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Japanese language multiple choice question preceded by dialogue between a child and his mother

うちで[子供]{こども}と[お母さん]{おかあさん}が[話しています]{はなしています}。[お母さん]{おかあさん}は[何]{なに}を[買います]{かいます}か。

[男]{おとこ}：[お母さん]{おかあさん}、[今日]{きょう}は[僕]{ぼく}が[夕食]{ゆうしょく}[作る]{つくる}よ。[卵]{たまご}はあるんだよね。きゅうりとじゃがいもは？
[女]{おんな}：きゅうりはある。トマトも。じゃがいもは・・・・・・１つしかないわね。
[男]{おとこ}：ポテトサラダを[作りたい]{つくりたい}から、じゃがいもはもっと[要る]{いる}な。
[女]{おんな}：わかった。[買って]{かって}くるね。
[男]{おとこ}：[調味料]{ちょうみりょう}は[大丈夫]{だいじょうぶ}かな。[塩]{しお}、こしょう、[酢]{す}、[油]{あぶら}と・・・・・・あれ？[油]{あぶら}は？
[女]{おんな}：えーと、そこの[戸だな]{とだな}に[新しい]{あたらしい}のが・・・・・・。
[男]{おとこ}：それと、[忘れてた]{わすれてた}。ハムもよろしく。あれがなかったらおいしくないんだ。じゃ、[頼む]{たのむ}ね。

[お母さん]{おかあさん}は[何]{なに}を[買います]{かいます}か。

１　たまご　きゅうり　じゃがいも
２　たまご　きゅうり　ハム
３　じゃがいも　あぶら
４　じゃがいも　ハム

答え：４

There’s one sentence saying 「それと、忘れてた」. What does それと here mean?

P.S. I did search それと’s meaning in this https://www.weblio.jp/content/それと. I still don’t get it.

Setris
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Kiw
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2 Answers2

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それと is used to add a point to, usually, a list of other points previously mentioned in the discussion.

Literally, it means That, and. Also, at the beginning of a sentence is also a good match IMO.

In the 2) definition of the dictionary entry you referred to, it is mentioned that あと has a similar meaning. あと、ハムもよろしく would have the same meaning. Or そして conveys the same meaning as well, in case you'd be more familiar with any of these constructs.

As for the [忘れ]{わすれ}てた, the way it's written may be a bit confusing, but remember it's a spoken conversation, and this is just a semantically independent sentence "injected" in the middle of the other (as often happens in oral speech). それと、[忘れ]{わすれ}てた、ハムもよろしく。 is equivalent and maybe easier to understand ? (remember that the use of punctuation marks is less strict in Japanese than in, for example, English)
The idea is the one of a dialogue: something like That and -- I forgot, ham too please. or Also, I forgot: ham as well please in English.

Here the それ refers to whatever what previously mentioned.

You typically find それと in the context of "laundry lists": of requests, of things to do or buy, etc.

desseim
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  • Does それと ( And that ) refer to そこの戸だなに新しいのが・・・・・・ ? And, is 新しいの the oil ? (from previous sentence saying　油は) ？ – Kiw Sep 03 '19 at 09:34
  • Yes, 新しいのが refers the lastly mentioned 油. The rest of the sentence is ellipsed, most likely because it is obvious what is meant (that there is a new one in that cupboard), especially in an in-person dialog when one can indicate the meaning through gesture for example. – desseim Sep 03 '19 at 23:19
  • And note that それと is more akin to That, and than And that. It's それ+と. Think of it as "That which I just mentioned. Now that I established it for sure, let me add something to it : also, etc". So yeah, in this dialog, the それ part ("That") most likely refers to the previously mentioned 油 in the boy's mind, if that helps you understand the logic behind using that construct. But I'd argue it's irrelevant to our understanding of それと : what's important is that it indicates there is one more thing (indeed, I think you could as well translate it by One more thing in English). – desseim Sep 03 '19 at 23:37
  • Also, I forgot. Is it contracted from “the new one (oil) is also needed, I forgot that it is on the cupboard ?” – Kiw Sep 10 '19 at 11:25
  • @Kiw No, it starts a new sentence which is about the ham so it is the ham which he had forgotten about, not the oil. それと is a semantical break: whatever comes after it is a new subject. In this case the new subject is the ham, and since 忘れてた comes after それと it refers to the ham. Up to それと the subject is 油, whatever coming after talks about ハム. As soon as それと is uttered, the contextual subject has been changed: the oil won't be talked about anymore. それと、ハムもよろしく。ごめんね、忘れてた。 or 忘れてたけどハムもよろしく or それと、忘れてたけどハムもよろしく would have the same meaning as your textbook sentence. – desseim Sep 26 '19 at 15:15
  • @Kiw Compare maybe with それは忘れてた。 which would mean he had forgotten about the oil remaining in the cupboard. In this case the subject would remain the oil. But それと changes the subject, in the case of your example to the ham. – desseim Sep 26 '19 at 15:22
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It is definition (2) on Weblio. 'and that (new product in the cupboard that you mentioned)... (oh) I forgot. Ham too.' The それ refers to the item that was just mentioned. They are reading a list of ingredients they need and the list continues throughout the dialogue. The それと connects directly to what was being discussed.

It seems like you're trying to figure the sentence out based on more standard/written sentence structure. This would be a mistake. When two people (mother and son) communicate casually they might use a shorthand.

Commas in Japanese often simply indicate a pause. In this case, お母さん pauses in the middle of listing items to realize that she'd just remembered something that she'd forgotten.

BJCUAI
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  • Is the thing それ refers to here 油？　それと、忘わすれてた Does he want to express "Oh the oil too, I forgot it. And please get me a piece of ham too" something like this ? – Kiw Sep 03 '19 at 09:22
  • And what's the purpose of saying　えーと、そこの戸だなに新しいのが・・・・・・。　Does this indicate that the new one (oil) in the cupboard ran out ? ( I think this ・・・・・・。 is something not good that she doesn't want to say) I'm sorry if I'm way too off. – Kiw Sep 03 '19 at 09:26
  • It does refer to the oil, of which there is a new container in the cupboard. It is new, so it has either not been opened or there is still a lot left. They are going over the ingredients that are required for dinner and listing each item in turn to see what they have a sufficient quantity of and what needs to be purchased. It's not 'get me a piece of ham too', it's '(please pick up) some ham too'. – BJCUAI Sep 03 '19 at 09:37
  • So this 「それと」(one more thing) refers to ハム right. It’s not “Oh the oil too, I forgot it” as I mentioned. Because, as you said, 「そこの戸だなに新しいのが・・・・・・ ?」is said. It’s new so it’s still a lot left. She doesn’t have to buy another bottle of oil.Consequently それと、忘れてた means “One more thing I forgot. Please pick up some ham too”. “One more thing” here is HAM not oil right ? Thanks a lot. – Kiw Sep 10 '19 at 03:45
  • それと refers to the oil, had just been inquired about and confirmed to be present (new bottle). The following thing that had been forgotten/recalled was the ham. 'We'll need that (oil) and, oh yeah, some ham too.'. – BJCUAI Sep 10 '19 at 03:49
  • What does 忘れてた here refer to ham or oil. In my opinion, I think oil. And if it’s, is ハムもよろしく another sentence which has no relation to それと、忘れてた ？ – Kiw Sep 10 '19 at 10:46
  • So this それと、忘れてた means “That is also needed(Oil), I forgot that it is on the cupboard ?” – Kiw Sep 10 '19 at 11:35