Breakdown of watasi ha zyugyou no mae ni yosyuu wo site oku to, sensei no setumei ga yoku wakaru to kanziru.
Questions & Answers about watasi ha zyugyou no mae ni yosyuu wo site oku to, sensei no setumei ga yoku wakaru to kanziru.
は is the topic marker, not the grammatical subject marker.
- 私 = I / me
- 私は = “As for me,” / “Speaking about me,”
In this sentence, は tells us that the sentence is about “me,” but it doesn’t say that “I” am the grammatical subject of every verb. For example:
- 先生の説明がよく分かる
Here, 先生の説明 is the grammatical subject (marked by が), not 私.
So the sentence structure is basically:
“As for me, (when I do X), the teacher’s explanation is easy to understand, I feel.”
In 授業の前に, the の connects two nouns:
- 授業 = class, lesson
- 前 = before, front
授業の前 literally means “the before of class” → “before class.”
This の works like “‘s” or “of” in English and is also used to make noun + noun combinations where the first noun modifies the second:
- 日本の本 = a book of Japan → Japanese book
- 仕事の後 = after work
- 授業の前 = before class
Then に is added to 前 to mark it as a time point:
授業の前に = “before class (at the time before class)”.
Here に is a time marker:
- 前に = “before [that time]”
You generally use に after time expressions when you mean “at / on / in (a specific time)”:
- 3時に = at 3 o’clock
- 授業の前に = before class (at the time before class)
You cannot use で here. で marks places (学校で), means/methods (バスで行く), or circumstances (雨で試合が中止になった), not a “time point” like “before class.”
You also can’t just say 授業の前予習をする; you need に to make the time phrase work as an adverbial:
- ❌ 授業の前予習をする
- ✅ 授業の前に予習をする
Both are study-related but refer to different timing:
予習（よしゅう）
- 予 = beforehand
- Meaning: preparing/studying the material before the class or lesson.
- Example: Reading the textbook chapter before tomorrow’s lecture.
復習（ふくしゅう）
- 復 = again / repeat
- Meaning: reviewing/revising what you’ve already learned in class.
- Example: Going over your notes from today’s lesson.
In this sentence, 授業の前に予習をしておく is specifically “do preparation before class.”
〜ておく (here しておく) means:
to do something in advance for future convenience/benefit
So:
- 予習をする
= (simply) “to do preparation / to prepare” - 予習をしておく
= “to go ahead and prepare (in advance so that things go better later).”
In context:
- 授業の前に予習をする
→ I prepare before class. (neutral) - 授業の前に予習をしておく
→ I make sure to prepare beforehand, so that the class goes more smoothly.
It emphasizes the purposeful, preparatory nature of the action.
That と is the conditional と, not a simple “and.”
Structure:
- [Clause A] と [Clause B]
= “When(ever) A happens, B (naturally) happens.”
So here:
- 授業の前に予習をしておくと、先生の説明がよく分かる…
≈ “When I prepare before class, I can understand the teacher’s explanation well…”
This と often implies a kind of automatic / natural result, more than a hypothetical “maybe”:
- 春になると、暖かくなる。
→ When spring comes, it gets warm. (natural, habitual)
So the meaning is “Whenever I do preparation before class, the teacher’s explanation ends up being easy to understand (for me).”
No, they have different functions:
しておくと、
- This と = conditional (“when / whenever / if”)
…分かると感じる。
- This と = quotative (“that ~”, marking the content of what is felt)
The second と is like the と in:
- 〜と思う = “I think that ~”
- 〜と言う = “say that ~”
- 〜と感じる = “feel that ~”
So the whole structure is:
- When I do A, I feel that B (happens/is true).
Using 〜と感じる makes it clear that this is the speaker’s subjective feeling or impression, not an objective, absolute statement.
Compare:
授業の前に予習をしておくと、先生の説明がよく分かる。
→ “If I prepare, I (simply) understand the teacher’s explanation well.”
(sounds more like a straightforward fact)授業の前に予習をしておくと、先生の説明がよく分かると感じる。
→ “When I prepare before class, I feel that I understand the teacher’s explanation well.”
(emphasizes your experience / perception)
So 〜と感じる softens the claim and marks it as personal perception rather than “this is objectively true for everyone.”
が marks the subject of the verb 分かる (“to be understandable / to be understood”).
- X が分かる literally = “X is understandable / I understand X.”
So:
- 先生の説明がよく分かる
= “I understand the teacher’s explanation well.”
If you changed it to は:
- 先生の説明はよく分かる
This would shift 先生の説明 to the topic, often implying contrast:
- “As for the teacher’s explanation, I understand it well (but maybe other things are different).”
In neutral statements about what you understand, が is the standard with 分かる.
In よく分かる, よく means “well”, not “a lot.”
- よく分かる
= “to understand well / clearly” - よく聞こえる
= “to be heard well / clearly”
If you wanted to say something like “I understand a lot (of it),” you might use a different expression, e.g.:
- たくさん理解できる (I can understand a lot)
- ほとんど分かる (I understand most of it)
So here, the nuance is:
“When I prepare, the teacher’s explanation becomes clear/easy to understand (for me).”
The sentence is in plain style (dictionary forms):
- 感じる (plain) instead of 感じます (polite)
Plain style is common in:
- writing (essays, reports, diaries)
- casual conversation
- general statements/facts
You can absolutely make it polite:
- 私は授業の前に予習をしておくと、先生の説明がよく分かると感じます。
Meaning stays the same; ます-form just makes it appropriate for polite situations (talking to a teacher, in formal writing, etc.).
Yes. In Japanese, subjects like 私 are often omitted when they are clear from context.
So you could say:
- 授業の前に予習をしておくと、先生の説明がよく分かると感じる。
This is perfectly natural. The listener will usually assume the subject is “I” based on context (because it’s your feeling: 感じる).
Including 私は just makes it explicit that you’re talking about your own experience, which can be helpful in written examples or beginner texts.
A natural casual version might shorten and smooth it a bit:
- 授業の前に予習しておくと、先生の説明がよく分かる気がする。
Changes:
- しておく stays the same (still “do in advance”).
- と感じる → 気がする (“I feel like ~ / it seems to me that ~”), very common in speech.
- You’d usually drop 私 in casual speech if it’s obvious.
Meaning is essentially the same:
“When I study ahead before class, I feel like I understand the teacher’s explanation well.”