N3 Grammar · Test 25

This is a phone conversation. Lee is calling the school and asks if Mori-sensei is available. The correct answer is いらっしゃいます, the honorific (尊敬語) form of いる (to be/exist for people). 森先生はいらっしゃいますか = 'Is Mori-sensei there?' Lee uses honorific language to show respect toward the teacher.

• 1ございます is the honorific form of ある (to exist for inanimate objects), not いる (for people). You cannot use ございます to ask about a person's existence. The correct honorific for a person being present is いらっしゃいます.
• 3拝見(はいけん)します is the humble (謙譲語) form of 見る (to look/see). It means 'I humbly look at (something).' This is completely unrelated to asking whether someone is present. Lee would use this when talking about his own action of looking at something, not about the teacher's existence.
• 4お目(め)にかかります is the humble (謙譲語) form of 会う (to meet). It means 'I humbly meet (someone).' This would be used when Lee talks about meeting the teacher, not when asking if the teacher is available on the phone.

• いらっしゃる — to be, to exist (honorific of いる); to go, to come (honorific of 行く/来る)
• ございます — to be (honorific of ある, for inanimate objects)
• 拝見(はいけん)する — to look at, to see (humble of 見る)
• お目(め)にかかる — to meet (humble of 会う)

The sentence means: A: 'My child is starting swimming lessons next week, but I'm worried about various things.' B: 'Even if you're just worrying before even starting, it can't be helped, right? It'll be fine.' The correct answer is ばかりしていても. ばかり means 'only/just,' and 〜していても means 'even if you are doing ~.' Together: 心配ばかりしていても = 'even if you're only worrying.' This connects to しかたないでしょう ('it can't be helped, right?'), conveying B's gentle reassurance: 'It's natural to worry, but it'll be fine.'

• 1よりしていれば uses よりして, which is not a natural grammatical construction in this context. より typically means 'rather than' or 'more than,' but よりして is not a standard expression for describing someone's behavior. Additionally, 〜ば ('if') does not match the nuance of しかたないでしょう, which needs 〜ても ('even if').
• 2よりしていても has the same problem with the unnatural よりして. The 〜ても part is correct for 'even if,' but よりして is not the right expression. The correct expression is ばかりしていても ('even if you're only ~ing').
• 3ばかりしていれば uses 〜ば ('if'), which means 'if you're only worrying.' This gives a conditional meaning ('if you worry only...'), but the sentence needs 〜ても ('even if') to match the nuance of しかたないでしょう ('it can't be helped, right?'). B is saying 'even if you worry, it's understandable,' not 'if you worry, then...' The 〜ても form is required for the concessive meaning.

• 〜ばかり — only, just (doing nothing but ~)
• 〜ても — even if ~
• しかたない — it cannot be helped, it's unavoidable

Option 1 is correct. The husband explains that he suddenly has to go to work because he just received a call from his company. 'しなきゃならなくなった' is a colloquial contraction of 'しなければならなくなった' (it became necessary to do / I came to have to do). '急に出勤しなきゃならなくなったんだ' means 'I suddenly came to have to go to work,' which perfectly fits the context of his day off being canceled.

• 2Option 2 is 'しちゃいけなくなった', a contraction of 'してはいけなくなった' (it became not allowed to do / I came to not be able to do). This would mean he suddenly became not allowed to go to work, which contradicts the fact that he is actually leaving for work now.
• 3Option 3 is 'するつもりでいる' (intend to do). While grammatically possible, it doesn't fit the context of a sudden change of plans caused by a phone call. It implies a pre-existing intention rather than a sudden obligation.
• 4Option 4 is 'しないようにしている' (trying not to do). This means he is making an effort to avoid going to work, which completely contradicts his action of heading to the office.

• 出勤しゅっきん — going to work, reporting to work
• 急きゅうに — suddenly, unexpectedly
• しなきゃならなくなった — colloquial contraction of しなければならなくなった; it became necessary to do (something), came to have to do
• しちゃいけなくなった — colloquial contraction of してはいけなくなった; it became not allowed to do (something)

帰ってしまっていて means 'had already gone home (and was in that state).' The 〜てしまっている construction indicates (1) completion of the action (帰ってしまった = went home) and (2) the resulting state continuing (〜ている = is in the state of having gone home). This perfectly conveys 'he had already left for the day' when the speaker arrived.

• 1帰っていく前に means 'before going home.' This does not connect grammatically with いなかった ('was not there') and would imply the opposite—that he had not yet left.
• 2帰っている間は means 'while he is going home / while he has gone home.' This describes a time span, but does not naturally explain why he was not there when the speaker arrived.
• 3帰ってきたまま means 'remaining in the state of having come back.' This would imply he returned and stayed, which is the opposite of the intended meaning (he had left).

• 〜てしまう — to do something completely (with nuance of regret or unavoidability); completion
• 〜ている — state of having done ~; ongoing result
• 営業部えいぎょうぶ — sales department

大きくなるのに means 'to become big.' The 〜のに pattern here indicates purpose/requirement: 'It took about 20 years to become this big.' The structure is: (verb dictionary form) + のに + かかる ('it takes (time) to do ~'). 「ここまで大きくなるのに20年ぐらいかかった」= 'It took about 20 years to grow this big.' This is the correct grammatical pattern.

• 2大きいようだし means 'it seems big, and...' The ようだ (seems) and し (and/moreover) do not connect with the time expression 20年ぐらいかかった in any grammatical way.
• 3大きくできて means 'being able to make big' or 'having become big (できて).' This te-form cannot connect to the かかった time expression properly.
• 4大きいほうがよければ means 'if it's better to be big.' This conditional clause does not fit with 'it took about 20 years,' as there is no logical conditional relationship.

• 〜のに — in order to ~; to ~ (used with かかる to express time needed to accomplish something)
• かかる — to take (time/money)
• 駅前えきまえ — in front of the station

Option 2 is correct. The patient is asking if they must continue taking the medicine even when they are not in pain. 「〜ないといけない」 means 'must do'. By adding 「でしょうか」, it becomes a polite question: 'Do I have to take it?'. The doctor's reply, 'はい。必ず飲んでください。' (Yes. Please be sure to take it.), directly confirms this obligation.

• 1「〜ないほうがよさそうですね」 means 'It seems better not to take it.' If the patient said this, the doctor would not reply with 'Yes, you must take it.'
• 3「〜なくてもしかたないですね」 means 'It can't be helped if I don't take it' or 'It's no use not taking it.' This does not fit the context of asking for instructions, and the doctor's 'Yes' would not make sense as a reply.
• 4「〜なければいいんでしょうか」 literally means 'Is it good if I don't take it?' or 'Should I not take it?'. If the patient asked this, the doctor's 'Yes' would mean they agree the patient shouldn't take it, which contradicts '必ず飲んでください' (Please be sure to take it).

• 〜ないといけない — must do; have to do
• 必かならず — always; without fail; be sure to
• 〜ないほうがよさそうだ — seems better not to do
• 〜なくてもしかたない — it cannot be helped if one does not do
• 〜なければいい — it is fine if one does not do; one should not do