JLPT N2 Grammar — Occasions and moments
Ten patterns that all translate as "when" and all attach to the same thing. The exam never asks which one means "when" — it asks which one means this particular kind of when.
- 1
〜にあたって／〜にあたり
on the occasion of; when about to
- 接続
- 名詞／動詞辞書形 ＋ にあたって
- Use
- Formal, and reserved for something the speaker treats as a significant undertaking — starting a business, taking up a post, opening a ceremony. It looks forward, at the preparation. Never used for an everyday event: 買い物にあたって is wrong.
しいをめるにあたって、のごをおいいたします。
In embarking on this new venture, we ask for your cooperation.
Not to be confused with
- 〜に際して／〜に際し — 〜に際して points at the moment of the act itself; 〜にあたって at getting ready for it.
- 〜において／〜における — 〜において merely marks where, when or in what field. It carries none of the sense of an undertaking being embarked on.
- 〜に先立って／〜に先立ち — 〜に先立って is explicitly *before* the event; 〜にあたって is at the time of it.
- 2
〜において／〜における
in; at; in the field of
- 接続
- 名詞 ＋ において（名詞 ＋ における ＋ 名詞）
- Use
- The formal, written equivalent of で. It marks a place, a time, or a domain — 現代社会において, 会議において. Purely locative or topical: it never implies that something is being undertaken.
はにおいてわれます。
The meeting will be held in the first conference room.
Not to be confused with
- 〜にあたって／〜にあたり — 〜にあたって is about embarking on something important. 〜において only says where or in what field it happens.
- 3
〜に際して／〜に際し
at the time of; on the occasion of
- 接続
- 名詞／動詞辞書形 ＋ に際して
- Use
- Very formal, common in notices and contracts. Points at the moment of the act — ご利用に際して, 入国に際して. Close to 〜にあたって, but that one looks at the run-up rather than the moment.
ごにしては、ずをおみください。
When using this, please be sure to read the manual.
Not to be confused with
- 〜にあたって／〜にあたり — 〜にあたって is the preparation; 〜に際して is the moment. 契約にあたって書類を集める / 契約に際して身分証をご提示ください.
- 4
〜に先立って／〜に先立ち
prior to; in advance of
- 接続
- 名詞／動詞辞書形 ＋ に先立って
- Use
- Formal, and explicitly *before* the main event — usually preparation for it. Where 〜にあたって is "at the time of", this is "ahead of".
にって、からがあった。
Prior to the performance, the director gave an address.
Not to be confused with
- 〜にあたって／〜にあたり — Both are formal and both look forward, but 〜に先立って places the event strictly earlier in time; 〜にあたって sits at the occasion itself.
- 5
〜うちに
while ~ (act before the state changes)
- 接続
- 動詞辞書形／ている形／い形容詞／な形容詞な／名詞の ＋ うちに
- Use
- The state is temporary and about to end, so there is an implied "before it is too late": 熱いうちに食べる, 若いうちに. If the state is not going to change, use 〜間に instead.
るいうちにりましょう。
Let's head home while it's still light.
- 6
〜ないうちに
before ~ happens
- 接続
- 動詞ない形 ＋ うちに
- Use
- The mirror of 〜うちに: act before an unwanted change arrives. 雨が降らないうちに, 暗くならないうちに. What follows is normally something you intend to do.
くならないうちに、にきたい。
I want to get home before it gets dark.
Not to be confused with
- 〜うちに — 〜うちに keeps a state you have; 〜ないうちに beats a state you do not want yet.
- 7
〜最中に
right in the middle of ~
- 接続
- 名詞の／動詞ている ＋ 最中に
- Use
- Something interrupts an activity already under way, and the interruption is usually unwelcome. Only for activities, never for states: 若い最中に is wrong.
のに、がってしまった。
A phone rang right in the middle of the meeting.
Not to be confused with
- 〜うちに — 〜最中に is an activity being cut into. 〜うちに is a window you should act inside.
- 8
〜たとたん（に）
the moment ~; no sooner had ~
- 接続
- 動詞た形 ＋ とたん（に）
- Use
- The second event is immediate, unexpected, and outside the speaker's control. It cannot be followed by an intention, a request or a command — 開けたとたん、入ってください is wrong.
ドアをけたとたん、がびした。
The moment I opened the door, the cat shot out.
Not to be confused with
- 〜かと思うと／〜かと思ったら — Both are "the moment", both refuse intentions. 〜たとたん is one surprise; 〜かと思うと often contrasts two states flipping back and forth.
- 〜か〜ないかのうちに — 〜か〜ないかのうちに is tighter still: the first action has not even finished.
- 9
〜かと思うと／〜かと思ったら
no sooner had ~ than ~
- 接続
- 動詞た形 ＋ かと思うと
- Use
- Two events in immediate succession, very often contrasting — 泣いていたかと思うと、もう笑っている. Like 〜たとたん it refuses intentions, requests and commands in the second clause.
がくなったかとうと、のがりした。
No sooner had the sky darkened than heavy rain began to fall.
Not to be confused with
- 〜たとたん（に） — Nearly interchangeable for a single surprise, but only 〜かと思うと comfortably carries the back-and-forth sense of a state flipping.
- 10
〜か〜ないかのうちに
almost before ~ had finished
- 接続
- 動詞辞書形 ＋ か ＋ 同じ動詞のない形 ＋ かのうちに
- Use
- The tightest of the "immediately after" set — the first action is not even complete when the second starts. The same verb has to appear twice, which is what 問題8 tests about it.
ベルがるからないかのうちに、たちはをびした。
The bell had scarcely rung before the students bolted from the classroom.
Not to be confused with
- 〜たとたん（に） — 〜たとたん follows a completed action; here the action is still finishing.
Read through them?
Now find out whether you can actually tell them apart — every wrong option is one of the other patterns on this page.