Re: How to "be going"?

From: Bart Mathias (mathias_at_hawaii.edu)
Date: 01/14/05 

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 04:47:09 GMT

Marc Adler wrote:
> necoandjeff wrote:
>
>> The way he wrote it, it is a bit confusing. A comma here can make all the
>> difference in the world (to represent the brief pause or difference in
>> intonation that would be present if spoken, to distinguish it from the
>> sentence you are probably thinking of.) Try this: 家に帰って、いない。
>> Or if
>> that doesn't work: 家に帰って、ここにはいない。
>
>
> However, and here's the rub, it's spoken without a pause. It might be an
> HLHLHLH thing that my ears can't catch, but every time I've heard this
> construction, it's been without a pause.

I'm having trouble imagining how the 家に would fit in if one meant "He
ain't home yet," except for the case where someone is reporting the
result of a phone call ("I thought he'd be home by now, but his wife
says he's not"). Otherwise, wouldn't you leave it out?

Bart

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