Talk:だけ
Latest comment: 4 days ago by Wise Bridges Fool Walls in topic An explanation of the particle だけ
An explanation of the particle だけ
editMeaning/Function: A particle which expresses a limit imposed upon something that is growing and expanding.
English equivalents: only; just; alone; merely; that’s all
Related expressions: しか; ばかり
Key sentences:
- スミスさんだけ(が)来た/来ました。 ― sumisu-san dake (ga) kita/kimashita. ― Only Mr. Smith came.
- 私は日本へ一度だけ行った/行きました。 ― watashi wa nihon e ichido dake itta/ikimashita. ― I went to Japan only once.
- 雪子さんとはデートしただけだ/です。 ― yukiko-san to wa dēto shita dake da/desu. ― I just dated Yukiko, that’s all.
- この家は大きいだけだ/です。 ― kono ie wa ōkī dake da/desu. ― This house is big, that’s all.
- このお菓子は色がきれいなだけだ/です。 ― kono okashi wa iro ga kirei na dake da/desu. ― This cake has pretty colours, that’s all.
Formation:
- Noun だけ(が)/(を)
先生だけ(が)/(を) ― sensei dake (ga)/(o) ― the teacher alone (subject)/(direct object). - Noun (だけ Particle / Particle だけ), where Particle means particles other than が, を, and は.
先生(だけに/にだけ) ― sensei (dake ni/ni dake) ― only to the teacher / to the teacher only. - (Verb / i-adjective) informal だけ (だ / です)
(話す/話した)だけ(だ/です) ― (hanasu / hanashita) dake (da / desu) ― someone talks/talked, that’s all.
(高い/高かった)だけ(だ/です) ― (takai / takakatta) dake (da / desu) ― something is/was expensive, that’s all. - Na-adjective stem (な / だった) だけ (だ / です)
(静かな/静かだった)だけ(だ/です) ― (shizukana / shizukadatta) dake (da / desu) ― something is/was quiet, that’s all.
Examples:
- 佐藤さんだけ(が)会議に出ました。 ― satō-san dake (ga) kaigi ni demashita. ― Only Mr. Satō attended the conference.
- 小さい和英辞典だけ(を)買いました。 ― chīsai waeijiten dake (o) kaimashita. ― I bought only a small Japanese-English dictionary.
- 僕にだけ/だけに話して下さい。 ― boku ni dake / dake ni hanashite kudasai. ― Please tell it only to me / to me alone.
- この車はアルコールでだけ/だけで動きます。 ― kono kuruma wa arukōru de dake / dake de ugokimasu. ― This car runs only on alcohol (and on nothing else) / on alcohol alone (so it needs nothing else).
- あの先生には一度だけ会いました。 ― ano sensei ni wa ichido dake aimashita. ― I met that professor only once.
- 朝はコーヒーを一杯飲むだけです。 ― asa wa kōhī o ippai nomu dake desu. ― In the morning I just drink a cup of coffee, that’s all.
- この本は高いだけでおもしろくない。 ― kono hon wa takai dake de omoshirokunai. ― This book is just expensive and is not interesting.
- テニスは好きなだけで上手じゃない。 ― tenisu wa sukina dake de jōzuja nai. ― I just like tennis, and I’m not good at it.
- それは学生だけのパーティーだった。 ― sore wa gakusei dake no pātī datta. ― It was a party for students only.
- 出来るだけゆっくり話して下さい。 ― dekiru dake yukkuri hanashite kudasai. ― Please speak as slowly as possible.
Notes:
- When だけ modifies a preceding noun, as in Examples (a), (b), (c), and (d), the particle that is used with the noun can be positioned before or after だけ, except for the particles が, を and は, which can be optionally used only after だけ.
- The optional positionings of the particles other than が, を and は create a subtle semantic difference. Distinctive emphasis is placed on the particle, yielding a meaning of exclusiveness in the case of Noun + Particle + だけ. No meaning of exclusiveness is implied in the case of Noun + だけ + Particle.
- If だけ is used in ~ (Verb / i-adjective) informal だけ (だ / です) or ~ Na-adjective stem (な / だった) だけ (だ / です), as illustrated in Key Sentences (C), (D) and (E), だけ modifies the entire preceding part and means ‘~, that’s all.’
Compare (1a) and (1b) below:
In (1a) だけ modifies only the preceding noun 魚 (‘fish’), while in (1b) だけ modifies the entire preceding part of the sentence 魚を食べた (‘I ate fish’).
(1) a. 魚だけ(を)食べた。 ― sakana dake (o) tabeta. ― I ate only fish.
(1) b. 魚を食べただけだ。 ― sakana o tabeta dake da. ― I ate fish, that’s all. - Verb (Potential) + だけ as in Ex. (j) means ‘as much as one can ~’.
(2) a. 食べられるだけ食べたい。 ― taberareru dake tabetai. ― I’d like to eat as much as I can (eat).
(2) b. 踊れるだけ踊ろう。 ― odoreru dake odorō. ― Let’s dance as much as we can (dance).
Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Tokyo, The Japan Times, Ltd., 1994, pp. 93-97.
Wise Bridges Fool Walls (talk) 18:47 6 September 2024 (UTC) Wise Bridges Fool Walls (talk) 22:49, 6 September 2024 (UTC)