75033
I would like to know the difference and usage (frequency, oral/written) for
てばかりはいられない with regards to てはいられない

Both seem to be pretty close:

> 人生そんなに長くないのだから待っ **てばかりはいられない** 。 Life is short so I can’t wait forever.
>
> どんなに辛くても、泣い **てばかりもいられない** 。 No matter how tough it is, I can’t keep crying.
>
> 明日は早く起きるので、いつものように遅くまでテレビを見 **てはいられない** 。I have to wake up early tomorrow,
> so I can’t watch TV until late as usual.
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2020-03-15T13:07:27.833
75025
2020-03-15T19:03:11.770
37097
question
grammar nuances use-and-frequency
Diffeence between てばかり(は/も)いられない and てはいられない
I think it may make things clearer to look at `てばかりいられない` as a combination of
two separate grammar points: `てばかりいる` and `ていられない`.

`ていられない`, as you seem to know, expresses the inability to continuously be in
some state, or to continue being in that state. I couldn't find a good site
for this in English, but here is a pretty simple [explanation in
Japanese](https://nihongokyoshi-net.com/2020/01/16/jlptn2-grammar-
tewairarenai/). A simple example might be:

> もうこれ以上待っていられない
>
> I can't wait any more than this

`てばかりいる` is used to describe doing nothing but a certain thing, typically with
critical or negative connotations. Here's a [simple
explanation](https://learnjapanesedaily.com/japanese-
grammar-%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A%E3%81%84%E3%82%8B-bakariiru.html). A
simple example might be:

> スマホを見てばかりいると目が悪くなりますよ
>
> If you're always looking at your smartphone, your eyesight will get worse

Consequently, `てばかりいられない` expresses the inability to (continuously) do just
one thing. So translations for your examples might look something like this:

> 人生そんなに長くないのだから待ってばかりはいられない
>
> Life is short, so I can't **just** keep waiting forever
>
> どんなに辛くても、泣いてばかりもいられない
>
> No matter how hard it gets, I can't **just** keep crying

In both cases, `ばかりいられない` is expressing the fact that the speaker can't keep
doing nothing but these specific actions at the expense of other things. Just
`待っていられない` or `泣いていられない` would suggest that the speaker simply couldn't wait
or couldn't cry for any significant period of time, whereas the actual
implication is that the speaker can't continue to do _nothing but crying or
waiting_. Again I couldn't find a great explanation in English, but [here's
one in Japanese](http://www.edewakaru.com/archives/18833436.html).
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2020-03-15T18:53:42.940
75033
2020-03-15T19:03:11.770
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer