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+--- Thread: Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい (/thread-287.html)
Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい - ファブリス - 2006-12-05
I only have a vague idea of what these sentences mean, but I would like to really understand them :
中ぐらいの小包を開けてください。
The sentence before that said "Please open the large package/parcel".
Followed by "The package roughly in the center/inside" doesn't make much sense so I guess if I take the の into account it could mean the "inside package" ?
How do you translate 中ぐらい ?
次の手紙では日本の四季を書けたら嬉しいです。
The previous sentence mentioned stamps of Japan's four seasons : 日本の四季（春夏秋冬）の切手. The を particle puzzles me. Could this be a way of asking to write on the occasion of the four seasons, like seasonal greetings? i.e. "I'll be happy if (you) can write the next/coming letters at Japan's four seasons" ?
Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい - yorkii - 2006-12-05
中くらい/ぐらい seems to have the inclination of a medium-sized object. so it could mean: of those small parcels, open the mid-sized one.
second example: my attempt at a translation would be:
if (I/you) write about Japan's seasons in (my/your) next letter, (I'll) be happy
the を does seem strange though like you said. in my example について would be most appropriate. for potential forms of verbs を or が can be used.
Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい - JimmySeal - 2006-12-05
Where did these sentences come from? They don't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい - raulir - 2006-12-06
It's not all that strange to use を in this fashion. Try googling for e.g. "夢を書く" and "生活を書く". With "旅を書く" you'll find a book on amazon with that title. Content description includes the phrase "旅への情熱や旅の記憶を語る". It may be easier to understand the meaning of these if you replace "書く" with "語る".
Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい - Pangolin - 2006-12-06
yorkii Wrote:中くらい/ぐらい seems to have the inclination of a medium-sized object. so it could mean: of those small parcels, open the mid-sized one.Agreed. I think it can simply translate as medium/average (in respect to size/dimensions of an object), in other words: 中位 (ちゅうぐらい) medium, average and is a noun, so な/の is required to make it an adjective: 中位の is the usual adjective form.
Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい - ファブリス - 2006-12-06
Jimmyseal Wrote:Where did these sentences come from?100% pure-bred 日本手作り email
(concerning a letter or package)Thanks everyone.
Hmm, but wait. I understood this phrase with an implicit (you) but perhaps it means
次の手紙では日本の四季を書けたら嬉しいです。
"I hope to write (to you) about Japan's four seasons, in the next letter"
That makes more sense now.
Can you help me with this sentence? -たら and ぐらい - Pangolin - 2006-12-07
ファブリス Wrote:Hmm, but wait. I understood this phrase with an implicit (you) but perhaps it meansI didn't have time to look at that sentence yesterday, but that's how I would read it.
次の手紙では日本の四季を書けたら嬉しいです。
"I hope to write (to you) about Japan's four seasons, in the next letter"
That makes more sense now.
The elipted (left out) subject must be [kana]watashi[/kana] in the first part, because it's clearly not a request to another person to write the letter. Therefore the subject must be the same in the second part of the sentence, because otherwise the subject (having changed) would then need to be made explicit. Also, it wouldn't be polite to suggest another person will be pleased by one's actions.
Regarding たら, when the clause following たら is in the non-past (effectively the future) as in this case, たら can mean when or if, depending on whether the action ending in たら is expected to occur, or whether it is uncertain. In this case it is an expected event, because 次 is used - the next letter is promised.
That's my understanding anyway.