N4 Grammar · Test 61

The correct answer is 1 (お帰りになりました). This is the honorific (尊敬語) form of 帰る ('to go home') using the pattern お + Vます stem + になる. Since the subject is 先生 (teacher, a respected person), you must use an honorific form to show respect for the teacher's action: 'The teacher has already gone home.'

• 2お帰りなさいました is incorrect. なさい is the imperative/honorific command form (e.g., お帰りなさい = 'please go home'), and it cannot be conjugated into the past tense with ました. This is a malformed expression.
• 3お帰りございました uses お + Vます stem + ござる, which is not a standard honorific pattern for 帰る. ござる is the humble/polite form of ある, used in expressions like お待ちしております, but not in this お + stem + になる honorific construction.
• 4お帰りいたしました is the humble (謙譲語) form (お + Vます stem + する). Humble forms are used for one's own actions, not for a respected person's actions. Using humble language for the teacher's action is inappropriate.

• お〜になる — honorific pattern: お + verb stem + になる (respectful form for another's action)
• 帰かえる — to go home, to return
• 先生せんせい — teacher

The correct answer is 4 (どれでも). どれでも means 'any one / no matter which.' The sentence メニューの中からどれでも好きなものを一つえらんでください means 'From the menu, please choose one thing you like, whichever it may be.' どれでも好きなもの is a natural collocation meaning 'whatever you like.'

• 1どれ is the question word 'which one.' It would make the sentence a question ('which one you like?'), but the sentence is an imperative (えらんでください), not a question, so this does not fit.
• 2どれも means 'all of them / every one' and is typically used with a predicate (e.g., どれもおいしい 'all are delicious'). Placed before 好きなものを it does not produce a grammatical modifier meaning 'any one you like.'
• 3どれで means 'by/with which' (instrumental). It makes no sense in this context where you are choosing an item, not using a method.

• どれでも — any one; no matter which
• えらぶ — to choose, to select
• メニュー — menu

The correct answer is 3 (ご説明いたします). The speaker says わたしから ('from me / I will'), so a humble (謙譲語) form is required. ご〜いたします is the humble pattern: ご + noun (with suru-verb stem) + いたします. ご説明いたします means 'I will humbly explain.'

• 1ご説明なさいます is honorific (尊敬語) used to describe the action of a respected person, not one's own action. Since the subject is わたし (myself), this is inappropriate.
• 2ご説明になります is also honorific (尊敬語) — ご + noun + になります — used for others' actions, not one's own.
• 4ご説明ございます is not a standard keigo form. ございます is a polite copula (humble/polite version of あります/です) and cannot directly attach to a suru-verb stem like 説明 in this way.

• ご〜いたします — humble form: I humbly do ~ (ご + suru-verb stem + いたします)
• ご説明（ごせつめい） — explanation (polite prefix)
• なさる — to do (honorific)
• 〜になります — honorific passive pattern for others' actions

The correct answer is 3 (いいですね。行きましょうか。). A invites B to go get coffee (コーヒーでも飲みに行きませんか). A natural positive response is いいですね ('That sounds good') followed by 行きましょうか ('Shall we go?'). This flows naturally as an acceptance of the invitation.

• 1いいですか ('Is it okay?') is asking for permission, which is an odd response to an invitation. 飲むでしょうか ('Shall I drink? / I wonder if I'll drink?') is unnatural here.
• 2そうなんです ('That's right / That's how it is') responds as if confirming a fact, not accepting an invitation. 飲みましょうか ('Shall we drink?') partially echoes the invitation but the overall flow is unnatural.
• 4そうですよ ('That's right, you know') also responds as if confirming a statement rather than accepting an invitation. 行くでしょうか ('I wonder if I'll go?') expresses uncertainty, which is not a natural acceptance.

• 〜でも — something like ~ (used to suggest casually)
• 行いきませんか — won't you go? (invitation)
• 行いきましょうか — shall we go?

The correct answer is 3 (いらっしゃいません). いらっしゃる is the honorific (尊敬語) form of いる ('to be/exist' for people). The sentence どなたか質問のある方はいらっしゃいませんか means 'Is there anyone who has a question?' The negative form いらっしゃいません + か forms a polite question asking whether anyone is present, which is the standard way to ask 'Is there anyone...?' in Japanese.

• 1いらっしゃるです is ungrammatical. いらっしゃる is already a polite (尊敬語) verb form and does not take the copula です.
• 2いらっしゃいです is not a standard conjugation. The imperative form いらっしゃい exists (e.g., いらっしゃいませ 'welcome'), but いらっしゃいです is not a proper form for asking a question.
• 4いらっしゃるではありません is not a grammatical negative form. The correct negative of いらっしゃる is いらっしゃらない → いらっしゃいません (polite).

