Structure
Verb［て］+ ばかり
Noun + ばかり
Details
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Standard
Rare Kanji
許り
About ばかり
When used after verbs followed by the conjunction particle て, or nouns, the adverbial particle ばかり highlights that 'nothing but (A) is being done', or 'only (A) exists'. In relation to verbs, てばかり is often followed by いる, as a modified version of the standard ている. However, adding いる is not a requirement, and the same nuance may be conveyed without it.
When a sentence consists of a part (A) and a part (B), ばかり will be followed by either で (with verbs or nouns), or いて (only with verbs). This is when ばかり appears directly before the sentence conjunction point, and other combinations are possible (such as ばかりだから).
It should be noted that the で with ばかり here is not the particle で, but the conjunctive form of the auxiliary verb, だ.
Fun Fact
ばかり is rarely seen using kanji, but it originally comes from 許り (sometimes 計る). This kanji means 'to let off', or 'to let through', and implies that (A) is the only thing that is being 'permitted' in a specific situation.
Synonyms
だけでなく(て)～も
Not only ~ but ~ also, Not just ~ but ~ also
Not studied yet
だけしか
To emphasize '~only', Nothing but
Not studied yet
だけ
Only, Just
Not studied yet
しか～ない
There's only, Nothing but
Not studied yet
ばかりだ
(Only) continue to, Keep on -ing, More and more
Not studied yet
ばかりに
Simply because, Only because, Just because, Simply on account of
Not studied yet
Antonyms
Examples
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彼はいつも嘘ばかり言っている。
He does nothing but tell lies.
私の弟はゲームをしてばかりですよ。
My little brother does nothing but play video games.
知らない顔ばかりだから緊張する。
Because there are only/nothing but unfamiliar faces I feel nervous.
甘い物を食べてばかりいると、虫歯が増える。
If you only/do nothing but eat sweets, you will have more cavities.
いつももらってばかりですみません。
It seems that I do nothing but receive (gifts) from you. Sorry about that.
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ばかり – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (14 in total)
Megumin
Probably I posted this on the wrong grammar point, I tried to avoid creating a new one. Quoting from this website:
gyroninja
Well I just checked a single sentence for the たばかり grammar point and it gave a warning / hint when attempting to use たところ.
Megumin
You are right, I guess I just either hit one that doesn’t have it (highly unlikely) or I used it the wrong way (more likely).
Just tried it the other way around and it also gave me the warning/hint.
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