Lesson 2

泳げるほど (to the extent that one can swim)
僕がおどろくくらい (to the extent that even I am surprised)
- When ほどand くらい（ぐらい）are used to mean extent they are often used interchangeably. However ほど is more often followed by a negative statement.
1. クラークさんぐらい上手に日本語が話せるようになりたいですよ。(I hope I will be able to speak Japanese as fluently as Ms. Clark.)
2. クラークさんの日本語は先生がおどろくくらい上手になりました。(Ms. Clark’s Japanese has improved to the extent of surprising her teacher.)
やはり／やっぱり (just as one expected / after all / after some thinking one comes to the conclusion that…)
1. 青山さんはやっぱり来なかった。 (Just as I thought, Ms. Aoyama didn’t come.)
2. 寒かったからかぜをひくだろうと思っていたらやっぱりかぜをひいてしまった。(I was chilly so I thought I was going to catch a cold. I did just as I had feared.)
3. 行こうかどうか考えましたが、やはり行かないことにしました。(I wondered if I should go and I decided not to go after all.)
当たり前だ (it is only natural / it is only expected)
- V / adj のは当り前だ or V / Adj て（も）当たり前だ
1. 安いのは当たり前です。／安くて当たり前です。 (There is nothing unusual about its being cheap.)
2. そんなにたくさん食べたら病気になるのは当たり前です。／…なって当たり前です。(It is only natural that you get sick if you eat that much.)
3. その本はむずかしいから春子に分からないのは当り前です。／…分からなくて当り前です。(Since that book is difficult it is only to be expected that Haruko not understand it.)
外国人ばかり (no one but foreigners)
- N / adj / V+ばかり (only / nothing else but). When V+ばかりtakes an object ばかりcan be placed immediately after the object or after V-て such as in example 1.
1. あの人はもんくばかり言っている。／あの人はもんくを言ってばかりいる。(He does nothing but complain.)
2. パリに行ったが日曜日に町を歩いているのは日本人ばかりで日本に居るような気がした。(I went to Paris but I felt like I was in Japan because the only people walking in the town on Sunday were all Japanese.)
3. あのレストランは食べ物は高いばかりで、まずいしサービスも悪い。(The only way in which that restaurant succeeds (in being a fine restaurant)is in its expensive prices. Otherwise the food tastes bad and the service is no good.)
4. このへんの家のねだんは上がっていくばかりです。 (Prices of houses around here are only going up.)
5. 買おうと思う (I think I will buy / He thinks he will buy / I want to buy.)
6. - V-よう／V-おうと思う (I think I will V). Note: the person who thinks and the person who will buy are one and the same. Cf. 買うだろうと思う(I think he will buy / I think I probably will buy.) Cf. 買うまいと思う（I think I will not buy）; see note 6 in lesson 7.
  1. どんな人と結婚（けっこん）しようと思っていますか。(What kind of person do you have in mind to get married to?)
  2. 早く寝ようと思っても読みたい本がたくさんあってなかなか早く寝られない。(Although I want to go to bed early I have a lot of books I want to read so I can’t easily do so.)
7. 決めるのに困る (have a difficult time in deciding)
  山田さんはしけんに困っている. (Yamada is having trouble with exams.)
8. - Nに困る＝have trouble with N. Vのに (for V / in V-ing / in order to V): this の turns a verb into a noun.
  1. ここから駅まで行くのに十分かかる。 (It takes ten minutes to go to the station.)
  2. これを食べるのにはスプーンがいる。 (You need a spoon to eat this.)
  3. ここは子供（こども）を育（そだ）てるのにはいい所です。(This is a good place to raise children.)
  4. 遠いものを見るのにめがねがいる。 (I need a pair of glasses in order to see distant objects.)
9. 書いてある（it is written）
10. - V-てある (V has been done the result of V-ing)
  1. 冬のくつ下はむこうの引き出しにしまってあります。 (The winter socks have been put away in the drawer on the other side.)
  2. 来てよかった (I am glad that I / you /someone/ came)
  3. - V-て／N-で／adjて＋よかった (I am glad that V-た／was N／was adj)
    1. 天気でよかった。 (I am glad it is / was / a fine day.)
    2. いらっしゃらなくてよかったですよ。 (It is a good thing/ I am glad / that you didn’t come.)
    3. 勉強しておいてよかったです。 (I am / was / glad that I have / had/ studied.)
    4. やさしくてよかった。 (I am glad that it was easy.)

Lesson 2 – Grammar Notes