Picked up in my place with 〜の代わりに
Grammar Explanation: Instead of with 〜の代わりに
Fujimiya was able to work around forgetting her friends every Monday by using a journal to record her time spent with Hase. After Fujimiya discovers she can remember Hase’s friend Kiryuu, Hase gets jealous and reacts poorly. The following Monday, Fujimiya arrives at school with no memory of Hase or her journal, and Hase isn’t able to regain her trust.
After school, Kiryuu walks with Fujimiya. Without mentioning Fujimiya eating lunch with Hase each day, he asks about how she spent her lunches last week. She isn’t certain. Without mentioning that Fujimiya previously had forgotten her journal at her desk and classmates found it, Kiryuu questions her about the after-school event.
- 藤宮:
- 「あっ 確か桐生くん私の代わりに忘れ物を教室に取ってきてくれて…」
- “Ah, right… Kiryuu, you went to the classroom and picked up my forgotten item in place of me, didn't you…?”
- 桐生:
- 「その忘れ物って？」
- “That forgotten item was...?”
Key Points
私の代わりに = “in my place”
Here 私の代わりに says Kiryuu acted as Fujimiya’s substitute by going to get the item she had forgotten.
The の links the person being replaced to 代わり, so 私の代わりに means “in place of me”.
取ってきてくれて frames it as a favor
取ってくる means to go get something and bring it back; 〜てくれて shows that Kiryuu did it for Fujimiya’s benefit.
Important particles
忘れ物を is the object, the forgotten item.
教室に marks the destination Kiryuu went to, the classroom.
Kiryuu’s その忘れ物って？
その points back to the forgotten item Fujimiya just mentioned.
The casual って？ asks for clarification: “What forgotten item?” This lets Kiryuu probe what she remembers without directly naming the journal.