Breakdown of kintyousisugite nani mo ienakatta node, motto rensyuusite okeba yokatta to omoimasita.
Questions & Answers about kintyousisugite nani mo ienakatta node, motto rensyuusite okeba yokatta to omoimasita.
- 緊張する = to be nervous.
- 〜すぎる attached to a verb or adjective = “to do too much / excessively.”
So:
- 緊張して = “(I) was nervous and…” (just stating the fact)
- 緊張しすぎて = “(I) was too nervous and…” (so nervous that it caused some problem)
The て on the end connects it to the next part (何も言えなかった).
Literally: “Because I was too nervous, I couldn’t say anything.”
In negative sentences:
- 何も + negative verb = “nothing / not … anything”
- 何も言えなかった = “I couldn’t say anything / I said nothing.”
- 何か + positive verb = “something”
- 何か言えた = “(I) could say something.”
The も here is not “also”; in this pattern it emphasizes total negation with a negative verb.
So:
- 何 alone is just “what.”
- 何も … ない / なかった = “(did) nothing / didn’t … anything.”
- 言う = to say.
- 言える is the potential form = “can say / be able to say.”
- 言えなかった = “could not say / was not able to say.”
- 言わなかった = “did not say.” (choice or fact, not necessarily inability)
In this sentence, the idea is: > “Because I was too nervous, I couldn’t say anything (even if I wanted to).”
So the potential negative 言えなかった is more natural than 言わなかった.
Both ので and から can mean “because / since.”
- 〜ので often sounds:
- slightly more formal / polite
- a bit softer, more explanatory
- 〜から is:
- more neutral and common in conversation
- can sound more direct or causal
Here:
緊張しすぎて何も言えなかったので、…
“Because I was too nervous and couldn’t say anything, …”
You could say …言えなかったから、…, and it would still be natural, just a bit less soft/polite in tone.
- もっと = “more,” “to a greater extent.”
So:
- 練習しておけばよかった = “I wish I had practiced (ahead of time).”
- もっと練習しておけばよかった = “I wish I had practiced more (ahead of time).”
It adds the sense that the amount of practice you did was not enough.
〜ておく has the idea of:
- doing something in advance, for a future situation
- preparing / getting something done beforehand
Examples:
- 調べておく = “to look it up beforehand.”
- 予約しておく = “to make a reservation in advance.”
So 練習しておく = “to practice in advance (to be ready).”
In the sentence, it becomes 練習しておけばよかった = “I wish I had practiced in advance.”
Verb-ば + よかった is a pattern meaning:
- “I wish I had done X,”
- “I should have done X (but I didn’t).”
Structure:
- Take the conditional 〜ば form:
- する → すれば
- 練習する → 練習すれば
- Then add よかった (past of いい = good).
Literal sense: > “It would have been good if I had practiced.”
From this, the natural meaning is: > “I should have practiced / I wish I had practiced.”
Add もっと and 〜ておく, and you get:
> もっと練習しておけばよかった
> “I wish I had practiced more (in advance).”
よかった is the past form of いい (“good”). In 〜ばよかった:
- You’re imagining an unreal past: “If I had done X, that would have been good.”
- Because that imagined situation is in the past, you use the past よかった.
So the pattern:
- 〜ばいい = “It would be good if… / I hope… (for future or unreal present)”
- 〜ばよかった = “It would have been good if… (but it didn’t happen)” → regret about the past.
That’s why a past form appears, even though your feeling of regret is now.
と here is the quotative particle. It marks what is being “said,” “thought,” “felt,” etc.
Pattern:
- [quotation] + と + 思う = “to think that [quotation].”
Examples:
- 明日は雨だと思う = “I think (that) it’ll rain tomorrow.”
- 行けばよかったと思う = “I think (that) I should have gone / I wish I had gone.”
In the sentence, the “quoted” content is:
もっと練習しておけばよかった
“I wish I had practiced more.”
So …よかったと 思いました = “I thought, ‘I wish I had practiced more.’”
The sentence is describing something that happened in the past:
- You were nervous,
- couldn’t say anything,
- and at that time you had that thought.
So 思いました matches the past narrative:
“…ので、もっと練習しておけばよかったと思いました。”
“So I thought, ‘I wish I had practiced more.’”
If you used 思います, it would sound like a general, current opinion or a repeated feeling, not a single past moment.
Yes, grammatically you can, but:
- 思いました = polite past (です／ます form)
- 思った = plain past (dictionary form)
Which you use depends on:
- who you’re talking to, and
- the overall style of the sentence.
Since the rest of the sentence is in a polite style (思いました), it’s consistent to keep it polite.
If the whole sentence were in casual form, …と思った。 would be natural.
Japanese word order is relatively flexible, especially for:
- adverbs (like もっと),
- adverbial clauses (like 緊張しすぎて何も言えなかったので).
For example, you could say:
- もっと練習しておけばよかったと思いました。
(dropping the first clause; fine if context is clear) - 緊張しすぎて、もっと練習しておけばよかったと思いました。
(focusing more on the emotion and regret)
However, some things are tighter:
- よかったと思いました must keep と after the entire “quotation.”
- 何も should stay together before 言えなかった.
So there is flexibility, but not complete freedom.
This sentence is in polite (です／ます) style because of:
- 思いました (polite past form)
Everything before that is in plain form, but that’s normal: in Japanese, verbs inside subordinate clauses (練習しておけばよかった, 言えなかった) are usually in plain form, even in generally polite speech.
So this sentence is appropriate for:
- talking to someone you don’t know well,
- writing in an essay,
- telling a story politely.