なぜ?どうして?Finished!

Yeah I’m really not sure… but I did read about the gum laws in Singapore and you can get fined for selling or carrying it so I think that is what the sentence is saying.

oh no! you are probably right! I’ve been in Singapore :stuck_out_tongue: I meant that my translation was awful…

A reason is that I searched だけれども , meaning “though”, but that doesn’t appear in the text, or my transcription (which has a typo) or yours, that also has a typo :joy:

Lol, you’re right :stuck_out_tongue: totally missed my typo. Would help if I could type things correctly! :sweat_smile:

Also the なりません makes it negative so I really am confused as that makes it sound like there isn’t a fine, unless that is applying to the start of the sentence?

i.e. throwing away the gum (I guess if you are throwing it away properly) does not result in the fine, but selling it or carrying it does?

Regarding Tae Kim, ければ is always used with negative sentences, and it means Must, not mustn’t… so I thing it carries a fee.

But if someone could confirm it…

From the later sentences presumably this is “there is a country” rather than “there are countries”, but I guess you can’t really tell from the Japanese.

Struggling to understand this word. I get:
はらう To pay
はらわない Not pay (short form negative)

But はらわなければ ??

私は昨日までにその仕事を仕上げなければなりませんでした。

I had to finish the work by yesterday.

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〜なければならない (〜りません in the polite form) is a set structure that means “have to”).

If you translate it word by word it is a double-negative which will fry your brain though:

〜なければ = if not (…)
ならない = cannot (literally “doesn’t become”).

ばっ金をはわらなければなりません.

you have to pay a fine.

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Page 31

そのまま すてる ことは もちろん、ガムを 売る ことや、もっているのが、見つっただけでも、ばっ金を はらわなければ なりません

Here’s my take on this…

そのまま すてる ことは もちろん、- of course, just throwing away
(I’ve translated そのまま, “as it is” as just)

ガムを 売る ことや、もっているのが、見つっただけでも、- but also only being found to sell or have gum

ばっ金を はらわなければ なりません - [you] will have to pay a fine.

“Of course you have to pay a fine for dropping gum in the street, but also if you are just seen to have or sell chewing gum”.

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In japanese when you want to express “must (do)” you have to use a construction based on two verbs: the main verb (in this case はらう) + ならない or いけない (of course you can use the masu form for more formal situations). There are different constructions for the main verb (i.e はらわなくては, はらわなければ…) but the rule is simple: to say “must” both 2 verbs needs to be at the negative form, whereas to say “must not” only the second verb needs to be at the negative.
So yes, basically to make an affermative sentence you have to use a double-negative

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Ahh this makes sense now :slight_smile: thank you

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At the start of the gum chapter:
ガムをかみおわったら、
What does かみ mean? I’m guessing 終わる meaning to finish is the verb, so it means something like when, as in when your gum is finished?

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かみ is the stem of 噛む (to bite, or in this case, chew). Attaching おわる to a verb stem means “to finish Xing”.

食べおわる to finish eating
話しおわる to finish talking

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Thank you - I had the same question.

Page 32

This is the part I’m having most problems with on this page:

公しゅうトイレで、水を ながさずに 出る こと。

One of five examples of things not to do…

公しゅうトイレで、 - in the public toilet
水を - the water
ながさずに - this comes from 流す, to flush. The negative is 流さない, but what is that ~さずに ending?
出る - to leave; to exit; (for a while I thought it meant the water exiting, part of 流す, but of course it means the person exiting the toilet)
こと - thing. Part of a list of things not to do.

ie, ”Leave the pubic toilet without flushing"

But that ~さずに? Any help much appreciated!

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ず and ずに are written grammar forms that are basically equivalent to ないで.

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Page 32

Thank you! And I’ve just looked up ないで and found it means “without doing” or “don’t”. Perfect! Thank you so much again @Leebo!

Well I would like to thank all of you once more!
I had a crazy week until now and I was unable to read anything. I just reached page 31 and I will get to 32 right now.

I had some questions that I wrote down to ask you when I was finished but all of them have already been answered! Even the ガムをかみおわったら part at page 30. I was so ready to ask about this specifically. :smile:

Now I have to go back to reading again. I still have three hours left for my shift to end and no work to do, so thank you people once again! I really enjoy this, although I don’t post my translations since they are pretty much the same as the ones you have already posted and I am sorry I cannot help as much as you do since I still suck in many things! :smile:

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Here’s my go at 32

その 金がくは、なんと 日本円で およそ 八十万円も するそうです。

This amount in Japanese yen is roughly 800,000 yen.

これは 海外からの かん光きゃくにも あてはまります。

This applies also to sightseeing visitors from overseas.

シンガポールでは、ほかにも つぎのような ことが 見つかると、ばっ金を とられる きまりが あります。

In Singapore, there are other rules that exist where you could earn a fine.

ゴミを 道ばたに すてる こと。

Throwing trash away at the roadside.

公しゅうトイレで、水を ながさずに 出る こと。

Leaving a public toilet without flushing.

野鳥に えさを やる こと。

Feeding wild birds.

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Page 31

Hello everyone, I’ve been following since the beginning but because I live in Seattle (aka, the butt-end of the world timeclock) I haven’t posted before since translations are always up by the time I get off work and check the forums. That said, hello, and thank you for everyone helping us new learners along with our Japanese practice. I do have a questions now though:

そのまま すてる ことは もちろん、ガムを 売る ことや、もっているのが、見つっただけでも、ばっ金を はらわなければ なりません.

It’s about “そのまま”/“sonomama”. I have always understood “まま” to mean something akin to the “current state” of something, so, in this sentence, is “そのまま” referring back to the previous statements about how you can get fined for having gum in Singapore? ie, “That being the case/Singapore having such strict laws, you can be fined not only for throwing out gum but simply for selling or having it, also?”

And if that is a fair translation, why is it reiterating having gum will incur a fine when it’s already established that? :confused: I just find this ordering of ideas to be odd. lol

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