Giving a Task Update | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 仕事はどのくらい進んでいますか。

   How is the task going?

   仕事

   task; work

   どのくらい

   how much; to what extent

   進んでいますか

   is progressing?

   More detail

   仕事 means “work” or, in this sentence, “the task.” It is a noun and can refer to work in general or to a particular task understood from context. Example: 仕事が終わりました。 — “The work is finished.” どのくらい asks about degree, amount, or extent. Here it asks how far the task has progressed, so the natural meaning is “how much” or “to what extent.” It is not necessarily asking for a numerical amount. Example: どのくらい時間がかかりますか。 — “How long will it take?” 進んでいますか comes from 進む, “to advance” or “to progress.” The form 進んで is the connective form of that verb, and います expresses an ongoing or current state; together, 進んでいます describes something as progressing or having reached a current stage. The final か marks the sentence as a question. Thus 進んでいますか politely asks whether something is progressing and, with どのくらい, asks about its degree of progress. Example: 計画は順調に進んでいます。 — “The plan is progressing smoothly.” Together, 仕事は sets the task as the topic, どのくらい asks about its extent of progress, and 進んでいますか asks politely about its current progress. The whole utterance means: “How is the task going?”

2. ほとんど終わっています。

   Most of it is done.

   ほとんど

   most of it

   終わっています

   is done

   More detail

   ほとんど means “most of it” here. It expresses a large part of an understood whole; the thing being measured is left implicit in this sentence. A useful contrast is 全部 (“all of it”) and 少し (“a little”). 終わっています comes from 終わる (“to finish; to end”). The form 終わっている combines the te-form 終わって with いる. Here it describes the resulting state: the work is finished, rather than simply reporting a finishing event. います is the polite form of いる, so the whole expression is polite. Example: 準備が終わっています。 — “The preparations are finished.” Together, ほとんど終わっています says that most of the relevant task or work is in a finished state: “Most of it is done.”

3. 何を確認する必要がありますか。

   What needs checking?

   何を

   what

   確認する

   check; confirm

   必要がありますか

   is it necessary?

   More detail

   何を means “what” as the thing being acted on. 何 asks about an unspecified thing, and を marks that thing as the direct object of the verb. The same pattern is reusable: 何を読みますか。 means “What will you read?” Here, the question asks what requires checking; the specific item is not stated in this utterance. 確認する means “to check” or “to confirm.” 確認 is the noun meaning “confirmation/checking,” and する turns it into an action. The form する is the non-past form, so it can describe an action that is needed now or later; it does not by itself specify a past or future time. A useful related contrast is 確認した, “checked/confirmed,” where した is the past form of する. 必要がありますか expresses “is it necessary?” More literally, 必要 means “necessity” or “necessary,” が marks what exists, and あります is the polite non-past form of ある, “to exist.” With 必要, this pattern states that a necessity exists. Final か marks the sentence as a question. In the fixed sentence, it combines with 確認する as 確認する必要がありますか, “is there a need to check?” This is different from simply asking whether someone checks something: 確認しますか。 asks “Will you check?” or “Do you check?” Putting the parts together, 何を identifies the unknown object, 確認する supplies the action “check,” and 必要がありますか asks whether that action is necessary. The complete utterance therefore means “What needs checking?” or, more structurally, “What is it necessary to check?”

4. 数字を確認する必要があります。

   I need to check the numbers.

   数字

   numbers

   確認する

   check; confirm

   必要があります

   need to; it is necessary

   More detail

   数字 means “numbers” here. It is a noun; Japanese nouns do not normally change form to mark singular versus plural, so the context determines whether it means one number or multiple numbers. The fixed translation supports the plural reading here. 確認する means “to check” or “to confirm.” 確認 is the noun “checking/confirmation,” and する turns it into a verb: 確認する. The form shown is the plain, non-past form, which can be used before another expression. Example: 名前を確認する。 — “I check/confirm the name.” 必要があります contains 必要, “necessity” or “need,” and the polite form あります of ある, “to exist.” On its own, it says that a necessity exists; after an action clause, the pattern [action]必要があります means “need to do [action]” or “it is necessary to do [action].” Example: 予約する必要があります。 — “I need to make a reservation.” The whole pattern is NをVする必要があります: “I need to V N” or, more literally, “there is a necessity to V N.” In this sentence, 数字を marks “the numbers” as what is checked, 確認する supplies the action, and 必要があります expresses the need. Together, 数字を確認する必要があります。 means “I need to check the numbers.” The polite sentence ending makes the statement suitable for a respectful or neutral conversation.

5. 予定どおりですか。

   Are we on schedule?

   予定

   schedule; plan

   どおり

   as expected; in accordance with

   ですか

   is it?

