as grammar

[Niyo]

Hi all.
I would like to say "are you alright as you didn't reply"? If I say 返事がないように、大丈夫？ Is this correct? If not, how should I say it?
Thanks!

 

[SomeCallMeChris]

I'm not really sure that that English is correct, but I think you mean, "As you didn't reply I'm wondering, are you alright?"
This use is the same as 'Because', and in Japanese would be represented with から in this kind of sentence.

ように is use for things that you want to make happen or to express the way to make something happen or the manner in which something should be done.

 

[Mike Cash]

You're using "as" in the sense of expressing cause/effect so approach it from that angle.

Try it again using から.

 

[Niyo]

Thanks Chris and Mike.
So if I say "返事がないから、大丈夫？", would that make sense?

 

[Toritoribe]

Not really. It should be 返事がないけど、大丈夫？. As already explained, "as" indicates the cause/reason of the main clause in that sentence as same as "because", and doesn't express the similarity, as in ように. However, you can't use から here since 大丈夫 is not the expected state judging from 返事がない (cf. 返事がない --> therefore(= から) --> 大丈夫じゃない). けどis used to introduce the main clause(前置き) in this case.

 

[Niyo]

Thank you toritoribe for the clarification

 

[Mike Cash]

Thanks Chris and Mike.
So if I say "返事がないから、大丈夫？", would that make sense?

Already addressed. I didn't have it in mind to simply replace the terms. I was thinking more along the lines of 返事がないから心配だ。大丈夫？

 

[Toritoribe]

Yes, から works perfectly fine there as "As you didn't reply, I'm worrying about you. Are you alright?".

 

[Hoge]

大丈夫？…… 返事がないから。
would be OK if you have enough pause between the two phrases. meaning
大丈夫？…… 返事がないから聞いたんだけど。
In this case, 返事がないので。might be better though I can't explain why. ので is another particle for reason.