N4 Grammar · Test 26

やはり means 'as expected' / 'after all.' The speaker overslept, ran to school, but despite the effort was still late — 'I was late after all.' やはり captures this 'despite trying, the expected outcome happened' nuance.

• 1かならず means 'always/without fail.' It does not fit a one-time past event where the result was contrary to the speaker's effort.
• 2ときどき means 'sometimes,' which does not fit a single specific morning's event.
• 3そろそろ means 'soon/it's about time,' used for approaching events, not for a past result.

• 寝坊ねぼうする — to oversleep
• 走はしる — to run
• 遅刻ちこくする — to be late (for school/work)
• やはり — as expected, after all

そっち (2) is correct. A is on the phone with B and says 'I'm going to head to your side now.' Since A (the speaker) is going toward B (the listener), the destination is near the listener, so そっち ('that way / over there near you') is the right ko-so-a-do word. B's reply confirms this: 'When you arrive at the station, call me. My house is far from the station, so I'll pick you up by car.'

• 1こっち means 'this way / over here (near the speaker).' A is not going toward himself, so this is wrong.
• 3あっち means 'that way / over there (far from both speaker and listener).' B's house is near B (the listener), not far from both, so this doesn't fit.
• 4どっち means 'which way / which direction,' a question word. A is stating a destination, not asking, so this is wrong.

• こっち — this way (near speaker)
• そっち — that way (near listener)
• あっち — that way (far from both)
• どっち — which way
• むかえに 行く（むかえに いく） — to go to pick someone up

早く (2) is correct. The sentence means 'Tomorrow morning there's a meeting, so I'll leave home early.' 早く is the adverbial form of the い-adjective 早い (はやい, early/fast), and it directly modifies the verb 出ます (でます, to leave). The pattern is: 早く + verb.

• 1早くて is the て-form of 早い. The て-form connects clauses meaning 'early, and…,' but here we need an adverb modifying 出ます, not a conjunction.
• 3早い is the plain い-adjective. It cannot directly modify a verb like 出ます without being turned into an adverb (早く). 早い出ます is ungrammatical.
• 4早いと uses the conditional と, but the sentence needs an adverb describing how one leaves, not a conditional clause. '早いと家を出ます' would mean 'If it's early, I leave home,' which doesn't fit the context.

• 早はやい — early, fast
• 早はやく — early (adverbial form)
• 家を出る（いえを でる） — to leave home

だけれど (3) is correct. The sentence means 'Tanaka-san has a big body and looks scary, but actually he isn't scary.' The key structure is こわそう (looks scary) + だけれど (but). 〜そう (looks like/seems) behaves like a na-adjective, so it takes だ before conjunctions like けれど. そう + だ + けれど → だけれど. This creates the needed contrast: 'looks scary BUT isn't scary.'

• 1し means 'and (also)…,' listing reasons or facts. こわそうし would mean 'looks scary, and…' — no contrast, which doesn't fit the second half '本当はこわくありません (actually isn't scary).'
• 2だし also means 'and (besides)…,' listing reasons. Same problem as し — no contrast.
• 4けれど alone cannot attach directly to そう. Because 〜そう is na-adjective-like, it requires だ before けれど: そうだけれど. そうけれど (without だ) is ungrammatical.

• 〜そう — looks like, seems (conjectural suffix)
• だけれど — but, however (more colloquial than だけれども)
• こわい — scary, frightening

聞く (3) is correct. The sentence means 'I bought a PC in order to listen to internet radio.' The grammar point is 〜ために (in order to / for the purpose of), which requires the dictionary (plain) form of a verb before it: V辞書形 + ために. 聞く is the dictionary form of 聞きます (ききます, to listen).

• 1聞きます is the ます-form. Before ために, you must use the dictionary form, not the ます-form. 聞きますために is ungrammatical.
• 2聞こう is the volitional form ('let's listen / intend to listen'). 〜ために does not take the volitional form. 聞こうために is ungrammatical.
• 4聞ける is the potential form ('can listen'). While grammatically a plain form, the sentence is about the purpose of buying a PC — to listen to radio — not about ability. The natural and correct choice is the dictionary form 聞く.