• いらっしゃる — to be, to exist, to come, to go (honorific/respectful form of いる/行く/来る)
• どなたか — someone (polite)

The pattern V-ます stem + すぎ means 'too much V-ing.' The ます-stem of すう (吸う, 'to smoke / to inhale') is すい, so すいすぎ means 'smoking too much.' The sentence says たばこのすいすぎはよくないですよ ('Smoking too much is not good, you know').

• 2すう is the dictionary form of the verb. The すぎ pattern requires the ます-stem (すい), not the dictionary form. すうすぎ is ungrammatical.
• 3すって is the て-form of すう. The すぎ pattern does not attach to the て-form; it requires the ます-stem.
• 4すった is the plain past form of すう. The すぎ pattern does not attach to the past form; it requires the ます-stem.

• 吸すう — to smoke, to inhale
• 〜すぎ — too much, excessive (attaches to V-ます stem: すい + すぎ = すいすぎ)

The correct answer is 4 (見え). The grammar pattern being tested is V-stem + にくい, meaning 'hard to ~' or 'difficult to ~'. The verb 見える (to be visible) has the stem 見え, giving 見えにくい = 'hard to see'. The sentence means: 'At night it is dark and people walking are hard to see, so I drive carefully.'

• 1見える is the dictionary form. You cannot attach にくい directly to the dictionary form; you must use the stem (見え).
• 2見えた is the past tense. The past form cannot connect to にくい.
• 3見えて is the te-form. The te-form would create a sequence ('being visible and then hard to...'), which is grammatically incorrect here. You need the stem, not the te-form.

• 見みえる — to be visible, to be seen
• 〜にくい — hard to ~, difficult to ~ (attached to a verb stem)
• 暗くらい — dark
• 運転うんてんする — to drive

The correct answer is 4 (集めて). The grammar pattern is V-te + おく, meaning 'to do something in preparation / for a purpose'. The verb 集める (to gather/collect, transitive) has the te-form 集めて, giving 集めておいてください = 'please gather (the trash) and keep it (for later disposal)'. The sentence means: 'I'll throw it away later, so please gather the trash (and set it aside).'

• 1集まる is the intransitive form ('to gather' on its own). It is the wrong verb type here — the trash needs to be gathered by someone (transitive 集める), and it is also not in the te-form required before おく.
• 2集める is the correct transitive verb, but it is in the dictionary form. You need the te-form (集めて) before おく.
• 3集まって is the te-form of the intransitive verb 集まる. Even though it is a te-form, the verb is intransitive ('things gather by themselves'), which does not fit the context of someone gathering trash.

• 集あつめる — to gather, to collect (transitive)
• 集あつまる — to gather, to assemble (intransitive)
• 〜ておく — to do something in advance / for a purpose; to leave something as-is
• 捨すてる — to throw away

The correct answer is 3 (およげる). The pattern is V-辞書形 + ようになる, meaning 'to come to be able to ~' or 'to reach the state of ~'. When expressing acquiring an ability, the potential form in its dictionary form is used before ようになる. The verb およぐ (to swim) has the potential form およげる (can swim), so およげるようになりました = 'I came to be able to swim.' The sentence means: 'Because I practiced every day, I came to be able to swim.'

• 1およいで is the te-form of およぐ. The te-form cannot directly precede ようになる in this pattern.
• 2およいだ is the plain past form of およぐ. The past form cannot connect to ようになる.
• 4およぎ is the stem of およぐ. The stem + ようになる is not the correct pattern for expressing 'came to be able to'; you need the potential dictionary form (およげる).

• 泳およぐ — to swim
• 泳およげる — can swim (potential form of およぐ)
• 〜ようになる — to come to ~, to reach the state of ~ (attached to dictionary-form verb)
• 練習れんしゅうする — to practice

The correct answer is 4 (話さなけれ). The pattern is V-ば conditional. The stem already contains ば, so we need the part that precedes ば. The negative conditional of 話す is 話さなければ (if (one) does not speak), formed from 話さなけれ + ば. The sentence means: 'Even if you study a foreign language, if you don't speak it, you'll end up forgetting it.'

• 1話さなく is the negative adverbial form (used before ては/たり etc.). It cannot combine with ば to form a conditional.
• 2話さない is the plain negative form. You cannot attach ば directly to the plain negative; the conditional requires the ば-form (話さなければ).
• 3話さないで is the negative te-form ('without speaking'). It cannot connect to ば to form a conditional.

• 話はなす — to speak
• 〜ば — if ~ (conditional form)
• 忘わすれる — to forget
• 〜てしまう — to end up doing ~; to do something regrettably