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先 / 理由をお伺いしよう / はためかせて

eeky

先輩
8 Jun 2010
2,431
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Hi,


1. そこから数人先の席に、ギルデロイ・ロックハートが淡い水色のローブを着て座っているのが見えた。

What does 先 mean here, and how is it pronounced?


2. 「その人は、君たち二人が学校の汽車に乗っていなかっ た理由をお伺いしようかと、お待ち申し上げているかも しれないですな」

I get the general idea of what this ought to be saying within the context, but I am a bit lost with 理由をお伺いしよう and お待ち申し上げている -- who is the subject of the verbs or verb compounds, and what they mean (e.g. whether to ask or to be told).


3. 冷たい風に黒いローブをはためかせて、セブルス・スネイプその人が立って いた。

I'm assuming that はためかせて is causative. What is the subject of this verb, and what is causing the robe to flutter, and what is the role of に?
 
1)
a few seats away from there

さき

2)
理由をお伺いしようかと、お待ち申し上げている = 理由を聞こうかと(=聞こうとして)、待っている

I don't know the context exactly, but the speaker would use the humble forms in sarcasm. The direction of the respect is from the speaker (and also form その人) to 君たち二人, and it doesn't fit the level of the politeness of 君たち.

3)
The causative form can mean "to let a person/thing do", "to leave a person/thing to do". Thus, the subject is Severus Snape and に indicates the actual doer / causee.
 
2) Yes, the context is a professor talking to school students, so the speaker would not be genuinely humble.

Is the following now correct?

お伺いしよう is sarcastic-humble, the subject is the speaker, and it refers to the speaker hearing the reason from 君たち二人.

お~申し上げている is another sarcastic-humble pattern, and the subject of 待つ is again the speaker.
 
Not really. The subjects of the two verbs are both その人.

その人 is actually the speaker ... the speaker is referring to himself. Sorry, I guess that wouldn't have been clear.

Does that change any of the earlier explanation?
 
Thanks, I had a brain failure and was originally thinking that お~する was respectful and that the subject could not be the speaker. Therefore none of it made sense.
 
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