Apologizing for a Damaged Borrowed Tool | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 借りた道具のことで、謝らないといけません。

   I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.

   借りた

   borrowed

   道具

   tool

   ことで

   about; concerning

   謝らないといけません

   need to apologize

   More detail

   借りた is the past form of 借りる (“to borrow”). Here it modifies the noun that follows: 借りた道具 means “the tool [I] borrowed.” Japanese often leaves the subject unstated; the fixed translation identifies the borrower as “I.” The same pattern is reusable with other verbs: 買った本 = “the book I bought.” 道具 means “tool” or “implement.” It is a noun and is the item modified by 借りた. The word can refer to an object used for a practical task, not only a hand tool. ことで appears in the larger pattern Nのことで, meaning “about” or “concerning N.” In this sentence, 借りた道具のことで means “concerning the tool I borrowed.” Here こと nominalizes or frames the matter being discussed, and で marks the matter as the basis or topic of the following action. Example: 仕事のことで相談があります。 = “I have something to consult you about regarding work.” 謝らないといけません is a common obligation pattern. The verb 謝る means “to apologize”; its negative form is 謝らない. In Vないといけない, the negative form plus といけない expresses necessity: “must V” or “need to V.” Thus this is not a command not to apologize. The polite ending ません makes the expression polite; the fixed form いけません is part of the obligation construction. Example: 明日までに返さないといけません。 = “I need to return it by tomorrow.” Putting the parts together, 借りた道具のことで identifies the matter—“concerning the tool I borrowed”—and 謝らないといけません states the speaker’s necessity to apologize. The whole utterance means: “I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.”

2. それに何があったんですか。

   What happened to it?

   それに

   to it

   何

   what

   あった

   happened

   んですか

   context-linked polite question

   More detail

   それに is それ (“that/it”) plus に, which marks the thing affected or concerned. Here, the fixed translation and context identify それ as the borrowed tool. The same pattern can refer to another established thing: 箱に何があったんですか。 — “What happened to the box?” 何 means “what.” With が in 何があった, it functions as the subject of the event or situation being asked about. For example, 何が起きましたか。 means “What happened?” -あった is the past form of ある, “to exist” or “to be.” With an event or situation as its subject, ある can describe something occurring, so 何があった is naturally “what happened.” The past form presents the event as having already occurred. ある also has a non-event use, as in 机の上に本があります。 — “There is a book on the desk.” んですか is the polite explanatory-question pattern のですか in contracted form. It asks for information about a situation in a context-linked way. Here, です contributes the polite style and か marks the question. The pattern can also be used in a new example such as どうしたんですか。 — “What happened?” Together, それに identifies the affected thing, 何があった asks what occurred, and んですか forms a polite, context-linked question: “What happened to it?”

3. 使っている間に、取っ手にひびが入りました。

   The handle cracked while I was using it.

   使っている

   using

   間に

   while; during

   取っ手

   handle

   ひび

   crack

   入りました

   formed; appeared

   More detail

   使っている comes from 使う (“to use”). The ている form here presents the using as ongoing: 使っている = “am using.” Japanese often leaves the subject and object unstated when context supplies them; here the fixed translation supports “I” as the user and “it” as the object. 間に marks the time during which something happens. The pattern 〜ている間に、… means “while …, …” and highlights an event that occurs during that period. For example: 料理している間に、電話が鳴りました。 — “While I was cooking, the phone rang.” 取っ手 means “handle.” It is a noun for the part used to hold or operate something. In this sentence, 取っ手に uses に to mark the place or part where the change occurred: “on/in the handle.” ひび means “crack” or “fracture,” referring to a crack in a solid object. It is the grammatical subject of 入りました, marked by が in the full phrase ひびが入りました. 入りました is the polite past form of the intransitive verb 入る (“to enter; to go in”). With ひび, ひびが入る is the useful fixed pattern “a crack forms/appears” or “becomes cracked.” Because 入る is intransitive here, the crack is presented as forming rather than as someone actively cracking the handle. 入りました states that this happened, politely and in the past. Together, 使っている間に sets the time: “while I was using it.” 取っ手にひびが入りました says that a crack formed in the handle. The whole utterance therefore means: “The handle cracked while I was using it.”

