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やばい！しゅくだいをわすれてしまった！
Yabai! Shukudai o wasurete shimatta!
Oh no! I forgot my homework!
Use of ばかり
ばかり has several meanings in Japanese. On its own, it means 'only', 'no more than', 'about' or 'just'. These meanings are used in combination with some verbs or other particles, which allow each to express one of these translations.
Just or nothing but
ばかり is used to express a condition in which we have so much of something to the point that everything else is as if it doesn't exist. In this case, it is translated as 'nothing but', but can also be translated as 'only' or 'just'.
VERB 〜て + ばかり
NOUN + ばかり
You will also see some derived forms, such as ばっかり, ばっか, ばかし and ばっかし.
Sakura does nothing but chase her dreams.
さくらはゆめをおいかけてばかり。
Sakura wa yume o oikakete bakari.
In this sense, Sakura is so preoccupied by chasing her dreams that everything else does not matter.
Just done 〜たばかり
When a verb is in the past casual form 〜た, it expresses the end of a situation or action.
I just left the house.
いえをでたばかりです。
Ie o deta bakari desu.
In this example, the action of leaving the house just finished.
Despite the fact we just met, she did a lot for me.
しりあったばかりなのにとてもよくしてくれて。
Shiriatta bakari na no ni totemo yoku shite kurete.
In this case, I just met with that person. The action of meeting has just been done.
しりあう can be translated as 'to get to know' someone. なのに in this case can be translated to 'despite'. とてもよく can be translated as 'a lot' and してくれて means 'do for me'.
Continue to ばかりだ
This form with a verb in its basic form, plus ばかりだ (or ばかりで if the sentence continues) means that something or a situation is the only one that is happening. It can thus be translated to 'continue to'.
VERB + ばかりだ
VERB + ばかりで + sentence
Prices keep increasing.
ねたんがあがるばかりだ。
Netan ga agaru bakari da.
With the verb in infinitive, this construction means that the increase of prices is the only thing that is happening.
With the prices that keep increasing, it has become difficult to buy a house.
ねたんがあがるばかりで、いえをかうのはたいへんになった。
Netan ga agaru bakari de, ie o kau no wa taihen ni natta.
Just because ばかりに
Adding the particle に to ばかり turns the meaning into 'just because' or 'even only with A, B could have happened'.
VERB 〜た + ばかりに
い-ADJ + ばかりに
な-ADJ + ばかりに
NOUN + な + ばかりに
Just because I forgot my wallet, I couldn't buy a bentou.
さいふをわすれたばかりに、おべんとうをかえなかった。
Saifu o wasureta bakari ni, obentou o kaenakatta.
Just because I was late today, I couldn't meet with Sakura.
きょうおそかったばかりに、さくらにあえなかった。
Kyou osokatta bakari ni, Sakura ni aenakatta.
Not only, but also ばかりでなく
Adding でなく to ばかり turns the meaning into 'not only this, but also that'.
VERB 〜た + ばかりでなく
い-ADJ + ばかりでなく
な-ADJ + ばかりでなく
NOUN + ばかりでなく
You can also find the form ばかりか instead of ばかりでなく.
Sakura is not only good with the baton (majorette), but she is also good at swimming.
さくらはバトンばかりでなくすいえいもじょうずだ。
Sakura wa baton bakari denaku suiei mo jouzu da.
Make sure you pay attention to the different meanings of ばかり!
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Use of しまう
しまう is a verb that means 'to finish', but combined with the 〜て form of verbs, we can express that an action was done by mistake or unexpectedly.
VERB 〜てしまう
*VERB 〜てちゃう
*VERB 〜てじゃう
*These are derived forms of しまう. All three can express the fact of having completed something, the achievement of a goal in a perfect or optimal way, and they can express regret in having performing a certain action.
Expressing regret
When しまう expresses regret, the regret must be for an action that has already ended and so it is no longer possible to go back.
We cannot do anything about things that have already happened (unintentionally).
もうおきてしまったことはしかたないよ。
Mou okite shimatta koto wa shikatanai yo.
しかたない is an expression that means 'we cannot do anything about it'.
