Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 10: 3/22

始末(しまつ)Ends up, Finally, In the end, (Unfortunately) As a result, This is what happened, To come about, To wind up

Structure

Verb[る] + 始末(しまつ)
この始末(しまつ)

Details

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About 始末だ

始末(しまつ), a noun meaning ‘settlement’, or ‘end result’ is commonly used in order to indicate a negative sequence of events that has been passed through, causing an equally negative result to come about at the end. It will be translated as ‘to wind up as (A)’, ‘to end up as (A)’, or ‘to come about that (A)’.

This expression will be used primarily after verbs in their dictionary form.

Due to 始末(しまつ) being used to highlight negative outcomes that are the result of going through a specific event, it will often appear in sentences that also include words like とうとう ‘to come to a head’, ()() ‘after a long process’, or 結局(けっきょく) ‘in the end’. It may seem redundant to include these phrases, but as 始末(しまつ) has the more literal translation of ‘to culminate in’ (including everything from beginning to end), it is more emphatic, rather than redundant.

Examples

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    武田(たけだ)さんは(ちい)さな(こえ)職場(しょくば)でハラスメントを()けたことを(つた)えてきて、しまいに(おお)きな(こえ)()()始末(しまつ)

    Takeda-san quietly told me that she was being harassed at work, and wound up crying out loud.

    あいつは、自分(じぶん)()こしたミスなのに、(あやま)るどころか(わたし)のせいにする始末(しまつ)

    Even though it was a mistake that he had made, far from apologizing, he ended up blaming me!

    せっかく友達(ともだち)(うみ)()計画(けいかく)()てたのに、田中(たなか)大事(だいじ)(よう)があって()けないとか、武田(たけだ)もシフトが(はい)ってたとかで、結局(けっきょく)(わたし)(ひと)()だけで()始末(しまつ)

    Even though I went out of my way to plan this trip to the beach with friends, Tanaka said that he had something important to do and couldn't go, while Takeda said that he had a shift. So I ended up going all by myself.

    武田(たけだ)山田(やまだ)さん、顔色(かおいろ)(わる)いですけど・・・」
    山田(やまだ)(よる)(おそ)くまでゲームをしていたので、おかげでこの始末(しまつ)。」

    Takeda: 'Yamada-san, you don't look so good...'
    Yamada 'I was playing video games until late at night, and this is the result.'

    田中(たなか)には二度(にど)仕事(しごと)(たの)まないぞ。納期(のうき)(まも)らないし仕上(しあ)がりも(わる)かったのに、()(わけ)ばかりならべて。最後(さいご)には追加(ついか)料金(りょうきん)(はら)えと()()始末(しまつ)

    I'll never ask Tanaka to work for me again. He can't meet deadlines, his workmanship is poor, and he only gives excuse after excuse. In the end he told me to pay an additional fee.

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      始末だ – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

      • andrewkfiedler

        andrewkfiedler

        Can this ever be past tense? Or only the verb before it becomes past tense?

      • nekoyama

        nekoyama

        This way to use 始末 expresses a (bad) final result. It can be in the present (始末だ) when talking about a situation that is still current, and it can be in the past (始末だった) when talking about a situation that existed in the past.

        The part before 始末 is generally not in the past when used in the sense of this grammar point regardless of the time of the main clause.

      • andrewkfiedler

        andrewkfiedler

        Thanks, yeah, I think what confused me was this sentence:
        " プロジェクトを期限内()()えることができなくて、上司()逆鱗()()れてしまう_____"

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