69647
The following sentence was part of the last exercise I did:

> あなたが何を見つけようと、それは途方もなく危険なもの_____。大勢の人間が私達を殺そうとしてるんだから。 A
>
> A. に間違いない、B. に越したことはない、C. に相違ない、D. に決まっている

The right answer was D.

The thing is, I have trouble understanding the meaning of this sentence. I
think I understand most of it though:

> 大勢の人間が私達を殺そうとしてるんだから。
>
> That's because a lot of people are trying to kill us.
>
> それは途方もなく危険なもの
>
> This (is?) something incredibly dangerous

Then I'm a bit stuck. I feel like the key to understanding this sentence is
that "あなたが何を見つけようと、" without any follow-up. I think I remember learning
something like the "思う" or "する" that usually comes after the volitional form +
と can be omitted. However, I cannot wrap my head around this part.

How should I parse this sentence? And what's the meaning of it once "に決まっている"
has been inserted?
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2019-07-22T21:31:14.917
69643
2019-07-23T02:57:33.493
2019-07-22T22:16:08.510
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question
particle-と volitional-form
Volitional + と without follow-up
I feel this is a difficult question even to some native speakers... The
meaning of the first sentence is "No matter what you are going to find (e.g.,
in this dungeon), it **must be** something incredibly dangerous." For this
ようと, see: [What are the grammar rules behind this clause,
「才能があろうがなかろうが」?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/48292/5010) and [Meaning
of volitional passive form](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/32949/5010)

So, you are supposed to choose the correct expression that corresponds to this
"must be". B ("nothing is better than a dangerous thing") is clearly wrong. A
and C are close, but these are usually used in the context where you are
identifying something/someone with a concrete evidence. ～に決まっている (or ～に違いない,
without 間) expresses a strong suspicion, which is better in this context
because the speaker knows almost nothing about what they are going to find.

> 太郎に間違いない。 = 太郎に相違ない。  
>  [seeing a photograph / collating a fingerprint] It must be Taro.
>
> 太郎に違いない。 = 太郎に決まっている。  
>  ["Who ate the cake?"] It must be Taro.
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2019-07-23T02:57:33.493
69647
2019-07-23T02:57:33.493
5010
69643
answer