飲ませてくれる / 男に作る / みなくて / もらう / はじめの予定 / これも仕事だ / おぼえてもらった

Hi there ... more accumulated questions!

1. ロボちゃんが、おいしいコーヒーを飲ませてくれるので、女性たちは、もう、自分でコーヒーを入れずに、ロボちゃんに、まかせるようになってしま った。

My translation: "Robo-chan [a robot] provided delicious coffee, so now the women (in the office) no longer got their own coffee, but left Robo-chan to make it instead."

I don't really get 飲ませてくれる, which I make out as 飲ませて (causing/allowing to drink) + くれる (give). Does it literally mean that the robot gives people coffee and causes/allows them to drink it?


2. やっぱり、あいつを、男に作るんじゃなかった。

This is a comment about the robot, I believe. Although I understand the individual words, I can't figure out the overall sense. What does it mean?


3. まず、電話をして、この品物があるかどうか、聞いてみ なくてはね。

Translation given: "First of all I'll have to phone to ask if he has this merchandise or not, won't I?"

I am not sure about 聞いてみなくてはね. Is it 聞いて (from 聞く) + みなくて (from みる)? Does みる add a sense of "see if they've got it"? If so, why is みなくて negative?


4. The boss is talking to one of his employees.

じつはね、例の、大阪支社に転勤してもらう件なんだけど。

My translation: "Well, the thing is, it's about your transfer to the Osaka office."

Who is the subject of もらう? Who is receiving what?


5. Employee talking to boss:

でも、ずいぶん、急ですね。はじめの予定では、もう少 し後になっていましたが。

I get "This is very sudden, isn't it? ..." Then I am a bit uncertain. Could it mean "It's a little late to start planning"?



6. Boss talking to employee:

予定より早くなってしまったけれど、これも仕事だから 、しかたがないだろう?

My translation: "It's turned out to be earlier than we planned, but これも仕事だ, so I guess it can't be helped."

What does これも仕事だ mean?


7. Boss talking to employee:

東京での仕事は、だいたい、おぼえてもらったし、サン フランシスコ支社の件で、大阪では、早く来てほしいそ うなんだよ。

I get something like: "On the whole, <something about the work in Tokyo>, and, regarding the San Fransisco branch office, (the people) at Osaka say they want you to come quickly."

What does おぼえてもらった mean?

What function does で serve in サンフランシスコ支社の件で? Is it esentially just introducing the topic?

1. It's like "gives them the favor of allowing them to drink." By the way, it should be "provides" because this isn't past tense.

2. "I knew I shouldn't have made it a guy robot."

3. -てみる means to try something out and see how it goes. The みなくては is a contraction of みなくてはいけない, which means "have to try XXXing".

4. The boss is recieving the favor of his employee transferring to Osaka.

5. "In the first schecule, it was a little later (than in this one)." I guess "schedule" could be "itinerary" here.

6. It's kind of like "this is part of the job" or "part of your job". Literally, "this is also work".

7. The speaker had someone learn something for him, or something that will help him out, that's why おぼえてもらった. I believe サンフランシスコ支社の件 means something that happened at/regarding the San Francisco branch office, so the folks in Osaka are saying they want the guy to go there and help them out with/explain it to them.

-の件で is basically used for "in regards to XXX".

Hi Glenn, thanks for your very clear explanations.

Glenn said:

7. The speaker had someone learn something for him, or something that will help him out, that's why おぼえてもらった. I believe サンフランシスコ支社の件 means something that happened at/regarding the San Francisco branch office, so the folks in Osaka are saying they want the guy to go there and help them out with/explain it to them.

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Wouldn't it be that they want him to come to Osaka ? Because he basically understands work at the Tokyo office.

Although it is a matter of perspective again and if the boss is in SF, one convoluted interpretation could be that the Osaka office has conveyed indirectly that they want him to go there and work on the case ??

Sorry, it looks like my wording was a bit unclear. "There" = Osaka.

Elizabeth said:

Wouldn't it be that they want him to come to Osaka ? Because he basically understands work at the Tokyo office.

Although it is a matter of perspective again and if the boss is in SF, one convoluted interpretation could be that the Osaka office has conveyed indirectly that they want him to go there and work on the case ??

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The story is that the employee currently works in Tokyo. The boss who is talking to him is also based in Tokyo, as far as I can gather. The employee is being transferred to the Osaka office. The employee has been assisting in the work of setting up an office (well, factory actually) in SF. So, wanting him to come to Osaka and come to (i.e. visit) SF would both make sense as far as the storyline is concerned.

Glenn said:

Sorry, it looks like my wording was a bit unclear. "There" = Osaka.

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Right. (Our posts crossed in the ether.)

I'm pretty sure it has to be the people at the Osaka office who want him to come, because it's 大阪では、早く来てほしいそうなんだよ. 来る is used for someone going to the point of the speaker, and here the speaker(s) is in Osaka, because of 大阪では and 来て欲しいそうだ. This is そうだ of hearsay, showing that it's the people at the Osaka office saying "(例の人に)来て欲しい".

[Edit] Indeed. Indeed they did.

eeky said:

The story is that the employee currently works in Tokyo. The boss who is talking to him is also based in Tokyo, as far as I can gather. The employee is being transferred to the Osaka office. The employee has been assisting in the work of setting up an office (well, factory actually) in SF. So, wanting him to come to Osaka and come to (i.e. visit) SF would both make sense as far as the storyline is concerned.

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I suppose the boss could be in SF and referring to the employee coming there at the behest of the Osaka people (branch ? headquarters (?)). But it is more likely he is in Osaka...and definitely not Tokyo or he wouldn't be talking about the office as "Tokyo work" or the employee coming anywhere.

Elizabeth said:

I suppose the boss could be in SF and referring to the employee coming there at the behest of the Osaka people (branch ? headquarters (?)). But it is more likely he is in Osaka...and definitely not Tokyo or he wouldn't be talking about the office as "Tokyo work" or the employee coming anywhere.

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No, the speaker(boss) is in Tokyo, at least not in Osaka, because of his wordings 大阪では、早く来てほしいそうなんだよ, as Glenn-san pointed out. If he is in Osaka, he must say 大阪に来てほしいんだよ.

Toritoribe said:

No, the speaker(boss) is in Tokyo, at least not in Osaka, because of his wordings 大阪では、早く来てほしいそうなんだよ, as Glenn-san pointed out. If he is in Osaka, he must say 大阪に来てほしいんだよ.

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Oh, I see. That's interesting. My thinking was he could just be physically "in" Osaka, but not necessarily including himself in the office or people that was asking for this employee to come. It makes sense, though, that Osaka is being discussed from the direction of a third-party interest.