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help with ~しgrammar! (listing multiple reasons)

Amy Wickett

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29 Mar 2016
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I know the basic use of the grammar you use it to list 2 or more consecutive reasons.

What I am confused about is not the basic grammar of ~し itself but a variation of it that I am currently learning. My tutor (who is a native speaker of Japanese) says to add から(after the verb) at the end if you are listing the reasons to explain something.

However with examples I have looked at online and in my textbook I don't see から at the end of the sentences.

An example of what I mean with what I described above (in regards to using から in combination w/し) is....

日本語は漢字を習えるし、日本語で人と話せるからです。 (the question was 'why do you study Japanese' I responded with....because I can learn kanji, and speak with other people in Japanese')

however here is another sentence that also uses ~しbut から isn't used at the end....

日本語は面白いし、先生はいいし、私は日本語の授業が大好きです。 (I love my Japanese class because Japanese is interesting and our teacher is good)

How come you use から in combination with ~しwith some sentences, and other sentences you don't use it?

How do you know when to end a sentence with から when listing reasons in Japanese (when you are using it with ~し)and when you don't? I think my tutor said to you end a sentence with から when you are using a verb, but I am not sure.

I could really use help with this please!
 
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They are not directly related. 〜し is similar to "etc." and から is "because."

That's correct, you can't use it after a noun because then it becomes "from."

Consider:
A] いきますか?
B] いいえ、暑いし、疲れています

A] いきますか?
B] いいえ、暑いし、疲れているからです。

There's no rule that I know of (that isn't to say there isn't one).
It's similar to.
Are you going? No, it's raining.
vs.
Are you going? No, because it's raining.

One explicitly says "because" and one doesn't. Both work. Both sound fine.
 
I know the basic use of the grammar you use it to list 2 or more consecutive reasons.

What I am confused about is not the basic grammar of ~し itself but a variation of it that I am currently learning. My tutor (who is a native speaker of Japanese) says to add から(after the verb) at the end if you are listing the reasons to explain something.

However with examples I have looked at online and in my textbook I don't see から at the end of the sentences.

An example of what I mean with what I described above (in regards to using から in combination w/し) is....

日本語は漢字を習えるし、日本語で人と話せるからです。 (the question was 'why do you study Japanese' I responded with....because I can learn kanji, and speak with other people in Japanese')

however here is another sentence that also uses ~しbut から isn't used at the end....

日本語は面白いし、先生はいいし、私は日本語の授業が大好きです。 (I love my Japanese class because Japanese is interesting and our teacher is good)

How come you use から in combination with ~しwith some sentences, and other sentences you don't use it?

How do you know when to end a sentence with から when listing reasons in Japanese (when you are using it with ~し)and when you don't? I think my tutor said to you end a sentence with から when you are using a verb, but I am not sure.

I could really use help with this please!
Unlike 日本語は面白いし、先生がいいから, 日本語は面白いし、先生はいいし、suggests that the list is incomplete and there might be more other reasons in your second example.
You don't need to use から in that sentence since it's obvious that these clauses indicate the cause/reason of the main clause 私は日本語の授業が大好きです from the context, i.e., the relation among those clauses, similar to the -te form (e.g. 雨が降って、試合が中止になりました。 = 雨が降ったから、試合が中止になりました。). In other words, you need to use から to make clear the subordinate clause is the cause/reason when this relation is ambiguous. For instance, in a sentence 彼は日本に住んでいたし、日本語が話せます, し is interpreted just "and", not "because". 彼は日本に住んでいたから should be used for "because" in this case.
This is a colloquial expression, so it's better to use an answer such like 日本語は漢字を習えるし、日本語で人と話せるし only among friends, not in formal situations.
In summary; when the list is incomplete, and it clearly denotes "cause/reason vs. result" relation between the main clause, you can use ~し ending clause as "because" without から in casual conversations.
 
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