Breakdown of siken mae no yoru ha, zisyuusitu no tukue ni sankousyo ga yama no you ni tunde arimasu.
Questions & Answers about siken mae no yoru ha, zisyuusitu no tukue ni sankousyo ga yama no you ni tunde arimasu.
Both are grammatically correct, but there is a nuance difference.
- 試験前の夜 treats 前 almost like a suffix attached to 試験.
- Rough idea: “the night (immediately) before the exam”
- Very natural, compact, and common in modern Japanese, especially in writing.
- 試験の前の夜 is a bit more explicit and can sound a little more formal or explanatory.
- Literally: “the night that is before the exam”
In everyday usage, Noun + 前 (試験前, 夏休み前, 出発前, etc.) is very common and often preferred for brevity. So 試験前の夜 feels very natural here.
は is marking 試験前の夜 as the topic of the sentence.
- 試験前の夜は …
- “As for the night before the exam, …”
- It sets up a time frame and tells you that what follows is something that is generally true or characteristically true about that time.
If you used が (試験前の夜が), it would sound like you are identifying the night before the exam as the one that has some property, in contrast to other nights. That would be odd here.
If you dropped the particle entirely (試験前の夜、自習室の…), it would be more like a simple time adverbial (“on the night before the exam, …”), which is not wrong, but you would lose the clear topic feeling that Japanese often likes to have.
So 試験前の夜は nicely introduces “Speaking about exam-eve nights…”.
Noun + の + Noun often means “Noun2 that belongs to / is part of / is in relation to Noun1.”
- 自習室の机
- Literally: “the desks of the self‑study room”
- Natural English: “the desks in the self‑study room”
The の here links 自習室 (self-study room) and 机 (desks) in a possessive/associative way, similar to:
- 学校の先生 – the school’s teachers / teachers at the school
- 家の前 – in front of the house
- 会社のパソコン – the company’s computers
So 自習室の机 simply identifies which desks we’re talking about: the ones in the self-study room.
Here に marks a location where something exists or is placed.
- 机に 参考書が … 積んであります。
- The desks are the location where the reference books are piled up.
Compare:
- に – location of existence/placement
- 机に本がある。– There is a book on the desk.
- で – location of an action/event
- 机で勉強する。– Study at the desk.
机の上に would be more explicit – “on top of the desk” – and is also correct. The sentence could be:
- 自習室の机の上に参考書が山のように積んであります。
In many contexts, 机に is enough and natural; it’s understood that books are on top of the desk, not inside it or under it.
が is marking 参考書 as the grammatical subject of the verb phrase 積んであります (“are piled up”).
- 参考書が山のように積んであります。
- “Reference books are piled up like a mountain.”
If you used 参考書は, you would be making 参考書 the topic, and the focus could shift, for example:
- 参考書は山のように積んでありますが、ノートは少ないです。
- As for reference books, they’re piled like a mountain, but there are few notebooks.
In the original sentence, the main topic has already been introduced as 試験前の夜, so 参考書 is just the subject within that context, which is why が is used.
山のように literally means “like a mountain.” It’s a simile.
- 参考書が山のように積んであります。
- Literally: “Reference books are piled like a mountain.”
- Naturally: “Reference books are piled up in huge heaps.” / “There is a mountain of reference books.”
It’s often used figuratively to mean “a lot,” “in a huge pile,” “in great quantities”:
- 宿題が山のようにある。– I have a mountain of homework.
- 洗濯物が山のようにたまっている。– The laundry has piled up like a mountain.
So here it’s vividly describing a huge stack rather than an actual mountain shape.
よう is used for comparisons, similar to “like / as if” in English. The form changes depending on what follows:
Noun + のように + Verb / Adjective
- Describes how something is done or in what manner something is.
- 山のように積む – pile (them) like a mountain.
Noun + のような + Noun
- Modifies a following noun.
- 山のような本の山 – a mountain‑like pile of books.
Noun + のようだ
- Predicate: “is like … / seems like …”
- 山のようだ。 – It is like a mountain.
In the sentence:
- 山のように積んであります
- ように modifies 積んであります, describing the manner of the piling: “piled up like a mountain.”
積んであります is 積む (to pile/stack something) in て‑form + ある, which expresses a resulting state of a deliberate action.
- 積んであります ≈ “have been piled (and are now in that state)”
- It implies that someone intentionally stacked the books, and they remain stacked.
Contrast:
積んでいます (積む + ている) – “are piling / are piled”
- Can mean a current ongoing action or the resulting state, but it does not strongly emphasize that it was done for a purpose.
積まれています (passive + ている) – “are piled (up)”
- Describes the state passively, without highlighting intentional preparation.
～てある is commonly used when:
- Some intentional action was done in preparation for something, and
- You are describing the state that remains from that action.
So 参考書が山のように積んであります suggests: > “Reference books have been stacked up (on purpose) like a mountain (and they are sitting there ready to be used).”
Both are possible, but the nuance differs:
積んであります
- Focus: Someone (unspecified) stacked them intentionally, and they are left that way as preparation.
- Often implies convenience or readiness for use.
積まれています
- Passive: “are piled up.”
- Focus: The state itself, without emphasizing that it was deliberately prepared for some purpose.
In the context of a self-study room before exams, 積んであります nicely fits the idea that the books have been arranged/stacked for students to use.
Yes, you could say:
- 自習室の机には参考書が山のように積んであります。
Adding は to 机に makes 自習室の机 into a contrastive or topical element:
- 自習室の机には参考書が山のように積んであります。
- “On the desks in the self‑study room, reference books are piled up like a mountain (as for those desks).”
This might imply contrast with something else (e.g., ロビーの机には何もありません, “on the lobby desks there’s nothing”), or just highlight those desks as a secondary topic.
Without は:
- 自習室の机に…
- Just states the location in a more neutral way, with the main topic already being 試験前の夜.
The comma is mostly stylistic and helps readability.
- 試験前の夜は、自習室の…
- The comma visually and rhythmically separates the topic (試験前の夜は) from the rest of the sentence.
In spoken Japanese, you would naturally pause there. In writing, adding a comma after a topic or long phrase like this is very common but not grammatically required.