Friday, July 27, 2018

grammar - と particle usage - am I understanding it correctly?


These two sentences don't seem to fit to the grammar rules on と that I've been able to dig up so far:



ぼんやりとした意識{いしき}のまま窓{まど}に視線{しせん}をやると、とっくに日が昇{のぼ}っていた。



This form seems to fit と as an 'if/when' conjunction, however the grammar book I'm using states that と must be a natural consequence of the verb clause the precedes it [lit: "a subordinate conjunction which marks a condition that brings about an noncontrollable event or clause"]. Surely, the speaker turning her head couldn't have caused the sun to have "risen a long time ago" (this doesn't make any sense to me, at least)?


What else is it, then?


From the context it seems to be "when I turn my head, I see the sun's already risen" but I this is pure conjecture on my part. How does と work here?


The next sentence seems to fit another familiar structure, と used as a particle to list things:




冬{ふゆ}にしては暖{あたた}かな空気{くうき}と、シーツにくるまりたい欲求{よっきゅう}と少しだけ格闘{かくとう}した。



So ~空気と、~欲求と少しだけ格闘した would make sense from pure grammar standpoint but it doesn't make sense when I translate it as "I [slightly] grapple with the temptation to roll up in my sheets and (???) the air that is quite warm considering it's winter". Fighting a temptation makes perfect sense but fighting air? Is it just a creative quirk on the author's part (and I'm completely fine with that if it's the case here) or am I completely misunderstanding something from the grammar standpoint?


よろしくお願いします



Answer




ぼんやりとした意識のまま窓に視線をやると、とっくに日が昇っていた。



The と is like "when I ~~, (I found) ~~".




冬にしては暖かな空気と、シーツにくるまりたい欲求と少しだけ格闘した。



The first と means "and", connecting 空気 and シーツ; you want to roll up in the warm air and the sheets.


The second と is "against"; you fight against your desire, or resist the temptation (=欲求と格闘). 


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