-tteru verb ending

[Justin712]

Hi! I'm kinda new at this, and I only recently enrolled in a formal Japanese class, so my apologies in advance if this question seems a bit obvious or simple. (or I completely mistranslated it. There's always that.)

I already know about some of the uses of the te form and the bases, and also that the -tte particle is used as a sort of verbal quotation mark etc. My problem is that I've seen some cases where the tte comes before a ru, and I'm pretty confused by this. I figure it's probably because I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of how these endings are formed, so I could really use some help getting pointed in the right direction.

That aside, here's an example from the intro of Phantom Hourglass:

どうせ　どっかのあくどい海賊が　わるさをしてるに決 まってるよ！

douse dokka no akudoi kaizoku ga warusa wo shiteru ni kimatteru yo!

I'm pretty sure it says something along the lines of "Anyhow, vicious pirates doing bad things (it's) settle(d)" or in other words "Anyhow, it's probably just some pirates up to no good", but I'm more concerned as to why that tte is in the middle of kimaru and how it affects the tense of the verb.

Thanks in advance!

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by Justin712

Hi! I'm kinda new at this, and I only recently enrolled in a formal Japanese class, so my apologies in advance if this question seems a bit obvious or simple. (or I completely mistranslated it. There's always that.)

I already know about some of the uses of the te form and the bases, and also that the -tte particle is used as a sort of verbal quotation mark, but I've seen some cases where the tte comes before a ru, and I'm pretty confused by this, and I'm probably only beginning to scratch the surface of how these endings are formed.

That aside, here's an example from the intro of Phantom Hourglass:

どうせ　どっかのあくどい海賊が　わるさをしてるに決 まってるよ！

douse dokka no akudoi kaizoku ga warusa wo shiteru ni kimatteru yo!

I'm pretty sure it says something along the lines of "Anyhow, vicious pirates doing bad things (it's) settle(d)" or in other words "Anyhow, it's probably just some pirates up to no good", but I'm more concerned as to why that tte is in the middle of kimaru.

Thanks in advance!

決まってる　＜　決まっている

In casual speech, 「ている」 is VERY often pronounced/written as 「てる」 because it saves your mouth a syllable.

している　＞　してる
食べている　＞　食べてる
見ている　＞　見てる
etc.

「決まっている」 in your sentence is one example where direct translation would rarely work. It means "It is certain that ~~~", "I bet that ~~", "It/he/thet have/has got to be ~~", etc. Reversely, it is one phrase that Japanese-speakers use very often but Japanese-learners seldom do if they always rely on "translation" to say things in Japanese.

[Justin712]

Originally Posted by masaegu

決まってる　＜　決まっている

In casual speech, 「ている」 is VERY often pronounced/written as 「てる」 because it saves your mouth a syllable.

している　＞　してる
食べている　＞　食べてる
見ている　＞　見てる
etc.

「決まっている」 in your sentence is one example where direct translation would rarely work. It means "It is certain that ~~~", "I bet that ~~", "It/he/thet have/has got to be ~~", etc.

Ooooh that makes sense. Thanks, that helps a lot!

Originally Posted by masaegu

...in your sentence is one example where direct translation would rarely work...Reversely, it is one phrase that Japanese-speakers use very often but Japanese-learners seldom do if they always rely on "translation" to say things in Japanese.

I'll definitely look out for that, thanks for the tip!

[masaegu]

I do not mean to derail but the more I think about it, the surer I become of the lack of the phrase 「決まってる」 in the active vocabulary of many of the Japanese-learners I have spoken to. Here are some examples of how we use it. And I repeat; We use it ALL THE TIME. Also, remember what particle always precedes this phrase.

Southern Gal: "Y'all have swimming pools in Japan?"
Masaegu: 「あるに決まってんだろっ！ 」

Masaegu: "You are the prettiest girl in the world, baby!"
Frisco Gal: "Really? You mean it?"
Masaegu: 「ウソに決まってんだろっ！ 」

Tokyo Gal: 「田中君って今週もパーティー行くのかな？」
Masaegu: 「行くに決まってんじゃん。パーティー命だもん、アイ ツ。」

Masaegu: "Did you kiss her?"
Friend: 「したに決まってるだろ。訊くなよ！ 」

[Justin712]

Oh no, not at all! Besides, it's not all that off-topic since my question ended up being related to the way the phrases are actually spoken as opposed to the text book definitions and phrases.

Thanks for all the help, I'll definitely come back here more often!