N2 Grammar · Test 45

「うかがう」(伺う) is the humble form (謙譲語) of 行く (to go) / 聞く (to ask). The speaker is a student speaking to a teacher, so the student must use humble language for their own action of visiting. 「先生の研究室にうかがってもよろしいでしょうか」= 'Would it be alright if I visit your office?' The 〜てもよろしいでしょうか pattern politely asks for permission.

• 1「いらっしゃっても」uses いらっしゃる, a respectful form (尊敬語) for the teacher's action. But the subject here is the student going to the office — using respectful language for one's own action is inappropriate.
• 2「お行きしても」attempts a humble form with お + V-ます stem + する, but 行く does not take this humble pattern. The correct humble form of 行く is 伺う or 参る, not お行きする.
• 4「おいでになっても」uses おいでになる, a respectful form (尊敬語) meaning 'to go/to come' (honoring the teacher's action). Again, this is for the teacher's action, not the student's own action of visiting.

• 伺うかがう — to visit, to go (humble form of 行く); to ask (humble form of 聞く)
• いらっしゃる — to be/to go/to come (respectful form, 尊敬語)
• おいでになる — to go/to come (respectful form, 尊敬語)

The speaker is addressing 田中先生 (Professor Tanaka) and referring to a book the professor wrote. Since the professor is a respected person whose action (writing) must be elevated, the honorific (尊敬語) form お書きになった is correct. The pattern お + verb stem + になる is a standard sonkeigo construction.

• 1お書きした is humble (謙譲語) — it would mean 'I wrote,' referring to the speaker's own action. You cannot use humble form for the professor's action.
• 3お書かれなった is not a grammatical form. Mixing the passive/honorific suffix -are with -ni natta produces an invalid construction.
• 4お書かれした is also ungrammatical. The suffix -are cannot be combined with the humble pattern お～する.

• お書きになった（おかきになった） — honorific form of 書く (to write); used to show respect to the person who wrote
• ご本（ごほん） — book (polite prefix ご)
• おうかがいする（お伺いする） — humble form of 尋ねる/聞く; to ask, to inquire

This is a polite seasonal greeting. The speaker describes a natural phenomenon — the weather becoming warmer. In formal letter-writing, natural phenomena or one's own circumstances are described with humble language (謙譲語). まいりました (the humble form of きた) is the standard choice: 暖かくなってまいりました = 'It has become warm (and I humbly note this).'

• 2いただきました requires someone else to do the action for the speaker's benefit. Weather becoming warm is not something done for you, so this is inappropriate.
• 3くださいました also requires someone else to perform an action as a favor. Weather does not 'do you the favor' of becoming warm.
• 4いらっしゃいました is honorific (尊敬語) for someone's coming/being. It cannot be used for a natural phenomenon like the weather.

• まいりました（参りました） — humble form of 来た/行った; here used as a humble equivalent for なってきた (has become) in polite correspondence
• いかがお過ごしでしょうか（いかがおすごしでしょうか） — 'How have you been spending your time?' — a polite greeting

The correct pattern is 失礼させていただきます, meaning 'Please allow me to excuse myself / leave.' Here, させて is the causative form (causative-te) of 失礼する, combined with いただきます (humble 'receive'), forming the common polite expression 〜させていただきます ('let me do X').

• 1失礼していただきます is ungrammatical. You cannot attach いただきます directly to the plain te-form of 失礼する in this way; the causative させて is required.
• 3なさって is honorific (尊敬語) for する. It would refer to someone else's action, not the speaker's own, and does not combine with いただきます.
• 4いたして is the humble te-form of する (いたします). 失礼いたしていただきます is not a standard or grammatical construction; the correct humble-causative pattern uses させて.

• 失礼しつれいさせていただきます — 'please allow me to leave/excuse myself' — causative + いただく pattern for polite self-directed action
• お先に（おさきに） — beforehand, first (used when leaving before others)

The pattern 〜どころか means 'far from ~, ...' and signals that the opposite of what was expected actually happened. The speaker tried to be kind, expecting gratitude, but instead the opposite occurred. うらまれました ('was resented/blamed') is the natural opposite of 感謝される ('be thanked'), making option 1 correct.

