N4 Grammar · Test 58

ように is the correct choice. 子どものように means 'like a child / as children do.' The full sentence みんなが子どものように元気に歌いはじめた means 'Everyone started singing energetically like children.' Nの＋ように is a standard N4 pattern meaning 'like N' or 'in the manner of N.'

• 2ぐらいに means 'to the degree/extent of' and is used for quantity or level comparisons (e.g., 子どもぐらいの背). It does not express 'like/in the manner of,' so 子どものぐらいに is ungrammatical and meaningless here.
• 3ほどに means 'to the extent that' and is used in degree comparisons (〜ほど〜ない). It does not express similarity and does not fit this sentence.
• 4そうに means 'looking like/seeming to' and attaches to a verb-ます stem or adjective stem (e.g., 元気そうに). It cannot attach to a noun like 子ども, so 子どものそうに is ungrammatical.

• 〜ように — like ~, in the manner of ~ (Nの＋ように)
• 元気げんき — energetic, healthy
• 歌うたいはじめる — to begin singing

ところです uses the pattern Vている＋ところです, meaning 'I am right in the middle of doing (action).' 今やっているところです means 'I am currently in the middle of doing it.' This perfectly answers the teacher's question about whether the report is finished: 'I'm still working on it right now, but Tanaka-kun has apparently finished.'

• 1ようです means 'it seems that.' 今やっているようです would mean 'It seems I am doing it now,' which is unnatural—you know your own status, so you don't say 'it seems' about yourself.
• 2はずです means 'it should be the case / it is expected.' 今やっているはずです means 'I should be doing it now,' which is illogical—you know whether you are doing it or not.
• 4らしいです means 'it seems / apparently,' similar to ようです but based on hearsay. Like option 1, it is unnatural to use about your own current action, since you have direct knowledge of what you are doing.

• 〜ところです — in the middle of doing ~ (Vている＋ところです = currently doing)
• レポート — report, assignment
• おわる（終わる） — to finish

かまいませんよ means 'I don't mind / it's no problem.' The question asks 'Is it okay to write this test in hiragana?' and the answer begins with ええ (yes), so the response must grant permission. かまいませんよ is a polite, friendly way to say 'that's fine / I don't mind,' matching ええ perfectly.

• 1だめですよ means 'that's no good / you can't do that.' This contradicts the ええ (yes) at the beginning of the response, creating a logical inconsistency.
• 3書きますよ means 'I'll write (it).' This does not answer the question about whether writing in hiragana is permitted; it states the speaker's own intention to write.
• 4書きませんよ means 'I won't write (it).' Like option 3, this does not answer the permission question and instead states the speaker's own intention.

• かまいません（構いません） — I don't mind, it's fine, no problem
• だめ — no good, not allowed
• ひらがな — hiragana (Japanese syllabary)

なんです is the explanatory んです/のです pattern. 来るよていなんです means 'It's that a friend is planning to come (you see).' This pattern is commonly used to explain a situation, especially when declining an invitation. The speaker explains their situation (a friend is visiting) as the reason they cannot go out, with the refusal left implicit. This is the most natural and grammatically correct completion.

• 2なんですから means 'since it's the case that...' While grammatically possible, 予定なんですから sounds redundant and overly forceful—like complaining. It is unnatural as a simple, polite decline of an invitation.
• 3ので is a conjunction meaning 'because,' but it must connect to a following main clause. Ending a sentence with just ので is incomplete and grammatically incorrect as a standalone response.
• 4からです means 'it is because.' However, 来るよていからです is grammatically awkward—予定 is a noun, so it should be 予定だからです or 予定ですから, not 予定からです. The particle から cannot directly follow the noun 予定 without だ.

• 〜んです/のです — explanatory pattern; explains a situation or gives background context
• よてい — plan, schedule
• 出でかける — to go out

The correct answer is 2 (知りません). The question 知っていますか ('Do you know?') uses the verb 知る (to know) in the ～ている form (state). The standard polite negative response is 知りません. While 知る normally forms its negative progressive as 知っていない, in everyday Japanese the simple negative 知りません is the most natural and standard way to say 'I don't know' in response to 知っていますか.

• 1知っていません is the negative of 知っている (progressive/state negative). While grammatically possible, it is not the standard natural response to 知っていますか in this context; 知りません is preferred.
• 3知らないです is the plain negative 知らない + です. It is colloquially acceptable but not the standard textbook form tested at this level; 知りません is the proper polite negative.
• 4知っていないです combines the progressive negative with です in a non-standard way. It is awkward and not the expected polite negative form.

• 知しる — to know
• 知しっていますか — Do you know?
• 知しりません — I don't know (polite negative)

Option 1 (ふっているし) uses 〜し, which lists multiple reasons. The sentence structure is '雨がふっているし、お金もいないので行きません' = 'It's raining, and I also have no money, so I won't go.' The し clause presents the first reason, and お金もいない presents the second, leading to the conclusion 行きません.

• 2ふっているのに uses のに ('even though'), which expresses contrast/concession—'even though it's raining.' This contradicts the logic of listing reasons for NOT going; it would imply going despite the rain.
• 3ふっているため uses ため ('because of'), which already expresses cause. The sentence ends with ので ('because'), so stacking ため and ので creates a redundant double-causal structure that is unnatural.
• 4ふっていると uses と (conditional 'when/if'), which doesn't fit here. The sentence needs a reason connector, not a conditional.

• 〜し — and also; (listing reasons) ~and
• 〜のに — even though (contrast/concession)
• 〜ため — because of; due to
• 〜と — when/if (conditional)
• ふっている — is raining (te-iru form of ふる)