Asking for feedback on a proposal draft | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 提案書の下書きができました。

   I finished a draft of the proposal.

   提案書

   proposal document

   下書き

   draft

   できました

   was completed; is ready

   More detail

   提案書 means “proposal document.” It is a compound noun: 提案 is a proposal, and 書 here indicates a written document. The compound refers to the document itself, not merely the act of proposing. Example: 提案書を読む。 — “I read the proposal document.” 下書き means “draft,” a preliminary version of a written work. It is a noun and can be used with other document nouns: 報告書の下書き means “a draft of the report.” In this sentence, 提案書の下書き means “a draft of the proposal document.” The particle の links the document being drafted (提案書) to the draft (下書き); it does not mean that the proposal owns something in a literal sense. できました is the polite past form of できる. The base form できる can express that something can be done or that something comes into existence or becomes ready. With a completed work such as a draft, できました presents it as completed or ready: “is finished” or “has been completed.” The polite ending ます becomes ました for the past form. Example: 準備ができました。 — “The preparations are ready.” The structure is 提案書の下書きができました: “the draft of the proposal document” is the thing that has become completed. が marks this completed item in the sentence. Japanese does not state the subject who completed it here; the fixed translation presents the speaker as the person who finished it. Together, the utterance means, “I finished a draft of the proposal.”

2. 共有する前に確認できます。

   I can review it before you share it.

   共有する

   share

   前に

   before

   確認できます

   can check/review

   More detail

   共有する is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to share.” The する ending is part of this verb, so it should not be treated as a separate standalone word. In this sentence it appears in the reusable pattern verb-dictionary form + 前に (“before doing ...”). Example: 資料をチームで共有します。— “We share the material with the team.” 前に marks the action in its clause as earlier than the action in the main clause: “before ...”. Here, 共有する前に means “before sharing,” so the reviewing takes place before the sharing. The subject of 共有する is not stated in Japanese; the fixed translation identifies it as “you.” Example: 出かける前に鍵を確認します。— “I check the keys before going out.” 確認できます means “can check/review.” 確認する is the base verb “to check” or “to review”; its potential form is 確認できる, and the polite nonpast form observed here is 確認できます. The potential form expresses ability or feasibility, while ます makes the statement polite. Example: 明日、確認できます。— “I can check it tomorrow.” Together, 共有する前に sets the time—“before you share it”—and 確認できます states that the speaker can review it. Japanese leaves the subjects and the object unspoken here; the fixed translation supplies “you,” “I,” and “it,” while the surrounding context supports the item being the proposal draft. The complete meaning is: “I can review it before you share it.”

3. 導入のセクションを確認していただけますか。

   Could you check the introduction section?

   導入

   introduction

   セクション

   section

   確認して

   check; review

   いただけますか

   could you, please?

   More detail

   導入 means “introduction” here, specifically the opening part of a text or presentation. It is a noun and can also be used in other contexts for introducing or implementing something, so the surrounding noun helps specify the intended sense. セクション is a noun meaning “section.” It is a loanword used for a distinct part of a document or presentation. Together, 導入のセクション means “the introduction section”: の links the first noun to the noun it describes. 確認して comes from the verb 確認する, “to check,” “to confirm,” or “to review.” 確認して is its て-form. Here it connects the checking action to the polite request that follows; it is not a separate past-tense form. For example, 資料を確認して。 means “Check the materials.” いただけますか is a polite request pattern. いただく is a humble verb meaning “receive,” and its potential polite question form asks whether the listener can do the requested favor. After a て-form, 〜ていただけますか politely means “Could you please …?” The requested action is supplied by the preceding 確認して. In the full sentence, 導入のセクションを marks “the introduction section” as the object of checking: を marks the thing acted on. 確認していただけますか politely asks the listener to perform that check. Thus 導入のセクションを確認していただけますか。 means “Could you check the introduction section?”

4. 主な考えは明確です。

   The main idea is clear.

