Leaving Space in a Crowded Line | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. この列はかなり混んできました。

   This line is getting really crowded.

   この

   this

   列

   line; queue

   かなり

   quite; really

   混んできました

   is getting crowded

   More detail

   この means “this” in the fixed sentence and appears directly before 列 to modify it. Japanese demonstratives in the こ・そ・あ・ど series encode the speaker’s spatial or discourse perspective; この is the “こ-” form used attributively before a noun. It does not itself mark a numeric count. 列 means “line” here, specifically a queue or line of people. The same noun can also refer to a line or row in other contexts, so the surrounding meaning determines the English choice. Example: 列に並びます。 — “I line up.” かなり is an adverb meaning “quite” or “considerably.” It intensifies the following description, so the crowding is presented as substantial. It is not the word that expresses the change over time. 混んできました expresses that the line has become crowded and is now in that state. The lexical verb is 混む, “to become crowded” or “to be congested.” Its observed form 混ん is the て-form stem used in 混んで; 混んで combines with きました here. The てくる pattern describes a change that has developed toward the present: 混んできました is therefore naturally “has become crowded” or “is getting crowded,” rather than simply “came crowded.” きました is the polite past form of 来る, “to come,” but in this construction it functions as the くる part of 〜てくる. The polite ending makes the utterance courteous; the construction, not 来る alone, supplies the developing-change meaning. Compare 混みました, which can simply report that it became crowded, with 混んできました, which highlights the progression up to now. Together, この列 identifies the line being discussed, かなり strengthens the description, and 混んできました presents increasing crowding as a change reaching the present. The whole utterance is: “This line is getting really crowded.”

2. 横に少しスペースを空けましょう。

   Let's leave some room on the side.

   横に

   to the side

   少し

   a little; some

   スペース

   space; room

   空けましょう

   let's leave open

   More detail

   横に means “to/on the side.” Here 横 identifies the side as the location or direction, and に marks that location. The pattern 場所に can be reused for placing or directing something: 机の横に置きます。 means “I’ll put it beside the desk.” 少し means “a little” or “some,” indicating a small amount. It can modify an amount or degree: 少し待ってください。 means “Please wait a little.” In this sentence, it limits how much room is being requested, not the direction. スペース is a loanword meaning “space” or “room.” It is a noun and can refer to physical room, as here, or an empty area in a layout. For example, ここにスペースがあります。 means “There is space here.” 空けましょう comes from the verb 空ける, “to make empty” or “to leave open.” The form 空けましょう is the polite volitional form: 空ける → 空けましょう. It proposes that the speaker and the listener or listeners do this together. Do not confuse it with 開ける, which commonly means “to open” something such as a door or window; 空ける focuses on creating or keeping an empty space. Together, 横に少しスペースを空けましょう means “Let’s leave some room on the side.” The location 横に comes first, 少しスペース specifies the small amount of room, and 空けましょう proposes creating or keeping that room open. The subject is understood from the proposal rather than stated explicitly.

3. 私は少し後ろに下がったほうがいいですか。

   Should I move back a little?

   私は

   as for me; I

   少し

   a little

   後ろに

   backward; to the rear

   下がった

   moved back

   ほうがいいですか

   would it be better?

   More detail

   私は marks the topic as “I” or “as for me.” The particle は sets the topic; it does not by itself identify any additional participant. 少し means “a little” and softens the amount of movement. It can modify an action or another quantity, as in 少し待つ (“wait a little”). 後ろに means “backward” or “to the rear.” 後ろ is “the back/rear,” and に marks the direction or destination. In this utterance, it describes the direction of moving rather than a specific object’s location. 下がった comes from the verb 下がる, “to move back,” “to step back,” or “to recede.” The form 下がった is the plain past form, but before ほうがいい, it is part of the recommendation pattern Vたほうがいい, so it does not necessarily mean that the moving already happened. Compare 下がる (“move back”) and 下がった (“moved back” as a standalone past form). ほうがいいですか asks whether one option would be better. With a plain past verb, Vたほうがいいですか is a common way to ask, “Would it be better to V?” Here, ですか makes the question polite. Example: 少し待ったほうがいいですか。 — “Would it be better to wait a little?” Together, 私は sets the speaker as the topic, 少し後ろに下がった describes moving a little backward, and ほうがいいですか asks whether that would be the better choice. The whole utterance means: “Should I move back a little?”

4. そうすれば、人が通りやすくなります。

   That would make it easier for people to pass.

   そうすれば

   if that is done, then

   人

   people; a person

   通りやすく

   easy to pass through

   なります

   becomes

   More detail

   そうすれば combines そう (“that way” or “if that is done”) with すれば, the conditional form of する. It links an assumed action or situation to its result: “if that is done, then …”. Here, it connects the proposed preceding action with the result that follows. The form すれば is reusable in patterns such as Aすれば、B (“if A, B”). 人 means “a person” or, in this context, “people” in a general sense. Japanese does not require an article or a plural ending here; the surrounding meaning determines whether an English translation uses “a person” or “people.” 通りやすく is built from 通る (“to pass through; to go along”) and やすい (“easy to …”). The form 通り is the stem used before やすい, giving 通りやすい (“easy to pass through”). Before なる, the adjective changes to its adverbial form 通りやすく, so the phrase means “become easy to pass through.” For example, この道は歩きやすいです。 means “This road is easy to walk on.” なります comes from なる, “to become” or “to come to be,” and is its polite nonpast form. After an adjective in the -く form, 〜くなる expresses a change into that quality: 使いやすくなります means “it becomes easier to use.” The polite form is appropriate for a courteous explanation or suggestion. Together, 人が通りやすくなります means “it becomes easier for people to pass through.” The conditional opening そうすれば makes the whole utterance: “If that is done, it will become easier for people to pass through,” matching the fixed translation “That would make it easier for people to pass.” Japanese uses the nonpast polite form なります here; the conditional context supplies the prospective “would” meaning in English.

