Sometimes pretending to be someone else with 〜ことがある
Grammar Explanation: Sometimes with 〜ことがある
Sacchan and Kotoha notice Yui walking with a couple of her friends from school. The two decide to sneak and follow after them. Sacchan notices Yui doesn’t act quite the same with these friends as she does with Sacchan and Kotoha.
- さっちゃん:
- 「潜入作戦とかで別人になりきることがあるかもしれないから」
- “Maybe it's because she's in an undercover operation or something that she sometimes pretends to be a different person....”
- 「学校の時の結衣は結衣らしさを消してすごしてるのかもしれない」
- “...that Yui at school might be trying to hide her true self.”
- “Maybe it's because she's in an undercover operation or something that she sometimes pretends to be a different person....”
Key Points
〜ことがある = “sometimes does”
Here 別人になりきることがある means “there are times when she fully acts like a different person”.
It describes something that happens on some occasions, not a one-time event happening right now.
別人になりきる = “completely pretend to be a different person”
「なりきる」 is stronger than just “become”. It means to thoroughly take on a role or persona.
The clause before から gives the reason for the guess
The idea is “Maybe it’s because she sometimes has to pretend to be someone else…”
「から」 links that imagined reason to the following speculation about Yui hiding her usual self at school.
かもしれない appears twice to keep everything speculative
「ことがあるかもしれない」 means even the “sometimes does that” part is only a guess.
The next line ends with のかもしれない, so Sacchan is building a theory rather than stating a fact.
See Also
- Grammar: Might with 〜かもしれない
- Kanji: Entering and putting in with 入
- Kanji: People and persons with 人