N1 Grammar · Test 44

Option 4「監督」goes at the ★ position. The complete sentence is: 今の私があるのも監督あってのことです。'The fact that I am who I am today is all thanks to having had the director.' The grammar point あっての (thanks to ~; ~ is what makes ~ possible) connects 監督 to こと: 監督あってのこと = 'it is something that exists thanks to the director.' The full ordering is: 今の[私が][あるのも]★[監督][あっての]ことです, where ★ = 監督 (option 4).

• 1あっての goes in the final blank (after 監督), forming 監督あってのこと. If placed at ★, the sentence would be 今の私があるのもあっての監督ことです, which is ungrammatical.
• 2あるのも goes in the second blank, forming 私があるのも (the fact that I exist/am here). If placed at ★, the sentence would be 今の私があるのもことです, which is ungrammatical and loses the あっての structure entirely.
• 3私が goes in the first blank, forming 今の私があるのも (the fact that the current me exists). If placed at ★, the sentence would be 今の監督私があってのことです, which is ungrammatical and nonsensical.

• 恩人おんじん — benefactor, person to whom one owes a debt of gratitude
• 〜あっての — thanks to ~; ~ is what makes ~ possible
• 監督かんとく — director, coach, manager

Option 1「彼の性格」goes at the ★ position. The complete sentence is: いったん仕事を引き受けたからには、責任感の強い彼の性格からして、最後までやり通すに違いない。'Once he has accepted a job, judging from his strong-sense-of-responsibility personality, he will definitely see it through to the end.' The full ordering is: いったん仕事を引き受けた[からには]、[責任感の強い]★[彼の性格][からして]、最後までやり通すに違いない, where ★ = 彼の性格 (option 1). からには means 'since/~d, as long as ~' (expressing a strong condition), and からして means 'judging from ~' (using a characteristic as evidence).

• 2からして goes in the final blank, after 彼の性格, forming 彼の性格からして (judging from his personality). If placed at ★, the sentence would be いったん仕事を引き受けたからには、責任感の強いからして彼の性格... which is ungrammatical.
• 3からには goes in the first blank, forming 引き受けたからには (since he accepted ~). If placed at ★, the sentence would be いったん仕事を引き受けた責任感の強いからには彼の性格からして... which is ungrammatical.
• 4責任感の強い goes in the second blank, modifying 彼の性格 (his strong-sense-of-responsibility personality). If placed at ★, the sentence would be いったん仕事を引き受けたからには、彼の性格責任感の強いからして... which is ungrammatical.

• 〜からには — since ~, now that ~; as long as ~ (strong condition/resolution)
• 〜からして — judging from ~; even ~ alone shows that
• 引き受ける（ひきうける） — to accept, to take on (a task)
• やり通す（やりとおす） — to see through to the end, to carry out completely
• 責任感せきにんかん — sense of responsibility

The correct arrangement is: さっきの話が冗談だってことぐらい★わかるだろうに、単純な彼は簡単に信じてしまった。 'If you think about it a little, anyone would understand that the earlier story was a joke, but simple-minded him easily believed it.' The ★ is in the third blank, so the answer is option 1 (わかるだろう). The key grammar here is 〜だってことぐらい〜だろうに: だって quotes/cites 冗談 ('the fact that it's a joke'), ことぐらい means 'something as simple as', and the final に (option 3) expresses a counterfactual/regretful nuance ('one would think..., yet...').

• 2だって goes in the first blank, not the ★ position. It functions as a quoting particle here, citing 冗談: 冗談だって ('that it's a joke').
• 3に goes in the fourth (last) blank, not the ★ position. It attaches after わかるだろう to express the counterfactual '...and yet' nuance: わかるだろうに.
• 4ことぐらい goes in the second blank, not the ★ position. It means 'something as trivial as' and modifies the whole quoted clause: 冗談だってことぐらい ('the trivial fact that it's a joke').

• 冗談じょうだん — joke
• 〜だって — quoting particle: 'that it's...' (colloquial と/という)
• 〜ことぐらい — something as trivial/insignificant as...
• 〜に — sentence-ending particle expressing counterfactual/regret: 'one would..., yet...'

The correct arrangement is: 能力というより人気と知名度に★よるところが大きい。 'It owes more to popularity and name recognition than to ability.' The ★ is in the third blank, so the answer is option 3 (よる). The structure is 〜というより〜によるところが大きい: というより ('rather than') contrasts 能力 with 人気と知名度, and 〜によるところが大きい ('largely attributable to') states the main factor.

• 1ところが goes in the fourth (last) blank, not the ★ position. Here it forms part of 〜によるところが大きい ('largely due to'), not the conjunction ところが ('however').
• 2より goes in the first blank, not the ★ position. It pairs with という to form 〜というより ('rather than...').
• 4人気と知名度に goes in the second blank, not the ★ position. It is the noun phrase that よる attaches to: 人気と知名度による ('due to popularity and name recognition').

• 〜というより — rather than... (it's more...)
• 〜によるところが大きい（〜によるところがおおきい） — is largely due to / owes much to...
• 知名度ちめいど — name recognition, public awareness
• 知事選ちじせん — gubernatorial election

The correct arrangement is: 水やりを忘れ★さえしなければちゃんと育ちますよ。 'As long as you don't even forget to water it, it will grow properly.' The ★ is in the third blank, so the answer is option 2 (さえ). The grammar 〜さえしなければ〜 means 'as long as (one) doesn't even (do something negative), it's fine' — here, 'as long as you don't forget to water it.'