• 2とても喜ばれました ('was very much pleased (by her)') is a positive outcome, which contradicts the どころか pattern that requires an unexpected negative result.
• 3もっと感謝すべきです ('should be more grateful') is a statement of obligation/opinion, not a passive-voice outcome parallel to 感謝される, and does not fit grammatically after どころか.
• 4とてもうれしそうでした ('looked very happy') is also a positive outcome, contradicting the どころか structure.

• どころか — 'far from ~' — indicates the opposite of what was expected actually happened
• うらまれる（恨まれる） — to be resented, to be blamed (passive of 恨む)
• 感謝かんしゃされる — to be thanked (passive of 感謝する)

〜たところで + negative potential means 'no matter how much one does ~, it won't (can't) happen.' いくら話し合ったところで、この問題を解決することはできません means 'No matter how much we discuss it, we cannot solve this problem.' The pattern inherently requires a negative or pessimistic conclusion, so できません (cannot do) is correct.

• 1されます is passive form of される (される is itself passive of する). This is grammatically awkward and doesn't fit the pattern which requires a negative outcome.
• 2できます is affirmative potential ('can do'), but 〜たところで requires a negative/unfavorable result, so this contradicts the grammar pattern.
• 3されません is passive negative ('won't be solved'), which is grammatically possible but semantically odd here. The subject of 解決する is an implied agent (we), so the active potential できません ('we cannot solve it') is the natural choice. The passive されません would mean 'it won't be solved,' which is less natural with 解決することは as the topic.

• 〜たところで — even if one does ~; no matter how much one does ~ (followed by a negative/unfavorable result)
• 話し合う（はなしあう） — to discuss; to talk over (mutual action)
• 解決かいけつする — to solve; to resolve

The pattern 〜とは限らない（かぎらない）means 'it is not necessarily the case that~ / not always.' The sentence means: 'Just because parents are smart, it does not necessarily follow that children are smart too.' This is a classic N2 grammar point.

• 2かまわない（構わない）means 'don't mind / don't care' and does not pair with 〜とは in this construction.
• 3ちがいない（違いない）means 'definitely / without a doubt' and would give the opposite meaning ('children are definitely smart'), which contradicts からといって.
• 4やめられない（止められない）means 'cannot stop' and is completely unrelated to this sentence pattern.

• 〜とは限らない（〜とはかぎらない） — it is not necessarily the case that~; not always
• からといって — just because~ (used to deny a necessary conclusion)

〜から〜にかけて means 'from~ through~ / spanning the period from A to B.' The sentence says university entrance exams in Japan are usually held from February through March. The structure 2月から3月にかけて correctly expresses a span across two months.

• 1に比べて（くらべて）means 'compared to~' and is irrelevant here.
• 2に関して（かんして）means 'regarding / concerning~' and does not express a time span.
• 3に際して（さいして）means 'on the occasion of / when~' and refers to a single point/event, not a range.

• 〜から〜にかけて — from~ through~; over the span from A to B
• 入学試験にゅうがくしけん — entrance examination

ついでに means 'taking the opportunity / while one is at it.' The sentence means: 'I took the opportunity of going to Osaka on a business trip to drop by a friend's house.' This perfectly fits the idea of doing something extra while already going somewhere for another purpose.

• 1ところに means 'just when / at the moment when~' and does not express 'while at it.'
• 2とおりに（通りに）means 'as~ / in the way that~' and does not fit here.
• 4ばかりに means 'just because~ (and as a result, something bad happened)' and carries a negative-causal nuance that doesn't match.

• ついでに — taking the opportunity; while one is at it
• 出張しゅっちょう — business trip
• 寄よる — to drop by / to stop in

〜ということだ is a hearsay/reporting pattern meaning 'it is said that~ / according to~.' The sentence means: 'According to this book, it is said that there used to be a temple here long ago.' この本によると pairs naturally with ということだ to report information from a source.

• 1らしいこと is not a standard reporting pattern and does not pair with だ in this construction; 'らいいこと' appears to be a non-standard/incorrect form.
• 2らしいもの is not a standard hearsay pattern; らしい can indicate conjecture but もの does not follow it in this way.
• 3というもの means 'the thing called~ / such a thing' and is used for definitions or general statements, not for reporting hearsay.

• 〜ということだ — it is said that~; I heard that~ (hearsay/reporting)
• 〜によると — according to~ (pairs with hearsay endings)