Borrowing a Laptop Charger at Work | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. ノートパソコンのバッテリーがもうほとんどありません。

   My laptop battery is almost empty.

   ノートパソコン

   laptop

   バッテリー

   battery

   もう

   already

   ほとんどありません

   almost empty

   More detail

   ノートパソコン means “laptop” here. It is a compound noun commonly used for a portable computer. Example: ノートパソコンを使います。 — “I use a laptop.” バッテリー means “battery.” In ノートパソコンのバッテリー, の links the two nouns: the battery belonging to or associated with the laptop. The particle が marks this battery as the thing being described. Example: スマートフォンのバッテリーがありません。 — “The smartphone’s battery is empty.” もう means “already” or, with a current state, “by now.” Here it presents the battery’s nearly empty condition as the situation reached by now. It is different from まだ, “still/not yet,” which presents a situation as continuing or not having happened yet. Example: もう帰ります。 — “I’m going home now/already.” ほとんどありません expresses that something is almost absent, so in this sentence the battery has almost no charge and is therefore almost empty. ほとんど means “almost” or “nearly,” while ありません is the polite negative form of ある, “to exist” for nonliving things or “to have/be available.” The negative form is what gives the expression the sense of “there is almost none.” Example: 時間がほとんどありません。 — “There is almost no time.” The pattern AのBがもうほとんどありません can be reused for “There is almost none of B associated with A by now.” In this utterance, ノートパソコンのバッテリー identifies the laptop’s battery, and がもうほとんどありません says that almost none of its charge remains. Together, the sentence means: “My laptop battery is almost empty.”

2. 会議まで、私の充電器を借りていいですよ。

   You can borrow my charger until the meeting.

   会議

   meeting

   まで

   until; up to

   私の

   my

   充電器

   charger

   借りて

   borrow

   いいですよ

   it is okay

   More detail

   会議 means “meeting” here. It is a noun and can be combined with a time particle: 会議まで means “until the meeting.” Example: 会議は三時です。 — “The meeting is at three.” まで marks the endpoint of a time period, so 会議まで sets the limit as the meeting. It can also mark a spatial endpoint, but that is not its role here. Example: 駅まで歩きます。 — “I walk as far as the station.” 私の means “my.” 私 is “I/me,” and の links it to the following noun to show possession or another close relation. The form 私の itself does not mark gender or number. Example: これは私の本です。 — “This is my book.” 充電器 means “charger.” It is a noun referring here to the speaker’s charger. The compound contains 充電, “charging,” and 器, “device/container,” but learn 充電器 as the reusable word for “charger.” Example: 充電器が必要です。 — “I need a charger.” 借りて is the te-form of the verb 借りる, “to borrow.” The te-form can connect this verb to a following expression, as in 借りていいです (“it is okay to borrow”). This is different from 貸して, the te-form of 貸す, “to lend”: 借りる describes receiving temporary use, while 貸す describes allowing someone else to use something. Example: この本を借りてもいいですか。 — “May I borrow this book?” いいですよ uses いい, “good/okay,” with です and the sentence-ending よ. In the surrounding 〜ていい construction, it helps express permission, so 借りていいですよ means “you may borrow it” or “it is okay to borrow it.” The permission meaning comes from the combined pattern, not from いい alone. Example: ここに座っていいですよ。 — “You may sit here.” Together, 会議まで gives the time limit, 私の充電器 identifies the object as the speaker’s charger, and 借りていいですよ says that borrowing it is permitted. The complete utterance therefore means: “You can borrow my charger until the meeting.”

3. この充電器は私のノートパソコンで使えますか。

   Is it compatible with my laptop?

   この

   this

   充電器

   charger

   私の

   my

   ノートパソコン

   laptop

   で

   with; on

   使えますか

   can be used?

   More detail

   この means “this” and points to a specific nearby item. It comes before the noun it modifies: この + noun. Unlike a personal pronoun, it does not identify the item by itself; here, the item is specified by 充電器. 充電器 means “charger.” It is a noun formed from 充電 (“charging”) and 器 (“device/container”), but it is best learned as the established word for a charger. Example: 充電器を持っています。— “I have a charger.” 私の means “my” here. 私 is “I/me,” and の links it to the following noun to show possession or association: 私のノートパソコン means “my laptop.” The form 私 does not change for gender or number in this expression. ノートパソコン means “laptop.” It is a noun for a portable computer. In this sentence it is modified by 私の and is the device used as the compatibility context. Example: ノートパソコンを使います。— “I use a laptop.” で marks the device or setting in which an action is performed. With ノートパソコンで, it indicates using the charger with or on the laptop. This is different from を, which marks the thing directly acted on in a basic sentence such as ノートパソコンを使う, “use a laptop.” 使えますか is a polite question asking whether something can be used. The base verb is 使う, “to use”; its potential form is 使える, “can use” or, with a device as the subject, “can be used.” 使えます is the polite form of 使える, and か turns it into a question. Japanese potential forms can express practical usability or compatibility, so this wording asks whether the charger is usable with the specified laptop. Example: このケーブルはこの機器で使えますか。— “Can this cable be used with this device?” Together, この充電器 identifies “this charger,” 私のノートパソコンで specifies “with my laptop,” and 使えますか asks whether it can be used there. The complete meaning is: “Is it compatible with my laptop?”

