Breakdown of touan wo minaosite kara, wakaranai tokoro wo nooto ni utusita.
Questions & Answers about touan wo minaosite kara, wakaranai tokoro wo nooto ni utusita.
Why is it 見直してから and not 見直したから?
Because 〜てから is a set grammar pattern meaning after doing ....
- 見直してから = after reviewing/checking
- 見直したから usually means because I reviewed it
So in this sentence:
- 答案を見直してから、…写した。
= After reviewing the answer sheet, ... I copied ...
The て-form + から here is about sequence in time, not reason.
What does 答案 mean here?
答案(とうあん) usually means something like:
- answer sheet
- test answers
- written answers on an exam
So 答案を見直して means reviewing or checking the written answers, probably on homework, a quiz, or a test.
It is a bit more specific than just 答え.
答え is simply an answer, while 答案 often refers to a set of written answers.
What exactly does 見直す mean?
見直す(みなおす) means to look over again, to review, or to check again.
In this sentence, it suggests the person:
- looked back over their answers
- checked them again
- probably noticed parts they did not understand
So 答案を見直してから gives the idea of first reviewing the answers carefully, then doing the next action.
What does 分からないところ mean? Does ところ literally mean place here?
Here, ところ does not mean a physical place.
分からないところ means:
- the part(s) I didn’t understand
- the points that were unclear
- the things I couldn’t figure out
In Japanese, ところ can mean part, point, or spot in a more abstract sense.
So:
- 分からないところを写した
= copied the parts that were unclear
This is a very common use of ところ.
Why is 分からない in the non-past form, even though the whole sentence is in the past?
Because 分からない is modifying ところ like a relative clause:
- 分からないところ = the parts that are / were not understandable
In Japanese, when a verb or adjective modifies a noun, it often stays in its plain form without matching English-style tense in the same way.
So even in a past sentence, 分からないところ can naturally refer to:
- the parts that were unclear at that time
You could think of it as a noun phrase:
unclear parts.
Why is there an を after ところ?
Because 分からないところ is the thing being copied.
The structure is:
- X を Y に 写す
- copy X into/on Y
So here:
- 分からないところ = what was copied
- ノートに = where it was copied
That is why ところ takes を.
Why is ノート marked with に?
Because に marks the destination or target of the copying.
In Xをノートに写す:
- Xを = the thing you copy
- ノートに = the place you copy it into / onto
So:
- 分からないところをノートに写した = copied the unclear parts into a notebook
This に works a bit like into or onto in English.
What does 写した mean here? Is it just wrote?
写す(うつす) means to copy, to transcribe, or to write something down from another source.
So this is not just freely writing something new. It means the person took the unclear parts and copied them into a notebook.
Compare:
- 書いた = wrote
- 写した = copied/wrote down from something else
That nuance is important here.
Why are there two を particles in one sentence? Is that okay?
Who is doing the action? There is no subject.
The subject is omitted, which is very normal in Japanese.
From context, it is most naturally:
- I reviewed the answer sheet and copied the parts I didn’t understand into my notebook.
Japanese often leaves out subjects when they are obvious from the situation.
Possible implied subjects could be:
- I
- the student
- he/she, if the surrounding context makes that clear
But without extra context, English learners usually interpret it as I.
Does から here mean the same thing as after, or is there some extra nuance?
Here 〜てから mainly means after doing something, then ...
It emphasizes order:
- first review the answers
- then copy the unclear parts into the notebook
So the sentence is not just listing two actions. It shows that the second action happened after the first one.
Could this sentence be translated as I copied down the things I didn’t know?
Yes, that is close, but 分からないところ is a little more like:
- the parts I didn’t understand
- the unclear points
- the bits I couldn’t figure out
So didn’t know is possible in natural English, but didn’t understand is often a better match here.
Also, 写した specifically suggests copied down, not just noted in a general way.
Is there any reason the sentence uses ところ instead of something like こと?
Yes. ところ sounds natural for parts/sections/points within something like answers, text, or explanations.
- 分からないところ = the unclear parts/points
- 分からないこと = things I do not understand / things I do not know
Both can be possible in some contexts, but ところ fits especially well when talking about specific parts within material you are looking at, such as an answer sheet or textbook content.
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