Lesson 19
Proposal, Wish, Emotion
- 1 〜（よ）うではないか ~(y)ō de wa nai ka let us ~ (formal exhortation) The speech-making ましょう — rallying a crowd with 'come, let us do it together!'
- 2 〜ないものか ~nai mono ka isn't there some way to ~? (wish) 'If only there were some way' — the voice of a heart that knows it is hard but still hopes.
- 3 〜ものがある ~mono ga aru there is something ~ about it A feeling you cannot pin down but clearly sense — 'there is something about it'.
- 4 〜ことだ［感動］ ~koto da how ~! (exclamation) 'How kind!', 'What a fix!' — the 「ことだ」that pours out feeling: ありがたいことだ.
- 5 〜ことだろう ~koto darō how (very) ~ it must be! 'How worried she must be!' — pouring out feeling with どんなに: どんなに心配していることだろう.
- 6 〜ことか ~koto ka how (very) ~! 'How many times I've wanted to go home!' — 何回帰りたいと思ったことか.
- 7 〜とは ~to wa what ~ means is… (definition) The stiff, dictionary-style というのは — for documents, presentations and city-office language.
- 8 〜といったら ~to ittara the ~ of it! (extraordinary degree) 'The heat of a Japanese summer!' — stressing that the degree is anything but ordinary.
Lesson check
All 8 forms of this lesson together — pick the right one from its look-alikes, the way the exam does. 6/8 completes the lesson.
🔒
「地域の人と協力して、祭りを成功させ＿。」(chairman's speech) — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:A call to a crowd: 'come, let us do it!'
V（よ）う＋ではないか = a speech's 'let us'; ないものか is a private wish and does not attach to a volitional verb like 成功させる.
「先輩の送別会のスピーチには、心を打つ＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:'Can't say exactly what, but there is something moving there.'
Dictionary form + ものがある = a felt-but-hard-to-name quality, natural after 〜には; ことだ is 'how ~!' on an adjective or advice, and cannot follow 〜には心を打つ.
「国にいる母は、どんなに心配している＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:どんなに comes first — the feeling 'how much!'
どんなに + plain form + ことだろう = 'how much she must ~!'; ものがある pairs with 〜には and a feeling-word, not with どんなに.
「合格の知らせを聞いたときのうれし＿、言葉にならなかった。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:'The ~ of it — words failed me' — an extreme degree.
い-adj→〜さ＋といったら = 'beyond ordinary degree', followed by 言葉にならない; いことだ says 'how happy!' but cannot follow 〜ときの nor link to the next clause.
Which sentence is unnatural?
💡 Hint:With whom, and where, is 〜ようではないか used?
〜ようではないか is a stiff, speech-style call to many people; to a friend about something everyday it is plain 買おう. The other three are fine in their contexts.
Which sentence is unnatural?
💡 Hint:Which tense only goes before ものがある?
Only the present form goes before ものがある — くやしかった (past) is out; it must be くやしいものがある. 治らないものか is fine because 治る is a non-volitional verb.
Your visa paperwork has been stuck for months. Muttering to yourself 'isn't there some way to speed it up…' — which form?
💡 Hint:You know it is hard, but you still wish for some way.
どうにか + 早くできないものか = a private wish 'hard, but let there be a way'; 〜ようではないか rallies others with 'let us', it is not a wish.
In a report you have to write out what the word 『扶養』 means — which form?
💡 Hint:The written, dictionary-style 'X means…'.
N + とは + 〜ことである = the written, formal definition (『扶養』とは、生活の面倒を見ることである); って is the casual 'what's that?' of chat, not a report, and といったら marks extreme degree.
Your score: /8