Grammar Info
N4 Lesson 7: 5/18

~て (Non-Sequence)
Non-sequence, and, but (contrast), parallel action/state

Structure
Verb[て]+ Phrase
Details
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使用域 一般
Information
One of the common functions that the conjunction particle has, is that it can contrast things that share some sort of relationship. This is similar to the contrastive use of . In order to identify this nuance of , we will need to think about whether the things being described are happening one after the other, or are simply describing ‘(A), and then (B)’. Let’s look at some examples.
  • お姉(ねえ)ちゃん毎晩(まいばん)勉強(べんきょう)弟(おとうと)毎晩(まいばん)ゲームている
    My older sister studies every night, and my younger brother plays games.
  • 妻(つま)買(か)い物(もの)に行(い)っ、私(わたし)ごみ捨(す)てに行(い)っ
    My wife went shopping, while I went to throw away the trash.
  • タケルご飯(はん)食(た)べナオミパン食(た)べ
    Takeru eats rice, and Naomi eats bread.
Due to this ‘contrast’ that is shown with , sometimes it is translated as ‘while (A), also (B)’. The primary difference between this nuance of , and other ‘while’ or ‘but’ grammar points, is that (A) and (B) will always have equal weight/importance in a sentence. Comparatively, structures like けど, のに, だが and similar points will usually imply that either (A) or (B) is more important in some way.
  • 朝(あさ)雨(あめ)降(ふ)っ夕方(ゆうがた)晴(は)れ
    It rained this morning, and then it cleared up in the afternoon. (There is no particular emphasis on either event)
  • 朝(あさ)雨(あめ)降(ふ)っけど夕方(ゆうがた)晴(は)れ
    It rained this morning, but then it cleared up in the afternoon. (There is emphasis on that it stopped raining)
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おばあさんいつもラジオ聴(き)いおじいさんいつもテレビ観(み)
My grandma always listens to the radio, and my grandfather always watches tv.
[When parts of the sentence (clauses) that are connected with the て-form have different topics, it often implies that they are contrasted with one another. In those cases, when the contrast is strong, て can be also translated as “but” and can be rephrased to が/けど, etc. instead.]
彼女(かのじょ)ピアノ弾(ひ)ドラム上手(じょうず)叩(たた)ける
She can play the piano, and also she can play drums well.
雨(あめ)降(ふ)っ雷(かみなり)鳴(な)
It rains and thunders.
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