Re: Is the bank closed already or closed still?

From: Joshua A. Reyer (reyer_at_benchsumo.zzn.com)
Date: 03/13/05 

Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 07:53:28 -0600

Konrad Den Ende wrote:
> Regard the following sentence, please.
>
> 銀行がもう閉まっています。
>
> Would you say that
>
> a) the bank has closed already (as in: Konrad runs up to
> the door, all sweaty, red in the face and spreading
> horror among people around by his swearing and
> uninterpretable babbling in a strange language nobody
> except a few Sweeds comprehend),
>
> b) the bank is still closed (as in: the bum sleeping outside
> is in fact the above mentioned Konrad that stubbornly
> refused to leave the site and choosed to rather camp
> there than get back home with no arrend accomplished),
>
> c) any of the above (as in: the language of Japan likes to
> be depending on the context, so we have to discover it's
> properties by inquiring some of the horrified people who
> recently flew the sceen near the bank),
>
> d) none of the above (as in: the language of Japan likes
> to put up some nasty and confusing exceptions to
> complicate the poor Konrads life despite his troubles in
> the financial sector).
>
>

I like mostly c), with a bit of b) thrown in.

The sentence, to me, seems likely in this kind of exchange.

Josh and Konrad are out in Ikebukuro...

Josh (checks wallet): しまった、キャッシュがない。

Konrad: 銀行でおろせば？

Josh: そうだね。(checks watch) あっ、銀行はもう閉まってるだろ！

Whereas, in the a) example, I think:

くそ！銀行がもう閉まった！ might be more appropriate, with 閉まっている
as a viable alternative.

Really it seems you have the choice of describing a state (閉まってい
る), or an action (閉まった). I don't know if either is wrong so much
as they are just two different ways of expressing a situation.

But I'm a non-native speaker, and what's more, an American, so I'm
perforce speaking out of my ass, as is our wont.

Relevant Pages

  • Is the bank closed already or closed still?
    ... the bank has closed already (as in: Konrad runs up to ... the bank is still closed (as in: ... any of the above (as in: the language of Japan likes to ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: Is the bank closed already or closed still?
    ... Konrad Den Ende wrote: ... > b) the bank is still closed (as in: ... > c) any of the above (as in: the language of Japan likes to ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: Is the bank closed already or closed still?
    ... here is the previous post in the proper encoding: ... Konrad Den Ende wrote: ... > b) the bank is still closed (as in: ... > c) any of the above (as in: the language of Japan likes to ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: Is the bank closed already or closed still?
    ... >> the door, all sweaty, red in the face and spreading ... >> is in fact the above mentioned Konrad that stubbornly ... In what context would you consider the sentence above to convey "still ... > Josh and Konrad are out in Ikebukuro... ...
    (sci.lang.japan)