   主な

   main

   考え

   idea

   明確

   clear

   More detail

   主な means “main” here and comes before the noun it describes: 主な考え means “the main idea.” 主な is an attributive word used before a noun; do not treat 主 as its base form. Example: 主な問題 — “the main problem.” 考え means “idea” here. It is a noun related to 考える (“to think”) and can mean a thought, idea, or view depending on context. Example: 新しい考え — “a new idea.” は marks 主な考え as the topic. The pattern AはBです commonly presents a polite statement that “A is B”; the politeness comes from です. 明確 means “clear” here. Before a noun, this word can appear as 明確な, as in 明確な答え — “a clear answer.” In 明確です, it appears before the polite copula です and means “is clear.” Together, 主な考えは identifies “the main idea” as the topic, and 明確です states politely that it is clear: “The main idea is clear.”

5. でも、そのセクションは長すぎるように感じます。

   But the section feels too long.

   でも

   But

   その

   that

   セクション

   section

   長すぎる

   too long

   ように感じます

   feels

   More detail

   でも introduces a contrast: “but” or “however.” It connects this sentence with something already established, without changing the sentence’s basic statement. その is a demonstrative determiner meaning “that” or “the.” It comes before a noun and identifies the noun by context; Japanese demonstratives do not mark the noun’s gender or number. Here it modifies セクション, but the exact identifying context is not specified beyond the fixed meaning. セクション is the noun “section.” It is a loanword written in katakana. A useful pattern is その + noun, as in その問題 (“that problem”); the noun remains separate from the demonstrative. 長すぎる means “too long.” Its adjective base is 長い (“long”). The suffix すぎる adds the meaning “too much” or “excessively”: 長い becomes 長すぎる, with the final い removed before すぎる. For example, この説明は長すぎます。 means “This explanation is too long.” The polite form is 長すぎます. ように感じます means “feel” or “seem.” The pattern 〜ように感じる presents something as an impression: literally, it is experienced as being a certain way. 感じます is the polite nonpast form of 感じる (“to feel”). In this sentence, 長すぎるように感じます means “feels too long,” not a direct claim that the section has been measured and proven to be too long. Together, そのセクション identifies “the section,” and 長すぎるように感じます says that it gives the impression of being excessively long. With the contrast marker でも, the complete utterance means: “But the section feels too long.”

6. 詳細の一部を別のセクションに移したほうがいいですか。

   Should I move some details to another section?

   詳細

   details

   一部

   part; some

   別の

   another; different

   セクション

   section

   移したほうがいいですか

   should I move it?

   More detail

   詳細 means “details” here. It is a noun, and 詳細な is the related form used before a noun, meaning “detailed.” Example: 詳細な説明 means “a detailed explanation.” 一部 means “a part” or “some.” In 詳細の一部, の links the larger category to the part: “part of the details” or, naturally here, “some details.” Example: 資料の一部 means “part of the materials.” 別の means “another” or “a different.” 別 is the noun-like element expressing difference, and の connects it to the noun it describes: 別の方法 means “another method.” It does not itself express a numerical count; the sense of “another” comes from the contrast with the current section. セクション is the noun “section,” written in katakana. 別のセクション means “another section,” and に marks that section as the destination of the movement. Example: 別のページに移す means “move it to another page.” 移したほうがいいですか asks whether moving something would be preferable. The verb 移す means “to move” or “transfer” something, and its past form 移した appears before ほうがいい. The reusable pattern V-たほうがいい gives advice or asks whether an action would be better: 今、出発したほうがいいです。 means “It would be better to leave now.” Here, ですか turns that recommendation question into “Should I move it?” The subject is omitted in Japanese; the fixed translation identifies it as “I,” while the object is the preceding 詳細の一部. Together, 詳細の一部を marks “some details” as what will be moved, 別のセクションに marks “to another section” as the destination, and 移したほうがいいですか asks whether moving them would be preferable. The whole utterance therefore means: “Should I move some details to another section?”

7. 追加の詳細は背景のセクションに移してください。

   Put the extra details in the background section.