4. たぶん大丈夫ですが、先にコネクターを確認してください。

   It should be, but check the connector first.

   たぶん

   probably

   大丈夫

   okay; all right

   ですが

   but

   先に

   first

   コネクター

   connector

   確認してください

   please check

   More detail

   たぶん means “probably” here and lowers the speaker’s certainty about the statement that follows. It commonly comes before a whole statement. Example: たぶん明日は大丈夫です。 — “It will probably be okay tomorrow.” 大丈夫 means “okay” or “all right” in this sentence. It is a na-adjective-like word that can stand before polite です; it does not change for gender or number. In たぶん大丈夫ですが, it describes the omitted subject as probably being okay. Example: この方法で大丈夫です。 — “This method is okay.” ですが is a polite connective meaning “but.” It links the preceding assessment to what follows. Its polite form is related to です plus the connective が; the entire form ですが is the observed form here. Example: これは便利ですが、高いです。 — “This is useful, but it is expensive.” 先に is an adverb meaning “first” or “beforehand,” emphasizing the order of actions. Example: 先に説明書を読んでください。 — “Please read the manual first.” コネクター is the noun “connector,” a loanword written in katakana. The noun identifies the thing to be checked; the Japanese sentence does not mark it with an article or number. 確認してください means “please check” or “please confirm.” The base verb is 確認する (“to check; to confirm”); before ください, its する ending becomes the て-form して: 確認して + ください. This is a polite request for the listener to perform the action. Example: 番号を確認してください。 — “Please check the number.” Together, たぶん大丈夫ですが says “It is probably okay, but …” The subject is omitted in Japanese; here, the fixed translation supplies the intended “it.” 先にコネクターを確認してください then requests that the connector be checked first. The complete utterance therefore means: “It should be, but check the connector first.”

5. 合います。いまバッテリーを充電しています。

   It fits, and the battery is charging now.

   合います

   fits

   いま

   now

   バッテリー

   battery

   充電しています

   is charging

   More detail

   合います is the polite non-past form of 合う. Here 合う means “to fit,” as confirmed by the translation; in other contexts it can describe things matching or being suitable. The polite form is useful in ordinary, respectful conversation. Example: この靴は合います。 — “These shoes fit.” いま means “now.” It places the charging action in the present time. Example: いま確認しています。 — “I am checking now.” バッテリー is the Japanese loanword for “battery.” It is a noun and does not change form for number in this sentence. Example: バッテリーを確認します。 — “I will check the battery.” 充電しています comes from 充電する (“to charge”): 充電して is its て-form, followed by います, the polite form of いる. The ている construction presents the charging as currently in progress, and the full predicate is polite. In this sentence, バッテリーを marks the battery as the object being charged. The fixed translation expresses that ongoing state as “the battery is charging now”; the Japanese grammar more directly describes someone or something charging the battery, without specifying the agent. Japanese can leave that agent unstated when it is understood from context. Example: いま充電しています。 — “It is charging now.” Together, 合います。 gives the first statement, “It fits.” The following いま バッテリーを 充電しています。 gives the current charging statement, “The battery is charging now.” Japanese places the two statements next to each other with a full stop rather than using an explicit word for “and,” producing the whole meaning: “It fits, and the battery is charging now.”

6. 使い終わったら、私の机に戻してください。

   Put it back on my desk when you finish.