4. どのくらい壊れているか、見てみます。

   Let me see how bad the damage is.

   どのくらい

   how much; how badly

   壊れている

   is damaged

   見てみます

   will take a look

   More detail

   どのくらい asks about degree: “how much” or, with a condition such as damage, “how badly.” It is reusable with adjectives and states, for example どのくらい大きいですか。 means “How big is it?” 壊れている comes from the intransitive verb 壊れる (“break; become damaged”). The 〜ている form here describes the resulting current state, so 壊れている means “is damaged” or “is broken,” rather than simply “is breaking.” Example: ドアが壊れています。 — “The door is broken.” 見てみます combines 見る (“look; see”) with 〜てみる, which expresses trying an action, and the polite nonpast ending ます. In this sentence it is a courteous “I’ll take a look” or “Let me see.” The form 見てみる is the plain form of the same construction. Example: もう一度見てみます。 — “I’ll try looking at it once more.” In the source order, どのくらい asks about the degree of 壊れている, and か turns that question into an embedded question. 見てみます then states the speaker’s intention to check it. Together, どのくらい壊れているか、見てみます。 means “Let me see how bad the damage is.”

5. それを交換するか、修理を手伝えます。

   I can replace it or help repair it.

   それを

   it; that thing as an object

   交換する

   replace

   か

   or (linking an alternative)

   修理

   repair

   手伝えます

   can help

   More detail

   それを means “it” or “that thing” with を marking it as the direct object. In this sentence, it is the grammatical object of 交換する; the fixed translation indicates that the same item is relevant to the repair, but its specific identity is not given. それ is a demonstrative pronoun, and を can likewise follow a noun: 部品を交換する means “replace a part.” 交換する is the dictionary form of the verb “to replace.” It can also mean “to exchange” in other contexts, but “replace” is the intended sense here. Its polite nonpast form is 交換します. Before か, the dictionary form helps present this action as one alternative rather than as a completed action or command. か links the first alternative to the following one. In the pattern Aか、B, it can mean “A or B.” This use differs from sentence-final か, which commonly marks a question. 修理 is the noun “repair.” It can combine with する to form 修理する, “to repair.” Here, however, it is followed by を in 修理を手伝えます; the phrase means “can help with the repair” or, in this context, “can help repair it.” The noun itself does not specify who performs the repair. 手伝えます is the polite nonpast potential form of 手伝う, “to help”: 手伝う → 手伝える → 手伝えます. It expresses ability or availability to help. Japanese omits the subject here; the fixed translation supplies “I” as the intended actor. For example, 準備を手伝えます means “I can help with the preparations.” Together, それを交換するか presents replacing the item as one option, while 修理を手伝えます presents being able to help with its repair as the other. The complete utterance means: “I can replace it or help repair it.”

6. 修理が長くもつか、確認したほうがいいです。

   We should check whether a repair will hold.

   修理

   repair

   長くもつ

   last a long time

   確認したほうがいいです

   it is better to check

   More detail

   修理 is a noun meaning “repair.” In this sentence it refers to the repair as the thing being evaluated. The particle が marks it as the subject of the following description. 長くもつ combines 長い (“long”) with its adverbial form 長く and もつ (“to last” or “hold up”). Thus, 長くもつ means “last for a long time.” Here もつ is in its plain non-past form; the future-like meaning comes from the context, not from a special future ending. Example: この電池は長くもちます。—“This battery lasts a long time.” The clause 修理が長くもつ means “the repair will last a long time.” Adding か turns that clause into an embedded yes-or-no question: 修理が長くもつか means “whether the repair will last a long time.” Example: 明日来るか確認します。—“I will check whether [someone] is coming tomorrow.” Japanese does not state the subject of the main action here; the fixed translation supplies “we.” 確認したほうがいいです is a recommendation pattern. 確認する means “to check” or “confirm,” and 確認したほうがいい literally contains the past-shaped form 確認した, but in this pattern it means “it is better to check” or “should check,” not that the checking already happened. です makes the statement polite. Example: 早めに確認したほうがいいです。—“It is better to check early.” Together, 修理が長くもつか gives the matter to be checked, and 確認したほうがいいです gives the recommendation. The complete utterance means: “We should check whether the repair will hold.”

