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06-05-2007, 05:16 AM
It's not so easy to explain this particular conjugation, but I'll give it a shot.
The -tari (tari suru) conjugation is used when you're giving a list of actions/verbs, instead of directly stating the verbs. Here's an example, using taberu (to eat) and asobu (to play). 私たちは食べたり、遊んだりしました。 Watashitachi wa tabetari, asondari shimashita. (FYI -tari is sometimes -dari depending which verb it follows). Literal translation: We did things like eating and playing. It sounds a little awkward in English, but thats the best translation I can give. Generally the conjugation is used in the format "verb-tari, verb-tari shimasu. " Without the -tari conjugations, the sentence would be "We ate and played". However, using the -tari conjugation, it's like saying 'we did things such as ________', or 'we did things like _________'. Hope that's not too confusing It's hard to explain some concepts over the internet! |
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06-05-2007, 12:18 PM
It also implies a sense of repetition. I would read the sentence Hatredcopter used in the example as meaning that they ate, played, ate, played and so on. Not just a single event. Sort of a mix of two or more activities.
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