N4 Grammar · Test 31

The correct answer is 1 (うす). The pattern is い-adjective stem + すぎて (too… and…). For い-adjectives, you drop the final い and attach すぎる: うすい (薄い) → うす + すぎる → うすすぎる. The て-form is うすすぎて, connecting to 読めません (cannot read). The sentence means 'The letters on the copy are too faint to read.'

• 2うすく is the adverbial form (連用形). You cannot attach すぎて to the adverbial form; すぎる attaches to the stem (い dropped).
• 3うすい is the plain form. You cannot attach すぎて directly to the い-ending; the い must be dropped first (うす + すぎて).
• 4うすくて is the て-form of the adjective ('thin/faint and…'). This would create a double て-form connection (うすくて + すぎて), which is ungrammatical.

• 薄うすい — thin, faint, light (い-adjective)
• すぎる — to do too much, to be too… (auxiliary meaning 'excessively')

The pattern being tested is V-ては + だめだ ('don't do V'). In casual speech, ては contracts to ちゃ. So とってはだめだよ becomes とっちゃだめだよ ('Don't take photos here'). Option 2, とっちゃ, is the contracted form of とっては and fits perfectly before だめだよ.

• 1とって is the te-form of とる. While とってはだめだよ would be grammatically correct, the blank only contains とって without は, so the sentence would read とってだめだよ, which is ungrammatical. The は is required and is already contracted into とっちゃ in option 2.
• 3とるは is not a valid grammatical form. The verb とる in plain form followed by は does not create the needed V-ては pattern.
• 4とっちゃう is the casual contraction of とってしまう (to do something completely/unfortunately). This does not connect to だめだよ; the sentence とっちゃうだめだよ is ungrammatical.

• とる — to take (a photo)
• 〜てはだめだ — must not do ~ (don't do ~)
• 〜ちゃ — casual contraction of 〜ては

The pattern being tested is the honorific/polite request form お + V-ます stem + ください. The verb すわる (to sit) has its ます-stem as すわり, so the correct phrase is おすわりください ('Please sit down'). Option 2, すわり, is the correct stem form.

• 1すわって is the te-form of すわる. The pattern お + te-form + ください (おすわってください) is not the standard honorific request structure; the correct pattern uses the ます-stem, not the te-form.
• 3すわる is the dictionary form. おすわるください is ungrammatical; you need the ます-stem (すわり), not the plain form.
• 4すわりて is not a valid conjugation of すわる. The te-form is すわって, and the ます-stem is すわり. すわりて does not exist.

• すわる — to sit down
• お〜ください — honorific request pattern: please do ~

The pattern being tested is V-辞書形 (dictionary form) + ことができる ('can do V'). The verb しらべる (to investigate/research) in its dictionary form is しらべる, so the correct sentence is しらべることができます ('can research/investigate'). Option 3 is correct.

• 1しらべた is the past tense (た-form) of しらべる. しらべたことができます would mean 'can do the act of having investigated,' which is ungrammatical in this pattern. The dictionary form is required, not the past form.
• 2しらべられる is the potential form of しらべる ('can investigate'). While this is a valid word, inserting it before ことができます creates a redundancy: しらべられることができます ('can can investigate'), which is ungrammatical.
• 4しらべて is the te-form of しらべる. しらべてことができます is ungrammatical; the pattern requires the dictionary form, not the te-form.

• しらべる — to investigate, to research
• 〜ことができる — can do ~ (potential pattern)
• れきし — history

The sentence means 'You'll be late for the train. Hurry!' The blank requires a command/imperative form. 急げ is the imperative form (命令形) of the verb 急ぐ (to hurry), making it a direct command: 'Hurry!' Option 4 is correct.

• 1急がず is the negative form with ず ('without hurrying'). This would mean 'without hurrying,' which contradicts the urgency of being late for the train and is not a command form.
• 2急ぐな is the negative imperative ('Don't hurry!'). This is the opposite of what the situation calls for — the person is about to miss their train, so they should hurry, not be told not to.
• 3急ぎ is the ます-stem of 急ぐ. While it can be used as a casual command in some contexts (like 急ぎ！), in written form as a standalone sentence after a period, the proper imperative form 急げ is the expected answer for this grammar point.

