N2 Grammar · Test 47

The grammar pattern 〜きり means 'after doing ~, (and then nothing more happened)' — it indicates that after the stated action, the expected subsequent action never occurred. The sentence means 'She said she was just going to the supermarket and left, and then...' The natural continuation is that she never came back. Option 2 '帰って来なかった' (didn't come back) fits perfectly with きり, which implies the person did something and then the expected follow-up never happened.

• 1帰って来た means 'she came back.' This contradicts the きり pattern, which implies the expected return never happened.
• 3帰って来よう is the volitional form 'let's come back / I will come back.' This doesn't grammatically or semantically follow 〜きり, which describes a past action after which nothing further happened.
• 4帰って来るしかない means 'she has no choice but to come back.' While this has a nuance of inevitability, it doesn't match the きり pattern, which states a factual outcome (she didn't return), not a necessity.

• 〜きり — after doing ~ (and nothing more happened); ~ and then never... (indicates an action after which the expected subsequent action did not occur)
• 出て行く（でていく） — to go out; to leave

Option 3 「とても書けなかった」is correct. The pattern 「〜とは言ったものの」expresses concession/regret: 'I said I would, but…'. The sentence means 'I said I'd write the report in 3 days, but in 3 days I couldn't possibly write it.' 「とても」+ negative potential means 'cannot possibly.'

• 1「とても書いた」is ungrammatical. 「とても」in the sense of 'by no means / cannot possibly' requires a negative predicate, not the affirmative past 「書いた」.
• 2「けっこう書けた」(I managed to write it fairly well) contradicts the concessive 「とは言ったものの」, which signals that things did NOT go as planned.
• 4「けっこう書かなかった」is semantically incoherent — 'I fairly didn't write it' makes no sense, and it doesn't convey the intended 'couldn't write it in time' meaning.

• とは言ったものの（とはいったものの） — although one said ~; I said ~, but… (expresses that reality fell short of one's statement)
• とても — by no means; cannot possibly (used with negative)
• 書かける — can write (potential form of 書く)

Option 2 「安全である」is correct. The sentence means 'Big cities are said to be dangerous, but here, as long as you don't walk alone late at night, it is safe.' 「〜かぎり」means 'as long as ~,' and the main clause states the positive result: it is safe.

• 1「安全にすぎる」is ungrammatical. The suffix 「〜すぎる」(too much) attaches directly to a な-adjective stem as 「安全すぎる」, not as 「安全にすぎる」. Also, 'too safe' does not fit the context.
• 3「安全にすぎない」is ungrammatical. 「〜にすぎない」(nothing more than) attaches to nouns like 「名詞にすぎない」, not to な-adjectives in this form. The correct form would be 「安全なことにすぎない」, which is also semantically wrong here.
• 4「安全ではない」(it is not safe) contradicts the sentence's logic. The condition 'as long as you don't walk alone late at night' is given to reassure, so the conclusion should be positive.

• 〜かぎり — as long as ~; unless ~ (conditional meaning: the stated condition maintains the result)
• 安全あんぜん — safe (な-adjective)

Option 3 「かけてしまった」is correct. The key pattern is 「つい〜てしまう」: 'つい' indicates doing something unintentionally or against one's better judgment, and 「〜てしまう」expresses regret or that an action was completed involuntarily. The sentence means 'I thought I wouldn't call home, but I was so lonely I couldn't bear it, and I ended up calling.'

• 1「かけたかった」(wanted to call) expresses only desire and does not pair with 「つい」. The grammar point being tested is the 「つい〜てしまう」pattern, which requires the てしまう form.
• 2「かけるべきだ」(should call) expresses obligation/recommendation, which contradicts the speaker's original resolve not to call and does not fit 「つい」.
• 4「かけるはずだ」(is supposed to call) expresses expectation, which is irrelevant to the context of giving in to loneliness.

• つい — unintentionally; inadvertently; against one's will (collocates with 〜てしまう)
• 〜てしまう — to end up doing ~ (with nuance of regret or inevitability)
• さびしくてたまらない — so lonely one cannot bear it (〜てたまらない: unbearably ~)

Option 1 「どころではなかった」is correct. 「〜どころではない」means 'far from being able to do ~; there is no way/time to do ~.' The sentence means 'Last week was no time for exam studying. Every day I couldn't get home until late because of farewell and welcome parties.' The second sentence provides the reason why studying was impossible.

• 2「するはずではなかった」(should not have studied / was not supposed to study) implies the speaker did study but shouldn't have, which contradicts the context — the speaker could NOT study because of parties.
• 3「しかなかった」would require a different structure (e.g., 「試験勉強しかしなかった」= did nothing but study), and grammatically 「試験勉強しかなかった」means 'there was nothing but exam studying,' which is the opposite of the intended meaning.
• 4「するべきではなかった」(should not have studied) again implies the speaker did study but shouldn't have, contradicting the context where parties prevented studying.

