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おはよう！

I've across come this sentence and I've been wondering how to deconstruct its
grammar for my own understanding/use (if I understood it correctly in the
first place, that is).

> ここまで乱暴｛らんぼう｝な召喚｛しょうかん｝は初めて｛はじめて｝でね、正直｛しょうじき｝状況｛じょうきょう｝が掴｛つか｝めない。

It looks to me like ここまで [noun clause] [conj.] 初めて [copula＊] [sentence ending
prt.] ~~ [sentence 2]。

＊Well, rather a '連用形｛れんようけい｝ form of だ' as I learned today, but we could just
forget about sentence 2 and revert it to だ?

So if I wanted to say something like "it was the first time such a thing
happened", would

> ここまでそんなことは初めてだよ

be grammatically correct?

I may have gotten this all completely wrong since I'm basing it off another
person's translation so please correct me if that's the case.

よろしくお願いします。
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question
grammar
How do I say "it was the first time X (of this extent) happened?"
ここまで literally means "up to here/this place". ここ -- similar to the English
word `here` -- does not always literally refer to a place and may be used in
an extended sense.

> "I don't like anonymous downvoters. So _here_ 's my opportunity to say
> something about it: 'Please leave a comment if you downvote this post.'"
>
> here(3): used when indicating a time, point, or situation that has arrived
> or is happening -- Oxford Dictionary of English

* * *

As for your sentence, we can analyze the first part in isolation.

> ここまで乱暴な召喚は初めてだ

In this sentence, we could say that ここまで effectively modifies 乱暴. At least, we
don't need the rest of the sentence. `ここまで乱暴とはな` would already be a valid
statement.

ここ, instead of a point in space, points to a point on the 乱暴-scale. まで marks
it as an upper limit (or rather extent) with a negative (or positive,
depending on the polarity of what it modifies, see below) connotation, ie.
that it is rather high up on the scale. Which may be good or bad.

Normally, 乱暴 carries a negative connotation, but if said by some street
gangster, it could be positive. Or perhaps easier to understand, it can be
used with a positive attribute:

> 宮島がそこまで風光明媚なら行ってみたい気になってきました

* * *

> ここまでそんなことは初めてだ

This doesn't work, at least not with the same interpretation as above, where
ここまで modified 乱暴. There is no adjective or anything else where it would make
sense to modify it. You can't modify そんな (=such a), which is a modifier for こと
already. The phrase after ここまで is `そんなことは初めてだ`. It doesn't make sense to
modify this either, as you would end up with something like `the extent, to
which such a thing is being the first, is high.`

However, the sentence is grammatical under another interpretation; that there
had been no such thing _up until now_.

ここ usually marks the current place ( _here_ ), and here, in extension, the
current time ( _now_ ). So if you're confused with the usage of ここ here,
perhaps you could think of it as `up to here and now`. Another rather common
sentence pattern is:

> (ここ・今)まで そんなことは なかった
>
> (Up) until now, (such a thing/that) didn't happen.

Language is complex and given the right context, a lot is possible. Here's one
more sentence I found:

> (The beginning of a [review of a
> game](http://sf007.zatunen.com/review/list_ps/ps_1500_031_sound.html) from a
> series. Based upon past games, the reviewer expects something that's normal
> average and simple to play.]
>
> だけど **ここまでそんな気持ちを裏切られた** のも久しぶりのような気がする (It feels it has been a while since
> that feeling/expectation/mood got betrayed this much.)

It's just coincidence that そんな occurs directly after ここまで -- it just specifies
気持ち, namely what the author mentioned in the previous sentence.

But betraying (そんな気持ちを裏切る) is an action which may be modified by specifying a
degree, eg with ここまで, and that's what's happening in this sentence.

* * *

As for your sentence, `it's the first time something like that happened`, you
could just say:

> (こんな・そんな・あんな)＊ことは(はじめてだ・今まではなかった)

Optionally, you can make it more specific and describe how much of what it is:

> (こんな・そんな・あんな)（大それた・妄想じみた・常識はずれな・身も蓋もない）ことは前代未聞
>
> (ここ・そこ・あそこ)まで（大それた・妄想じみた・常識はずれな・身も蓋もない）ことは前代未聞

  * 大それた wild, crazy, mad, outrageous
  * 妄想じみた foolish, delusional
  * 常識はずれ far beyond common sense
  * 前代未聞 unheard of, unprecedented

These sentences are of the pattern:

> (ここ・そこ・あそこ)(まで) (adjectival phrase+こと)は (some statement)

Literally, you could interpret it as `A thing that is X to such an extent that
[statement].`

Finally, some real and more interesting examples from real life:

  * うちの姉が **ここまで** 常識はずれの人間だとは思っていなかった
  * 山口社長に直接聞いたわけでもないくせに、よく **ここまで** 妄想じみたこと書けるよ
  * 自分が天皇に取って代わろうなんて、 **そこまで** 大それたことを考えるヤツは、さすがにいなかった

* * *

NOTE:

＊The choice of the right word from the こそあ(ど) series depends upon the context
and your relation to the matter at hand.

  * ([伊豆屋](http://www.yugawaraonsen.or.jp/search/detail.php?yado=27)旅館の口コミ情報, review by a visitor) 混浴ブームとはいえ、まさか **ここまで** 身も蓋もない混浴があるとは。
  * 補足いただきありがとうございました。 **そこまで** 身も蓋もない由来だったとは。
  * むしろあの立場で **あそこまで** 身も蓋もない表現ができる大胆さに拍手を送りたいくらいだ（笑）

In the first sentence, the author is somebody who had first-hand experience.
In the second sentence, the author refers to a 補足 from a post above (そこ). In
the third sentence, the author refers to a talk or comment by somebody, the
relation already being specified by **あの** 立場.
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answer