Word
彼 は 大学生 で、 教科書 を 使って 予習 と 復習 を する よう に 自分 で 決めました。kare wa daigakusei de, kyoukasho o tsukatte yoshuu to fukushuu o suru you ni jibun de kimemashita.
Meaning
He is a university student and decided for himself to use the textbook to do preparation and review.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of kare wa daigakusei de, kyoukasho o tsukatte yoshuu to fukushuu o suru you ni jibun de kimemashita.
はwa
topic particle
をo
direct object particle
とto
noun-connector particle
使うtsukau
to use
Questions & Answers about kare wa daigakusei de, kyoukasho o tsukatte yoshuu to fukushuu o suru you ni jibun de kimemashita.
In 彼は大学生で what does で mean? Is it the same で as in place expressions like 学校で?
Here で is not the “place/method” particle.
It is the te-form of the copula だ (the plain form of です).
彼は大学生だ。
He is a college student.彼は大学生で、教科書を使って…
Literally: “He is a college student, and / being a college student, …”
So 大学生で ≈ “(being) a college student” and it links the background information to the main clause.
It’s similar to English: “He is a college student, and he decided…”
Why is there a comma after 大学生で? Could you drop it?
The comma just separates two clauses and makes the sentence easier to read:
- Clause 1 (background): 彼は大学生で
- Clause 2 (main action): 教科書を使って予習と復習をするように自分で決めました。
You can drop the comma in writing; it doesn’t change the grammar:
- 彼は大学生で教科書を使って予習と復習をするように自分で決めました。
The meaning and structure are the same; the comma is just for readability and a small pause in speech.
What is the difference between 教科書を使って and 教科書で here?