   追加の

   additional; extra

   詳細

   details

   背景

   background

   セクション

   section

   移してください

   please move; please put

   More detail

   追加の means “additional” or “extra” here. 追加 is a noun meaning an addition; adding の lets it modify the following noun: 追加の詳細 = “additional details.” This is a reusable pattern: AのB can mean “B of A” or “A B,” depending on the relationship. 詳細 means “details” here. It is a noun; the sentence does not use a plural ending, so the number is understood from context. A useful related form is 詳細な, which can directly modify a noun, as in 詳細な説明 (“a detailed explanation”). 背景 means “background.” It is a noun and combines with の in 背景のセクション, “the background section.” The の here links the section to its type or subject; it does not mean that the section physically belongs to the background. セクション is the loanword “section.” In 背景のセクション, it is the noun being identified as the background section. Japanese often places a modifying noun phrase before the noun it describes. 移してください is a polite request meaning “please move” or “please put.” Its base verb is 移す, “to move or transfer something.” The form 移して is the て-form, and ください after a て-form makes a polite request: Vてください = “please V.” This form addresses the listener and asks them to carry out the action; it is not simply a statement that they will move something. The particles complete the structure: 追加の詳細は marks “the additional details” as the topic, and 背景のセクションに marks the destination with に. 移してください asks the listener to move the object, which is understood from the topic. Together, 追加の詳細は背景のセクションに移してください。 means “Put the extra details in the background section.”

8. 下書きを修正して送り返します。

   I will revise the draft and send it back.

   下書き

   draft

   修正して

   revise and then

   送り返します

   send back

   More detail

   下書き means “draft”: a preliminary version of a document. It is a noun and can be reused in compounds such as 下書きファイル (“draft file”). In this sentence, it is the object being revised. 修正して comes from the verb 修正する, “to revise” or “to correct.” The ending -て is the te-form. Here it connects this action to the next one, giving the sequence “revise it and then …” rather than expressing a separate tense. Example: 文書を修正して保存します。 — “I will revise the document and save it.” 送り返します comes from the compound verb 送り返す, “to send back” or “to return by sending.” The form 送り返します is its polite nonpast form: 送り返す → 送り返します. Japanese nonpast forms can describe a future action when the context is about an intended or scheduled action, so it means “will send back” here. The compound specifically includes the idea of sending something back, not merely sending it. Example: 確認してから送り返します。 — “I will check it and then send it back.” Together, 下書きを marks the draft as the object, 修正して says that it will first be revised, and 送り返します says that it will then be sent back. The whole utterance therefore means: “I will revise the draft and send it back.”

9. 新しい版の準備ができたら送ってください。

   Send the new version when it is ready.

   新しい

   new

   版

   version

   準備

   preparation

   できたら

   when it is ready

   送ってください

   please send it

   More detail

   新しい describes 版 as “new.” It is the attributive form of the i-adjective 新しい; unlike some adjective systems, this form does not change here for the noun’s number or gender. Its common opposite is 古い (“old”). Example: 新しい本 means “a new book.” 版 is a noun meaning an edition or version. In this sentence, the translation identifies it as the version to be sent. In compounds, it can also refer to an edition, such as 最新版 (“latest version/edition”). 準備 is a noun meaning preparation or readiness. The pattern 準備ができる expresses that preparation is complete or that something is ready; が marks 準備 as what reaches that state. Example: 準備ができました。 means “The preparations are ready” or “Everything is ready.” できたら is できる in its past form できた plus ら. Here, たら gives a time condition: “when/once it is ready,” rather than asserting a separate past event. The completed state in 準備ができたら supplies the condition for the request that follows. 送ってください is the polite request pattern 送る (“to send”) → 送って (the て-form) + ください (“please”). It asks the listener to send something; the object is understood from the sentence and its translation as the new version. Example: 写真を送ってください。 means “Please send the photo.” Together, 新しい版の準備ができたら means “when the preparation for the new version is complete,” naturally corresponding here to “when the new version is ready.” 送ってください then requests that the listener send that version. The whole utterance is therefore: “Send the new version when it is ready.”