I am studying Japanese and having a hard time to understand the real substance of the て-form. Is it hypotheticum (if) like in てわいけません (if… that won't do) or てもいいですか (even if I…)? Or sort of a connecting word (and)? And then, there are other usages: てください、もってくる、つれてくる. -ing translation will do in ている, but is obviously wrong otherwise. How should the て form be understood, linguistically, so to speak?
by patrikk68