次のやる気 / でない / 踏み荒らした / 目を使いすぎる / つもりです

Hello!

1. そうすれば次のやる気につながるはずだ。

I get "If you do this then (... something ...) ought to happen / be the case", but I can't figure out what 次のやる気につながる means.

For context, the preceding text is まずは無理のない目標を立てる。それを達成して自信をつけて、満足感を得る。 I assume this means "First set reasonable targets. By achieving those, you will gain confidence and satisfaction."


2. 道具としての実需がないから品揃えに深みがでない。

Translation given: "There's no demand for them as tools, so the product line-up is poor."

Is でない = 出ない?


3. いたずらっ子にすっかり花壇を踏み荒らした。

Translation given: "My flower garden was trampled by urchins." (I just love this sentence!)

What is the subject of 踏み荒らした? Logically it seems as if it ought to be いたずらっ子, but then I don't understand why に is used and not が. According to my understanding, に would make sense with a passive verb ("I had my garden trampled on by urchins") but the verb here is active, isn't it?


4. 目を使いすぎることによって肩がこる。

My attempted translation: "My shoulders are stiff as a result of over-using my eyes."

This seems weird, so have I made a mistake? Is there some idiom involved here? There is no further context.


5. これは私にとって大きな問題だと思います。ですから、一度両親と相談してみるつもりです。

My translation: "I think this is a big problem for me. Therefore, I plan to try discussing it with my parents."

I try not to agonise too much over things like this, but why do we not say 両親と相談してみるつもりがある?

eeky said:

1. そうすれば次のやる気につながるはずだ。

I get "If you do this then (... something ...) ought to happen / be the case", but I can't figure out what 次のやる気につながる means.

For context, the preceding text is まずは無理のない目標を立てる。それを達成して自信を つけて、満足感を得る。 I assume this means "First set reasonable targets. By achieving those, you will gain confidence and satisfaction."

Click to expand...

やる気 = willingness (to challenge)
It's something along the line "then it will makes you willing to challenge the next (target)."

eeky said:

2. 道具としての実需がないから品揃えに深みがでない。

Translation given: "There's no demand for them as tools, so the product line-up is poor."

Is でない = 出ない?

Click to expand...

Yes.

eeky said:

3. いたずらっ子にすっかり花壇を踏み荒らした。

Translation given: "My flower garden was trampled by urchins." (I just love this sentence!)

What is the subject of 踏み荒らした? Logically it seems as if it ought to be いたずらっ子, but then I don't understand why に is used and not が. According to my understanding, に would make sense with a passive verb ("I had my garden trampled on by urchins") but the verb here is active, isn't it?

Click to expand...

You're right. This sentence does not really make sense.
I wonder if it should read either
いたずらっ子がすっかり花壇を踏み荒らした。 or
いたずらっ子にすっかり花壇を踏み荒らされた。
(The latter is more natural/common though both are correct.)

eeky said:

4. 目を使いすぎることによって肩がこる。

My attempted translation: "My shoulders are stiff as a result of over-using my eyes."

This seems weird, so have I made a mistake? Is there some idiom involved here? There is no further context.

Click to expand...

No, it is not a mistake, your translation is correct.
We often call it 眼精疲労, and it is widely understood that over-using one's eyes affects one's health and stiff neck/shoulders is one of the common symptoms.
眼精疲労

eeky said:

5. これは私にとって大きな問題だと思います。ですから、 一度両親と相談してみるつもりです。

My translation: "I think this is a big problem for me. Therefore, I plan to try discussing it with my parents."

I try not to agonise too much over things like this, but why do we not say 両親と相談してみるつもりがある?

Click to expand...

Generally, it is not common in Japanese language to "have" abstract things such as feelings, intention, idea, etc.
～するつもりがある is possible but ～するつもりだ（です） is a commonly used phrase.
... sorry, it is not a very good explanation.

Ａ） ＸＸＸＸＸする[予定・計画・つもり]がある（or あります）。
Ｂ） ＸＸＸＸＸする[予定・計画・つもり]です。

I think it's a matter of collocation.
You can choose all the three nouns, in syntax B).
But you can only choose 予定 and 計画 in syntax A).

XXXXXするつもりがある or XXXXXするつもりがあります is weird to my ear, because of the collocation.
I can understand the meaning though.

If you want to make it more natural, you might say;
"XXXXXXするつもりであります".

