～て (Non-Sequence)Non-sequence, And, But (Contrast), Parallel action/state

Structure

Verb［て］+ Phrase

Details

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

--:--

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.

Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Try Bunpro

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

Try Bunpro

Online
- Parallel Actions or States
  Wasabi
- The particle て
  Imabi
- Under Expressing a Means or a Reason
  Japanistry

Offline
There are no Offline resources listed for 「Verb[て] + B」.
You can . Resources are constantly updated, come back later to see new additions!
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
Try Bunpro

Verb[て] + B – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

Pushindawood
Non-sequence
and
but (contrast)
parallel action/state
Structure
- Verb[ て ] + B
[Similar to adjectives, you can use Verb[て] without implying a sequence of time]
[Usually, the verb expresses a state/attribute, is in the potential form, or describes actions/events that have different topics/subjects]

[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]

[The て-form is heavily dependent on context. The first sentence by itself can express the sequence “A then B,” but the second sentence can cancel the implied order of the first sentence and be understood as “B then A”]
Lamster
No issue with the grammar point, but the hint for this example threw me off completely.
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
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.
TangoTangoSIerra
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)

Why does the note at the end of the translation say “but/contrast” if the translation says “and”?
Peter
I’m not an expert but I think it’s because it could be translated as either. They are doing two different things so in English we could use either word.