Last time, you learned various ways to express reasons, e.g.

“地 震に
じ しん

よって家が壊れました (The house was destroyed due to the

earthquake),” and “大雨につき今日はお休みします (We will be closed
today due to the heavy rain).” In this lesson, you will learn compound
particles which are related to another function of the particle で.

How to Express Space and Time in Various Ways

In the basic grammar section, we explained that the particle で

indicates ranges and periods of time, e.g. “野球は日本で人気です
(Baseball is popular in Japan)”, and “一時間で宿題をする (I will do my
homework for an hour.).” The particle で is certainly powerful and
useful. However, if you know compound particles, you can make
clearer sentences with various nuances.

Compound Particle Counterparts to the Particle で

The compound particles that we will look at here have specific

meanings with a higher level of formality. Although they are
interchangeable with the particle で, the detailed nuances are not the
same. Let’s learn the usages one by one.

をもって: The Beginning or End of a Period of Time

たいしょく
[私は] ３月３１日をもって 退 職 （する / します）
[Topic/Subject] The End of a Period Verb
[I] will resign on the 31st of March.
をもって can express the beginning or the end of a period of time. を
もって sounds formal and is often used in business situations.

４月１日をもって新しいカフェをオープンします。
[We] will open a new café on the 1 st of April.
１０月３０日をもってこのお店を閉店します。
[We] will close this shop on the 30 th of October.
Note: For indicating the beginning of a period of time, に will be used,
not で. をもって can be replaced like this;

４月１日に新しいカフェをオープンします。
へいてん

１０月３０日でこのお店を閉店します。
にして: Unexpected Numbers

田中さんは ８０歳にして パソコンを 始めた / 始めました

Direct
Topic/Subject Unexpected Number Verb
Object
Tanaka-san started [using] PC [surprisingly when he was] 80 years old.
にして is used with age or duration and indicates unexpected numbers.
You can use にして to show contrast by combining は (*Look at the
third example below). Note: にして is not necessarily formal, as it can
be used just for emphasis.

鈴木さんは１８歳にして弁護士に（なった / なりました）。
Suzuki-san became a lawyer [surprisingly when he was] 18 years old.
ボブは勉強を始めて３ヶ月にして漢字が（書ける / 書けます）。
Bob started studying and can write Kanji [even if] it’s been only three months [since
then].
１０歳にしては体が大きい（です）。
[Considering the fact that he/she is] 10 years old, [his/her] body is big.
It’s a different function, but にして can replace the te-form of na-
adjectives and nouns. This also sounds formal.

医者でお金持ち => 医者にしてお金持ち: doctor and rich

綺麗で頭がいい => 綺麗にして頭がいい: beautiful and smart

において and にて: Locations of Actions

送別会は 東京ホテルにおいて 行われ（る / ます）

[Topic/Subject] Locations of Action Verb: Passive Form
The farewell party will be held at Tokyo Hotel.
Both において and にて can express locations of actions in a formal
way.

てん じ かい かいさい

展示会を東京ミュージアムにおいて開催します。
[We] will open an exhibition in Tokyo Museum.
３階の会議室にてお待ちしています。
[I’m] waiting in the conference room at the third floor.
において can also be used to express a specific topic for judgment.

卓球において、中国は世界で一番強い（です）。
When it comes to table tennis, China is the strongest in the world.
When they are used with nouns which indicate time, において and にて
express different meanings. にて indicates an ending time in the same
way as をもって.

パンの販売は３時にて終了しました。
パンの販売は３時をもって終了しました。
As for the sale of bread, [we] finished [it] at 3:00pm.
において is a formal way to indicate a time when events take place,
which can substitute for both the particles で and に. However, you
can only use it with a very limited number of nouns with the following
せい き

suffixes: “世紀: century,” “時代: era,” “期: term,” “末: end,” “時点:
moment,” etc.
せきたん じゅうよう

１９世紀 で・において 、石炭は 重 要 なエネルギー（だった / でした）。

In the 19th century, coal was an important [source of] energy.
ちょう さ たいしょう

３月末 に・において 、２０歳以上の人が 調 査の対 象 （だ / です）。

People who are over 20 years old in the end of March are the targets of the survey.
さむらい

明治時代 に・において 、日本人は 侍 であることを（やめた / やめました）。

In the Meiji era, Japanese people stopped being ‘samurai.’
If you say における, you can directly connect it with a wider range of
nouns in the same way as particle の, but it is much more formal.

