N4 Grammar · Test 17

おち (ochi) is the stem (連用形) of the verb おちる (to fall). When attached to そうだ, V-stem + そうだ means 'looks like it is about to (happen).' おちそうだ means 'it looks like it's about to fall.' The sentence says 'It looks like the wallet is about to fall out of your pocket!'

• 2おちて (ochite) is the て-form. 〜てそうだ is not a grammatical pattern. The そうだ of appearance/conjecture attaches to the verb stem, not the て-form.
• 3おちなく (ochinaku) is a negative form, but 〜なくそうだ is not grammatical. The negative conjecture form would be おちそうにない, not おちなくそうだ.
• 4おちないで (ochinaide) is the negative て-form. 〜ないでそうだ is not a grammatical pattern and doesn't fit here.

• 〜そうだ — looks like; seems like; about to (attached to V-stem for imminent action)
• おちる — to fall; to drop
• さいふ — wallet

死んだ (shinda) is the past tense (た-form) of 死ぬ (to die). In the pattern V-た + ように, it means 'as if one had done V' or 'like something that has happened.' 死んだようにねている means 'sleeping as if dead' — describing the appearance of deep, motionless sleep caused by exhaustion. The past tense form is the standard way to express a simile of a completed state.

• 1死に (shini) is the verb stem (連用形) of 死ぬ. V-stem + ように is used for purpose ('so as to'), not for simile ('as if'). 死にように is not a standard grammatical expression for 'as if dead.'
• 2死ぬ (shinu) is the dictionary form. V-辞書形 + ように can mean 'in order to' or 'as if (doing),' but for describing a state of being 'as if dead,' the past form 死んだように is the natural and correct choice. 死ぬように would mean 'as if to die' or 'in order to die,' which doesn't fit.
• 3死ねば (shineba) is the conditional form (ば-form). 〜ばように is not a grammatical pattern at all.

• 死しんだように — as if dead (V-た + ように for simile)
• つかれて — being exhausted (て-form of つかれる)
• ねている — is sleeping

The pattern たぶん + plain form + だろう expresses conjecture: 'probably ~.' 雨がふる (plain non-past of ふる) + だろう = 'It will probably rain tomorrow.' The dictionary (plain) form is the correct form before だろう for future conjecture.

• 1ふって is the て-form of ふる. It cannot directly precede だろう; the て-form is used for connecting clauses or for て-form requests, not for this conjecture pattern.
• 3ふった is the plain past form. 雨がふっただろう would mean 'it probably rained' (past conjecture), but the sentence says あした (tomorrow), so the non-past form is required.
• 4ふれば is the conditional ば-form, meaning 'if it rains.' It cannot be used before だろう in this conjecture pattern.

• たぶん — probably
• ふる（降る） — to fall (rain, snow)
• 〜だろう — probably ~; I think ~ (conjecture)

Option 3 「めずらしい花や鳥がいるから」(Because there are rare flowers and birds) is the most natural reason for going out early on a trip to a lake area—wanting to see rare flora and fauna before they are gone or before crowds arrive. This aligns with a typical 3-kyuu reading passage about a nature trip.

• 1「土曜日で、車が多いから」(Because it's Saturday and there are many cars) is plausible but would more likely be a reason to avoid going rather than to go early; it's a distractor.
• 2「うつくしいみずうみがあるから」(Because there is a beautiful lake) describes the destination but doesn't explain why one must leave *early*—the lake is there all day.
• 4「あまり天気がよくないから」(Because the weather isn't very good) would more likely be a reason to delay or cancel, not to go early.

• めずらしい — rare, unusual
• 早はやく — early, quickly
• 出でかけます — to go out, to leave

Option 3 「ふねにのります」(I will ride a boat) is a typical activity one does at a lake when the weather is good. In many 3-kyuu reading passages, boat rides on a lake are conditional on good weather, making this the most likely answer.

• 1「花や鳥をみます」(I will look at flowers and birds) is likely something the person plans to do regardless of weather (as suggested by Q1), not specifically conditional on good weather.
• 2「みずうみでおよぎます」(I will swim in the lake) is plausible but swimming in a lake is less commonly featured in JLPT reading passages than boat rides.
• 4「魚をつります」(I will catch fish) is plausible as a lake activity but is a distractor; fishing is less likely to be strictly weather-dependent in these passages.

• ふね — boat
• のります — to ride, to board
• およぎます — to swim
• つります — to fish, to catch fish

Option 3 '新しいしごとを始めたので' (because I started a new job) is correct. Satou says '最近（ア）、今日はごあいさつに来たんですよ' (Recently [ア], today I came to greet you). Starting a new job is the natural reason for a greeting visit, and it directly explains why Tanaka then asks 'どんなおしごとですか' (what kind of work?). The flow is: Satou started a new job → came to greet → Tanaka asks about the work → Satou explains it's trading work.

