N4 · Unit 10
Lesson 39Accompanying states, causes, and movement
Describe the state accompanying an action, the cause of a result, and movement relative to the speaker.
What you learn
Describe the state accompanying an action, the cause of a result, and movement relative to the speaker.
Learning points
- Accompanying states
- Cause and purpose
- Movement away from and toward the speaker
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
動詞て / ないで + 動作 ・ 普通形 + ために / Nの + ために + 結果 ・ 動詞て + いきます / きますBeginner explanation
〜て／ないで can describe the state maintained while the same person performs the next action. Plain form＋ために or Nのために can also state a relatively formal cause, often for results of accidents or construction; do not confuse it with Lesson 34's purpose use. 〜ていきます／きます can show movement away from or toward the speaker, or going to do something and returning.
Understand these sentences first
- 眼鏡を かけて、本を 読みます。megane o kakete, hon o yomimasu
I read a book while wearing glasses.
- 傘を 持たないで、出かけました。kasa o motanaide, dekakemashita
I went out without taking an umbrella.
- 工事の ために、道が 混んでいます。kōji no tame ni, michi ga konde imasu
The road is congested because of construction.
- 鳥が 空へ 飛んで いきました。tori ga sora e tonde ikimashita
A bird flew away into the sky.
Core vocabulary
- 眼鏡めがねglasses
- 工事こうじconstruction
- 混みますこみますbe crowded
- 連れますつれますtake someone along
- 迎えますむかえますmeet; welcome
- 増えますふえますincrease
- 減りますへりますdecrease
- 絶対ぜったいabsolutely
Grammar, one point at a time
Vて + action shows the same person maintaining the first state during the next action
Vて、BHere, て does not merely mark sequence. It describes posture, clothing, an item carried, or manner during the next action. The two actions must have the same subject.
Examples
- 眼鏡を かけて、本を 読みます。I read while wearing glasses.
- 手を 挙げて、横断歩道を 渡ります。I cross the pedestrian crossing with my hand raised.
Vないで + action means doing the next action without doing the first
Vないで、BIt often means without doing or instead of doing. The subject remains the same. ずに is a more written equivalent, while なくて often marks cause; do not treat them as interchangeable in every sentence.
Examples
- 傘を 持たないで、出かけました。I went out without taking an umbrella.
- 朝ご飯を 食べずに、学校へ 行きました。I went to school without eating breakfast.
Plain form or Nの + ために can formally state a cause that produces a result
普通形 + ために／Nの + ために、BThe cause is often an event, state, or objective background outside a person's control, and the result is often undesirable or affected. It is more formal and explanatory than から or ので.
Examples
- 事故が あったために、電車が 遅れました。The train was delayed because of an accident.
- 道路工事の ために、道が 混んでいます。The road is congested because of roadworks.
The same ために form can mark purpose or cause depending on clause relations
目的：Vるために／原因：普通形ためにPurpose normally has one person intentionally act to reach a goal; cause describes a fact producing a result and does not require the same subject. In purpose clauses, the second action is a means. In cause clauses, the second clause is a result.
Examples
- 海外旅行を するために、貯金しています。I am saving money for an overseas trip.
- 雪が 降ったために、バスが 遅れました。The bus was delayed because it snowed.
ていく and てくる show movement away from or toward the speaker
移动动词て + いく／くるていく moves away from the current reference point, while てくる approaches it. Direction depends on the speaker's location and viewpoint, so they are not fixed one-word translations of go and come.
Examples
- 鳥が 山の 方へ 飛んで いきました。The bird flew away toward the mountain.
- 電車が こちらへ 走って きます。The train is coming toward us.
The first verb can show manner, an accompanying item, or an action completed during the trip
Vて + いく／くる子供を連れていく means take a child away, 弁当を持ってくる means bring a lunch, and 歌舞伎を見てきた means the person went, watched kabuki, and returned to the current reference point.
Examples
- 子供を 病院に 連れて いきます。I will take the child to the hospital.
- 去年、日本で 歌舞伎を 見て きました。Last year, I went to Japan, saw kabuki, and came back.
Expressions and situations
ちょっと～てきます means going to do a short errand and returning
くる supplies the expectation of returning. 行ってきます by itself is also used when leaving with the sense I am off and will be back.
- ちょっと 手紙を 出して きます。I am going to post a letter and will be back.
- 飲み物を 買って きます。I will go and buy drinks and come back.
も after a quantity marks an amount greater than expected
It is not part of the objective measurement; it adds the speaker's evaluation. The same number may or may not feel large in another context.
