A question about a missing に

Japanese
#1

行きつけの居酒屋の店主は、いつも____私たち家族にサービスをしてくれました。

ながら is accepted, ながらに is marked wrong. What’s the difference?

Bunpro
When ながら is attached to a noun, an i- or na-adjective, a verb stem, or an adverb (without と or に, in the case of adverbs that usually take these particles), it expresses the meaning of contradiction or opposition, similar to …のに or …けれども／が. It can also be combined with the particle も and used in the form ながらも. ながらに, as in (3), sounds old-fashioned and is not normally used in colloquial speech. In this so-called “adversative” usage, ながら is usually preceded by a stative predicate. On the other hand, in Usage 1, which presents “parallel/simultaneous” actions, ながら must be preceded and followed by action verbs

Bunkei Jiten
When ながら is attached to a noun, an i- or na-adjective, a verb stem, or an adverb (without と or に, in the case of adverbs that usually take these particles), it expresses the meaning of contradiction or opposition, similar to …のに or …けれども／が. It can also be combined with the particle も and used in the form ながらも. ながらに, as in (3), sounds old-fashioned and is not normally used in colloquial speech. In this so-called “adversative” usage, ながら is usually preceded by a stative predicate. On the other hand, in Usage 1, which presents “parallel/simultaneous” actions, ながら must be preceded and followed by action verbs

#2

Could be wrong but いつもながら is a set phrase commonly used. Perhaps thats why

2 Likes
#3

I think I get this confused with the remaining in the state grammar 〜ながらに. After not seeing them for months it’s hard to tell them apart. I was hoping there’d be some sort of deeper grammatical explanation to have it make more sense rather than just memorizing expressions.

ながら(に)

Caution

ながらに tends to only be used with a limited set of words, so it is best not to use it with structures that you have not already seen at some point in the past.

  1. …ながら（も／に）〈adversative connective〉
    ［N／Na ながら］
    ［A-いながら］
    ［R-ながら］
    （1）このバイクは小型ながら馬力がある。

In spite of its small size, this motorbike has impressive horsepower.
（2）敵ながらあっぱれな態度であった。

Although he was my foe, I must admit he behaved admirably.
（3）子供ながらになかなかしっかりとした挨拶であった。

That was quite a good speech, for a child