Thanks very much, that helped clear it up!
Now on to chapter 2 
1 Like
No problem! Glad it was helpful D:
Heehee, same 
literally just started it.
Besides the そう, she was also yelling things the whole time, so I interpreted it as an explanation for why she continued to yell things even though there was no response
4 Likes
More examples of ～そう available here:
3 Likes
I’m all caught up with this chapter now and moving on to the second one (I was swamped last week). I like the story so far, and the author’s style of writing in general. I think this is about the level I needed for some more challenging reading practice.
The section I had the most trouble with was probably when it was describing the door layout with the 理科教室 and 理科実験室. For some reason I thought it was trying to describe something deeper there (especially with Kazuko opening the door and going おや). 
It’s great reading through the questions and responses here too - it’s definitely helped in my comprehension of sentences that I was less clear on.
12 Likes
Well this is late
There’s one grammar unfamiliar grammar point that stuck with me from this chapter that I wanted to confirm.
一夫は、あいかわらずぼんやりした目で自分より二十センチは低い五郎を見おろした。
From the context, I assume that 「自分より二十センチは低い」 means “20 centimeters shorter than himself.”
Does 「AよりBはC」 mean “B more C than A”? Also I’m assuming that it’s the topic particle wa.
3 Likes
Aye, that’s it exactly.
1 Like
I’ve seen that grammatical structure in different orders too, so I always remember that the word with より is the “than” word.
1 Like
Always good to keep in mind that the particles are what matters. Thanks @Belthazar and @SleepyOne!
I’m learning grammar and vocab from context, I love it!
2 Likes
Yep.
Also, I think I have heard the は dropped in that kind of setup before sometimes, but 気のせいか。。。
1 Like
Maybe you’re already satisfied with this grammar point, but は after counters means “at least”, as in this case. So it just means that Gorou is at least 20 centimeters shorter than Kazuo.
6 Likes
While 「AよりBはC」 does mean “B is more C than A”, in this case は is attached to 二十センチ and not 五郎 (who is B), so it doesn’t really fit that structure.
Personally I interpreted the は as emphasizing 二十センチ, but it did feel a little off because I think も would fit better if that was what the author wanted to communicate.
I haven’t heard は with a counter before, but I think @sigolino’s explanation makes the most sense.
5 Likes
I learned this in Tobira, but I’m still not having much luck finding sources
Pretty sure about it though
2 Likes
God, I can’t believe how difficult it was to find that. I had to give up looking for monolingual. Here it goes:
It’s the very last usage talked about in this page. Just scroll all the way to the bottom if you’re interested.
5 Likes
I was having no luck either; thank you!!
2 Likes
I was curious, so I tried as well. I could find some stuff, but it was only people talking about it from みんなの日本語.
There’s a preview on google books though. (Point 3 at the bottom of the previewed page)
3 Likes
Nice, I couldn’t find a single monolingual source for some reason 
1 Like
I feel the need to point out that I asked if it meant “B more C than A,” not “B is more C than A” 
“B more C than A” => “20 centimeters more short than himself”
The は attached to 二十センチ is specifically what threw me off, so thanks @sigolino and everybody for clarifying that!
4 Likes
@sigolino you’ve already seen this one, but I’m gonna upload (not very good*) photos of all illustrations from the Tsubasa Bunko edition for completeness.
hopefully I get the chapters right…!
*if anyone is better at photography / has a better camera / lighting please feel free to share
4 Likes
Hey, thanks for the pictures I didn’t even get a chance to ask for them, you posted them before I woke up… I did remember, okay
2 Likes