あの刑事がそんな間違いをするわけがない。
- There’s no way that detective would make such a mistake.
This Japanese sentence "あの刑事がそんな間違いをするわけがない。" means "There’s no way that detective would make such a mistake." in English. It is an N2 High-level example sentence.
Words Contained
AI Explanation
あの刑事がそんな間違いをするわけがない。 meaning: That detective couldn't possibly make such a mistake.
The sentence follows a typical Japanese subject-object-verb (SOV) structure, with modifications due to the negative expression. ⚫︎ The sentence begins with a noun phrase, あの刑事 (あのけいじ), "that detective," functioning as the topic. ⚫︎ そんな間違いをする (そんなまちがいをする) "make such a mistake" is a subordinate clause modifying the topic. ⚫︎ The final part, わけがない (わけがない), is a fixed expression that expresses the speaker's strong denial or certainty that something is impossible.
This is the most important grammar point. ⚫︎ わけがない is a fixed expression used to express that something is impossible, highly unlikely, or that there is no reason for something to happen. ⚫︎ It is formed by attaching わけ, meaning "reason" or "logic," to the negative form of a verb, adjective, or adjectival noun. ⚫︎ It always takes the dictionary form (plain form) of a verb. ⚫︎ The meaning is that the speaker believes something is impossible or doesn't make sense. ⚫︎ Example: 彼が来るわけがない。 (かれがくるわけがない。) "There's no way he's coming." or "He couldn't possibly come."
This grammar point focuses on the use of particles. ⚫︎ The particle の (no) is often used to nominalize verbs or adjective phrases, allowing them to function as nouns within the sentence. In this sentence, it's not present. ⚫︎ The particle が (ga) here functions as the subject marker within the embedded clause そんな間違いをする. This shows that "such a mistake" is the thing that the detective "does."
The word そんな (sonna) is an adjectival noun, modifying the noun 間違い (machigai), "mistake." ⚫︎ It means "such," "that kind of," or "that sort of." ⚫︎ It helps to specify the type of mistake being referred to. ⚫︎ Adjectival nouns like そんな require the particle な (na) when modifying a noun, but this is omitted because the clause is using the plain form of the verb.
The verb する (suru), "to do," is in its dictionary form in this sentence. ⚫︎ The base form is used before the fixed expression わけがない. ⚫︎ Other conjugations include: ⚫︎ Present Affirmative: する (suru) ⚫︎ Present Negative: しない (shinai) ⚫︎ Past Affirmative: した (shita) ⚫︎ Past Negative: しなかった (shinakatta) ⚫︎ In this context, it takes the plain, dictionary form before the expression わけがない.