N4 Grammar · Test 38

The correct answer is 3 (夏休みの). The noun 間 (あいだ, 'during/while') must be modified by another noun using の: 夏休みの間 = 'during summer vacation.' The sentence is 私は夏休みの間、スーパーでアルバイトをしていました = 'During summer vacation, I was working part-time at a supermarket.' The の connects 夏休み to 間.

• 1夏休みに means 'during summer vacation' (に = time particle), but inserting it before 間 gives 夏休みに間, which is ungrammatical — you cannot stack に and 間 like this.
• 2夏休みで uses で (means/location particle), giving 夏休みで間, which is ungrammatical. で cannot connect a noun to 間.
• 4夏休み alone before 間 gives 夏休み間, which is ungrammatical. A noun modifying 間 requires の: 夏休みの間.

• 間あいだ — during, while (period of time)
• 夏休なつやすみ — summer vacation
• アルバイトをする — to work part-time

The correct answer is 2 (切るのに). The pattern V(辞書形) + のに + かかる expresses 'it takes (time/money) to do～': ぜんぶ切るのに2時間かかりました = 'It took 2 hours to cut everything.' のに here marks the purpose/action for which time was required. The dictionary form 切る is needed before のに.

• 1切ったり is the たり form used for listing representative actions (～たり～たりする). ぜんぶ切ったり2時間かかりました is ungrammatical — たり doesn't connect to かかる to express 'took time to do.'
• 3切りに uses に for purpose (to go/do something for a purpose), as in 切りに行く 'go to cut.' But に doesn't pair with かかる to mean 'took time to cut.' ぜんぶ切りに2時間かかりました is ungrammatical.
• 4切るかどうか means 'whether or not to cut.' ぜんぶ切るかどうか2時間かかりました = 'It took 2 hours whether or not to cut everything,' which makes no sense in this context.

• ～のにかかる（～にかかる） — it takes (time/money) to do～ (V辞書形 + のに)
• えだ — branch (of a tree)
• 切きる — to cut
• かかる — to take (time/money)

Option 3 (遅れるかもしれません) is correct. Yamada says he will go to soccer practice but has errands (用事) in the morning. The natural consequence is that he might be late. 遅れるかもしれません means 'I might be late,' which fits perfectly as the reason/result of having morning errands.

• 1遅れないでください means 'Please don't be late.' This is a request directed at someone else, but Yamada is talking about his own situation, so it doesn't fit.
• 2遅れないほうがいいです means 'It's better not to be late.' This is advice/recommendation, which doesn't fit the context of Yamada explaining his own circumstances.
• 4遅れてはいけません means 'You must not be late.' This is a prohibition, not something you'd say about your own situation in this conversational context.

• 用事ようじ — errand, business to attend to
• 遅おくれる — to be late
• 〜かもしれません — might, may (expressing possibility)

Option 1 (空きそうです) is correct. Tanaka spots seats that look like they'll become available soon. Mori's response — '空くまで、少し待ちましょう' (Let's wait a little until they open up) — confirms the seats are NOT yet empty but appear they will be. 空きそうです ('look like they'll become empty') fits this situation perfectly: visual evidence suggests the seats will free up, so they decide to wait.

• 2空きました means '(they) became empty' (past tense). If the seats were already empty, there would be no need to wait until they open up.
• 3空いています means '(they) are empty' (state). If the seats were already empty, Mori wouldn't say 'Let's wait until they become free.'
• 4空いたようです means 'It seems they became empty.' This implies they are already empty, which contradicts the need to wait.

• 空あく — to become vacant/empty (of a seat, room, etc.)
• 〜そうです — looks like it will ~ (conjecture based on appearance, attached to verb stem)
• 席せき — seat

Option 2 (持ってきてもらえますか) is correct. Ueda says they are short one chair and asks Hayashi to bring one from the neighboring conference room. 持ってきてもらえますか means 'Could you bring (one) for me?' — a polite request using 〜てもらえる (can I receive the favor of you doing ~). Hayashi's response 'はい、わかりました' (Yes, understood) confirms he is accepting a request.

• 1持ってこなくてもいいですか means 'Is it okay if I don't bring (one)?' This asks for permission NOT to do something, which doesn't fit — Ueda needs a chair brought.
• 3持ってこないといけませんか means 'Do I have to bring (one)?' This asks about obligation, not a request for help. It doesn't fit the context of asking Hayashi to help.
• 4持ってきていませんか means 'Haven't you brought (one)?' This is a question about whether Hayashi has already brought a chair, which doesn't fit — Ueda is making a request, not checking on past actions.

• 足たりない — not enough, insufficient, lacking
• 持もってくる — to bring (here)
• 〜てもらえますか — Could you (do something) for me? (polite request using もらう)
• てつだう — to help, to assist

The pattern 〜すぎる means 'too ~ / excessively ~.' For い-adjectives, you drop the final い and add すぎる. 大きい → 大き + すぎる = 大きすぎる. So 大きすぎて (te-form of 大きすぎる) means 'too big, and…' connecting to the result 入らない ('doesn't fit').

