Word
彼女 は 急いで いて コーヒー を こぼしちゃった けれど、 それほど 気にして いなかった。kanojo wa isoide ite koohii o koboshichatta keredo, sorehodo kinishite inakatta.
Meaning
She was in a hurry and accidentally spilled her coffee, but she didn’t seem to mind that much.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of kanojo wa isoide ite koohii o koboshichatta keredo, sorehodo kinishite inakatta.
はwa
topic particle
をo
direct object particle
コーヒーkoohii
coffee
急ぐisogu
to hurry
Questions & Answers about kanojo wa isoide ite koohii o koboshichatta keredo, sorehodo kinishite inakatta.
Why is は used after 彼女?
は marks 彼女 as the topic of the sentence. It sets up her as the person we are talking about.
So the sentence is framed as:
- As for her...
This does not necessarily mean strong contrast, but it can sometimes carry a slight sense of speaking about her in particular.
If you used が instead, the sentence would feel a bit more like you are identifying her as the subject in a more direct or specific way.
What is 急いでいて doing here?
急いでいて comes from 急いでいる, which means to be hurrying / to be in a hurry.
The て-form + いて here links to the next part of the sentence and gives background or a reason/circumstance:
- being in a hurry, ...
- since she was in a hurry, ...
So 彼女は急いでいてコーヒーをこぼしちゃった means something like:
- She was in a hurry and spilled her coffee
- or more naturally, Because she was in a hurry, she spilled her coffee
Why is it 急いでいて and not just 急いで?
