I'm trying to translate a song and I came across the following part:

> 消えてしまいそうな僕は

消える means "to disappear" so 消えてしまい could mean "to disappear accidentally" or,
more likely given the context, "to disappear completely". Right?

Therefore 消えてしまいそう has the sense of "likely to disappear completely". My doubt
is: Attaching な to this verb conjugation transforms it into a な-adjective?
Simple like that? Thank you very much.
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2016-01-22T17:54:19.137
30630
2016-01-24T22:42:58.687
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question
na-adjectives
Turning a verb phrase into an adjective
> 消える means "to disappear" so 消えてしまい could mean "to disappear accidentally"
> or, more likely given the context, "to disappear completely". Right?

You are correct in your assumption that "しまう" could either add the meaning
"completely" or "accidentally", although the "accidentally" appears more
evident when it is in past-tense. Also, [as pointed out in
comments](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/30630/turning-a-verb-
phrase-into-an-adjective/30677#comment63163_30630), this could include a
nuance of undesirability (perhaps redundant in the case of it meaning
"accidentally"). As for the exact translation given the context, you would
have to give the context to make any further judgement.

> Attaching な to this verb conjugation transforms it into a な-adjective?
> Simple like that?

"そう" is [the
stem](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86-89097#E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.9E.97.20.E7.AC.AC.E4.B8.89.E7.89.88)
of the auxiliary verb "そうだ". "な" can be appended to it, where it would then be
used as a な-adjective. Other variants include: "そうだろ", "そうで", "そうに" and
"そうなら". It carries the meaning of the inception of an action, or the change
from one state to another (e.g. disappearing).

From
[コトバンク](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86%E3%81%A0-552810#E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.9E.97.20.E7.AC.AC.E4.B8.89.E7.89.88):

> 動作・作用の開始や状態の変化についての判断を表す。
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2016-01-24T06:41:34.037
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2016-01-24T06:41:34.037
2017-04-13T12:43:44.397
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answer
「[消]{き}えてしまいそうな」 is a phrase consisting of a few words. Even though one may
say that it " ** _functions adjectivally_** ", it is utterly incorrect to call
it an adjective because it is **_not_** one word.

That phrase functions adjectivally because of the 「そう **な** 」 part. Only nouns
can follow 「そうな」 as in:

「おいしそうなピザ」 (lit. the pizza that looks yummy)、「[速]{はや}く[走]{はし}れそうな[車]{くるま}」
(lit. the car that seems capable of running fast), etc.

If you saw a phrase 「～～そう **に** 」, by the way, it would function adverbially
because of the 「に」. Again, one would not call that phrase an adverb just
because it functions adverbially (and modifies a verb or adjective).

「消えてしまい **そうな** [僕]{ぼく}」 would literally mean "me who looks to be
disappearing", "me who is about to disappear (completely)". Depending on the
context, however, it might mean something slightly different.
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2016-01-24T22:42:58.687
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2016-01-24T22:42:58.687
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answer