tenchou wa setsumeisezu, kaigi o chuushishimashita.

The manager canceled the meeting without giving an explanation.

Breakdown of tenchou wa setsumeisezu, kaigi o chuushishimashita.

• は: topic particle
• を: direct object particle
• 説明せつめいする: to explain
• 会議かいぎ: meeting
• 店長てんちょう: manager
• 〜ず: negative conjunctive form
• 中止ちゅうしする: to cancel

Questions & Answers about tenchou wa setsumeisezu, kaigi o chuushishimashita.

What does the particle は after 店長 do here? Could I use が instead?

• は marks the topic: “as for the manager…”. It presents the manager as known/given information and frames what follows as a comment about that topic.
• Using が (as in 店長が説明せず…) would spotlight the manager as the grammatical subject and often implies contrast or answers “who did it?” (It was the manager who…).
• In neutral narration, 店長は is more natural; 店長が is used when identifying or emphasizing the doer.

How do you read 店長 and what does it usually refer to?

• Reading: てんちょう (tenchō)
• It means the manager of a store, shop, or branch (e.g., the person in charge of a shop floor or restaurant), not a corporate “general manager.”

What does 説明せず mean, and why not 説明しないで?

• Both express “without explaining.”
• V-ず (here 説明せず) is a more formal/literary way to say “without doing.”
• V-ないで (e.g., 説明しないで) is more common in speech and casual writing.
• Meaning is the same; the choice is mostly about register.

How is せず formed from する? How do I make this form for other verbs?

• It’s the classical negative connective V-ず (“without doing”).
• For する, the form is irregular: せず (not “しず”).
• Patterns:
  • Ichidan (る-drop) verbs: 食べる → 食べず
  • Godan verbs: negative stem + ず: 行く → 行かず, 話す → 話さず
  • Irregular: する → せず, 来る → こず
• Examples: 朝ごはんを食べずに出かけた。 / 理由を言わず、帰った。

Is 説明をせず also correct?

Yes. With する-verbs you can include を: 説明せず and 説明をせず are both acceptable. Without を is lighter and more common; with を can feel a bit heavier/emphatic.

Should it be 説明せず or 説明せずに? What’s the difference?

• Both are fine:
  • V-ず、… is a formal connective (“…and not doing X, …”).
  • V-ずに、… explicitly marks “without doing X, …” and is very common.
• Nuance is minimal; ずに sounds slightly more general-purpose in speech.

Can I use 説明しないで instead? Any nuance difference?

You can: 店長は説明しないで、会議を中止しました。

• しないで is more conversational.
• All three—せず, せずに, しないで—work. Choose based on formality.

Why is there no particle after 説明? Shouldn’t there be を or に?

• 説明する is a する-verb; in 説明せず the する part is in the ず form and connects directly to the next clause.
• If you want to specify target or content, add phrases before せず, e.g.:
  • 誰にも説明せず (without explaining to anyone)
  • 理由を説明せず (without explaining the reason)
  • 状況について説明せず (without explaining about the situation)

What does 会議を中止しました tell me about agency? How is it different from 会議が中止になりました?

• 会議を中止しました = an agent (here, the manager) actively canceled the meeting (transitive).
• 会議が中止になりました = the meeting ended up canceled (intransitive/result state), de-emphasizing who canceled it.
• Use を中止した when you want to assign responsibility; が中止になった when you want to report the outcome.

Is 会議を中止にしました also possible? How does it differ from 中止しました?

• 中止にする means “to make/decide to cancel.” It emphasizes the decision-making act.
• 会議を中止にしました is fine and slightly highlights the “make it canceled” nuance.
• 会議を中止しました is the straightforward “canceled the meeting.”

What’s the difference between 中止, 延期, and 取り消し／キャンセル?

• 中止: cancel/terminate (it will not happen).
• 延期: postpone (it will happen later).
• 取り消し／キャンセル: cancel in the sense of revoking an application/order/reservation; context can overlap, but for events/meetings, 中止 or 延期 is standard.

Is it okay that 説明せず is plain form while 中止しました is polite?

Yes. Subordinate/preceding clauses are typically in plain form even when the main clause is polite. This style is natural and very common.

Is the comma 、 after 説明せず necessary?

It’s optional but improves readability. You can write 説明せず会議を中止しました; the meaning doesn’t change.

Can I move 説明せず later in the sentence or end the sentence with it?

• The V-ず clause normally precedes the main action: 説明せず、会議を中止しました is the natural order.
• You can use V-ないで if you want different placement: 店長は、説明しないで会議を中止しました。
• Don’t end a sentence with …せず。 It needs a following main clause.

Does 説明せず carry any nuance beyond “without explaining”?

It can sound a bit curt or critical, implying “(just) went ahead without explaining.” To emphasize that nuance, 説明もせず (“without even explaining”) is common.

Are there set-phrase alternatives to 説明せず?

Yes, common options:

• 説明もなく (without so much as an explanation)
• 説明なしに (without explanation)
• 説明をしないまま (ended up not explaining and…) They vary slightly in tone, but all fit this context.

Why does 会議 take を?

Because 中止する is a transitive する-verb that takes a direct object. The thing being canceled (the meeting) takes を: 会議を中止する.

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

• More casual: 店長は説明しないで、会議を中止した。
• More formal/businesslike: 店長は説明もなく、会議を中止いたしました。 or passive/result style 会議は説明もなく中止となりました。