Category Archives: Grammer Points

第9課:文法:part II

ok, last part before finals :0 みなさん、がんばれ ^^v

9. But; except; other than; besides

two patterns:

a.「noun¹」以外の「noun²」 . . . 。 Y excluding X, . . . .

b.「noun」以外に . . . 。 Besides X, . . . .

そのクラスは、田中さん以外には、誰も外国に行ったことがないそうだ。

As for that class, besides Tanaka, no one else has gone to a foreign country.

週末は、勉強以外に、テストとしたり映画を見たりします。

As for the weekend, other than studying, I will take a test and watch a movie.

10. Never; by no means; not x at all

expresses a strong negation

pattern: 決して+「phrase with negative ending」

どんなに大変でも、日本語の勉強は決してやめない。

No matter how difficult it gets, I will never quit studying Japanese.

今日の試験は決してやさしくありませんでしたが、みんなよくできていました。

Today’s test was by no means an easy one, but everyone did well on the test.

11. Because; the reason why . . . is that ~x

used in formal situations/in writing

pattern: 「phrase in short form」+「という理由で」、. . . 。

begins to present the reason for the state/event/action stated in「phrase in short form」

アルバイトで忙しいという理由で、学校を休む学生がいます。

The reason why it is busy at work, is that there are students on vacation.

日本では外国人という理由で、アパートを貸してもらえないことがあるらしい。

In Japan, because I’m a foreigner, it seems that I am not able to rent an apartment.

12. These; those; they

patterns:

used in formal situations:「これ・それ・あれ」+ら

used in casual situations:「彼・彼女・僕・君」+ら

これらの問題についてもっと話し合ってみる必要がある。

Regarding to these issues, it is important to speak to each other more.

13. Whereas; on the other hand; in contrast

patterns: [noun] に対して、

-or- [sentence]のに対して (for なadj and nouns in present tense short form, use な)

this pattern is used to contrast two actions/states/situations

日本語は文法が難しいのに対して、中国語は発音が難しい。

Japanese grammar is difficult, whereas Chinese pronunciation is difficult.

男の子が興味を持つオタク文化に対して、カワイイ文化は女の子に人気があるようだ。

It seems that boys are interested in Otaku culture whereas Kawaii culture is popular with the girls.

14. As long as; as far as; while; until; unless; as much as (one can)

patterns: [verb] + 限り        「見た限り」「できる限り」

[nounで] + ある/ない + 限り 「人間である限り」「子供でない限り」

[のadj で] + ある/ない + 限り 「本当である限り」「最高でない限り」

the [-X-] condition must hold true as the conditional for the sentence

私の知っている限り、外国人が使いやすい日本語の辞書はないんですよ。

As far as I know, there is no easy or useful Japanese dictionary for foreigners.

この大学の学生である限り、大学が決めたルールは守らなくてはいけません。

As far as the students of this college, they must follow the rules of the college.

15. In spite of (the fact that~); despite (the fact that~); although; though; nevertheless

pattern: 「X」にもかかわらず、「Y」。

「X」 can be verbs/adjectives/noun/noun phrase [*is なadj or noun in present tense short form, no particle]

lit trans: Y in spite of X (Y is the case even though Y is usually not expected from X)

雨が強く降ってきたにもかかわらず、サッカーの試合は続けられた。

In spite of the fact that it was raining a lot, the soccer game continued.

問題が難しかったにもかかわらず、試験はよくできた。

Despite the fact that the questions were difficult, I did well on the test.

 16. With effort; at great pain; take the trouble to do; ~, which is a rare occasion

used in situations such as:

one does something with great effort/pain and wants to make use of it

one does something in spite of great effort/pain but cannot make use of it

one is given a rare opportunity and wants to make use of it

one is given a rare opportunity, despite the fact that it cannot be used

patterns:

せっかく + 「verb」のだから/のに、

せっかく + ですが/ですけど/だけど

せっかくの 「noun」

せっかく + です/だから

せっかく日本語を3年も勉強したのだから、ぜひ一度、日本に行ってみたいです。

Because I studied Japanese (with great effort) for 3 years, definitely once I want to try and go to Japan.

せっかくの野球の試合が雨で中止になってしまった。

(With great pain) The baseball game was called off because of the rain.

17. Even though/although ~x~ say/said that, . . .

used to clarify something that was recently mentioned in order to avoid any misunderstandings

pattern: 「phrase in short form」+ と/って言っても、. . . 。

春だと言っても、寒くてまだセーターを着ている。

Although it’s spring, it’s still cold and I’m wearing a sweater.

18. Not ~x~ as one wishes

the expressed phrase of the subject is not the wish/desire of the subject

generally used with the potential form

pattern: 「phrase with subject」思うように「verb in negative short form」

予定が思うように進まないので、とても困っている。

My plans are not advancing as planned, so I’m very distressed/troubled.

子供の時、ピアノを一生懸命に練習したけど、思うように引けなかったので、やめてしまった。

During my childhood, even though I tried my best to practice the piano, I was not playing as I had hoped, so I quit (regretfully).

credits: Tobira