尽くそう / もの / も少なくない / ちょうど / だったろう

[eeky]

Hi,


1. 俺はベストを尽くそうと努力している。

Translation given: "I gotta try to do my best."

What is 尽くそう? I can't seem to identify it or its components in the dictionary.


2. 本来は、神をむかえてもてなし、恵みをこい、怒りをしずめるのが目的であったというが、現在ではどちらかというと、宗教的要素より観光的要素の大きいものも少なくない。

Translation given: "They say that they [Japanese festivals] were originally for the purpose of entertaining the gods to beg for blessings and quell the lord's wrath, but nowadays the relgious element is much less important than the sightseeing factor."

a) How does 観光的要素の大きいもの work? Especially, what does もの refer to? To me it looks like it means "the large thing(s) of the religious component", but that scarcely makes sense.

b) How does the "much less" emphasis of the translation arise? Does も contribute to this? (も, my favourite Japanese word!)


3. 離ればなれにちょうど２週間過ごしたところです。

Translation given: "We've just spent two weeks apart."

Do ちょうど and ところ both contribute to the meaning of "just" in this sense of recently finished doing something? Or does ところ take care of that alone and ちょうど mean "exactly (two weeks)"?


4. きれいだったろう。

Translation given: "I bet it was pretty."

Grammatically, what is だったろう?

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
the volitional of 尽くす

2) a)
もの refers to 祭り.

b)
少なくない

3)
I think "to have spent" corresponds to ところ.

4)
The past of だろう. It sounds a bit classical than だっただろう.

 

[eeky]

Thanks Toritoribe.

In 3, then, does ちょうど mean "just" in the sense of "recently finished"? I know ちょうど can mean "just" in the sense like "exactly", but I didn't know it could be used for time references.

 

[Toritoribe]

Right.
e.g.
ちょうど二時間前に着いた。
7時ちょうどに目覚ましのベルが鳴った。