JLPT N2 Grammar -　いわゆる

Are you using it right??

This one’s hard to say but once you get the knack it’s a surefire way to demonstrate your Japanese is higher level.

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In our ぶんぽうご Real Japanese Grammar series, Nani and Mani are deep diving into the textbook grammar required for the JLPT, throwing out the stuff you’ll never use, and teaching you how to speak authentically whilst expressing your own personality.

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Alright, now that I’m done failing the N2 again I have some time to post and boy do I have a mountain of notes and comparisons. So today, I will be talking about ～てたまらない、～てならない、and ～ないではいられない which all have similiar meanings.

• ～てたまらない means “ dying to do; unbearably” This is used with verbs and adjectives (Vて/イAdjくて/ナAdjで) This for strong feelings or physical sensations. If your subject in is the 3rd person, you must use ようだ、らしい、or のだ at the end of the sentence.

1. 日本に来て友達ができるまでは、国に帰りたくてたまらなかった。
   
2. 風邪薬を飲んだから、眠くてたまらない。
3. うちの子供は試合に負けたのがくやしくてたまらないようです。

• ～てならない means “can’t help but” This is used with verbs and adjectives (Vて/イAdjくて/ナAdjで )When you cannot suppress emotions or physical sensations that naturally arise. Often used to indicate a state of mind that cannot be suppressed and results in a highly emotional condition. This often expresses negative feelings. This must also use  ようだ、らしい、or のだ at the end of the sentence when in 3rd person.

1. 将来がどうなるか、不安でならない。
   
2. 子供のころピーマンを食べるのがいやでならなかった。
3. 彼は希望の大学に入れなくて、残念でならないのだ。 

• ～ないではいられない and also seen as ～ずにはいられない means “can’t resist; can’t not do” This is only used with verbs in the ～て form. Used to express something that the speaker sees and cannot overcome the strong feeling of wanting to do something about it. It’s important to know that this is not because speaker cannot control themself and is forced, but rather than it’s done spontaneously. This must also use   ようだ、らしい、or のだ at the end of the sentence when in 3rd person. 
  

1. その映画を見た人はみんな、泣かないではいられないだろう。
   
2. 動物園のサルを見ると、いつも私は笑わないでいられない。
3. 言わないほうがよいことは分かっているが、話さないではいられなかった。

In conclusion,  ～てたまらない is “dying to do something/unbearable” if the heat is unbearable or you’re dying to meet someone, ～てならない is “can’t help but (doing/feeling)” if you can’t help but feeling disappointed by your test score or someone can’t help feeling sad after some bad news, and ～ないではいられない is “can’t not do something” like if Beyoncé releases a new album you can’t NOT listen to it

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any questions!

かねる is a piece of grammar that you will find littered in N2 material. This can be confusing sometimes as you’re about to see, but hang in there and we’ll get through this!

• Verb stem +  かねる means “cannot deal with” / できない . This is when something is difficult or impossible to do.
  

1. お客様の個人情報は、教えかねます。
   
2. 残念ながら、そのご提案はお受けいたしかねます。
3. 彼は留学生活の寂しさに耐えかねて、１年もたたないうちに帰国してしまった。

• Verb stem + かねない means “could”/かもしれない .Used when something that the speakers evaluates as negative might occur.
  

1. そんな乱暴な運転をしたら事故を起こしかねないよ。
   
2. 保護しないと、この種は絶滅しかねない。
3. 風邪だからといって放っておくと、大きい病気になりかねない。

• ～をかねる For this last version pay attention that the particle を will precede the verb, also written as 兼ねる with its kanji. This is used to express that one thing serves as two or more functions simultaneously. 
  

1. サラさんの送別会をかねて、クラスで懇親会を開いた。
   
2. 休日の朝は平時より遅く起きて、朝食と昼食を兼ねた食事をとる。
3. 私は勉強と遊びを兼ねている仕事に就きたい。

I know with かねる and かねない it’s very hard to remember which is which because one means できない and the other means かもしれない . The trick I have when I can’t remember isn’t necessarily a great one, but it works for me.

If you line up かねる and its meaning できない like I did, there is one extra letter  い that doesn’t line up. Using that extra letter I then remember it as, “I ( い) can’t do it.” Again, is this a dumb method? Yes. Does it work if you are doing a test/practice test/practice questions and you can’t for the life of you remember which one is which? Also yes. 

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any questions!