Learn Hardcore Japanese: kanozyo ha syourai gaka ni naritai to itte ite, mainiti e no kunren wo tudukete imasu. - She says she wants to become a painter in the future and continues her art training every day.

彼女は: sets her up as the topic. The rest of the sentence is information about her.
彼女が: would focus on her specifically as the one who does the action, as in “it is she who…”, contrasting her with someone else.

In this sentence, we’re not especially contrasting her with others; we’re simply talking about her, so は is natural.

What’s the nuance of 将来 here, and how is it different from 未来?

Both relate to “the future,” but:

将来: usually “(one’s) future” in a more personal, practical sense.
- e.g. 将来の仕事 (one’s future job), 将来結婚したい (I want to get married in the future).
未来: a broader, more abstract or distant “future,” often used in science, SF, or big-picture talk.
- e.g. 未来の世界 (the world of the future), 未来都市 (future city).

In 将来画家になりたい, she’s talking about her personal future career, so 将来 fits better than 未来.

Why is it 画家に before なりたい? What does に do here?

The particle に is used with なる (“to become”) to mark the resulting state or new role.

A になる = “to become A”
- 先生になる – become a teacher
- 医者になる – become a doctor
- 有名人になる – become famous / a celebrity

So:

画家になりたい = “(she) wants to become a painter”
画家をなりたい is incorrect; を does not mark the result of becoming.

How does なりたい work grammatically?

なりたい is なる (to become) + the auxiliary たい, which expresses the speaker’s desire to do something.

Dictionary form: なる
Stem: なり
- たい → なりたい (“want to become”)

Conjugation examples:

Positive: なりたい – want to become
Negative: なりたくない – don’t want to become
Past: なりたかった – wanted to become
Polite: なりたいです / なりたくないです

Note: ～たい technically describes the desire of the speaker (or someone whose feelings the speaker can directly know), but in everyday usage, you’ll hear it used about other people like here (彼女は…なりたい). In more formal Japanese, you might say:

彼女は将来画家になりたいと思っています
彼女は将来画家になりたがっています

to clearly mark it as her desire.

Why is it 言っていて and not just 言っています or 言って, and what does いて add?

言っていて is:

言う → 言って (te-form) + いる → 言っている → te-form again: 言っていて

Step by step:

言っている can mean:
- currently saying (progressive), or
- has been saying / is in the state of having said that (continuous/habitual)
言っていて、… is the te-form of 言っている, used to smoothly connect to the next clause.

Nuance:

言っていて、毎日…続けています。
→ “She has been saying that she wants to be a painter, and (in line with that) she continues training every day.”

If you said:

…と言って、毎日絵の訓練を続けています。

it would still be understandable, but 言っていて emphasizes an ongoing state or habit of saying it, not just a one-time statement.

What is the function of the te-form (～て) in 言っていて、毎日…続けています?

The te-form is commonly used to:

connect actions/events in sequence
show cause/reason
show accompanying or background action

Here, 言っていて、…続けています uses the te-form to link two related situations:

She is (has been) saying she wants to become a painter.
She is continuing her training every day.

The nuance is roughly:

“She says she wants to become a painter, and (so / while doing so) she continues training every day.”

It’s a very natural way to join related actions into one sentence.

Why is it 絵の訓練 and not 絵を訓練?

Here の is linking two nouns:

絵 (pictures / drawings)
訓練 (training)

絵の訓練 literally means “training of drawing/painting” → “training in drawing/painting.”

If you said 絵を訓練する, it would sound unnatural because 訓練する is normally used for:

people/animals: 犬を訓練する (train a dog)
abilities/skills: 体力を訓練する (train one’s stamina)

We don’t really “train a picture”; we practice drawing or receive training in drawing. Thus:

絵の訓練 (training of/for drawing) is the natural noun phrase here.
Similarly: ピアノの練習 (practice of piano), 日本語の勉強 (study of Japanese).

What’s the nuance difference between 訓練 and 練習? Could we say 絵の練習 instead?

Both can fit, but they feel a bit different:

練習 (れんしゅう) – practice, rehearsal
- Common for sports, music, language, drawing, etc.
- More everyday, general “practice.”
- 絵の練習をする = practice drawing.
訓練 (くんれん) – training, drilling
- Stronger sense of systematic training, sometimes stricter or more professional.
- Used for military training, firefighter training, intense athletic training, etc.

So:

絵の練習を続けています → she keeps practicing drawing (neutral, common).
絵の訓練を続けています → she keeps training in drawing, nuance of more serious, structured training.

Both are possible; the original just gives a slightly more intensive feel.

Why is it 訓練を続けて「い」ます instead of just 続けます? What does ～ている add?

～ている after a verb has two main common uses:

Progressive: currently doing something (be + -ing)
Habitual / continuous state: do something regularly, or be in a certain state

Here, 続けている emphasizes that the action of “continuing the training” is:

ongoing / habitual: she keeps doing it over time.

Compare:

訓練を続けます。
→ “(She) will continue the training.” (more like a decision or future plan)
訓練を続けています。
→ “(She) is continuing the training / has been continuing the training.” (already in progress as an ongoing habit)

In this sentence, we want to express her current, ongoing effort, so 続けています is appropriate.

What’s the difference between 続けています and 続いています?

They use different verbs:

続ける (transitive): continue something
- 訓練を続ける – continue (one’s) training
- 仕事を続ける – continue a job
続く (intransitive): something continues (by itself / as a situation)
- 雨が続く – the rain continues
- 授業が続く – the classes continue

With ～ている:

続けています: “(someone) is continuing (something)”
→ 訓練を続けています – She is continuing her training.
続いています: “(something) is continuing”
→ 訓練が続いています – The training is (still) ongoing / in progress.

In the original, she is the one actively continuing her training, so 訓練を続けています is correct.

Is the word order 毎日絵の訓練を fixed? Could we move 毎日?

毎日 is quite flexible in position. You could say:

毎日絵の訓練を続けています。 (original)
絵の訓練を毎日続けています。
毎日、絵の訓練を続けています。

All are natural. Differences are subtle:

Placing 毎日 at the start (毎日…) lightly emphasizes “every day.”
絵の訓練を毎日続けています puts a small focus on the object first (“as for the training in drawing, she continues it every day”).

In everyday speech, the original order is very common and natural.

Why is the sentence polite (続けています) instead of plain (続けている)?

Japanese has polite (です／ます) and plain styles.

Polite: 続けています
Plain: 続けている

Polite style is used:

in narration to a listener/reader you’re not close to
in textbooks and explanations
in most formal or neutral settings

Plain style is used:

in casual conversation with friends/family
in diaries, inner monologue, many novels, etc.

Since this sentence reads like a neutral, explanatory statement (e.g. in a textbook or narration), the polite form 続けています is used to match that tone.