Im having so much troubles trying to find a good explanation on how to use the
て形 to express a cause, I saw that its more natural to use when the second part
of the sentence is either a potential form or volitional, so I came up with
the sentence :

> 喋らなくて練習できない。

Which sounded a bit weird to me and I had confirmation from a friend that it
was better to use 【から】 here...

I have no trouble understanding this form when its used, but sometimes when I
use it myself it doesnt feel right to my ear and often feel like I should use
【から】 instead of the て形

Here are two sentences :

> 車がなくて行けない。
>
> 車がないから行けない。

I asked him how he sees those two sentences and he said that the first sounded
more like a condition than an explication of "why I can't go".

I really like to fully understand things but here I must admit I have no idea
how this should be understood, like how japanese people understand those
sentences and the nuance, and how you would translate them...

Thanks
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-19T16:12:14.160
27499
2015-12-21T18:38:14.203
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
9539
question
て-form reason
て形 to express 原因・理由, as opposed to から
How about this form:

あまり喋らないので練習できない。

車がないので行けない。
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-19T17:28:12.230
27501
2015-08-19T17:28:12.230
6823
27499
answer
て形 in this case is used to string sentences together. I've never seen it used
to specifically indicate cause and effect. For you first sentence...

喋らなくて練習できない。 I don't talk (to others) and can't practice.

喋らないから練習できない。 I can't practice because I don't talk (to others).

車がなくて行けない。 I don't have a car and can't go.

車がないから行けない。 I can't go because I don't have a car.

Your friend is correct in assuming the former is a statement while the latter
sounds more like an answer to a question asking for reason. Does this make
more sense now that I put it in English terms? Let me know.

Basically, with て形 you are forming causation with two sentences. Like, if I
asked if your friend wanted to come to my party. In English you might say,
"He's busy and can't make it." That right there shows cause and effect without
directly stating "because". Why couldn't he come to me party? Because he was
busy. You just don't directly state it with "because."

Now, this doesn't work in all cases. If I asked instead, "Why don't you eat
more vegetables?" It sounds a little off to answer with, "They are expensive
and I can't eat them too often." That makes it sound like there are multiple
reasons for you not eating vegetables. So, instead, you would say, "I can't
eat them too often because they are expensive." This provides an explanation
for my question.

Make sense...?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-21T18:38:14.203
29980
2015-12-21T18:38:14.203
12000
27499
answer