• 〜どころではない — far from ~; not in a situation where one can do ~ (expresses that something is out of the question due to circumstances)
• 送別会そうべつかい — farewell party
• 歓迎会かんげいかい — welcome party

The correct answer is 3. ならないだろう. The pattern 〜たところで means 'even if ~' and is always followed by a negative or undesirable outcome. It expresses futility: no matter how much effort is made, the desired result will not be achieved. The sentence means: 'No matter how hard I work, life probably won't become easy.' ならないだろう ('probably won't become (easy)') is the negative outcome that this pattern requires.

• 1なるだろう means 'will probably become (easy).' This is a positive outcome, which directly contradicts the 〜たところで pattern. This pattern inherently implies that the effort will NOT produce the desired result.
• 2なるかもしれない means 'might become (easy).' While slightly less certain than option 1, it still presents a positive possibility, which contradicts the negative expectation built into 〜たところで.
• 4ならなければならない means 'must not become (easy)' or more precisely is an ungrammatical/unnatural combination here. 〜なければならない expresses obligation ('must'), which does not fit as a predicted outcome after 〜たところで.

• 〜たところで — even if ~; no matter how much ~ (implies the effort is futile; followed by a negative outcome)
• 楽らくになる — to become easier (financially/in life)

The correct answer is 1. 苦労ばかりしている. The pattern 〜ばかりに means 'just because ~' and expresses regret: a cause led to an undesirable result. The sentence means: 'Because I chose this job without thinking much about the future, now I am constantly struggling.' 苦労ばかりしている ('am only having a hard time / am constantly struggling') is the negative consequence that ばかりに requires.

• 2苦労することはない means 'there is no need to struggle.' This is a positive or neutral outcome, which contradicts the regret expressed by 〜ばかりに. The pattern demands an undesirable result.
• 3苦労したほうがいい means 'it would be better to struggle.' This is a recommendation, not a consequence. 〜ばかりに calls for a statement of what actually happened, not advice.
• 4苦労しないですんでいる means 'managed to get by without struggling.' This is a positive outcome, which directly contradicts the regretful tone of 〜ばかりに. The speaker chose poorly and is now suffering, not avoiding hardship.

• 〜ばかりに — just because ~; on account of ~ (expresses regret that a cause led to a bad result)
• 苦労くろう — hardship, struggle, trouble
• 選えらぶ — to choose, to select

The pattern 〜からには means 'since / now that (I'm entering the marathon), I should...' and expresses a strong commitment or obligation. The speaker says they will practice hard and wants to run the full 42.195 km. 走りぬきたい (走り抜く + たい) means 'want to run through to the very end,' which fits perfectly: 'Since I'm entering the marathon, I want to practice well and run the full distance.'

• 1走るまい means 'I will not run / I don't intend to run.' This contradicts the context entirely — the speaker is entering a marathon and practicing hard.
• 2走りがたい means 'hard to run / difficult to run.' This describes difficulty, not determination, and doesn't fit the committed tone of からには.
• 3走りかねない means 'might run / liable to run,' expressing a possibility (often negative). It doesn't convey the speaker's intention or desire to complete the distance.

• 〜からには — since / now that (something is the case), one should / must do something; expresses obligation or determination
• 走はしりぬく — to run through to the end; to complete running
• 〜まい — will not / intend not to (negative volitional)
• 〜がたい — hard to do; difficult to (attached to verb stem)
• 〜かねない — might do; liable to do (expressing concern)

年齢のわりには means 'for her age / despite her age.' The speaker says they actually had a chance to meet the author (実際に会う機会があった), so the observation is based on direct experience. 若くみえました ('looked young') is the natural way to express a direct visual impression: 'Despite her age, she looked young.'

• 1若くしました means 'became young,' implying a change in state. The speaker is describing appearance at the time of meeting, not a transformation.
• 3若かったそうです is hearsay ('I heard she was young'). But the speaker met the author directly, so hearsay is inappropriate here.
• 4若かったらしいです is also hearsay/inference ('it seems she was young'). Again, the speaker met her in person, so a direct observation form is needed.

• 〜のわりに — for (one's age, etc.); despite; considering...
• 若わかくみえる — to look young (direct visual impression)
• 〜そうです — I heard that... (hearsay)
• 〜らしいです — it seems that... / I heard that... (conjecture or hearsay)

〜以上 means 'now that / since (a decision has been made),' and it is typically followed by an expression of obligation, determination, or necessity. しなければならない ('must') fits perfectly: 'Since I've been hired by a Japanese company, I must master Japanese.'

• 1してしまった means 'have already finished (mastering),' implying completion. This doesn't convey the obligation that 以上 calls for.
• 2したらしい means 'seems to have mastered,' which is hearsay/conjecture and doesn't fit the obligation pattern.
• 3するわけではない means 'it's not that I must,' which directly contradicts the sense of obligation that 〜以上 expresses.

• 〜以上（〜いじょう） — now that / since (something is the case), one must/should...; expresses obligation or determination
• マスターする — to master (a language, skill, etc.)
• 〜なければならない — must; have to (obligation)
• 〜わけではない — it's not that...; it doesn't mean that...