Dancing this well now with 〜ようになる
Grammar Explanation: Coming to do with 〜ようになる
Chii’s preschool recital is coming up, but it falls on a weekday, so her father, Nishikata, has to work. Takagi suggested Chii dance for him the day before. Takagi starts the music and Chii dances.
- 西片:
- 「こんなに踊れるようになったんだなー。」
- “So you can dance this well now.”
- Literal: “You've come to be able to dance this much, huh.”
Key Points
- ようになる after a verb says something is now the case that wasn’t before. After a potential verb, it means someone can now do something they couldn’t: 踊れるようになった “has become able to dance”.
- The past tense なった says the change is complete. Chii can dance now, and Nishikata has just seen it.
- ようになる suits a change that built up over time. Chii has been practicing for her recital, and this is the result.
- こんなに means “to this degree”. Here it points at the dance Nishikata just watched, so “this well” fits.
- んだ is the casual form of のだ. Here it presents what Nishikata has just seen as a newly grasped fact: “so that’s how it is”.
- Sentence-final な, stretched to なー, makes the line a remark half to himself, full of feeling. He isn’t asking Chii anything.
Vocabulary
こんなに (This much)
こんなに means to this degree or this much, pointing to something in front of the speaker or just mentioned. It often carries surprise at how much or how far something goes.
踊る (To dance)
踊る is to move the body to music or rhythm. It can also mean to be manipulated by someone, as in dancing to someone else’s tune.
よう (Way)
よう follows a word to show a way or manner, or that something seems a certain way. ようになる means to reach a point where something happens. It is also written 様.
なる (To become)
なる is to change into a different state or become something. It also means something turns out a certain way. It is also written 成る.
See Also
- Grammar: Coming to do with 〜ようになる
- Grammar: Able to do with 〜れる・〜られる
- Grammar: Reasoning with 〜のだ