Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [scope]

スコープ. What part of a sentence a word or affix applies to. For example, scope of negation concerns which part of the sentence is (semantically) negated. May be ambiguous.

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How can we determine the subject of 「彼{かれ}が来{こ}ないことを知{し}りませんでした。」?

Consider the following sentence. 彼{かれ}が来{こ}ないことを知{し}りませんでした。 I really get confused in determining the subject. Which is the correct translation? I did not know that he will not come. He did not know about the absence. Edit Roughly speaking, most…
Second Person Shooter
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して行｛い｝かない versus しないで行｛い｝く

Do they have the same meaning? A: 宿｛しゅく｝題｛だい｝をして行｛い｝かない生｛せい｝徒｛と｝が多｛おお｝いです。 B: 宿｛しゅく｝題｛だい｝をしないで行｛い｝く生｛せい｝徒｛と｝が多｛おお｝いです。
Second Person Shooter
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Scope of negation with 〜したくない

In English, we can distinguish between not wanting to do something, and wanting to not do something. It's not a distinction that we usually make, but it is possible: P = "do anything" A. "I want to not do anything." 　 WANT(NOT(P)) B. "I don't…
user1478
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Is な used for emphasis or negative imperative in this sentence?

「おまえ、そんな体験したこともねぇのにわかったようなこと言うなっ」 Even though you've never had such an experience, (you say things like you understand)/(don't say things like you understand). Is this な the negative imperative or just an emphatic marker? How can I know? My…
user3856370
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What is the correct interpretation of Aの本はBの本のように多くない?

～ほど～ない This grammar always ends with ない. For example, Aの本はBの本ほど多くない。 A's books are not as many as B's books. ～のように～ I always see this grammar in positive form. For example, Aの本はBの本のように多い。 A's books are as many as B's books. AはBのように面白い。 A is as…
Second Person Shooter
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Having trouble making sense of the sentence "解いてから帰らないとすっきりしないんだ"

In the sentence 解いてから帰らないとすっきりしないんだ, from the context I know it means "If I don't go home after solving it, it won't be refreshing" but I just can't make sense of the grammar, below are the two ways I am thinking about it: I must solve it then go…
user44049
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には contrast in following sentence

ジャックは誕生日会に行きます。 彼はメグのために誕生日のプレゼントを買う必要があります。 ジャックはあまり多くのパーティにはいきません。 彼は緊張し、 何を買おうかと思います。 What is the role of には in ジャックはあまり多くのパーティにはいきません? The only usage of には I know of is for contrast but I can't identify what contrast is being made…
user34759
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Translation of すべて as "none of"

Here's a sentence I said to a friend today: 「すべての授業{じゅぎょう}を選{えら}びません。」 I wanted to say "I don't choose all my courses." However, my friend understood my sentence as "I choose none of my course. / I don't choose any course at all.", and suggested me…
fxmarty
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Scope of の in a sentence with two of them

Sentences with more than one の always cause me some difficulty. For instance, 盾の勇者の成り上がり has two の particles. If I analyse it from an English perspective, I'd respect the order, and so the first の connects 盾 and 勇者 whilst the second connects 盾の勇者…
Jak
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What is そういう referring to in this dialogue?

A：「この本　借りてくよ。」 B：「あっ　学校の本は持ち出し禁止です。」 A：「じゃあ　黙っといてよ。」 B：「規則ですから　そういうわけには。」 In this exchange, when B says「そういうわけには。」, what does そういう refer to? Is she saying that she cannot keep quiet about A borrowing books, or more simply that A cannot…
MisterM2402
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Verb+koto+mo soshite Verb+koto+mo nai. Should both words with mo particles be affected by nai at the end?

Ok, here are the lyrics from the idolmaster song called Nation Blue. You can see full lyrics on the imas wiki here: http://www.project-imas.com/wiki/Nation_Blue The song is pretty hard for a novice like me, but the part I have a question about is…
Arvy
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How to determine the scope of subject?

I am very weak in determining the scope of subject when reading Japanese sentences. For example, when reading the following passage, 娘が「これ、借りて良い」と、兄に許可を求めている。同じような体つきのふたりは、共有している物がたくさんあるそうだ。私は、男女の区別を教えられ、男物、女物が別の時代に育った。 how can I know that 兄 in…
Second Person Shooter
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は vs.では in こんなうるさいところでは勉強ができません

こんなうるさいところでは勉強ができません。 How is the meaning of the sentence above different from the meaning of the one below? こんなうるさいところで勉強ができません。
Enguroo
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Parsing of ひっそりとはしておらず

秋ほどひっそりとはしておらず、冬よりは華やかではない、可憐な夜空。 [current subject is the spring sky] (the spring sky) is not quiet to the degree the fall (sky) is, ... I was told that if you have an adv-to and want a noun describing/sentence ending phrase, you add the generic…
charu
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I don't understand the translation order of スカートは試着して買わないと心配だ。

I think how to translate this could be... ① スカートは ② 試着して ③ 買わないと ④ 心配だ That should make the translation go... "The skirt, I tried it on, If I don't buy, I feel worried." But in the book it says... "If I don't try the skirt on before I buy, I'll get…
ありがとう
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