と / と / あった / 先 / と

[eeky]

Hello!

1. 東京へ来て、まだ１年しかたっていないし、せっかく、 みなさんと、お友達になれたのに...

My loosish translation: "It's only been a year since we came to Tokyo, and we've made such an effort to make friends and get to know people..."

I'm not sure I understand the grammar at the end. The only way I can make sense of it is if と means "and", so in full "みなさんになれた and お友達になれた", literally "we've got used to everyone, and got used to our friends". Is that right? I'm not totally confident...


2. The speaker is moving from Tokyo to Osaka, and is talking to a removal man. マイケル is the speaker's husband.

くわしい住所は、マイケルに聞かないと、わからない。

Another problem with と. I'd like this to mean something like "I haven't asked Michael, so I don't know the full address". However, I don't understand what と is doing.


3. 水野さん、にこにこして、ずいぶんうれしそうですねえ 。何か、あったんですか。

My translation: "Mr Mizuno, you're smiling and seem very happy. Has something happened?"

Is "has something happened" a reasonable translation? Is あった from ある (有る)?


4. 遊学先はもう決めた？

Translation given: "You decided where you're going to go to study abroad?"

Does 先 have the sense of "destination" here?


5. 厚顔無恥とはまさにあいつのことだ。

Translation given: "He's such a shameless jerk."

I'm assuming this is composed as 厚顔無恥・と・は・まさに・あいつ・の・こと・だ。

I don't properly understand the grammar. In particular, what is the function of と?

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
The subject is "I".
I came to Tokyo and became friends with you guys...

2)
That's a conditional と.
I don't know the full address unless I ask Mike about it.

3)
Yes and yes. It would connote "Has something good happened?/Did something good happen?" from the context.

4)
Yes.

5)
～と（いうの）は･･･ことだ is a structure for definition or explanation. と is a quotation particle.
厚顔無恥 is exactly the word for him.

 

[eeky]

Hi @Toritoribe , I'm still a bit unsure about #1. I originally thought なれた was from なれる, so it was talking about getting used to people. From your reply, and on re-examination, I'm wondering if なれる is actually the potential form of なる, so literally:

せっかく = (only) with difficulty/effort
になれた = was I able to become
お友達 = friends
と = with
みなさん = you all

Is that correct now?

Incidentally, how can you tell that the subject is "I" and not "we"?

 

[Toritoribe]

Yes, なれる is the potential of なる here. 友達になる is a set phrase "to become friend".

Incidentally, how can you tell that the subject is "I" and not "we"?

First, from the word みなさん. If the speaker use it as "we/us", the word should be みんな, since we can't use honorifics to ourselves.
Second, from the particle と. This particle also shows that the speaker is contrasted with みなさん, i.e., みなさん doesn't include the speaker.

If the sentence is せっかく、 みんなで、お友達になれたのに, the subject of なれる is "we", and therefore the subject of the first clause 東京へ来て also could be "we".(I think 私たちが東京へ来て is more common even for the case, though.) We would interpret these things unconsciously, I suppose.

 

[eeky]

I'm wondering if there may be a misunderstanding here about "I" and "we". In the story, a married couple are leaving Tokyo and will have to say goodbye to all their friends and work colleagues. The wife is speaking. By "we", I meant "my husband and I", not the people described as みなさん. Is it possible that the subject of the original sentence could be "my husband and I" rather than just "I"?

 

[Toritoribe]

Ah, I see. Yes, it can be "we" in that context.

 

[eeky]

Great, thanks!