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んじゃなかった / です vs. あります / "Verb-て Noun は"

eeky

先輩
8 Jun 2010
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Hello!

1. ログアウトするんじゃなかったよ。

Translation given: "I shouldn't have logged off."

I assume that the "shouldn't have" meaning is idiomatic, but in the right context could this sentence ever mean "I didn't log off" or "It wasn't that I logged off", or similar?


2. 下宿したいのですが...

Translation given: "I'd like to live in a boardinghouse, but ..."

Is 下宿したいのがありますが... grammatical? If not, why not? If so, how does the meaning differ from the above?


3. I've asked about a few specific instances of this, I think, but I'd like to ask a more general question:

As a general rule, is it legitimate to use the construction "Verb-て Noun は" to make "Noun, who/which is doing Verb" into the topic?
 
1)
~んじゃなかった is also idiomatic. :)

ーるんじゃなかった = regret? | Japan Forum


2)
の in the first example is an explanatory の, whereas the one in the second sentence is interpreted as a pronoun(= boardinghouse/room).


3)
"Verb1-て Noun は Verb2" is almost the same to "Noun は Verb1-て Verb2". The te-form itself doesn't have a fixed meaning. The meaning is given by the relation of the two clauses. For instance, as you can see in the second example bellow, the te-form can have a nuance of "because".

朝起きて、私は歯を磨いた。(= 私は朝起きて歯を磨 いた。/ 朝起きて、そのあと私は歯を磨いた。)
疲れていて、私は寝坊した。(= 私は疲れていて寝坊 した。/ 疲れていたので、私は寝坊した。)
 
~んじゃなかった is also idiomatic.
Hi Toritoribe. Sorry, I understand that ~んじゃなかった idiomatically has the sense "(I) shouldn't have done ~". What I am not sure about is whether, in the right context, ~んじゃなかった can also mean "It isn't the case that ~ happened", or "~ didn't happen", or similar. Does that make sense?
の in the first example is an explanatory の, whereas the one in the second sentence is interpreted as a pronoun(= boardinghouse/room).
So the second one would literally mean "There is (i.e. there exists) a boardinghouse/room that I'd like to board in"?
 
Hi Toritoribe. Sorry, I understand that ~んじゃなかった idiomatically has the sense "(I) shouldn't have done ~". What I am not sure about is whether, in the right context, ~んじゃなかった can also mean "It isn't the case that ~ happened", or "~ didn't happen", or similar. Does that make sense?

I think if it's a "dictionary" form verb right before "~んじゃなかった" it usually implies "shouldn't have". In a strict sense, ~んじゃなかった by itself is just "の では なかった". With a noun or adjective, it matches your question. But with a plain form verb in front of that, can you think of any other sensible meaning? I can't.
 
Hi Toritoribe. Sorry, I understand that ~んじゃなかった idiomatically has the sense "(I) shouldn't have done ~". What I am not sure about is whether, in the right context, ~んじゃなかった can also mean "It isn't the case that ~ happened", or "~ didn't happen", or similar. Does that make sense?
Ah, I see.:) As for the cases of non-volitional verbs or the doer is not the speaker, yes, it can.

雨が降るんじゃなかった。
It isn't the case that it rained/rains/will rain.

彼が来るんじゃなかった。
It isn't the case that he came/comes/will come.

These examples have a connotation of the speaker's misunderstanding; "I have been misunderstanding that~/I was misundertanding that~".(The both interpretations, "I've realized my misunderstanding now" and "I realized my misunderstanding in past", are possible.)

So the second one would literally mean "There is (i.e. there exists) a boardinghouse/room that I'd like to board in"?
Right.
 
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