ながら Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Conjunction
Essential Meaning: While doing X
Construction:
- Verb ます-Form + ながら
- E.g. 話しながら [While speaking]
- E.g. 食べながら [While eating]
Notes:
- ながら expresses an action that occurs concurrently or simultaneously with another action. It translates to “While doing X“. Importantly, the action that is connected to ながら is always secondary to the action expressed in the main clause.
- E.g. 飲みながら話しましょう。[Let’s chat while we drink.] In this case, chatting is the main action under under discussion and drinking is a secondary action that occurs concurrently.
- E.g. 話しながらコーヒーを飲みましょう。 [Let’s drink coffee while we chat.] In this case, drinking is the main action under under discussion and chatting is a secondary action that occurs concurrently.
- ながら cannot be used when the subjects of the two actions are different people.
- E.g. *ルームメートがステレオを聴きながら私は勉強した。[I studied while my roommate listened to the stereo.] This sentence is unacceptable because the subject of the main clause is the speaker, and the subject of the ながら clause is the roommate. In such a case, 間 can be used instead of ながら.
Example Sentences:
田口さんはいつも新聞を読みながら朝ごはんを食べる。[Mr. Taguchi always eats breakfast while reading the newspaper.]
歩きながら本を読むのは危ないですよ。[Reading a book while walking is dangerous.]
山口さんは笑いながら私の話を聴いていた。[Ms. Yamaguchi was listening to my story while laughing.]
私は寝ながら小説を読むのが好きだ。[I like to read books while lying in bed.]
ものを食べながら話してはいけません。[It’s bad to speak while eating.]
木村くんは会社で働きながら学校に行っている。[Kimura-kun is going to school while working at a company.]
WILD Examples:
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