おきてしまった represents regret for something that has happened. おきて (おきる) in this case means 'to happen'.
If we had expressed this sentence without the use of しまう, it would have only indicated that something happened in the past without any further indication. With the use of しまう, on the other hand, we can express that something happened unexpectedly. Using しまう gives much more meaning to the sentence, even though the sentence remains the same in English.
Oh no! I forgot my wallet!
しまった！わたしのさいふをわすれた！
Shimatta! Watashi no saifu o wasureta!
In this sentence, しまった expresses that you made a mistake by forgetting your wallet. Typically, it will be translated as 'oh no!' in English, even though the real meaning is 'I made a mistake!' or 'I failed!' (at bringing my wallet).
Action done completely
しまう can also express an action that you are done with completely.
I finished writing my report.
レポートをかいてしまった。
Repooto o kaite shimatta.
Mostly, it is the context and the way we say a sentence that will indicate if we have regret doing something. In this sentence, it means that we have finished writing our report, not that we regret writing it.
Colloquial versions of しまう
It is possible that you may also hear the colloquial versions of しまう, ちゃう and じゃう.
They are mostly used in spoken Japanese.
ちゃう will be used when the 〜て form of verbs ends in て (like かいて) and じゃう will be used if the 〜て form of verbs ends in で (like よんで).
Mother is completely mad.
ははがくるっちゃった。
Haha ga kurucchatta.
I completely finished this book.
そのほんをよんでじゃった。
Sono hon o yondejatta.
Oh no, I forgot my wallet...
やばい、さいふをわすれちゃった。。。
Yabai, saifu o wasurechatta....
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ようとする
ようとする means 'to be willing to'. It is used with the volition form おう.
With ichidan verbs, we will use the verb stem + ようとする.
きめる -- きめ -- きめようとする - willing to decide
In the negative, simply conjugate する.
きめようとしない - not willing to decide
With godan verbs, we will take the sound お.
かく -- かこ -- かこうとする -- willing to write
And irregular verbs:
する -- しようとする - willing to do
くる -- こようとする - willing to come
This structure is only used for other people's things and situations, thus, it should not be used for ourselves. In the case for ourselves, we will use the verb おもう. We will see it shortly.
She has no intention on changing her personality.
かのじょはせいかくをかえようとしない。
Kanojo wa seikaku o kaeyou to shinai.
I don't think I will change my personality.
せいかくをかえようとおもわない。
Seikaku wo kaeyou to omowanai.
No matter how many times Anya gets told, she has no will to study.
アニアはかどいわれてもべんきょうしようとしない。
Ania wa kado iwarete mo benkyou shiyou to shinai.
Another expression we can use instead of ようとしない is まったく〜するようすがない.
She doesn't seem to study at all.
まったくべんきょうするようすがない。
Mattaku benkyou suru yousu ga nai.
Remember: ようとする is to express someone else's willingness to do something.
For our own, we use the verb おもう.
In the case of ようすがない, we can use it for ourselves.
I gave more examples of the expression in the negative, since you will see this expression mostly in the negative to say someone has no willingness or intention to do something.
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Use of しかない
The use of しかない is the negative form of だけ, which means 'only'. As だけ will be used in affirmative sentences, しかない will be used in negative ones. しか also means 'only'.
しかない gives a feeling that there is nothing else but this, no other choice but this.
VERB + しかない
There is nothing else to do but to call the police.
けいさつをよぶしかない。
Keisatsu o yobu shikanai.
Differences between しかない and だけ
だけ means 'only' as in 'there is only 100 yen in my wallet'.
さいふにひゃくえんだけだ。
Saifu ni hyaku en dake desu.
だけ doesn't put any emphasis on whether the amount is too little or enough.
On the other hand, しかない will put an emphasis on the fact that you only have 100 yen in your wallet.
さいふにひゃくえんしかない。
Saifu ni hyaku en shikanai.
In the first example, you could state that there is only 100 yen in your wallet without any context. If, however, your friend asks you if you want ice cream, you can answer the second example to state that you only have 100 yen in your wallet, thus, you won't be able to buy an ice cream.
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You have completed lesson 28!
レッシュン28ができた！