Yesterday we learned a helping verb “-shimau”. With a Te-form of a verb, “V-te shimau” can express the following two;
(1) A thing to do has already been done. (in the case of past-tense “shimaimashita”)
Example: Happyou no Suraido wa Mou Tsukutte shimai mashita.
(I have already made slides for presentation.)
(2) Though I didn’t expect, I made an error. (with past-tense “shimaimashita”)
Example: Densha ni Kasa o Wasurete Shimai mashita.
(I left my umbrella in a train.)
Today we are learning the usage (2). Please refer to yesterday’s post about the usage (1) and other basic things about “V-te shimau”.
The usage of (2) is used when you have made an error. It is like you didn’t have any intention to do such mishap, which is usually difficult to recover. Look at some examples below;
1. Heya no Kagi o Nakushite shimai mashita. (I lost my room key.)
The verb “Nakusu/Naku[shi]masu” is a Gr1-S verb. In order to get Te-form, using {shi=>shite} for Gr1-S verbs, you get “Nakushite”. Note that “Nakusu/Nakushimasu” is a transitive verb. Therefore, the object of action “lose” is described with the particle “-o”(Kagi o Nakusu).
2. Jugyou ni Okurete shimai mashita. (I couldn’t get to the class in time.)
The verb “Okureru/Okuremasu” is a Gr2 verb. It’s easy to get Te-form “Okurete” by taking place of “masu” with “te”. Note that “Okureru/Okuremasu” is an intransitive verb. Therefore, you cannot say “(WRONG) Jugyou o Okureru”. The particle “ni” is used to describe what is target of an action’s effect.
3. Sumaho ga Kowarete shimai mashita.
Since the particle “ga” is the subject marker, “Sumaho” is the subject. “Kowarete” is the Te-form of “Kowareru/Kowaremasu”. Do you know “Kowareru” is an intransitive verb or a transitive verb? Look at the comparison between intransitive and transitive verbs below;
– Sumaho ga Kowarete shimai mashita. (My smartphone has broken.)
– Sumaho o Kowashite shimai mashita. (I have broken my smartphone.)
“Kowareru” is an intransitive verb, and “Kowasu” is a transitive verb. Be careful about the difference of the particles between “ga” and “o”.
“V-te shimau” of today’s usage is to express that an unintentional error has been made. But with a caution about particles, let us look at the following conversations;
Teacher : Doushite Jugyou ni Okuremashitaka. (Why are you late for the class?)
Student1 : Densha ga Okurete shimatta ndesu. (Because ?????)
Student2 : Densha ni Okurete shimatta ndesu. (Because ?????)
Can you tell which student will be scolded by teacher?
Before wrap up toady’s post, let’s review two usages of “V-te shimau” again.
(1) A thing to do has already been done.
Example: Happyou no Suraido wa Mou Tsukutte shimai mashita.
(I have already made slides for presentation.)
(2) Though I didn’t expect, I made an error.
Example: Densha ni Kasa o Wasurete Shimai mashita.
(I left my umbrella in a train.)
Don’t you feel funny because usually (1) expresses a positive thing, but (2) a negative thing? The identical “V-te shimau” sentence construction means two opposite things. Sometimes an independent one sentence is not enough to know the meaning. You need to know the context in which the “V-te shimau” sentence is being used.
4. Furui Hon o Sutete shimai mashita. (I have thrown old books.)
Is this sentence 4 means (1) or (2)? — It’s not clear.
4-1. Furui Hon o Sutete shimai mashita. Heya ga Hiroku Nari mashita.
(I have thrown old books. I have got more space in my room.)
4-2. Kichouna Hon deshitaga, Machiatte Furui Hon o Sutete shimai mashita.
(I mistakenly have thrown old books that were valuable.)
Now you know 4-1 is (1), 4-2 is (2).
Likewise, sometimes an identical sentence construction has two usages. You can’t tell the exact meaning without context. Now we know the potential expressions. (We learned the long one in the section 18 and short one in 27. Let me use the long one.)
5. Oyogu koto ga Dekimasu. (I can swim.)
5-1 Watashi wa Sen-me’etoru Oyogu koto ga Dekimasu. (I can swim 1000 meters.)
5-2 Kono Pu’uru wa Yoru Juu-ji made Oyogu koto ga Dekimasu. (We can swim until 10 p.m. in this pool.)
5-1 describes a person’s ability, and 5-2 describes that a situation allows you to do. This kind of “the same construction has two meanings” will appear again in the section 48 about Causative expressions. It is important for Japanese learners to understand meaning of a sentence not only based on the construction, but also deriving from the context.
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section29 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”
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