Page 376 - Basic Japanese

The particle bakari means ‘just, nothing but.’ It is used after

the plain forms of the imperfect, perfect, and gerund and
also after nouns. When used after nouns, it may be followed

by another particle, haha to bakari ‘only with my mother,’ but
the particles o, ga, and mo are usually omitted. After

gerunds, it means ‘does nothing but do….’ Here are some
examples:

テレビドラマを見てばかりいます。
Terebi dorama o mite bakari imasu.
She does nothing but watch TV dramas.

肉ばかり食べていると太りますよ。
Niku bakari tabete iru to futorimasu yo.
If you eat nothing but meat, you’ll gain weight.

居酒屋にばかり行っています。

Izakaya ni bakari itte imasu.

He only goes to izakaya bars.

母は姉とばかりしゃべって，私とはしゃべりません。

Haha wa ane to bakari shabette, watashi to wa
shaberimasen.
My mother just speaks with my sister, and she

does not speak with me.

父は週末は寝てばかりいます。

Chichi wa shūmatsu wa nete bakari imasu.
My father just sleeps on weekends.

After imperfects and perfects, bakari is followed by some

form of the copula. After imperfects it means ‘has only