うちに vs. 間 ①
Answer & Translation｜答えと英訳
- Answer｜うちに
- 私が知らないうちに、友達はもう日本に引っ越してしまっていました。
- English Translation｜英訳
- Before I knew it, my friend had already moved to Japan.
Audio of this sentence is in 鬼シャドポッドキャスト Ep.39
Grammar explanation｜文法説明
The difference between 間 and うちに
B part <もう引っ越して今っていました：had already moved> is a <change of state*> that happened.
→うちに, not 間
* Change of state = Before moving → After moving
- Before the change: The friend still lived in the same city as yours, for example.
- After the change: The friend lives in Japan now.
Now, let’s take a look at a sentence that works with 間
私が料理している間、彼はずっとテレビを見ていました。
While I was cooking, he was watching TV the whole time.
B part <見ていました：was watching> is a <continuous state*>.
→間, not うちに
* Continuous state = State of “watching TV” was on.