- 水を 3リットルも 飲みました。I drank as much as three litres of water.
- 同じ映画を 2度も 見ました。I watched the same film twice.
遠く and 近く are nouns meaning a distant place and a nearby area
Although related to 遠い and 近い, 遠く and 近く function as nouns in expressions such as 遠くまで and 近くに.
- 霧で 遠くまで 見えません。The fog prevents us from seeing far away.
- 近くに 銀行が あります。There is a bank nearby.
絶対 can intensify either affirmation or negation
絶対来ます means definitely come; 絶対来ないでください means do not come under any circumstances. Avoid it for future outcomes you cannot guarantee.
- 明日は 絶対 遅れません。I definitely will not be late tomorrow.
- この場所には 絶対 入らないでください。Do not enter this area under any circumstances.
せっかく marks an opportunity, time, or effort worth making use of
Accept with せっかくですから and decline gently with せっかくですが followed by a reason. It conveys reluctance to waste a valuable opportunity, not merely especially.
- せっかく 北京へ 来たので、故宮も 見たいです。Since I have made it to Beijing, I also want to see the Palace Museum.
- せっかくですが、今日は 時間が ありません。I appreciate the opportunity, but I do not have time today.
から, ので, て／で, and ために differ in register and focus
から foregrounds the speaker's reason, ので is softer, て／で tightly links cause and result, and causal ために is more formal and objective, common in notices and explanations.
- 事故が あったので、遅れました。I was late because there was an accident.
- 強風の ために、運休しています。Service is suspended because of strong winds.
通勤ラッシュ means the commuting peak, but its timing and crowding vary
Check current operator information when travelling rather than treating one fixed hour as a universal peak for every city and line.
- 通勤ラッシュを 避けて 出発します。I will depart outside the commuting peak.
一人っ子政策 is a historical policy term, not China's current birth rule
Article 18 of the 2021 amended Population and Family Planning Law states that a married couple may have three children, while certain benefits from the earlier one-child-policy period continue. Learn the term with its historical period attached.
- 一人っ子政策は 歴史上の 政策名です。The one-child policy is a historical policy name.
A Palace Museum visit requires current real-name booking, entry, opening, and photography rules
The Palace Museum's current notice requires real-name reservations for all visitors and directs them to official booking channels. Follow signs for photography and do not use flash or tripods in galleries. Temporary openings and capacity rules follow the current notice.
- 行く前に、公式の 予約情報を 確認します。I will check the official booking information before going.
The Last Emperor is an international co-production; filming location does not determine production nationality
BFI lists the 1987 film The Last Emperor as a China–Italy–United Kingdom–France co-production directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Filming in the Forbidden City does not make it a single-country Chinese production.
- 『ラストエンペラー』は 国際共同制作の 映画です。The Last Emperor is an international co-production.
What you should be able to do
- Rewrite clothing, carrying, posture, and transport as Vて + action with the same subject.
- Choose among ないで, ずに, and なくて for accompanying state or cause.
- Distinguish purpose and causal ために and compare its register with から, ので, and て／で.
- Draw direction from the speaker's location and choose ていく or てくる.
- Complete accompaniment and short-errand dialogues with 持ってくる, 連れていく, and 買ってくる.
- Complete an original Palace Museum visit task: check booking and photography rules, identify historical policy terms, and describe film production background accurately.
Culture and real use
The Palace Museum, policy terms, and film: city visits need time boundaries
The Palace Museum's current visitor notice requires real-name reservations through official channels. Entry, opening dates, exhibitions, and capacity measures can change, so check again before travel. Follow photography signs in galleries and do not use flash or tripods; collaborative exhibitions or specialist shops may prohibit photography. 一人っ子政策 should be learned only as a historical policy name. Article 18 of China's 2021 amended Population and Family Planning Law states that a married couple may have three children. Film records also require separating production countries, director, filming location, and territory-specific release dates. BFI lists The Last Emperor as a China–Italy–United Kingdom–France co-production directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. It filmed in the Forbidden City and won nine Oscars, but that does not make it a single-country Chinese production. Titles such as Red Sorghum, Not One Less, Postmen in the Mountains, The Road Home, Together, and Beijing Bicycle remain useful routes into Chinese film history, while years and Japanese release titles should be checked by territory.
- 公式サイトで 予約してから、故宮へ 行きます。I will visit the Palace Museum after booking through the official site.
- 古い 政策名は、今の 制度と 分けて 覚えます。I will learn historical policy names separately from the current system.
- 映画の 製作国と 撮影場所は 同じとは 限りません。A film's production countries and filming location are not necessarily the same.