• 1水やりを goes in the first blank, not the ★ position. It is the object of 忘れる: 水やりを忘れる ('forget to water').
• 3しなければ goes in the fourth (last) blank, not the ★ position. It completes the conditional: さえしなければ ('as long as (one) doesn't...').
• 4忘れ goes in the second blank, not the ★ position. It is the stem of 忘れる that connects to さえ: 忘れさえ ('even forgetting').

• 水みずやり — watering (plants)
• 〜さえしなければ — as long as [one] doesn't even... (conditional)
• ちゃんと — properly, reliably

The correct answer is 2: そばから. The pattern ～そばから means 'as soon as ~' or 'no sooner ~ than,' expressing that something happens immediately after another action, often with a sense of frustration at the futility. Here, 新しい言葉を習うそばから忘れてしまう means 'I forget new words as soon as I learn them,' conveying the speaker's frustration at their lack of language talent.

• 1あとで means 'after doing ~,' which is a neutral temporal sequence and does not convey the immediacy or the sense of futility that the sentence implies.
• 3が最後 means 'once you ~, it's all over' or 'once ~ happens, there's no going back,' which requires a different structure (verb stem + が最後) and expresses an irreversible situation, not immediate forgetting.
• 4と見るや means 'as soon as one sees ~' or 'no sooner did one observe ~ than,' which is used for observing/perceiving events, not for the personal experience of learning and immediately forgetting.

• そばから — as soon as; no sooner ~ than (used when something happens immediately after, often with a sense of frustration)
• 語学ごがく — language study, linguistics
• 才能さいのう — talent, aptitude

Option 4 「至っては」(いたっては) is correct. The pattern 「〜に至っては」 means 'now that things have reached the point of ~' and is used when a situation has escalated to an extreme degree, prompting a decisive response. Here: 'Now that performance has deteriorated to this point, we judged that closing the factory is unavoidable.'

• 1「でらしては」 is not a valid Japanese word or grammar pattern. It appears to be a transcription error (see issues).
• 2「かこつけては」(託けては) means 'using ~ as a pretext.' 「〜にかこつけては」 does not fit the context of deterioration reaching a critical point.
• 3「向けては」(むけては) means 'towards / aimed at.' 「〜に向けては」 does not convey the sense of a situation reaching an extreme point.

• 至いたっては — now that it has reached the point of ~ (used when a situation has escalated to an extreme, prompting action)
• 業績ぎょうせき — business performance / results
• 閉鎖へいさ — closure / shutting down
• やむを得ない（やむをえない） — unavoidable / cannot be helped

Option 3 「にもまして」 is correct. The pattern 「〜にもまして」 means 'more than ~ / even more than ~' and is used to say that something exceeds a previous state in degree. Here: 'This event was even more well-received than the last one.'

• 1「ならまだしも」 means 'if it were ~, it would be tolerable.' It implies the current situation is worse than the hypothetical, which does not fit the positive context of '好評だった.'
• 2「ともなく」 means 'without any particular intention / without knowing exactly.' It does not convey a comparative meaning.
• 4「ばかりか」 means 'not only ~ but also.' While it can show addition, it does not convey the comparative 'even more than' nuance needed here.

• にもまして — more than ~ / even more than ~
• 好評こうひょう — favorable reception / well-received

Option 4 「いえないまでも」 is correct. The pattern 「〜とはいえないまでも」 means 'even if one cannot say ~ (at least ~).' It concedes that the full superlative does not apply, then affirms a still-positive assessment. Here: 'I can't say yesterday's performance was the best, but I think it was quite good.'

• 1「いいながら」 is not a valid grammar pattern in this context. While ながら means 'while,' 「いいながら」 is ungrammatical here.
• 2「いうにおよばず」 is not a standard established pattern. 「言うに及ばず」 could mean 'it goes without saying,' but it does not fit the concessive structure needed here.
• 3「いえないほど」 means 'to the extent that one cannot say ~,' which would imply the performance was so bad that you can't even call it good — the opposite of the intended meaning.

• いえないまでも — even if one cannot say ~ (at least ~); a concessive pattern acknowledging something falls short of a superlative but is still good
• 出来でき — quality / result / outcome (of a performance or work)

Option 1 「いわん」 is correct. The pattern 「〜んばかり」 attaches to the negative-nai stem of a verb (V-ない stem + ん) and means 'as if to ~ / looking as though about to ~.' 「いわん」 is the nai-stem of 言う + ん. Here: 'I was angry at my husband's words and behavior, which were as if to say he had nothing to do with it.'

• 2「いわず」 is the negative-て form stem (言わず). It does not attach to ばかり in this pattern.
• 3「いいたい」 is the desiderative form (言いたい). It cannot be followed by ばかり in this grammatical pattern.
• 4「いおう」 is the volitional form (言おう). The pattern is not 「V-うばかり」but 「V-んばかり」(nai-stem + ん).

• 〜んばかり — as if to ~ / looking as though about to ~ (attaches to the nai-stem of a verb)
• 言動げんどう — words and behavior / conduct
• 腹が立つ（はらがたつ） — to get angry