Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 1: 4/22

(あいだ)While, During, Between, Period

Structure

Verb + (あいだ)
[い]Adjective + (あいだ)
[な]Adjective + + (あいだ)
Noun + + (あいだ)

Details

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About の間に

(あいだ) is an expression that can be used with almost any type of word, to highlight that (A) is the period/space within which something else will or did happen/exist. It may also be a period/space 'until' something else will or did happen/exist. It is a combination of the noun (あいだ), and the case marking particle .

When used with verbs or い-Adjectives, (あいだ) will simply follow the verb/adjective. However, の will be required after nouns, while な will be required after な-Adjectives.

When (あいだ) is being used to express the period/space 'until' something happens/exists, it will be paired with まで.

With (あいだ), the (B) action/location is usually something that can or did happen/exist at a 'specific' point during (A), and does/did not take up the whole time-frame/space of (A). In this way, it can translate more literally as 'in the span of (A)'. This comes from the kanji (あいだ)'s common meaning as 'an interval'.

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

    いつも(ねむ)っている(あいだ)歯軋(はぎし)りをしてしまう。

    I always grind my teeth while I'm asleep.

    (わたし)(ひま)(あいだ)電話(でんわ)をかけてください。

    Please call me while I am free.

    仕事(しごと)()くまで(あいだ)掃除(そうじ)したかったけど無理(むり)だった。

    During the time that I had before going to work I wanted to clean, but it was not possible.

    (わたし)(いえ)にいる(あいだ)電話(でんわ)をかけてください。

    Please call me while I am at home.

    (ぼく)東京(とうきょう)()っていた()(ねん)(あいだ)(かれ)()わってしまった。

    He had changed during the 5 years I was in Tokyo.

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      の間に – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (24 in total)

      • casual

        casual

        I have a question about the last review sentence.

        The article says:

        When 間に is being used to express the period/space ‘until’ something happens/exists, it will be paired with まで.

        And both examples in the article indeed use まで.
        But the last review sentence doesn’t:

        今日の午後の2時から3時の間には、荷物が届くだろう。

        Are both options correct? Or is まで required?

      • Fuga

        Fuga

        Hey @casual !

        Since 間に in this sentence is used to express the period/space ‘until’ something happens/exists, までに is required here, so we have fixed this sentence!

      • Brittanyrose37

        Brittanyrose37

        Me too - am I missing the answer somewhere?

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