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呆れたように言う彼女を横になったまま見上げつつ、俺は持っていた本を机の上に置いた

My question is about the usage of why is いう used in this relative clause and not another form.

  • 俺は持っていた本を机の上に置いた-I placed the book I was holding on the desk

  • 彼女を横になったまま見上げつつ- This says he does the above while lying down and looking up at her.

  • 呆れたように言う- This modifies her but the question is how. Does this sentence narrate himself as doing all this as she speaks(if so, why る-form), or what else could it mean?

Eddie Kal
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roflcoptaz
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3 Answers3

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呆れたように言う彼女を横になったまま見上げつつ、俺は持っていた本を机の上に置いた

I think it breaks apart like so:

呆れたように (as if she were amazed)

言う彼女 (the girl in question) を横になったまま見上げつつ (looked up while lying down), (while as for me) 俺は, (the book I was holding I placed on [top of] the desk) 持っていた本を机の上に置いた

the takeaway:

言う彼女 is a noun. "the spoken-of girl" or "the previously mentioned girl" or "the girl in question"

Eddie Kal
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sova
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  • well regardless of the unending stream of downvotes, the OP should know that iu-kanojo is like saying "sou-iu kanojo" or "that mentioned girl" and the sentence would probably break open easily in analysis by putting a comma after "akiretayouni," – sova Mar 10 '15 at 18:47
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    I'm parsing that as 「呆れたように言う彼女」 'the girl, saying [so] in an amazed tone'　／　「彼女を（俺は）横になったまま見上げる」 'looking up at her while I was lying down' – oals Mar 12 '15 at 13:37
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    The previous sentence was a line of dialogue from the girl, and the [so] part is referring to that line. 'something or other,' she said in an amazed tone – oals Mar 12 '15 at 13:39
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Let's take another example.

  1. while looking up the moon that orbits the earth
  2. while looking up the moon that is orbiting the earth

I believe you would find the first one more natural. (I'm not a native speaker of English, though) Then, it's because you know it didn't only move when you happened to see it.

Likewise, in the case of 呆れたように言う彼女を横になったまま見上げつつ, the speaker was not aware of her speaking for a certain period of time (hence not "言っている" or "言った"）, but he rather felt as if she would resume whining if she want wants. (The "if she want" part is important. If the speaker found it consistent, it falls into the realm of …ている.) (Edit; Awareness of a certain period of time is important after all.)

Edit; one reason is simply because shorter forms are preferred in a modifying clause.

user4092
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A:呆れたように言う彼女

B:横になったまま見上げつつ

C:持っていた本を机の上に置いた

A is his description about her move.

B is his action #1

C is his action #2

呆れたように言う。 According to his observation, her speaking tone has incredible or all negative.

I don't understand meaning of る-form in your question.

kmugitani
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    "る-form"とは、終止形のことを指しているようです。 –  Mar 11 '15 at 00:45
  • 終止形というか非完了形とか未実現形とかじゃないですかね。た形自体も現代の文法でも終止・連体形ですし。 – user4092 Mar 11 '15 at 07:11