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

  • Register

    Standard

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)

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

ばかりだ – Grammar Discussion

Join the Discussion