した / で / 来そう / おもちゃの犬

[eeky]

Hi,


1. 彼女は、手紙を手にした、階下へ降りてきた。

Translation given: "She came downstairs with a letter in her hand."

Is this acceptable or should した be して?


2. うまくいくか不安でしょうがない。

I assume this is 不安・で・しょう・が・ない and not 不安・でしょう・が・ない, right? But what exactly is the purpose of で? What sort of で is it?


3. あと１０年くらいしたら、ペットを選ぶに際して、ロボ ットか生き物かをまず選ぶ時代が来そうですね。

My translation: "It looks as if the time is coming, in the next ten years or so, when we will first have to choose between a robot and a living thing when choosing a pet."

Is 来そう = きそう = "looks/seems like (it will) come"?


4. The topic is robot pet dogs. The speaker has been talking about how they react to commands, respond to care, and so on, like real dogs. Then:

放っておいてもいろいろな芸を見せてくれるおもちゃの 犬とは違うってことですね。

I am not very clear what this is saying. My guess is "Also, when you let them out, they are different from the toy dogs that show you various tricks". Is this correct? Is it making a distinction between おもちゃの犬 and robot dogs (I thought robot dogs were おもちゃの犬)? Does it mean that the robot dogs show more sophisticated/realistic behaviour than merely doing tricks?

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
That's a typo of して.

2)
不安で is the -te form of na-adjective. It expresses "reason", as same as 高くて買えない, 短くて使えない.

3)
Yes.

4)
Yes, that sentence expresses a difference between ロボットの犬 and おもちゃの犬, but 放っておいても modifies 見せてくれる.

 

[eeky]

Thank you!

4) Duh, I somehow managed to misread 放っておく as "let them out" rather than "ignore/neglect them". I knew something wasn't right... I think then it should be "Also, they are different from the toy dogs that do tricks for you even when you ignore/neglect them", right? In other words, you have to properly care for the ロボットの犬, just like real ones?

 

[Toritoribe]

That's right. That's exactly what the writer wanted to say.