Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 3: 5/22

ばかりだ(Only) continue to, Keep on -ing, More and more

ばっかり, ばっか, ばかし, and ばっかし are all fairly common casual variations of ばかり

Structure

Verb［る］+ ばかりだ
Verb［る］+ ばかりで + Phrase

Details

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About ばかりだ

Occasionally, the adverbial particle ばかり is combined with verbs in their attributive form, to show that (A) is the only thing that is occuring. It may also imply that (A) is happening 'more and more', or that 'it keeps on (A)'. This phrase utilizes ばかり's standard meaning of 'only', and combines it with the auxiliary verb だ (or です).

As can be seen with these sentences, this use of ばかり is paired almost exclusively with verbs that describe some form of change (higher/lower, stronger/weaker, better/worse, faster/slower, etc).

If the speaker would like to express further information in a (B) part of the sentence, だ will simply get changed to its conjunctive form で, before continuing.

Caution

This use of ばかり is primarily seen with negative trends. However, this is not a grammatical rule, and positive trends may also sometimes appear with ばかりだ.

  • 毎日(まいにち)夜(よる)遅(おそ)くまで働(はたら)いているから、疲(つか)れがたまっていくばかりだ。
    Because I work until late at night everyday, I keep getting more exhausted.
  • 病院(びょういん)を変(か)えてから、体調(たいちょう)が良(よ)くなっていくばかりだ。
    Ever since I changed hospitals, my health keeps on getting better.

Examples

--:--

    彼(かれ)は傲慢(ごうまん)になるばかりだ。

    He continues to get more arrogant. (only)

    おじいさんの健康(けんこう)が衰(おとろ)えるばかりだ。

    The state of grandpa's health keeps on declining. (only)

    最近(さいきん)、ビットコインの価値(かち)が下(さ)がるばかりだ。

    Recently, the price of bitcoin keeps on dropping. (only)

    癌(がん)のため、体(からだ)が弱(よわ)っていくばかりです。

    Because of the cancer, my body continues to get weaker. (only)

    夏休(なつやす)みになってから、日本語(にほんご)を忘(わす)れていくばかりだ。

    I have been continuously forgetting Japanese since summer vacation started. (only)

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ばかりだ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

  • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    Thanks very much, @nekoyama. Sure enough, I found it in Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar under the 一方 entry, just as you said. It even gives ますます as a related entry, which most certainly would translate as “more and more” in the right context. I stand corrected! I appreciate the other references, too. I can see I need to start consulting more Japanese primary sources.

    Looks like I need to add another card to my deck to cover this. I suppose, apart from 一方だ being more formal, the two are otherwise cognatively equivalent when used in this sense? Maybe I can consolidate that into a single card.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey @wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    Another difference is that ばかり is generally used with negative trends, while 一方 can be used with both, negative and positive trends.

    NEGATIVE
    怪我はひどくなるばかりだ。
    怪我はひどくなる一方だ。
    The injury keeps on getting worse.

    POSITIVE
    アイテムコストが下がる一方だ。
    The costs per item keeps on going down.

    Also, 一方 can be also used with certain nouns expressing trends, while ばかり cannot.

    WITH NOUNS
    Bitcoin価格は騰貴の一方だ。
    Price of bitcoin keeps on rising.

  • Dsingis

    Dsingis

    I’m having some real trouble understanding the difference between ばかり and つつある.

    The review sentences seem so similar, yet I always use ばかり when it wants to hear つつある and vice versa.

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