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kanozyo ha zutto tikamiti wo tukatte gakkou ni itte iru ga, ame no hi ha tukawanai.

彼女かのじょ　は　ずっと　近道ちかみち　を　使つかって　学校がっこう　に　行いって　いる　が、　雨あめ　の　日ひ　は　使つかわない。kanozyo ha zutto tikamiti wo tukatte gakkou ni itte iru ga, ame no hi ha tukawanai.
She has long used a shortcut to go to school, but she doesn’t on rainy days.
FromLesson 26inHardcore Japanese
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Questions & Answers about kanozyo ha zutto tikamiti wo tukatte gakkou ni itte iru ga, ame no hi ha tukawanai.

What nuance does ずっと have here? How is it different from いつも?

ずっと emphasizes continuity over time: “continuously,” “all along,” or “for a long time (up to now).” With 〜ている, it often reads like “has been … all along.”
いつも means “always/usually” as a regular habit, without the added sense of “from the past up to now.”

  • 彼女はずっと近道を使って学校に行っている = she has been going by the shortcut all along.
  • 彼女はいつも近道を使って学校に行く = she always uses the shortcut (habitual).
Why is 行っている used instead of just 行く?

〜ている marks an ongoing or habitual action. Here it expresses a habitual pattern (“she regularly goes”), and together with ずっと it adds the sense “has been doing so for a long time.”
Using plain 行く would state a general habit without highlighting the ongoing-from-the-past nuance:

  • 行っている: ongoing/habitual (these days), often “has been going.”
  • 行く: general present/future habit or rule.
What is が doing here? I thought が marks the subject.

In …行っているが、雨の日は…, が is a conjunction meaning “but/however,” not the subject marker. It links two clauses in contrast.
You could also use:

  • けど/けれど(も): more colloquial/neutral.
  • ですが: polite.
  • でも: starts a new sentence (“But, …”), less tightly connected than が.
Why is 雨の日 followed by は?

雨の日は uses the topic/contrast marker は to set up an exception: “as for rainy days,” contrasting with the default behavior in the first clause. This pattern (Xは …) is common to state exceptions to a general rule.
You can add emphasis with 雨の日には; には highlights that specific condition even more.

What is omitted in 雨の日は使わない?
The object 近道(を) and the subject 彼女(は) are omitted because they’re recoverable from context. Fully spelled out it would be: (彼女は) 雨の日は (近道を) 使わない. Dropping repeated elements is normal in Japanese.
Is 近道を使って natural? Are there other common ways to say “take a shortcut”?

Yes, 近道を使う is natural. Other very common options:

  • 近道する / 近道をする
  • 近道して行く
  • 近道を通って行く (emphasizes the route you pass through)
    You’ll also hear 近道で行く (“go by the shortcut route”), but 〜を通って行く is often clearer when talking about a path.
Why is 使って in the て-form?
The て-form links actions and often expresses means/manner: “using the shortcut, (she) goes to school.” So 近道を使って学校に行く = “go to school by using a shortcut.” It’s more natural than trying to use the verb stem here.
Why is it 学校に and not 学校へ?
Both are correct. に emphasizes arrival at the destination; へ emphasizes direction toward it. In everyday speech 学校に行く is very common; 学校へ行く can feel a bit more formal or written, but both are acceptable.
How does 彼女は differ from 彼女が here?

彼女は sets “she” as the topic and frames what follows as information about her, which is the most natural choice for describing her habits.
彼女が would mark “she” as the grammatical subject and tends to highlight or contrast her specifically (e.g., “it’s she who…”). In this sentence about general behavior, は fits better.

Is 彼女 safe to use for “she”? Doesn’t it also mean “girlfriend”?
彼女 can mean either “she” or “girlfriend,” depending on context. In a neutral narrative like this, it’s understood as “she.” In everyday conversation, Japanese often omit pronouns or use names/titles instead of 彼女/彼. If you said 彼女が… in first-person talk without context, some might momentarily think “my girlfriend,” so context matters.
Could I say 通っている instead of 行っている?

Yes, with a nuance shift. 通う/通っている emphasizes regular commuting/attendance.

  • 近道を使って学校に行っている = she goes (to school) using a shortcut (habitually).
  • 近道を使って学校に通っている = she commutes to school using a shortcut (focus on the commuting routine).
Does the position of ずっと matter?

Yes. 彼女はずっと近道を使って学校に行っている highlights that over a long period, her way of going is “using the shortcut.”
If you say 近道を使ってずっと学校に行っている, it leans toward “she has been going to school for a long time (and she uses a shortcut),” which weakens the “always uses the shortcut” idea. For a simple “always,” いつも is often the clearest.

Why is the second clause plain negative (使わない) and not 使っていない?
使わない states a general rule/habit under the condition “on rainy days.” 使っていない would describe a current ongoing non-use state and is less natural for a standing rule. You could say 最近は雨の日は使っていない to mean “these days, on rainy days, she hasn’t been using it,” but that adds a time-frame nuance.
How would I say this politely?
彼女はずっと近道を使って学校に行っていますが、雨の日は使いません。

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