• 1わたしは元気でしたので (because I was well) — Tanaka already asked about Satou's health and Satou already answered 'はい。ありがとうございます.' Repeating this as the reason for the visit is redundant and does not lead to the work question.
• 2一度あそびにきたので (because I came to play once) — This contradicts the context; Satou came for a greeting (ごあいさつ), not to play, and it doesn't explain the follow-up question about work.
• 4お昼をいっしょに食べるので (because we'll eat lunch together) — Lunch is proposed much later in the conversation (at エ), so it cannot be the reason for today's visit.

• ごあいさつ（ご挨拶） — greeting, formal call to pay respects
• ぼうえき — trade, international trade
• じむしょ — office

するはずがない means 'there is no way (he) would do.' The sentence reads: 'There's no way kind Yamashita-san would do such a terrible thing.' The adjective やさしい (kind) sets up an expectation that contrasts with ひどいこと (terrible thing), making はずがない (strong negation based on reasoning) the perfect fit.

• 1するためだ means 'in order to do' (ため = purpose). This would make the sentence 'Kind Yamashita-san... in order to do such a terrible thing,' which is grammatically incomplete and nonsensical here.
• 2しないままだ is not a natural/grammatical construction in this context. まま means 'as-is/state remains,' but しないままだ does not form a proper predicate for this sentence.
• 3しないところだ means 'is about to not do' (ところ = on the verge of). This does not fit the meaning — the speaker is expressing disbelief, not describing an imminent action.

• やさしい — kind, gentle
• ひどい — terrible, awful
• はずがない — there is no way, impossible (strong negation based on reasoning)

ごらんになりました is the respectful (sonkeigo) form of 見る (to see/look). The sentence '中川さんがかいたえをごらんになりましたか' means 'Did you see the painting Nakagawa-san drew?' — politely asking a superior whether they have seen it. ごらんになる is the standard sonkeigo form for 見る taught at this level.

• 1おみえしました is not a standard form. It appears to be a confused mix of おみせしました (humble 'I showed') and みえました (respectful 'saw'), but as written it is ungrammatical.
• 2ごらんいたしました is the humble (kenjougo) form 'I humbly looked at.' Since the sentence ends with か (a question directed at someone else), a humble form about one's own action does not fit — you would not ask someone 'Did I humbly see...?'
• 3おみになりました is a respectful form of 見る (お+み+になる), which is grammatically valid. However, ごらんになる (option 4) is the more standard and commonly tested sonkeigo form for 見る at this level, making 4 the better answer.

• ごらんになる — respectful form of 見る (to see/look)
• おみになる — respectful form of 見る (less common than ごらんになる)
• ごらんいたす — humble form of 見る (I humbly look at)

いないらしく means 'it seems nobody is (there).' The full sentence reads: 'It seems nobody is in this house; it's quiet whenever I go.' らしい expresses conjecture based on evidence (the quietness), and since だれも...ない means 'nobody,' いないらしく fits perfectly — the speaker infers from the quietness that no one is home.

• 1いるのに means 'even though someone is there.' This contradicts the second clause (いつ行ってもしずかだ = it's always quiet), which implies the house is empty.
• 2いるそうで means 'I hear someone is there.' This also contradicts the quietness described, and そうだ (hearsay) would report someone else's statement, which doesn't fit the context of the speaker's own observation.
• 4いないそうに is grammatically incorrect. そうに is used with verb stems to mean 'appearing to be about to ~' (e.g., 降りそうに), but with the negative ない it does not form a proper conjecture expression. The correct conjecture pattern is ない+らしく.

• だれも〜ない — nobody (with negative)
• らしい — seems like, appears to be (conjecture based on evidence)
• しずか — quiet

あしたじゃなければ means 'if it's not tomorrow.' The sentence reads: 'Tomorrow I'm busy so it won't work, but if it's not tomorrow, any time is fine.' 〜なければ (conditional 'if not') connects logically: since tomorrow is bad, any day other than tomorrow works.

• 2あしたじゃないと is also a conditional ('if it's not tomorrow'), but it is more colloquial/casual. At this level, 〜なければ is the standard conditional form tested, and じゃないと is less formal. While it conveys similar meaning, じゃなければ (option 1) is the more appropriate and standard choice.
• 3あしたなら means 'if it's tomorrow,' which directly contradicts the first clause (tomorrow is no good). The sentence needs 'if NOT tomorrow,' not 'if tomorrow.'
• 4あしただったら means 'if it's tomorrow,' which also contradicts the context. The speaker is saying tomorrow doesn't work, so the condition must exclude tomorrow.

• いそがしい — busy
• 〜なければ — if not (conditional negative)
• いつでも — anytime