This style was spoken by old-Japanese-army soldiers before WWII to their boss.
This is also spoken by an anime character; ケロロ軍曹(a frog-appearance alien, who speaks a certain weird Japanese which resembles old Japanese soldiers' way of speech).

I won't recommend you to use the phrase, unless you're joking.

Thank you both very much.

undrentide said:

やる気 = willingness (to challenge)
It's something along the line "then it will makes you willing to challenge the next (target)."

Click to expand...

I wonder if I could ask a little further about this one. I understand 次のやる気 = "willingness / motivation to challenge next (target)", but I still can't exactly see how につながる fits in.

According to the dictionary, つながる means "to be tied together; to be connected to; to be related to". So, does it mean, literally, that something (i.e. the subject of つながる) is "tied/connected/related" to 次のやる気? Who/what is the subject of つながる? Is it the person being addressed? The achievement mentioned in the previous sentence?

There are some context where つもりがある is more suitable.
e.g.
両親に相談するつもりがあるんですか？

This sentense definitely has a different meaning from 両親に相談するつもりなんですか？ つもりがある seems to me to have a nuance that there's another choice; つもりが/はない. So, つもりだ would more fit for the case that the speaker's will is clear (to try discussing) like in the example sentence.

eeky said:

I wonder if I could ask a little further about this one. I understand 次のやる気 = "willingness / motivation to challenge next (target)", but I still can't exactly see how につながる fits in.
According to the dictionary, つながる means "to be tied together; to be connected to; to be related to". So, does it mean, literally, that something (i.e. the subject of つながる) is "tied/connected/related" to 次のやる気? Who/what is the subject of つながる? Is it the person being addressed? The achievement mentioned in the previous sentence?

Click to expand...

そうすれば refers to それを達成して自信をつけて、満足感を得る or "if you gain confidence and satisfaction". This experience(= gaining confidence and satisfaction) is connected to a new motivation (for the next target).

Toritoribe said:

So, つもりだ would more fit for the case that the speaker's will is clear (to try discussing) like in the example sentence.

Click to expand...

I think I am in danger of asking the exact same question that I asked once before, but does it seem to you, strictly speaking, that つもりだ requires something unstated to be the plan (along the lines of はちみつです = "(the stuff in this jar) is honey", from page 1 of my first textbook), as opposed to the plan simply existing? Or can ～だ simply mean that something exists? I think this is what still confuses me...

eeky said:

does it seem to you, strictly speaking, that つもりだ requires something unstated to be the plan (along the lines of はちみつです = "(the stuff in this jar) is honey", from page 1 of my first textbook), as opposed to the plan simply existing?

Click to expand...

No. つもりがある is for the case. つもりだ is more common, so when つもりがある is purposely used there must be an intention to use it.

Toritoribe said:

No. つもりがある is for the case. つもりだ is more common, so when つもりがある is purposely used there must be an intention to use it.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I think I didn't ask very clearly. Let me take a very simple example:

はちみつです = "(the stuff in this jar) is honey"

はちみつがあります = baldly, "honey exists"; more typically something like "there is some honey (somewhere)"

Is this right so far?

So, although I understand that つもりだ is idiomatic, the actual meaning in the original sentence is essentially "there is a plan" (i.e. a plan exists) not "something (else) is the plan". So, by analogy with the "honey" sentences, I would logically expect that がある would be used. Clearly this logic is wrong somewhere, but I don't understand where.

I should mention that I actually understood the original sentence perfectly OK at first reading. It's only when I try to analyse the grammar in detail that I become unsure of what's going on.

Edit: PS, I know I've mixed up polite and plain verb forms in my question; don't worry about that, I understand that part OK...

eeky said:

Let me take a very simple example:
はちみつです = "(the stuff in this jar) is honey"
はちみつがあります = baldly, "honey exists"; more typically something like "there is some honey (somewhere)"
Is this right so far?

Click to expand...

No. はちみつです is an imperfect/unnatural sentence without a context. It's only acceptable as an answer to the question "What is in the jar?", when saying it pointing to a jar, or like that.

eeky said:

So, although I understand that つもりだ is idiomatic, the actual meaning in the original sentence is essentially "there is a plan" (i.e. a plan exists) not "something (else) is the plan".

Click to expand...

I think ～するつもりだ is more likely "I have a plan". It doesn't simply mean "There is a plan".

Thanks for your help Toritoribe. Yes, I understand that はちみつです only works when there is a context like you describe. Perhaps it wasn't the best example.

I will go away and think about this some more!