Breakdown of kaeru tochuu de yuudachi ni furarete, shatsu ga nurechatta.
がga
subject particle
降るfuru
to fall
〜て〜te
connective form
しまうshimau
to end up (regretfully)
Questions & Answers about kaeru tochuu de yuudachi ni furarete, shatsu ga nurechatta.
Why is it 帰る途中 and not 帰った途中?
途中 means in the middle of, on the way, or during. Before 途中, Japanese usually uses the dictionary form of the verb to show what action or movement is in progress.
So:
- 帰る途中 = on the way home / while returning
- 食べる途中 = in the middle of eating
- 行く途中 = on the way there
Using 帰った途中 would sound unnatural here, because 帰った suggests the action has already been completed, while 途中 describes something happening before completion.
What exactly does 帰る途中で mean?
帰る途中で means on the way home or more literally during the process of going home.
Breakdown:
- 帰る = to return, to go home
- 途中 = the middle of something, the way
- で = marks the time/situation/location in which something happened
So the whole phrase sets the scene for what happened next:
While I was on my way home...
Why is there a で after 途中?
