彼の努力が才能と相まって大きな成功を生んだ。
- His effort, combined with his talent, led to great success.

彼の努力が才能と相まって大きな成功を生んだ。 meaning: His effort, combined with his talent, brought about great success.

Japanese sentences typically follow a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, though the subject can often be omitted if it's clear from the context. The sentence above demonstrates this structure with the subject being implied. ⚫︎ The core structure revolves around identifying the subject, then how the subject interacts with the rest of the sentence. ⚫︎ Pay attention to the role of particles in identifying the subject, object, and other grammatical functions. ⚫︎ In this sentence, the action of "bringing about" (the verb) is the most significant element. ⚫︎ Adverbial phrases, like the one describing how his effort is being combined with something else, modify the verb or describe the circumstances of the action.

This is a crucial grammar point. 相まって is a conjunctive particle derived from the verb 相俟つ (あいまつ), meaning "to combine with" or "to be in conjunction with." It acts as a conjunction connecting two elements. ⚫︎ It usually links two nouns or noun phrases. ⚫︎ In this sentence, 努力 (どりょく) - effort and 才能 (さいのう) - talent are connected by 相まって. ⚫︎ Its function is to show that two things are working together or occurring at the same time. ⚫︎ Other similar words and phrases include とともに - along with, と合わせて - combined with. ⚫︎ 相俟って can also be written in kanji.

The verb 生む (うむ) is in its past tense form 生んだ (うんだ). ⚫︎ It means "to give birth to," "to create," or "to bring about." ⚫︎ The basic form, 生む (うむ), is a godan verb (五段活用). ⚫︎ The past tense, 生んだ (うんだ), is formed by changing the final -mu to -nda. ⚫︎ The sentence uses the past tense to indicate that the success has already been achieved. ⚫︎ Consider the various nuances of the verb in different contexts, such as 子供を生む (こどもをうむ) - to give birth to a child.

The particle が marks the subject of the sentence. ⚫︎ In this sentence, 努力 (どりょく) - effortis marked by the particle が. ⚫︎ While は (wa) is a topic marker, が marks the subject specifically, often emphasizing it or introducing it for the first time. ⚫︎ Consider the difference between 努力は大切だ。(どりょくはたいせつだ) - Effort is important and 努力が大切だ。(どりょくがたいせつだ) - It is effort that is important (emphasis). ⚫︎ It is crucial to distinguish が from other particles, such as を (wo) - direct object marker and に (ni) - to, at, in (time/place), etc. ⚫︎ The placement of が immediately after 努力highlights it as the focus.

The adjective 大きな modifies the noun 成功 (せいこう) - success. ⚫︎ It's an example of an adjectival noun, changing its form because it precedes the noun it modifies. ⚫︎ The basic form is 大きい (おおきい) - big/large, an い-adjective. ⚫︎ To modify a noun, い-adjectives change to ～な, creating a type of adjectival noun. For example, the adjective 大きい (おおきい) becomes 大きな (おおきな). ⚫︎ Remember that the な-adjective form is required to modify a noun. ⚫︎ Analyze the impact of this adjective on the reader. For example, 大きな成功 (おおきなせいこう) implies a notable achievement.