1級 Grammar 31-35

And lo, from a sea of darkness and nonpostings, he did bring unto them five grammar points most noble.

I know grammar is not the most exciting thing, but as jljzen88 (name drop!) mentioned recently, the test is only a month and change away. July 5th, to be exact. Even if we were to pump out grammar posts at a rate of 10/week, it wouldn't be enough to cover everything in the book. Complicating this is the fact that nobody here on the Yoji is taking 1kyuu this summer, so the "well we're gonna have to do it anyway" factor is nonexistent. We do appreciate the fact, however, that some of you are taking the test, and would benefit from a little extra study wherever you can get it. And do that end, we will endeavor as best we can to keep up with grammar until at least the day of the test.

Good luck, and godspeed!

31)　～っぱなし　(っ放し）
just left ~ing.
~たまま

Finally, another grammar point that is actually intended for conversational use! When something is just left passively in a certain condition, っぱなし is your man. Employ it with the ~ます form minus ます, and, mister, you have yourself a sentence.

Ex. 昨日の夜、僕は窓を開けっぱなしにしておいた。冬だったらそれしてもべつにいいけど、最近蚊がどんどん増えている。もう何匹もアパートに入ってしまった。。。


32)　～であれ　・　～であれ～であれ
Even if ~
Whether ~ or not,
~ても

Aaannnddd we're already back to grammar that is better left on the page. At the very least, anybody who is endeavoring to pass 1kyuu will have no problem understanding this one. Although it's simple enough to use once, if you want to construct a "whether or not" sentence, make sure to insert "の" before each use of であれ, and you'll be sailing.

Ex. 豚インフルエンザのせいで日本が超恐慌している。旅行するのであれ、しないのであれ、そのウイルスが日本に来るから、そこまで激しく反発するの点は何だろう?


33)　～てからというもの
Ever since ~, x has persisted/happened

When something has occurred that is a long-lasting (though not necessarily permanent)

Ex. ジェフは常勤として働き始めてからというもの、デーリー四字をほとんど書かなくなった。俺も。。。


34)　～でなくてなんだろう
If that/this isn't ~, then what else could it be?

I've never used this one, but I have ALWAYS wanted to since learning it. It has a wonderfully simple construction with a fun, emphatic meaning... that is unfortunately hindered by the fact it most commonly appears in writing. Curses!

Ex. 昨日の記事はこのブログの一ヶ月ぶりぐらいだった。それは「四字熟語干ばつ」でなくてなんだろう。


35)　～ではあるまいし
Since it's no longer the case that ~, ...
~ no longer being true, ....
~ では　ないのだから

As formal as most of its 1級 brethren, here is another to the long list of phrases slipping "あるまい" in there. I don't think we have managed to use these phrases in many sentences outside of examples, so those savvy on a bit of studying would be wise to just through "あるまい" into the search bar and go nuts.

Ex. ペンギンではあるまいし、問題を暴力で解けない。悔しいな～