nagara, => Isoginagara,
Gr1-S verbs + nagara,
– Hanasu/Hanashimasu (talk) => Hanashi/masu + nagara, => Hanashinagara,
Gr1-T verbs + nagara,
– Motsu/Mochimasu (hold) => Mochi/masu + nagara, => Mochinagara,
Gr1-B verbs + nagara,
– Asobu/Asobimasu (play for fun) => Asobi/masu + nagara, => Asobinagara,
Gr1-M verbs + nagara,
– Kamu/Kamimasu (bite, chew) => Kami/masu + nagara, => Kaminagara,
Gr1-R verbs + nagara,
– Suwaru/Suwarimasu (sit) => Suwari/masu + nagara, => Suwarinagara,
The followings are examples that use “-nagara,”;
<1> Simultaneous two actions
3. Uta o Utainagara, Piano o Hikimasu. (Singing a song, (she) plays a piano.)
4. Mizu o Nagashinagara, Osara o Araimasu. (Flushing water, I wash dishes.)
<2> Two actions in longer period of time (e.g. two occupations)
5. Kaisha de Hataraki nagara, Yasai mo Tsukutte imasu. (I work in a company, and I also grow vegetables.)
6. Nen ni San-kai Inaka ni Karinagara, Toukyou de Hataraite imasu. (I work in Tokyo, and I return to my hometown three times a year.)
————————————–
This post was written with reference to the exercise A1 on Section28 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
Agony or Fun?! Second Language Learning 