tomodachi to kyouryokushite seikoushimashita.

I cooperated with a friend and succeeded.

Breakdown of tomodachi to kyouryokushite seikoushimashita.

• 友とも達だち: friend
• と: companion particle
• 成功せいこうする: to succeed

Questions & Answers about tomodachi to kyouryokushite seikoushimashita.

Why is と used after 友達 here?

In this sentence, と means with.

So 友達と means with a friend / with friends.

Here, と marks the person you cooperated with. It is very common with actions done together, such as:

• 友達と話す = talk with a friend
• 家族と行く = go with family
• 友達と協力する = cooperate with a friend

So in 友達と協力して, と shows who the cooperation was with.

What does 協力して mean exactly, and why is it in the -て form?

協力する is a suru-verb meaning to cooperate.

Its -て form is 協力して.

The -て form is used here to connect actions or ideas, similar to:

• cooperating with a friend, [we/I] succeeded
• after cooperating with a friend, [we/I] succeeded

So the sentence structure is:

• 友達と協力して = cooperating with a friend / by cooperating with a friend
• 成功しました = succeeded

The -て form often links the first action or circumstance to the main result.

Why is it 成功しました and not 成功しましたです or something similar?