Okay, the very first grammar point in the JLPT II books is misleading... It's so easy that you think that studying for the JLPT is going to be a piece of a cake. Of course, then you continue reading. Oh. Nevermind. This is going to be hard.
Well, in any case, let's talk about this wonderfully easy grammar point, toshite.
I don't really have any clever lyrics, or places I found the grammar point in pop culture, though I wish I did. Instead, I have a band name which I found while looking it up on the interwebs called Rin toshite Shigure.
They are bizarre, to be sure, but I'm quite pleased with the find. I love listening to interesting music.
Okay, so back on track. Let's talk about what toshite means.
Toshite means "as". As in "I came to America as a foreign exchange student" or "I work at the school as a librarian".
Sadly. The to shite in Rin to shite Shigure, is not the form the grammar book is talking about. Why? Well, the easy answer is that it would translate as this:
The drizzle as cold.
Yeah.... that makes no sense... Why is this? Well here is the structure of toshite:
- Example sentence: I came to America as a foreign exchange student.
- (Foreign exchange student) (A) toshite (I came to America)(B).
- As A, B.
- (Rin)(A) toshite (Shigure) (B) = As a cold, drizzle.
The better answer to why the band doesn't use the toshite we want is a bit annoying and technical, but for the sake of fellow grammar freaks, here it is: Toshite can only be used with a noun in front of it. Rin is an adjective (a na adjective in fact), so what this really is a sentence that can loosely be translated "The frigid drizzle" or something suitably less lame.
Also, a proper toshite sentence needs some sort of clause at the end of it. Not just another noun. So, the long and short of it is that I searched for grammar, but I didn't find it.
Bummer.
But, I think you folks may have figured out why I wrote this post anyway. It's to show you this awesome band, so here's another song for your enjoyment!
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