   使い終わったら

   when you finish using it

   私の

   my

   机

   desk

   戻してください

   please put it back

   More detail

   使い終わったら combines 使う (“use”) and 終わる (“finish”) to mean “finish using.” The form 使い終わる is a compound verb: the first verb appears in its stem form 使い, and 終わる expresses completion of that activity. Here, 使い終わったら uses the past form plus たら for a condition or time: “when/after [someone] finishes using it.” The omitted subject is understood as the person being addressed, and the omitted object is the item being used, as reflected in the fixed translation. Example: 仕事が終わったら、帰ります。 — “When the work is finished, I’ll go home.” 私の contains 私 (“I/me”) followed by the possessive/linking particle の. This marks the following noun as associated with the speaker: 私の机 means “my desk.” Unlike English, Japanese commonly places this modifier before the noun it specifies. Example: これは私の本です。 — “This is my book.” 机 means “desk” or “writing desk.” It is the noun that 私の modifies in this sentence. Example: 机の上に本があります。 — “There is a book on the desk.” 戻してください is a polite request built from the transitive verb 戻す (“put/return something to its previous place”) in its て-form, 戻して, plus ください. The pattern ～てください asks someone politely to do something. The object is omitted here; the fixed translation identifies it as the item that was being used. 戻る is a different verb: it is intransitive and means “return” or “go back” when the subject itself returns, whereas 戻す means that someone returns something. Example: 本を棚に戻してください。 — “Please put the book back on the shelf.” Together, 使い終わったら sets the time condition, 私の机に identifies the destination as the speaker’s desk, and 戻してください makes a polite request to return the item there. The whole utterance therefore means: “Put it back on my desk when you finish [using it].”

7. あなたが帰る前に、私が戻します。

   I'll put it back before you leave.

   あなた

   you

   帰る

   leave

   前に

   before

   私

   I

   戻します

   put back

   More detail

   あなたが: あなた means “you.” The following が marks あなた as the subject of 帰る, so this part means “you leave.” Japanese often omits a pronoun when the context already makes the person clear. 帰る: This is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to return” or, in this sentence, “to leave.” Its meaning here is fixed by the translation and context; it does not mean that the speaker is returning. Before 前に, the plain form is used: 帰る前に means “before [someone] leaves.” 前に: 前に means “before” when it follows an event or action. The reusable pattern verb-dictionary form + 前に appears in 寝る前に, “before going to bed.” Here, 帰る前に is the time clause, so the putting-back happens before the leaving. 私: 私 means “I” or “me.” Here it is followed by が, marking the person who performs 戻します. The pronoun itself does not specify gender in this sentence. 戻します: This is the polite non-past form of 戻す, meaning “to return something” or “to put something back.” The base form is 戻す; 戻します can describe a present or future action. 戻す is transitive, so the thing being returned is normally its object, but that object is omitted here because it is understood from the context. The fixed translation identifies it as “it.” Do not confuse it with 戻る, “to return” or “to come back,” which describes the subject’s own movement; 戻す means putting something back or returning it. Together, あなたが帰る前に means “before you leave,” with あなた as the subject of 帰る. 私が戻します means “I’ll put it back,” with 私 as the subject and the understood object as the thing being put back. The whole utterance therefore means “I’ll put it back before you leave.”

8. それなら、私がまた充電器を必要とする前に、十分時間があります。

   That gives me enough time before I need it again.

   それなら

   then; if that is the case

   私が

   I

   また

   again

   充電器

   charger

   必要とする

   need

   前に

   before

   十分

   enough

   時間

   time

   あります

   there is; exists

   More detail

   それなら means “if that is the case” or “then, in that case.” それ refers to something already established, and なら presents that condition. This is a useful way to connect a conclusion to earlier information. 私が means “I” as the subject of the clause. 私 is the first-person pronoun “I,” and が marks the subject or highlights who has the relevant need. The form 私 itself does not change for gender or number. また means “again.” It indicates that the need occurs another time, as in また来ます (“I’ll come again”). 充電器 means “charger.” It is a noun that can be reused directly in compounds or noun phrases, such as 携帯電話の充電器 (“a mobile-phone charger”). 必要とする means “need” or “require” here. Its dictionary form is 必要とする; the observed form is nonpast and therefore fits the clause inside 必要とする前に. 必要だ is another common way to say that something is necessary, but 必要とする presents a person or other subject as needing or requiring something. 前に means “before.” With a verb in its plain nonpast form, V-前に means “before doing V”: for example, 寝る前に歯を磨きます means “I brush my teeth before going to bed.” Here, 必要とする前に is “before I need [it].” 十分 means “enough” or “sufficient.” In this sentence it describes the sufficiency of the amount of time. A related pattern is 十分な時間 (“enough time”), while 十分に means “sufficiently” or “fully” and functions differently. 時間 means “time.” In 十分時間があります, it is the thing whose amount is sufficient. 時間がありません means “There is no time” or, depending on context, “I do not have time.” あります is the polite nonpast form of ある, used for the existence or availability of inanimate things and situations. The pattern 時間があります literally presents time as existing and naturally means “there is time” or “I have time.” Its polite negative counterpart is ありません (“there is not; do not have”). Together, それなら links the sentence to the preceding situation: “Then, in that case.” 私がまた充電器を必要とする前に means “before I need the charger again,” with 私が as the subject of 必要とする, また marking recurrence, and 充電器 as what is needed. 十分時間があります says that sufficient time exists. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then, I have enough time before I need the charger again.” This corresponds to the fixed translation, “That gives me enough time before I need it again,” where “it” refers to the charger explicitly mentioned in Japanese.