• 〜ために — in order to, for the purpose of (V辞書形 + ために)
• 聞きく — to listen
• インターネットラジオ — internet radio

The correct answer is 2 (までには). までには means 'by (a certain time),' indicating that something will happen at or before that time. 会議は11時半までには終わる = 'the meeting will end by 11:30.' The speaker estimates the meeting will finish no later than 11:30, which fits the context perfectly.

• 1までは means 'until' and is used with continuing/durative verbs (e.g., 11時半まで待つ = 'wait until 11:30'). With 終わる (an instantaneous/completion verb), までは is unnatural — it would imply the meeting continues up to 11:30 rather than finishes by then.
• 3までも means 'even until' and carries an emphatic nuance not appropriate here. It does not convey the 'by a certain time' meaning needed.
• 4までにも is not a standard grammatical construction and is unnatural in this context.

• 会議中かいぎちゅう — in the middle of a meeting
• 終おわる — to end, to finish
• までに — by (a certain time); before or at that time
• まで — until (a certain time)

どういう modifies the noun 意味 (いみ, meaning), forming どういう意味ですか = 'What kind of meaning does this word have?' The teacher answers with 'やさしいという意味です' (It means 'easy'), confirming the question asks what kind of meaning it is. どういう is a pre-noun modifier meaning 'what kind of / what sort of.'

• 1どうやって means 'how / by what method' and is used for asking about methods (e.g., どうやって作りますか 'How do you make it?'). It cannot directly modify the noun 意味.
• 2どのぐらい means 'how much / how long / to what extent' and asks about quantity or degree. It does not fit before 意味.
• 4どう alone means 'how' and is typically used as an adverb (e.g., どうですか 'How is it?'). It cannot directly modify the noun 意味 the way どういう can.

• どういう — what kind of; what sort of (used before a noun)
• 意味いみ — meaning
• 言葉ことば — word; language
• どうやって — how; by what method
• どのぐらい — how much; how long; to what extent

やっと means 'finally / at last' and expresses that something took a long time or was difficult but has now been completed. The context says the report took a week (一週間かかりました) and finished last night, so やっと終わりました = 'I finally finished it' fits perfectly.

• 2ずっと means 'continuously / for a long time / all along' and describes an ongoing state or duration, not the completion of something after effort.
• 3もっと means 'more' and is used for comparison or increasing degree, not for expressing 'finally.'
• 4きっと means 'surely / definitely' and expresses strong conjecture, which does not fit a statement about something already completed.

• やっと — finally; at last (after effort or a long time)
• ずっと — continuously; for a long time; all along
• もっと — more
• きっと — surely; definitely
• レポート（れぽーと） — report
• 一週間いっしゅうかん — one week

行きたいけれど is correct. けれど (and its polite form けれど も) means 'but / however.' B wants to go but has a part-time job, so 行きたいけれど…ごめんなさい = 'I'd like to go, but… I'm sorry' naturally expresses the contrast between desire and inability. The trailing けれど also allows the sentence to feel soft and incomplete before the apology.

• 1行きたいから means 'because I want to go,' giving a reason. This would imply B is declining because they want to go, which is illogical.
• 3行きたいし uses し, which lists reasons (～し、～し). It does not convey the contrast 'I want to go, but…' needed here.
• 4行きたくて is the te-form of 行きたい. The te-form can connect clauses but typically expresses cause/reason or sequential action, and it cannot stand as a sentence-ending connector meaning 'but' in this conversational refusal pattern.

• けれど — but; however (conjunction, also けれども)
• ドライブ（どらいぶ） — drive; going for a drive
• アルバイト（あるばいと） — part-time job
• ～から — because; since (gives a reason)
• ～し — and also; among other reasons (lists reasons)

したあとで is correct. The grammar pattern V(た-form) + あとで means 'after doing V.' Here, しゅくだいをしたあとでね = 'After you finish your homework, okay?' The mother tells the child to do homework first, then play games. The past tense form した is required before あとで even though the action hasn't happened yet — this is a fixed pattern.

• 1していた is the past progressive (was doing). していたあとで is ungrammatical in this pattern and would mean 'after was doing homework,' which makes no sense.
• 2している is the progressive/state form (am doing / is doing). しているあとで is not the correct pattern; the required form is the plain past (た-form).
• 3する is the dictionary form. するあとで is incorrect; the pattern requires the た-form (した), not the dictionary form.

• ～たあとで — after doing ~ (Vた-form + あとで)
• しゅくだい — homework
• ゲーム（げーむ） — game