Monday, September 04, 2006

Nothing to do but...

Here are a couple of 2kyuu grammar points that have similar
nuances. Out of all of these, I think しかない and なければならない are among the most commonly used out of the below. ざるを得ない and わけにはいかない sound a bit stuffy for me.
As for (より)ほかない, I don't know...

V + しかない : used in a situation where one has no choice but to do something.

Vneg + ざるを得ない : used in a situation where one has no choice but to do something.

Vneg + なければならない : used in a situation where one has to do something because s/he has an obligation to do it OR where one has no choice but to do something.

Vneg + わけに(は)いかない : used in a situation where one has to do something because s/he has an obligation to do it OR where one has no choice but to do something. It also expresses the unwillingness of the speaker to do V.

V/N + (より)ほかない: used in a situation where there is nothing else to do but X.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

V-negの意味が違うものがあります。

 行かざるを得ない
 行かなければならない
   ここのV-negは「行か-」という形

 行かないわけにはいかない
 (行かないと、何か問題が起きる→行かな  ければならない)
   ここのV-negは「行かない」という形

 cf.行くわけにはいかない
 (もし行くと、何か問題が起きる→行って  はいけない)