My heartfelt apologies for the lack of posts this morning and Monday. What with it being 海の日 on Monday, and with Nirav being back in town for a little while, we had a long weekend that necessitated lots of hanging around on the beach and drinking. So now that I'm hung-over, burned bright red, and refreshed, I'm ready for another barrage of grammar points. Let's see what we got!71) ～つつ(2) ・ ～つつも
~ even though (verb)ing
~ even while (verb)ing
Check the notes on grammar point 70, and the link that Clay left in the comments there to make sure that you have the full idea of the uses of つつ. It always expresses a state of continuous action, but in this case, it translates as ～ているのに. It's most commonly used in the following two forms: 「と思いつつ」 and 「知りつつ」; 「even though I was thinking」 and 「even while knowing」.
Ex. 月曜日の｢四字」がまだ書いてないことを知りつつも、日曜日の夜は暴飲してしまい。
72) ～っぽい
~ kind of
~ a little bit
~ ish
This is another one that I guarantee that you've heard a million times, and if you haven't, listen harder. ～っぽい is used when you want to say that something has just a touch of a certain tendency, or "feels/seems a little like." The simplest way to explain it is with examples: a person who still acts a bit childish at times is 子供っぽい. Or if my girlfriend asked me which of two brown bags was cuter, and they both looked the same to me, she might have to explain that one was 赤っぽい, and one was 黄色っぽい, or that one was more 大人っぽい, or just that I was アッス・ホールっぽい, although that last one isn't really considered proper Japanese.
Ex. あの子はちょっとハーフっぽいじゃない？親はどこの人だろうか？
73) ～て以来
~ ever since then
Sounds just like it is. Just attach it to the て form of verbs, and you're good to go. My book gives this example: 「彼女を知って以来、僕の人生はばら色だ; Ever since I met my girlfriend, my life has been rosy.」
Ex. 日本に始めてきて以来、和食に夢中だ。
74) ～てからでないと ・ てからでなければ
~ first... must be done
~ must be done... before
This is a nice shortcut for saying A must be done before B, and it's used especially in situations where if A doesn't happen, B is difficult or impossible.
2級の文法の本を読んでしまってからでないと、合格が難しいです。
75) ～てしょうがない ・ てたまらない
~ to such an extent that it can't be helped
Sorry for the awkward translation, but this might be a good time for those of you who don't already know the phrase しょうがない (or sometimes, 仕方がない) to familiarize yourself with it. It
means, "There's no way" and it's used to mean "There's nothing to be done," about tough situations. You might say it about having to work late, or not liking your sister's boyfriend, or something along those lines.
In this grammar point, however you attach it emotions, desires, or feelings that are so strong that they can't be denied. お腹が空いてたまらない or お腹が空いてしょうがない both mean that you're so hungry that it can't be stopped; there's nothing to be done but eat, presumably.
Ex. 彼女とデートすると、楽しくてたまらない。
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