75012
I have several sentences where だけは is translated as "to do all that one can".

> 覚える **だけは** 覚えたのだから、後は試験の日を待つだけだ。  
>  I’ve remembered everything I could, so now all I have to do is wait for the
> day of the test to come.
>
> 指示のとおりにやる **だけは** やったが、いい結果が出るかどうか自信がない。  
>  I followed the instruction and did all that I could, but I have no
> confidence that I’ll have good results.
>
> 恋愛のことは両親にも話す **だけは** 話しました。  
>  I told my parents everything about my love life.

Is it a special pattern or is it explicable with the "usual" meaning of だけ?
Can it be decomposed so that I can understand where だけは translated as "to do
all that one can" comes from ?

Thanks
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-14T21:22:27.327
75011
2020-03-15T02:51:26.940
2020-03-14T21:26:46.730
7944
37097
question
meaning grammar
Meaning of だけは in the sense of "to do all that one can"
> Is it a special pattern or is it explicable with the "usual" meaning of だけ?

It's [meaning (2) in this
definition](https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%A0%E3%81%91). In this case,
dake corresponds to an upper limit or the maximum possible. In English "only"
usually implies a limitation or a lack but in Japanese "dake" can also imply
exactitude, something like "precisely", or up to some limit or another.

> 覚えるだけは覚えたのだから、後は試験の日を待つだけだ。
>
> I’ve _remembered_ everything I could, so now all I have to do is wait for
> the day of the test to come.

Not a good translation of 覚える, "remembered" should be "learned" or
"memorised". Anyway here it means "I've learned to the limit of my capacity".

> 指示のとおりにやるだけはやったが、いい結果が出るかどうか自信がない。
>
> I followed the instruction and _did all that I could_ , but I have no
> confidence that I’ll have good results.

Yes, here again it is the upper limit.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-14T23:17:05.603
75012
2020-03-15T02:51:26.940
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
75011
answer