Learn Hardcore Japanese: kessinsita dake de owaranai you ni, mainiti sukosizutu benkyou wo tudukete imasu. - So that my decision doesn’t end at just being a decision, I keep studying a little every day.

決心しただけで: past tense + だけで
- Literally: “with just having decided,” “only after deciding.”
- It treats 決心した as a completed state: “the fact that I (have) decided.”
決心するだけで: non‑past + だけで
- Usually means “just deciding (in general) is enough / is the only thing (you do).”
- More abstract or general, less about a specific decision that has already been made.

In this sentence, 決心しただけで focuses on the specific decision already made and says: “so that it doesn’t end with just having made that decision …”

How does だけで終わらない work grammatically? Why is 終わる there?

X だけで終わる is a common pattern meaning:

“to end with only X,” “to stop at only doing X.”

So:

決心しただけで終わる
= “to end with only having decided,”
= “to just decide and then that’s it.”

Then 終わらない is the negative:

決心しただけで終わらない
= “to not end with just having decided,”
= “to not just decide and stop there.”

The whole 決心しただけで終わらない chunk describes the undesired situation the speaker wants to avoid.

What is the function of ように here?

～ないように often means:

“so that (something) doesn’t happen,”
“in order not to …”

Here:

決心しただけで終わらないように
= “so that it doesn’t end with just having decided,”
= “in order not to just stop at the decision stage.”

Grammatically:

Clause: 決心しただけで終わらない (it doesn’t end with just deciding)
Connector: ように turns that into a purpose/aim clause:
- “(I am doing X) so that it doesn’t end with just deciding.”

Could this sentence use ために instead of ように? What would change?

You might think of:

決心しただけで終わらないために、毎日少しずつ勉強を続けています。

This is not wrong, but it sounds a bit heavier / more formal and less natural in everyday speech for this particular nuance.

Rough guideline:

～ように:
- Often used when talking about desired states, results, or things you don’t fully control.
- Common in “so that it won’t …, so that I can …” type sentences.
～ために:
- More “for the purpose of / for the sake of,” often for more concrete, intentional aims.

Here, ～ないように is the very standard, natural way to say:

“so that it doesn’t end up just being a decision.”

Why is there a comma after ように?

The comma separates two parts:

決心しただけで終わらないように、
→ an adverbial clause expressing purpose: “so that it doesn’t end with just deciding,”
毎日少しずつ勉強を続けています。
→ the main clause: “I am continuing to study little by little every day.”

Japanese often uses a comma to mark this kind of “reason / purpose / condition” chunk before the main statement, much like English would break with a comma after “So that I don’t just stop at deciding, …”

What is the nuance of 毎日少しずつ? How is 少しずつ different from just 少し or ちょっと?

少し: “a little,” “a small amount.”
ちょっと: also “a little,” often more casual and with many extra nuances (softening, hesitation, etc.).
少しずつ: “little by little,” “bit by bit,” “gradually.”

少しずつ emphasizes the gradual, repeated aspect.
So:

毎日少し勉強します。
= “I study a little every day.” (amount is small each day)
毎日少しずつ勉強します。
= “I study little by little every day.” (focus on slow, steady progress over time)

In this sentence, 少しずつ fits the idea of steadily continuing, not stopping at just deciding.

Why is it 勉強を続けています instead of just 勉強しています?

Both are possible, but the nuance is different:

勉強しています:
- “I study / I am studying.”
- Can mean a current ongoing action, or a habitual action (“I study Japanese”).
勉強を続けています:
- Literally: “I am continuing study.”
- Focuses on continuity over time: not giving up, keeping it up, maintaining the effort.

Because the sentence contrasts with “just deciding and stopping,” 続けています neatly expresses, “I have kept studying; I continue to study.”

What is the role of を in 勉強を続けています?

続ける can take a direct object: “to continue X.”

勉強を続ける = “to continue (one’s) study/studying.”

So を marks 勉強 as the thing that is being continued.

Both of these are grammatical:

勉強を続けています。 (transitive: “continuing my study.”)
勉強し続けています。 (compound verb: “I keep on studying.”)

The given sentence chooses the first pattern, with 勉強 as a noun and 続ける as “continue (it).”

Who is the subject of this sentence? Why isn’t 私 written?

Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

Here, from 決心した, 勉強を続けています, and the polite ～ています, it is naturally understood as:

(私は) 決心しただけで終わらないように、毎日少しずつ勉強を続けています。
= “(I), so that I don’t just stop at deciding, am continuing to study little by little every day.”

In conversation or writing about one’s own habits, explicitly saying 私 every time sounds overly heavy or repetitive, so it’s normally dropped.