３月 の・における 売上は過去最高（だった / でした）。

The sales in March were the highest ever.
えんだか い じょう

２０１２年 の・における 円高はやや異 常 （だった / でした）。

The appreciation of the yen in 2012 was somewhat abnormal.

Other Compound Particles Related to Space and Time

In addition to these interchangeable counterparts to the particle で,

we would like to introduce some other compound particles related to
space and time. These are NOT interchangeable with the particle で.

にわたって: Ongoing Events Over Large Areas / Periods of Time

雪が 一ケ月にわたって 降った / 降りました

[Topic/Subject] Period of Time Verb
[It] snowed for the whole month.
When にわたって is connected with nouns indicating a long period, it
expresses that there are ongoing events over the period. If you
connect it with nouns which indicate a large area, you express that
events take place over the whole area.

一週間にわたって会議が行われ（る / ます）。
The meetings will be held throughout the whole week.
雨が３ヶ月にわたって降って（いない / いません）。
It hasn’t rained for the whole three months.
公園全体にわたって桜が（咲いた / 咲きました）。
Cherry blossoms came out all around the park.
つう

を通じて: Something (Not Ongoing Events) Over Large Areas / Periods

of Time
日本は 一年を通じて 晴れの日が 多い（です）
Topic Period of Time Subject Predicate
In Japan, there are a lot of sunny days throughout the year.
を通じて is connected with nouns which indicate a period and indicates
“throughout” in Japanese. This is rarely used with nouns which
indicate an area, but if that is the case, you express that something
happens throughout the area. を通（とお）して is sometimes used
instead of を通じて. They have the same function.

四季を通じて、美味しい魚が食べ（られる / られます）。
Delicious fishes can be eaten throughout the four seasons.
この一ケ月を通じて、雨の日が（なかった / ありませんでした）。
There weren’t any rainy days all this month.
Difference between にわたって and を通じて
雪が一ケ月 にわたって・を通じて（降った / 降りました）。
The basic rule is that にわたって is more suitable if you express
ongoing events, i.e. when you say it snowed for the whole month, に
わたって is suitable because the snow was ongoing.

四季 にわたって・を通じて、美味しい魚が食べ（られる / られます）。
When you say delicious fishes can be eaten throughout the four
seasons, を通じて is suitable because nothing actually happens, but
you just tell the fact.

雨が３ヶ月 にわたって・を通じて 降って（いない / いません）。

With the example above, they are interchangeable because you can
treat it as both “the state of not raining is ongoing” and “no action is
happening.”

にかけて: Vague Ending Points

桜は ３月から ４月にかけて 咲く / 咲きます

Topic / Starting
Ending Point Verb
Subject Point
Cherry blossoms come out from March through to April.
にかけて is connected with nouns which indicate a period or an area
and expresses the ending point. This is similar to the particle まで.
The difference is that にかけて is more suitable when the beginning
and the end are vague. If there is a specific end, まで should be used
(*Look at the third example below).

日本は１１月から２月にかけて寒く（なる / なります）。
In Japan, it gets cold from November to February.
せいそく

この虫は日本から中国にかけて生息して（いる / います）。
This insect exists from Japan across to China.
１２時から１時 まで・にかけて 昼休み（だ / です）。
It’s lunch time from 12 o’clock to 1 o’clock.
にわたって sometimes substitutes for にかけて for large areas, but not
for time.

日本は１１月から２月にわたって寒く（なる / なります）。
この虫は日本から中国にわたって生息して（いる / います）。