• 急いそぐ — to hurry, to rush
• おくれる — to be late, to be delayed
• 命令形めいれいけい — imperative form (command form)

The correct answer is 1 (のに). Here のに is a conjunction meaning 'even though / although,' expressing that the result is contrary to expectation. 「たくさん勉強したのに、テストのてんが悪かったです」= 'Even though I studied a lot, my test score was bad.' This is the contrastive/ concessive use of のに.

• 2ので means 'because / since' (cause or reason). Using it here would imply studying a lot CAUSED the bad score, which is illogical.
• 3のが is the nominalizer の plus subject marker が, which does not connect two clauses as a conjunction.
• 4のを is the nominalizer の plus object marker を, which also does not function as a concessive conjunction.

• 〜のに（逆接） — even though / although (expresses contrary-to-expectation contrast)
• てん（点） — score / points (on a test)

ごぞんじです is the honorific (尊敬語) form of 知っている (to know). 「あの方をご存知ですか」= 'Do you know that person?' This is the correct polite/honorific way to ask someone if they know a person.

• 1ごぞんじます is not a valid form. 存じる is a humble verb (謙譲語), but the honorific prefix ご + 存じます is grammatically incorrect. The honorific form uses です, not ます.
• 3ごぞんじします is the humble form (謙譲語) of 知る, meaning 'I know (humbly).' You would use this to refer to your own knowledge, not to ask someone else respectfully if they know someone. Asking another person requires the honorific form.
• 4ごぞんじなさいませ is not a standard expression. なさいませ is an archaic/imperative honorific ending, which does not fit a question asking 'Do you know?' It is both unnatural and grammatically inappropriate here.

• ご存知です（ごぞんじです） — to know (honorific/尊敬語 form of 知っている)
• 方かた — person (polite; あの方 = that person)

Option 2「帰られましたか」uses the honorific (尊敬語/そんけいご) form of 帰る(かえる). The passive/honorific form 帰られる is appropriate here because the speaker is asking about さとうさん, a person who should be addressed respectfully. The sentence means 'What time did Sato-san go home?'

• 1「帰りしましたか」is grammatically incorrect. 帰り is the noun form (stem) of 帰る, and attaching しました does not produce a valid verb form.
• 3「帰りになりましたか」is not a standard honorific expression. The correct honorific form would be お帰りになりましたか (with the prefix お), not 帰りに.
• 4「帰りなられましたか」is also not a standard form. It attempts to combine 帰りに with the honorific なられる, but this is not grammatical Japanese.

• 帰かえる — to return, to go home
• 帰かえられる — honorific/passive form of 帰る

The pattern being tested is V-ば conditional + result, meaning 'If you do ~, ~ will happen.' すれば (conditional form of する) + じょうずになります = 'If you practice every day, you will become skilled.' The sentence means 'If you practice every day, you'll get better at it.'

• 1した is the past tense. した じょうずになります is ungrammatical; there is no conditional connection.
• 2しない is the negative form. しない じょうずになります is ungrammatical and also contradicts the intended meaning.
• 3しよう is the volitional form. しよう じょうずになります is ungrammatical; it cannot connect to なります.

• すれば — if (you) do
• れんしゅう — practice
• じょうずになる — to become skilled/good at

The correct answer is 2 (させた). This sentence uses the causative form. The subject is お母さん (the mother), and the pattern is (person A) は (person B) に (action) させた, meaning 'A made B do (action)'. Here, お母さんはむすこに英語を勉強させた means 'The mother made her son study English.' させた is the causative past of する.

• 1した is the plain past of する. If this were chosen, the sentence would mean 'The mother studied English to her son,' which is ungrammatical and nonsensical. The particle に before the person requires a causative (or passive) verb.
• 3できた is the potential past of する, meaning 'was able to do.' This does not fit the に pattern and would mean 'The mother was able to study English to her son,' which is wrong.
• 4なさった is the honorific past of する (used to respect the subject's action). It does not express causation and does not fit the に pattern. It would mean 'The mother (respectfully) studied English to her son,' which is ungrammatical.

• 勉強べんきょうする — to study
• させる — causative suffix: to make/let someone do