Breakdown of kaigi ga enki ni nattakoto wo douryou ni tutaemasu.
Questions & Answers about kaigi ga enki ni nattakoto wo douryou ni tutaemasu.
Why is が used after 会議 instead of は?
会議が延期になった is describing a specific event: the meeting got postponed.
Here, が marks 会議 as the thing that underwent the change. It is the subject of 延期になった.
- 会議が延期になった = The meeting was postponed / The meeting became postponed
- 会議は延期になった would also be possible in some contexts, but it would sound more like as for the meeting, it got postponed, often with contrast or topic emphasis.
In this sentence, が is the most natural choice because the clause is simply stating what happened to the meeting.
What does 延期 mean, and why is it followed by に?
延期 means postponement or delay.
In 延期になる, the pattern is:
- Noun + に + なる = to become X
- So 延期になる literally means to become a postponement
- In natural English, that becomes to be postponed
Examples:
- 試合が中止になった = The game was canceled
- 会議が延期になった = The meeting was postponed
So に is not a destination marker here. It is part of the grammar pattern noun + に + なる.
Why is it なったこと instead of just なった?
こと turns the whole clause before it into a noun-like unit.
So:
- 会議が延期になった = the meeting was postponed
- 会議が延期になったこと = the fact that the meeting was postponed
This is necessary because 伝える usually takes a thing/content as its object:
- 何を伝える? = Tell what?
The thing being told here is not just a single noun, but an entire idea: that the meeting was postponed
So こと packages that whole statement into something that can be marked with を.
Why is を attached to こと?
Because 会議が延期になったこと is the direct object of 伝えます.
The structure is:
- [会議が延期になったこと] を 伝えます
- I will convey / tell [the fact that the meeting was postponed]
So を marks what is being communicated.
A helpful way to see the sentence is:
- 会議が延期になったこと = the content
- 同僚に = the person receiving the information
- 伝えます = communicate / tell
Why is there another に after 同僚? Is it the same as the に in 延期になる?
No, they are different kinds of に.
延期に in 延期になる
同僚に in 同僚に伝えます
- This に marks the recipient
- It means to a colleague
So in the same sentence, に is doing two different jobs:
- 延期に = into the state of postponement
- 同僚に = to the colleague
This is very common in Japanese.
What exactly does 伝えます mean here? Is it the same as 言います?
伝えます means to convey, to inform, or to pass on information.
It is similar to 言います, but the nuance is different:
- 言います = say
- 伝えます = tell / inform / convey a message to someone
So this sentence is not just about speaking words. It is about communicating information to a colleague.
Compare:
- 同僚に言います = I say it to my colleague
- 同僚に伝えます = I inform my colleague / pass the information on to my colleague
Here, 伝えます fits very naturally because the speaker is relaying news.
Who is the subject of 伝えます? I do not see 私は.
The subject is omitted, which is very normal in Japanese.
From the form 伝えます, we understand that the speaker is saying something like:
- I will tell my colleague
- or I tell my colleague, depending on context
Japanese often leaves out subjects when they are obvious from context.
So the full idea could be:
- 私は会議が延期になったことを同僚に伝えます。
But 私は is unnecessary unless the speaker wants to emphasize I.
How should I understand the word order in this sentence?
A useful breakdown is:
- 会議が延期になったこと = that the meeting was postponed
- を = marks that whole clause as the object
- 同僚に = to a colleague
- 伝えます = will tell / inform
So the sentence is structured like this:
- [Content being communicated] を [recipient] に 伝えます
Japanese usually puts the verb at the end, so the main action 伝えます comes last.
A very literal order in English would be:
- The fact that the meeting was postponed, to a colleague, I convey.
Natural English:
- I tell my colleague that the meeting has been postponed.
Could の be used instead of こと here?
Sometimes の and こと can both nominalize a clause, but こと is more natural here.
- 会議が延期になったことを伝えます = very natural
- 会議が延期になったのを伝えます = possible in some contexts, but less standard/natural here
Why?
- こと often sounds better for facts, information, events, or abstract content
- の often feels more direct or concrete, and is very common in perception-related sentences like 見た, 聞いた, etc.
Since the speaker is communicating information, こと is the safer and more natural choice.
Does 延期になった mean the same thing as 延期された?
They are close, but not exactly the same in nuance.
- 延期になった = became postponed / ended up being postponed
- 延期された = was postponed in a more direct passive sense
In many real situations, both can be translated as was postponed.
The difference is:
- 延期になった focuses on the resulting change of state
- 延期された focuses more directly on the action done by someone/something
For announcements and neutral statements, 延期になった is very common and natural.
Is 同僚 singular or plural here?
It could be either, depending on context, but by default it often means a colleague / coworkers in a general sense.
Japanese nouns usually do not mark singular vs. plural clearly unless needed.
So:
- 同僚に伝えます could mean I’ll tell a colleague
- In context, it could also mean I’ll tell my coworkers
If the speaker wanted to clearly mean plural colleagues, they might say:
- 同僚たちに伝えます
- 同僚に伝えます is still perfectly natural without たち
What is the reading of the sentence?
It is read:
かいぎ が えんき に なった こと を どうりょう に つたえます。
Word by word:
- 会議 → かいぎ
- 延期 → えんき
- 同僚 → どうりょう
- 伝えます → つたえます
Can this sentence be translated in more than one natural way?
Yes. Depending on context, natural translations include:
- I’ll tell my colleague that the meeting has been postponed.
- I’ll inform my colleague that the meeting was postponed.
- I’ll let my colleague know that the meeting has been delayed.
The Japanese sentence does not force just one English translation. The core meaning is: The speaker communicates to a colleague the fact that the meeting was postponed.
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