Page 313 - Makino,Tsutusi.DictionaryOfIntermediateJGrammar

LziQii gk* gT& B~g ;gCz
Lei L&
(1) a. %Li2R$3K3k~79E0 @%
Tb\&,,
(It is my custom to drink a small amount of foreign liquor
prior to going to bed.)

b. *$LC~&&~~~~~TT~~X+-%~~II.~$C~&~
(I drink a glass of whisky before going to bed.)
Both (la) and (lb) express a similar situation, but (la) is expressed in a
more formal way than (lb). Thus, ni atatte is acceptable in the formal
sentence (la) but not in the informal sentence (lb).
2. The compound particle is primarily used in written Japanese. When a
verb precedes it, the verb is often a Sino-Japanese suru-verb as in KS(B)
and Ex.(b), because the Sino-Japanese verb is also suitable for written
Japanese.
3. The tense of the verb before ni atatte/atari is always nonpast regardless
of the tense of the final predicate. The nonpast tense expresses an
=N?
incomplete aspect of an action indicated by the verb. Thus, for example,
in KS(B), when Kazuya went to see his academic adviser, he had not yet
graduated from college. That is why the phrase can be translated into
English as 'before' or 'prior to.'
4. The difference between ni atari and ni atatte is a matter of style; the for-
mer is more formal than the latter.
5. There is a prenominal form - ni atatte no N used as in (2) below.
(2) %A?kW0A?*E (37~77 /*3ktll Dl$-f 4 -bi?tE&
aR LI.,
(The president attended the patty held on the occasion of new
employees' joining the company.) (cf. KS(A))

I. Toki is a basic noun which indicates the time when s.0. / s.t will do /
does / did s.t. or the time when s.0. / s .t. will be / is 1 was in some
state. It is clear from Note 3 that toki cannot be replaced by ni atan/
atatte when the preceding verb is past. (+ toki (DBJG: 490-94))