   More detail

   予定 means a plan, schedule, or arrangement. In this sentence it refers to the schedule being followed. The related expression 予定を立てる means “to make a plan.” Example: 予定を立てます。 — “I make a plan.” どおり follows a noun and means “as that noun indicates” or “in accordance with it.” Thus 予定どおり means “according to the schedule” or “as planned.” The spelling here is the hiragana form どおり; the same element is also often written 通り. Example: 予定どおりに始まりました。 — “It started as scheduled.” ですか makes the statement into a polite question. です is the polite copular form, and か marks the sentence as a question. Here it asks whether the situation matches the schedule; it does not itself specify a separate action or time. Example: 大丈夫ですか。 — “Is it all right?” Together, 予定どおり describes the situation as matching the plan, and ですか asks whether that is so. The complete utterance therefore means “Are we on schedule?” Japanese does not state the subject explicitly here; the fixed translation supplies the intended “we.”

6. 今日の午後に終えられます。

   We can finish this afternoon.

   今日

   today

   午後

   afternoon

   終えられます

   can finish

   More detail

   今日 means “today.” It is a noun that can identify the current calendar day and can modify another time expression. Here, it combines with の to specify which afternoon: 今日の午後 = “this afternoon,” literally “today’s afternoon.” 午後 means “afternoon,” the part of the day after noon and before evening. The pattern Xの午後 identifies the afternoon associated with X; for example, 明日の午後 means “tomorrow afternoon.” The に after this time expression marks when the action can happen: 今日の午後に = “this afternoon.” 終えられます expresses “can finish.” Its dictionary form is the transitive verb 終える, “to finish or complete” something. 終えられる is its potential form, meaning that the subject is able to finish something, and 終えられます adds the polite ます ending. In other contexts, this form can also have a passive interpretation, but the fixed translation selects the ability reading here. Japanese does not state the subject explicitly in the target sentence, but the fixed translation identifies the intended subject as “we.” The relevant task is also understood from context and the translation, rather than named in the Japanese sentence. Together, 今日の午後に sets the time, and 終えられます says that we can finish the relevant task then. The complete meaning is “We can finish this afternoon.”

7. チームに伝えたほうがいいですか。

   Should we update the team?

   チーム

   team

   伝えた

   told; conveyed

   ほうがいいですか

   would it be better?

   More detail

   チーム means “team” here. It is a noun and can be used with に to mark the group that receives information: チームに伝える means “convey it to the team” or, in this context, “update the team.” 伝えた is the past form of 伝える, “to convey” or “to tell.” The past-looking form is part of the reusable recommendation pattern V-たほうがいい, meaning “it is better to V” or “should V.” For example, 早く伝えたほうがいいです。 means “It is better to tell them soon.” ほうがいいですか turns that recommendation into a polite question: “Would it be better to …?” or “Should …?” The subject is not stated in Japanese; here, the fixed translation and context support “we,” so the intended question is whether we should update the team. ですか marks the sentence as a polite question. Together, チームに identifies the recipient, and 伝えたほうがいいですか asks whether conveying the information is the advisable action. Thus the whole utterance means “Should we update the team?”

8. この部分が終わったら、チームに伝えましょう。

   Let's update them after we finish this part.

   この

   this

   部分

   part; section

   終わったら

   when it ends; after it is finished

   チーム

   team

   伝えましょう

   let’s tell; let’s convey

   More detail

   この means “this” and is a demonstrative determiner: it points to a nearby or contextually identified noun. Here it modifies 部分, so この部分 means “this part.” The form この does not change for number or grammatical gender. 部分 means “part” or “section.” In この部分, it identifies the part that will be finished. A useful related compound is 部分的 (“partial”), but 部分 itself is the noun here. 終わったら comes from the verb 終わる, “to end” or “to be finished,” plus たら, a form used for a condition or a time sequence. In this sentence, 終わったら means “when it ends” or “after it is finished.” The subject of 終わる is explicitly この部分, marked by が; the English translation expresses the same timing as “after we finish this part.” 終わる is intransitive, describing something coming to an end; it is different from transitive 終える, “to finish something.” が marks この部分 as the subject of the time clause: “when this part is finished.” チーム is the noun “team.” With the particle に, チームに marks the recipient or target of the communication: “to the team.” 伝えましょう is the polite volitional form of 伝える, “to tell” or “to convey.” The ending ましょう commonly makes a proposal meaning “let’s …”; it is not part of the verb’s lexical meaning. The content being conveyed is not stated in this sentence, while the context and fixed translation identify the team as the communication target. For example, 先生に伝えましょう。 means “Let’s tell the teacher.” Together, この部分が終わったら sets the time condition, “after we finish this part,” and チームに伝えましょう proposes communicating the omitted information to the team. The whole utterance therefore means, “Let’s update them after we finish this part.”