35957
> 食事に求められるものは多々ある **が**
> ー栄養バランスだの、しあわせ感だの、心の交流だのーしかしそのなかでもっとも求められているものは、空腹を満たす、一刻もはやく満たす、
> **ということのはずだ** が、...rant continues  
>  There are many things that are desired in a meal **but** , nutritional
> balance, a happy feeling, a sharing of minds, however among these things the
> most desired thing is satisfying hunger; satisfying it quickly **ということのはずだ**
> が...

I'm having trouble understanding the large-scale structure of this sentence.
What exactly is ということのはずだ doing?  
What is it that is expected (はず)? How does the が in bold fit into it all?  
And why is it not two sentences? There seems to be a natural break at しかし.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-15T17:59:57.083
35949
2016-06-16T01:39:13.643
7944
question
grammar
Understanding ということのはずだ in this sentence
> 「[食事]{しょくじ}に[求]{もと}められるものは[多々]{たた}あるが ー
> [栄養]{えいよう}バランスだの、しあわせ[感]{かん}だの、[心]{こころ}の[交流]{こうりゅう}だの ー **しかし**
> 、そのなかでもっとも求められているものは、[空腹]{くうふく}を[満]{み}たす、[一刻]{いっこく}もはやく満たす、 **ということのはずだ**
> が、...rant continues」

The structure of this sentence (or rather this part of the sentence as the
sentence still continues) is:

> General Preface + 3 Examples to Preface + " ** _but_** " + Author's Own
> Opinion

The 「ことのはずだが」 part, together with 「しかし」, would strongly suggest that the
author's opinion regarding what one should desire in a meal is different from
what the "general public" seem to desire in a meal (these days).

The general public (seem to) want things such as nutritional balance, happy
feeling, sharing of minds. etc.

The auhor/speaker thinks that 'filling one's stomach' as quickly as possible
is more important than the three examples s/he gives.

> What exactly is ということのはずだ doing? What is it that is expected (はず)?

Grammatically, 「ということのはずだ」 **_nominalizes_** and **_emphasizes_** the verb
phrase 「空腹を満たす、一刻もはやく満たす」("to fill one's stomach and do so as quickly as
possible") and **_concludes_** that that needs to be what people should desire
in a meal.

> How does the が in bold fit into it all?

「が」, in this sentence, just means something like "and", and not "but". This
usage is far more common than the beginning learners might think. It is often
a source of misunderstanding for J-learners indeed.

> And why is it not two sentences? There seems to be a natural break at しかし.

It could easily have been split into two sentences, but some people just
habitually write long sentences.

Strictly speaking, however, this is at least **_not_** super-formal writing
(it is only mildly formal); therefore, one might expect unnecessarily long
sentences. The use of the rather informal 「だの」 three times, to me, already
makes this writing non-super-formal.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-16T01:39:13.643
35957
2016-06-16T01:39:13.643
35949
answer