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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About Verb[て] + B

One of the common functions that the conjunction particle て has, is that it can contrast things that share some sort of relationship. This is similar to the contrastive use of は. In order to identify this nuance of て, 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.

Due to this 'contrast' that is shown with て, sometimes it is translated as 'while (A), also (B)'. The primary difference between this nuance of て, and other 'while' or 'but' grammar points, is that (A) and (B) will always have equal weight/importance in a て 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.

Examples

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    昨日(きのう)は曇(くも)っていて寒(さむ)かった。

    Yesterday was cloudy and cold.

    チトゲさんは歌(うた)ってオノデラさんは踊(おど)っている。

    Chitoge is singing and Onodera is dancing. (but・contrast)

    雨(あめ)が降(ふ)って雷(かみなり)が鳴(な)る。

    It rains and thunders.

    おばあさんはいつもラジオを聴(き)いておじいさんはいつもテレビを観(み)る。

    My grandma always listens to the radio, and my grandfather always watches tv. (but・contrast)

    彼女(かのじょ)はピアノを弾(ひ)けてドラムも上手(じょうず)に叩(たた)ける。

    She can play the piano, and also she can play drums well.

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      Verb[て] + B – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

      • Lamster

        Lamster

        No issue with the grammar point, but the hint for this example threw me off completely.

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        @Lamster Hey! The Japanese sentence uses 弾ける, the potential form of 弾く, “to play.” The “can” in the sentence is referring to the subject’s ability to play the piano and is indicated by the verb hint at the end of the sentence ("[弾ける]").

        It looks like you were trying to conjugate with the causative form (“made to play”), which would be 弾かせて and would not use the potential form and would not fit well within the context of the sentence.

        Let me know if I am misunderstanding your comment. Cheers!

      • Lamster

        Lamster

        Thanks, you’re right, I got is now! I was somehow under the impression that there are only plain forms of verbs in the hint parentheses, so I assumed that 引ける is the plain form of the verb.

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