7. 余計な仕事を増やして、すみません。

   I am sorry for causing extra work.

   余計な

   extra; unnecessary

   仕事

   work; task

   増やして

   increasing; causing to increase

   すみません

   I’m sorry

   More detail

   余計な describes 仕事 as extra or unnecessary work. It is the attributive form of the な-adjective 余計だ: before a noun, use 余計な + noun. For example, 余計な説明は要りません。 means “We do not need extra explanation.” 仕事 means work or a task. In this sentence it is the thing being increased, marked by を in 仕事を. The compound 余計な仕事 therefore means “extra work,” not simply work in general. 増やして is the te-form of the transitive verb 増やす, “to increase” or “to add to.” The object is 仕事: 仕事を増やす means “increase the amount of work” or “create more work.” The te-form connects this action to what follows; here, it gives the reason or circumstance for the apology. For example, 荷物を増やして、すみません。 means “I’m sorry for adding to your luggage.” すみません is a polite apology, “I’m sorry.” In this utterance, the omitted speaker is apologizing for having caused the extra work. The form can also be used in other everyday situations to apologize or politely acknowledge inconvenience, but here its relevant meaning is an apology. Together, 余計な仕事を増やして describes creating or adding extra work, and すみません apologizes for that action. The whole utterance means “I am sorry for causing extra work.”

8. 次はすぐに教えてください。

   Tell me right away next time.

   次は

   next time

   すぐに

   right away

   教えてください

   please tell me

   More detail

   次は means “next time” here. 次 is “next” or “the next one,” and は marks it as the topic. In this sentence, the topic is the occasion being referred to: “as for next time.” The same pattern can mark another time or topic, such as 今日は (“as for today”). すぐに is an adverb meaning “immediately” or “right away.” It modifies the request that follows, so it asks for the telling to happen without delay. すぐ can also be used without に in some adverbial uses, but すぐに is a clear reusable form for “immediately.” 教えてください is a polite request meaning “please tell me” in this context. The lexical verb is 教える, “to teach” or “to tell/inform someone”; here its meaning is the latter. 教えて is its て-form, and ください after a verb’s て-form makes a polite request: V-てください = “please V.” For example, 名前を教えてください。 means “Please tell me your name.” The Japanese subject and the person receiving the information are not overtly stated in the sentence; the fixed translation supplies the intended “me.” Together, 次は sets the time as “next time,” すぐに adds “right away,” and 教えてください politely requests that the listener tell the speaker. The complete meaning is: “Tell me right away next time.”

9. 私たちで何とかできます。

   We can sort it out.

   私たち

   we; us

   何とか

   somehow; by some means

   できます

   can do; be able to

   More detail

   私たち means “we” or “us,” referring to the speaker together with others. It is a first-person plural pronoun; unlike English, Japanese often omits pronouns when the context makes them clear. Here it is followed by で, which presents the group as the people who can handle the matter: 私たちで = “we ourselves” or “among us.” 何とか is an adverb meaning “somehow” or “by some means.” In this sentence it contributes the idea of managing a situation or making it work, rather than naming a specific method. A useful pattern is 何とかする (“manage it; do something about it”) and its potential form 何とかできる (“be able to manage it”). できます is the polite nonpast form of できる, “can do” or “be able to do.” In this use, できる is the irregular potential counterpart of する (“do”), and ます makes the statement polite. Japanese potential constructions commonly leave the object unspoken when it is understood; the fixed translation supplies “it,” but the Japanese sentence itself does not name the thing being managed. For example, 一人でできます。 means “I can do it alone.” Together, 私たちで identifies the group that will handle the matter, 何とか says that they will manage it somehow, and できます says that this is possible in a polite form. The whole utterance therefore means “We can sort it out.”