Grammar Info
N4 Lesson 6: 8/16
~て (Reasons and Causes)And・and so, Due to, Because of, Since, Conjunctive
Notice that Verb[て] + すみません uses this version of て
Structure
Verb[て]+ Phrase
[い]Adjective[て]+ Phrase
[な]Adjective + で + Phrase
Noun + で + Phrase
Exceptions:
いい → よくて + B
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About Verb[て] + B
One of the functions that the conjunction particle て performs in Japanese is very similar to 'since', or 'due to', in English. Phrases that use this particular (A) て (B) nuance of the て-form primarily express something that is beyond the control of the speaker in the (B) statement.
To use this grammar construction, pair the て-form of a verb or い-Adjective with the (B) phrase. In the case of nouns and な-Adjectives, で (the particle) will be used instead.
Fun Fact
The 'because' nuance of て (or で) in this grammar construction is primarily influenced by the (B) phrase being something that is uncontrollable, rather than being a different meaning of the particles て, or で themselves. Literally the meaning is closer to the following:
(A) て 困る - Being troubled cannot be controlled, so (A) must have caused it.
(A) て 嬉しい - Being happy cannot be controlled, so (A) must have caused it.
(A) て 大変 - Having a problem cannot be controlled, so (A) must have caused it.
(A) て びっくり - Being surprised cannot be controlled, so (A) must have caused it.
(A) て 疲れている - Being worn-out cannot be controlled, so (A) must have caused it.
(A) て 心配 - Feeling anxiety cannot be controlled, so (A) must have caused it.
Many other words, such as the ones listed above will cause て (or で) to have a similar nuance. てすみません also uses this meaning of て, as すみません is a feeling that the speaker cannot control, relating to the situation being left unfinished.
Related
Examples
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文字も小さすぎて読めないよ。
The characters are too small and I cannot read them. (I cannot read the characters because they are too small)
部屋が綺麗でのんびりできます。
I can relax because the room is clean. (The room is clean and I can relax)
メアリーがアメリカに帰って悲しいです。
Mary returned to the USA and I am sad. (I am sad because Mary returned to the USA)
おとなしさんは病気で参加できませんでした。
Mr. Otonashi was sick and could not participate. (Mr. Otonashi was unable to participate due to being ill)
おっちゃんのコンサートは雨で中止になった。
O-chan's concert has been canceled due to the rain.
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て for reasons
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Verb[て] + B – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (17 in total)
Pushindawood
and・and so
due to
because of
since
conjunctiveStructure
- Verb[ て ] + B
- い-Adj.[ て ] →
い→ く て + B - な-Adj.[ で ] + B
- Noun[ で ] + B
- Exception: いい → よく て + B
[The て-form can be used to express reason/cause. When verb[て] or adj[て] are used, the following clause is often limited to expressing the feelings of the speaker, verbs in potential form or, in general, something beyond the control of the speaker]
[Frequently found in sentences that contain words like 困る、嬉しい、大変、びっくり、疲れている、心配、休む、安心、◯が痛い、気持ちがいい etc.]
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Aarix
For the example sentence: メアリーがアメリカにかえって悲かなしいです (Mary returned to the USA and I am sad.), why wouldn’t it be メアリーがアメリカにかえった if the verb is past tense?
deltacat3
I am also confused by the switch of the agent in this sentence. Couldn’t this be interpreted two ways?
メアリーがアメリカに帰って悲しいです。
1.) Mary returned to the USA and I am sad.
2.) Mary returned to the USA and she is sad.matt_in_mito
This is because the purpose of the sentence is to for the speaker to convey the current state of sadness, not to convey the information that Mary has returned home. If it was, it would read something like 私は悲しい。なぜならメアリーが帰ったから。 or something along those lines. Of course there are many other ways to convey this.
deltacat3
Thank you @matt_in_mito for clearing that up for me! <3
CrisH
Is it specifically not acceptable to put an を before して in
日本語(にほんご)能力試験(のうりょくしけん)を合格(ごうかく) して 嬉(うれ)しかったです。
I hadn’t used を at all before する until I saw a few sentences on this site where they’d been included. Is it necessary for certain types of constructions? Are the places where を is used not する verbs?matt_in_mito
From my understanding, putting the を here is grammatically acceptable but not very many people would do it. I don’t know in enough detail to say what situation people would use it in, but personally I feel like it looks more natural without.
Ambo100
Notice that Verb[て] + すみません is also the case of this usage.
The link goes to the grammar list, not the individual grammar point.
mrnoone
@Ambo100
Thank you!
FixedAmbo100
In the review:
勇者さまは5年前に、交通事故で死んだ。
Could I also use?
勇者さまは5年前に、交通事故のせいで死んだ。
Pushindawood
This is grammatically correct, but it will change the meaning and the nuance of the sentence a bit. のせいで brings a bit of “blame” into the sentence and makes the speaker sound more resentful. If he/she were to just use で, the sentence would just be stating a fact. Cheers!
mrnoone
Also, notice that で is what makes せいで express cause. せい by itself means “blame”.
Similar with おかげで, おかげ by itself means “thanks/blessing/gratitude”.lorenzosama
for the following sentence “おっちゃんのコンサートは雨で中止になった” I’m not sure why the answer of ”ので” is not acceptable. Would this answer work for the sentence? Or is there a contextual or different feeling that the の gives the sentence? Thank you in advance
nekoyama
雨ので mostly adds a nuance of grammatical mistake, but I think people would still autocorrect it to 雨で in their heads rather than looking for a different meaning (maybe “because of the rain’s concert”?).
If you meant the “because” ので, that needs to be 雨なので. But then it’s “because it’s raining” and not “due to the rain”. (Bunpro will not mark this wrong, but ask for a different answer.)
lorenzosama
Thank you for the response. I think I sort of understand but I want to make sure I’m really getting it. I’m not sure I understand what the difference is between “because it’s raining” vs “due to the rain”. I think my understanding now is that ので should be working on full sentences but the particle で by itself can be used to add context to the verb within the sentence?
nekoyama
I don’t think there is a big difference in meaning. That’s why bunpro will not mark you wrong if you enter なので. It just asks for a different answer because it wants to make sure you remember this grammar point, and not just any way to say “because”.
electrosuccess
In example " 先週、インフルエンザに___、仕事を休んだのです。", the verb to be conjugated is “かかる”. The hint says that it’s ichidan verb. However, the correct answer is かかって, not かかて. According to jisho, it is a godan verb, so it appears that the hint is wrong. Is that right?
Hwesta
In the example sentence 虫歯で歯が痛い how is the で different from で (by) or で (means and manner) or the the general sense of:
で is a particle that has several different uses in Japanese. At its core, it is always used to highlight something that is ‘required’ to perform some sort of action.
Something like “the cavity (as required context or means), teeth hurt”
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