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手伝いをしていた [Grammar Help]

turvy

先輩
27 Jan 2012
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ファーブルの手伝いをしていた羊飼いの青年が、先が尖ったフ ンの玉を持ってきます。

What is 手伝いをしていた?

My idea: Fabre's help came earlier from a young shepherd that brought him a tapered ball of dung.
 
The core of the sentence is 青年が玉を持ってきます. ファーブルの手伝いをしていた modifies 羊飼いの青年.

personの手伝いをする: to help person
 
Thanks, so what about:

A young shepherd helped Fabre bringing a tapered ball of dung.

Is this good?
 
Last edited:
No, I'm afraid. Young shepherd didn't help Fabre bringing. Again, the core is 青年が玉を持ってきます, and not ファーブルが玉を持ってきます. Fabre didn't do the action.
 
Mmmmmmm, I think…

Fabre was helping a young shepherd that brought some tapered dung balls.

Does that make more sense?
 
personの手伝いをする: to help person
The shepherd helped Fabre.

ファーブルの手伝いをしていた is an adjectival clause which is modifying 羊飼いの青年, similar to the relative clause "person who..." in English.
 
So back to my original translation, what about

A young shepherd brought a tapered ball of dung to help Fabre.

Wait, earlier you said "Fabre didn't do the action.", but I never said that either, I don't understand that comment.

My translation was "A young shepherd helped Fabre [by] bringing a tapered ball of dung [to him]."

You are saying that Fabre wasn't helped by bringing but then you say that the core is 青年が玉を持ってきます which is a young man brings/will bring a ball. So the shepherd did bring a ball.

Thank you for following up on me with this one.
 
Maybe this is the key?
手伝いをしていた and 玉を持ってきます are TWO DIFFERENT actions. There's no direct relation between them.
 
Another thing that confuses me is the てきます ending, what tense should I use in English when translating this one?
 
Alright, mmm

ファーブルの手伝いしていた
[who] helped Fabre

羊飼いの青年
A young shepherd

先が尖ったフ ンの玉持ってきます
brings the tip of a pointed/tapered ball of dung.

So far so good?
 
Subject
[ファーブルの手伝いをしていた羊飼いの青年]
A young shepherd helping Fabre

[先が尖ったフンの玉]
a tip of a tapered ball of dung

持ってきます。
brings.

A young shepherd [who was] helping Fabre brings a tip of a tapered ball of dung.

What about: A young shepherd who was helping Fabre would come to bring him a tapered ball of dung.
 
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