Learn Hardcore Japanese: kinou ha narande bakari de, oturi no keisan wo suru yoyuu ga nakatta. - Yesterday I did nothing but stand in lines and had no time to calculate change.

は marks the topic: 昨日は means “as for yesterday,” setting “yesterday” as the frame for what follows. It can also carry a light contrastive feel (“yesterday, at least/compared to other days”). If you just say 昨日、 (no は), it’s a plain time adverb (“yesterday,”) with less contrastive nuance. Both are grammatical; 昨日は slightly emphasizes yesterday as the subject of discussion.

What does ばかり mean in 並んでばかり? How is it different from だけ?

ばかり here means “nothing but” or “all the time,” often with a mild complaint/exaggeration nuance. 並んでばかり implies “I was just lining up (and doing little else).” だけ is more neutral (“only”): 並ぶだけ lacks that exasperated “nothing but” feel. So ばかり often sounds more emotive or negative than だけ.

Why is 並んで in the て-form? Why not the dictionary form 並ぶ?

The pattern is Vて + ばかり to mean “do nothing but V.” So you need the て-form: 並んでばかり. You’ll also see the fuller pattern Vてばかりいる (“be doing nothing but V”), e.g., 並んでばかりいる.

What is the で after ばかり doing in 並んでばかりで、…?

That で is a conjunctive connector (the 連用形 of the copula) linking to the next clause, roughly “and/so/because.” 並んでばかりで、… means “(I was) only lining up, so….” It’s a common way to present a reason or background leading into the result.

Could I say 並んでばかりいた instead? Is that more correct?

Yes: 並んでばかりいた explicitly includes いる, the canonical form of the pattern Vてばかりいる. In your sentence, 並んでばかりで、… is a natural conversational shortcut; it’s understood as “(I was) just lining up, so….” Both are fine.

What does the お in お釣り add? Can I drop it?

The お- is an honorific/politeness prefix. お釣り (おつり) is the standard polite word for “change.” You can hear 釣り colloquially, but お釣り is more common/natural in most contexts. A more formal/specialized term is 釣銭 (つりせん).

What does the の in お釣りの計算 do?

の links two nouns, making the first modify the second: お釣りの計算 = “the calculation of the change.” It’s the same N1 の N2 structure as “Japan’s history” = 日本の歴史.

Why is it 計算をする and not just 計算する? Are both correct?

Both are correct. 計算する is the standard “suru-verb” form; 計算をする explicitly marks 計算 as the object with を. In everyday speech, 計算する is a bit leaner; 計算をする can feel slightly more deliberate or formal, but there’s no big meaning difference.

What exactly does 余裕 mean here? How is it different from 時間?

余裕 (よゆう) is “leeway/room to spare” in time, money, mental bandwidth, etc. 時間がない means “no time (at all),” while 余裕がない often means “no spare capacity” (even if you technically had some minutes, you couldn’t afford to do it). Here it’s “no bandwidth to calculate the change.”

Why is it 余裕がなかった and not 余裕をなかった?

ない works like an i-adjective meaning “does not exist,” so what “doesn’t exist” is the subject, marked by が: 余裕がない/なかった. Using を would incorrectly mark 余裕 as a direct object; ない doesn’t take a direct object.

What’s the difference between 余裕がなかった and 余裕はなかった?

余裕がなかった: plain statement “there wasn’t any leeway.”
余裕はなかった: contrastive topic; “there wasn’t leeway (at least),” possibly implying “but there was something else” or contrasting with someone else/time. It adds contrast or focus.

Is お釣りの計算をする余裕がなかった the most natural phrasing? Could I say お釣りを計算する余裕がなかった?

Both are natural. Many speakers would say お釣りを計算する余裕がなかった, using the verb directly before 余裕 (pattern: V-plain + 余裕がない). Your original お釣りの計算をする余裕がなかった is also fine and common.

Who is the subject of this sentence? It isn’t stated.

Japanese often omits the subject when it’s obvious from context. Here it’s most likely “I” or “we,” but it could also be “the staff/cashiers” depending on the situation. The sentence itself is neutral and relies on context to supply the subject.

Is 並ぶ the right verb for “to wait/stand in line”? What about 並べる?

Yes. 並ぶ (ならぶ) is intransitive: “to line up, to be in a line, to stand in line.” 並べる (ならべる) is transitive: “to line (things) up, to arrange.” Here, since you yourself are in line, 並ぶ is correct.

Does ばかり ever mean “approximately”? Could that be the meaning here?

ばかり can mean “approximately” with quantities (e.g., 3時間ばかり = “about three hours”). In your sentence it’s the “nothing but” usage attached to a verb (Vてばかり), not the “approximately” meaning.

How would I make the sentence more polite or more casual?

More polite: 昨日は並んでばかりで、お釣りの計算をする余裕がありませんでした。
More casual: 昨日は並んでばっかで、お釣りの計算する余裕なかった。 (ばっか is the casual form of ばかり; dropping をする after 計算 is also casual.)