There are other points with ばかり, but none with か. As far as I can tell with a quick look, ばかりか ～＝ ばかりでなく, but it’d be nice to learn of any differences in meaning or usage.
6 Likes
A quick search yielded this on JLPT sensei. Gonna add the note to my ばかりでなく entry now, thx!
Grammar Notes
- This grammar can be interchanged with ばかりでなく (bakari denaku)
- They have the same meanings, but ばかりでなく (bakari denaku) is slightly less strong.
- This grammar point is often followed with a も and a second point. As in not only [A], but also [B].
- Based off of the N3 Grammar lesson: ばかり (bakari)
6 Likes
Has anyone mentioned the construction:
Adjective+く+は+ない
I think it means “it’s not not (adjective)” or strengthens the meaning of something. I’ve seen it on Duolingo and friend just used it to answer the question below but she couldn’t explain what it means.
Aさん:コロナには怖いと思いますか？
Bさん:怖くはないです。
7 Likes
Reminds me of the opening to Shelter (@0:36):
でも、寂しくはない。
“But I’m not lonely.”
7 Likes
I’ve seen this called and interpreted as both “contrastive wa” (with the contrast possibly only being implied) and as “emphatic wa” (emphasizing the following ない). It’s not limited to adjectives or negation with ない though.
The verb version might be interesting too (stemはする/しない etc.)
6 Likes
I did a search for this but didn’t see it. たかったら, “if you want”.
4 Likes
They do have an example sentence under たら that uses that combo of ～たい＋たら.
もし食たべに行いきたかっ たら 、行いこう。
If you want to go out to eat, let’s go!
6 Likes
More from Integrated Approach, page 269:
NにはNの～がある = N has its own ~
N1はN1なりにV = N1 does things in its own way
N1はN1なりのN2 = N1 has its own N2
Page 271:
Vてくれたらと思います = I wish someone would do something; I hope someone does something
Vてくれたらいい（のに）と思います
Page 291:
って・というか = or rather; more appropriately
どっち・どちらかと言うと = rather (than); if anything
Page 292:
N(と) 同様 = similarly; just like
単に～ではない = not merely/simply
Nの余地がない = there is no room for ~
Page 293
Nに(は)かなわない = to be no match for ~; can’t win ~
V(stem)づらい = difficult to V
Nにこだわる・こだわらない = (not) to be particular about; (not) to be picky
7 Likes
@nekoyama @Kai In case you guys were interested, my friend, who works at a school, asked her linguistics friends who then consulted with educational professionals about the meaning of Adj+は+ない and here’s what they said:
「怖い」（形容詞）の否定形は「怖くない」。「怖くない」は単純に「怖い」の反対の意味です。 「怖くはない」の場合、助詞「は」が入ることによって、ニュアンスが変わりますが 「怖くはないけれど、気持ち悪い」とか、他の感情が含意されますね。 「は」は区別の意味を持つので、そういうニュアンスが生じるのだと思います。
So it seems to imply left out information that is similar but not exactly the same as what is being negated. Kinda in the same way you can use 「なら」 to replace,「 日本語が話せる。でも、ドイツ語が話せません。」with「日本語なら話せる」。
So if I had to give an English translation I’d probably choose “Not (Adjective) but…” Though Duo’s choice of “not not (Adjective)” could sort of work too.
例えば、
それは高くはないです。
“It’s not expensive but…”
“It’s not not expensive”
8 Likes
Oh, very cool, thanks!!
I feel like I’ve read about this usage of は (often referred to as “the contrastive は”) countless times, but there’s something especially reassuring about finally seeing it described/explained in native Japanese 
4 Likes
Found a new grammar point that could be added 
I was looking for a way to express that something is effectively “◯ itself,” almost like an embodiment or representative example of ◯. At least for な-adjectives, the phrase that turned up is そのもの . I think it’s especially interesting, since in this usage, その gets appended directly to な-adjectives without any な at all:
ナ形容詞につくときは、「真剣そのもの・元気そのもの・窮屈そのもの・幸せそのもの・正直そのもの・熱心そのもの…」のように、「非常に～だ」という程度強調の表現になります。
Simply put: [な-adj.] + そのもの ＝ 非常に (extremely) [な-adj.]
6 Likes
Found another one, taken from a journal entry in some indie horror game:
―古い日記２―
高熱を出したことを境に、娘の様子がおかしくなった。
I found one single entry for ◯を境に (をさかいに) in 英辞郎:
～を境に（人）に連絡しなくなる
to stop contacting someone since
Looks like it means “(ever) since ◯, …”
I guess it looks pretty obvious once you’ve seen the explanation, but it really threw me for a loop since を was being used without a followup verb in the first clause 
4 Likes
Yeah I just recently added my own SRS sentence for を境に after seeing it 新完全マスター文法 N1.
日本語の森 also has a video on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L7i9OT6vxU
4 Likes
And just adding to this, I’d also love to see a separate entry for 〜ていただく, not just いただけませんか. And まいる, maybe have a sentence with いく/くる and ask us to make it humble.
3 Likes
It should probably be ～てもらう though, with answers accepting ～ていただく as well
(Or, the grammar point could be called ～てもらう・～ていただく to make it easier to find with the search function)
Also, this grammar combined with the causative form is interesting. You’ll see signs and such saying 臨時休業させていただきます (りんじきゅうぎょう) to mean “we will be temporarily closed.” I have a hard time parsing it literally, though… like “you will allow us to humbly close temporarily” or something? I just understand ～させていただく as “I/we have humbly decided to～”
3 Likes
I think a separate grammar point would be better. At least that’s how I like to learn things: split things out as much as possible. I know ～てもらう like the back of my hand, so I want a high SRS interval for that, but I don’t come across ～ていただくas much at the moment, so I want a low SRS interval for that. Combining them into a single grammar point causes more problems than it solves as far as I am concerned.
2 Likes
I thought of another grammar point to suggest!
I’ve actually known this one for quite a while, I wonder if it might even belong in N3 somewhere?
But it’s 勝手に (かってに).
It has a few very different uses (or at least, it glosses to some very different English phrases), which is why I think it warrants a grammar point of its own here:
Adverb
- arbitrarily; of its own accord; voluntarily; wilfully; willfully; as one pleases
For example, it’s used to say that something “just happened” (spontaneously), like “the music just started playing again!,” or “those books just fell over all of a sudden!” It can also be used for voluntary actions though, which get perceived as “doing (something) on a whim; whenever one pleases.” This also leads us to another phrase that jisho.org pulled up:
勝手にしろ！:
have it your way!; to hell with you!
5 Likes
It’s mentioned in one of the readings of だす and even has an example sentence so I think だしたら止まらない should have its own grammar point or even just a little blurb about that common phrase on the grammar point explaination or under the example sentence itself.
2 Likes
Is どうしようかと a grammar point worth adding ? When I saw it in the mix it threw me but broken down it’s pretty simple and useful. However I can’t find any resource that has it as a grammar point.
2 Likes
I just came across (and misunderstood) a use of 上 that isn’t on 文プロ yet! We have a grammar point for 上 when it follows a た-form verb, but it can also be used immediately after a noninflected (連体形) verb to mean “in the process of [verb], …”
[Verb]上で
Reference here in the first 3 example sentences on the page.
5 Likes