くて / で - joining adjectives and nouns with "and"

い-adjective (〜くて) / な-adjective・Noun (〜で) + ...

Meaning

Links two descriptive clauses together - the adjective/noun equivalent of the verb て-form.

Explanation

Verbs have their own て-form for chaining clauses together ("do X, and then Y"), and adjectives and nouns need an equivalent of their own: い-adjectives drop the final い and add くて, while な-adjectives and nouns both simply add で. Either can also carry a loose sense of "because," similar to an unmarked から.

Formation

い-adjective (drop い) + くて / な-adjective・Noun + で

Examples

この部屋は広くて明るいです。
このへやはひろくてあかるいです。
This room is spacious and bright.
彼は学生で、毎日忙しいです。
かれはがくせいで、まいにちいそがしいです。
He's a student, and busy every day.

Grammar explanations and example sentences written for NihongoTech.