5. これで十分ですか。

   Is this far enough?

   これで

   with this / like this

   十分

   enough

   ですか

   is it?

   More detail

   これで combines これ (“this”) with で, which here marks the basis or means: “with this” or “like this.” これ is a demonstrative pronoun; its specific referent is not identified by the sentence. それ is a commonly contrasting demonstrative for “that,” but it would not have the same pointing relationship here. Example: これでお願いします。 — “This one, please.” Here, で presents the selected option as the basis for the request. 十分 means “sufficient” or “enough.” It functions here as a na-adjective-like predicate. Before a noun, it takes な: 十分な時間 — “enough time.” In the fixed sentence, it says that the current situation meets the needed standard. ですか makes the expression a polite question. です is the polite copula, and か marks the sentence as a question. This combination asks whether the situation qualifies as sufficient; it does not itself assert a quantity. Example: 準備は十分ですか。 — “Are the preparations sufficient?” Together, これで十分ですか。 asks whether this state, method, or point reached is sufficient. This produces the fixed meaning, “Is this far enough?” It is a polite, reusable way to check whether the current situation meets the intended requirement.

6. 今は通り道が空いています。

   There is a clear path now.

   今

   now

   通り道

   path; passage

   空いています

   is clear

   More detail

   今 means “now” here, locating the situation in the present. In a reusable time expression, 今は means “as for now” or simply “now” when は marks the time as the topic. Example: 今は忙しいです。 — “I am busy now.” 通り道 is a noun meaning “a path or passage for going through.” It is a compound of 通り (“passing; passage”) and 道 (“road; way”), but it functions here as one noun referring to the route that can be used to pass. Example: 通り道をふさがないでください。 — “Please do not block the passage.” 空いています is the polite form of 空いている, from the verb 空く (“become open, become unoccupied, or have space”). In this sentence, it describes the path as currently open and unobstructed. The 〜ています form presents that condition as continuing at the relevant time; it is not the same as saying that someone is actively emptying the path. Example: 席が空いています。 — “A seat is available.” Together, 今は sets the time, 通り道が marks the path as the subject, and 空いています states its current condition: “There is a clear path now.” The Japanese sentence presents the path as open for passage; it does not by itself specify who will use it or identify what caused it to become clear.

7. 壁のもっと近くに立てます。

   I can stand closer to the wall.

   壁

   wall

   もっと近く

   closer

   立てます

   can stand

   More detail

   壁 means “wall” here. It is a noun. The pattern Nの近く means “near N,” so 壁の近く means “near the wall.” もっと近く expresses “closer” or “nearer.” 近く is the adverbial form of 近い (“near; close”), and もっと increases the comparison: “more closely/nearer.” The comparison is relative to an understood current position or distance. Example: もっと近くに来てください。 — “Please come closer.” The particle に marks the place where the standing occurs: 壁のもっと近くに means “closer to the wall.” 立てます means “can stand” in this sentence. Its base verb is 立つ (“to stand”); the potential form is 立てる (“be able to stand”), and the polite form is 立てます. This form expresses ability or possibility, not simply the action of standing. Example: ここに立てます。 — “I can stand here.” Together, 壁のもっと近くに identifies a position nearer to the wall, and 立てます says that the implicit speaker is able to stand there. The whole utterance therefore means “I can stand closer to the wall.”

8. それで、通り道を空けておけます。

   That keeps the walkway open.

   それで

   that way; thereby

   通り道

   walkway

   空けておけます

   can keep open

   More detail

   それで connects this sentence to what came before. Here it means “that way” or “thereby,” presenting the result of the preceding action or situation. In other contexts, それで can also mean “and then” or “so,” but those are not needed for this reading. 通り道 is a noun meaning “walkway” or “passageway.” The compound combines 通り (“passage” or “going through”) with 道 (“way” or “path”), but it is best learned as the established noun 通り道. For example: 通り道をふさがないで。 — “Don’t block the walkway.” 空けておけます expresses the ability or possibility of keeping something open or clear. Its useful form chain is 空ける (“to open; to clear space”) → 空けておく (“to leave or keep open/clear”) → 空けておける (“can keep open/clear”) → polite 空けておけます. The ておく pattern describes maintaining a state or leaving something in a state for a purpose. Here, 空ける is transitive, so the thing kept open is marked by を: 通り道を空けておけます. The ending ます is the polite form of the potential expression; it does not itself identify who can do this. The fixed translation presents the result as “That keeps the walkway open,” while the Japanese form also makes the possibility or capability explicit. Together, それで (“that way”) + 通り道を (“the walkway”) + 空けておけます (“can keep open”) gives: “That keeps the walkway open.”