• 2大きいすぎる is grammatically incorrect. For い-adjectives, you must drop い before すぎる. Keeping the full adjective form is wrong.
• 3大きくすぎる is incorrect. 大きく is the adverbial form (used to modify verbs, e.g., 大きくする 'to make big'), but 〜すぎる attaches to the adjective stem, not the adverbial form.
• 4大きくてすぎる is grammatically incorrect. 大きくて is the te-form of the adjective meaning 'big and…,' and attaching すぎる to it is not a valid construction.

• 〜すぎる — too ~; excessively ~ (attached to adjective stem or Vます-stem)
• 大おおきい — big; large
• すいか — watermelon
• れいぞうこ — refrigerator

大切にします means 'I will treasure it / I will take good care of it.' The pattern is 大切に + する (to treat something as important). This is the natural response when receiving a gift — expressing gratitude and promising to cherish it.

• 2います by itself means 'I am / I exist' (for animate subjects). 大切にいます is not a grammatical or meaningful expression.
• 3なります means 'to become.' 大切になります would mean 'it becomes important,' which is not what you say when receiving a gift. The correct expression uses する (one's own action of treasuring), not なる (a change of state).
• 4あります means 'to exist' (for inanimate objects). 大切にあります is not a valid expression. Note: 大切にしておきます ('I will keep it carefully') would also be acceptable, but that is not among the options.

• 大切たいせつにする — to treasure; to take good care of
• 大切たいせつ — important; precious
• プレゼント — present; gift
• 誕生日たんじょうび — birthday

Option 3 is correct. The pattern 〜てくれて、ありがとうございました is a standard way to thank someone for doing something for you. Here, A is thanking B for helping with the move: 手伝ってくれて (you helped me (and I appreciate it)). The structure V-てくれる indicates someone does an action for the speaker's benefit, and attaching くれて to ありがとう expresses gratitude for that received favor.

• 1手伝って alone is just the te-form of 手伝う. While te-form can connect clauses, here it would leave the sentence grammatically incomplete — it lacks the beneficiary marker (くれて) that links the action to the gratitude expressed.
• 2手伝ったので means 'because (you) helped.' Although 〜ので can give a reason, the natural and idiomatic pattern for thanking someone for a favor is 〜てくれてありがとう, not 〜たのでありがとう. This sounds unnatural in Japanese.
• 4手伝ったから also means 'because (you) helped,' using the more casual から. Like option 2, it gives a reason but does not use the idiomatic 〜てくれて pattern for expressing gratitude for a received favor.

• 手伝てつだう — to help, to assist
• ひっこし — moving (house)
• 〜てくれる — someone does an action for the speaker's benefit
• 〜てくれてありがとう — thank you for doing (something) for me

Option 4 is correct. The sentence's subject is わたし (I), who forgot their pencil and eraser and thus asked the neighbor to lend them. With 〜てもらう, the speaker is the subject who 'receives' the favor: 貸してもらいました means 'I had (them) lend it to me / I received the favor of lending.' This matches the structure わたしは…貸してもらいました perfectly.

• 1やりました is the giving verb やる in past tense, used when the speaker gives something to someone (typically someone of lower status). Here the speaker is receiving, not giving, so it is backwards.
• 2あげました is the giving verb あげる in past tense, meaning 'I gave (to someone).' Like option 1, this reverses the direction — the speaker forgot their things and needed to borrow, not to give.
• 3くれました is the giving-to-me verb くれる in past tense, meaning '(someone) did (it) for me.' If the subject were となりの人 (the neighbor), 貸してくれました would work. However, the sentence's subject is わたし, so くれました does not fit grammatically here — only もらいました makes わたし the subject.

• 貸かす — to lend
• 忘わすれる — to forget
• 消しゴム（けしゴム） — eraser
• 〜てもらう — to have someone do something for one; to receive a favor (speaker is the subject)
• 〜てくれる — someone does something for the speaker (the doer is the subject)
• 〜てあげる／〜てやる — to do something for someone (speaker or subject is the giver)

Option 2 is correct. 買ったまま means 'bought and left in that state (as-is).' The grammar 〜まま expresses that a state continues unchanged after an action. Here, 買ったまま読んでいないまんが means 'manga that I bought but left as-is without reading.' This perfectly describes books bought but not yet read, sitting on the bookshelf.

• 1買うあいだ means 'while buying.' The 〜あいだ (while) pattern does not fit here — it would describe an action happening during the act of buying, which makes no sense with 'haven't read.'
• 3買いそうで is the volitional/likelihood form 買いそう plus で, meaning 'it looks like (I) will buy.' This does not connect logically to 'haven't read' and is grammatically out of place.
• 4買っている is the progressive/resultative form meaning 'have bought / am buying.' Placing it directly before 読んでいないまんが creates an ungrammatical sequence — there is no connector linking the two states. You would need a form like 買ったまま or 買ったけれど to properly join them.

• 本ほんだな — bookshelf
• まんが — manga, comic books
• 〜まま — as-it-is; a state remains unchanged after an action
• 買かう — to buy