血極 Night - Ayato Sakamaki

Another wonderful song from Diabolik Lovers, this time sung by the beloved Ayato Sakamaki. He's my favorite of the brothers (although a couple others are very close behind him) and I haven't translated a solo song of his before, so this should be fun.

I think every time I translate a song now, I'm going to write some notes beforehand to explain any difficulties or peculiarities within the lyrics. So, here we go.

• 血極 isn't an actual word. It combines 血 for blood and 極 for something like "extreme." Given the sadistic, bloody vampire context, I stuck them together with the best English translation I could. 
• I learned that もうこれ以上はないぐらいに is used to intensify whatever it's referencing, so I had to come up with a non-literal English version to match this. 
• インサニア and グローリア are both Latin words ("insania" and "gloria") that translate to madness/insanity and glory, respectively.

窓辺に忍び寄るヤバめな Siren、
壊れた鏡を見ればハッと醒めない？
オマエの細い躰を抱きしめて
あの日の影を祓う為のインサニア

何を恐れて、何を求めてるの、八方塞がり
「その痛みだけが、生きる意味だから」
 潤んだ瞳を見れば　無性に噛みたくなる
You Wanna My Sadistic ーーーーー・・・・
「トコトン、イジめてやるよ・・・・」

あまりにも（あまりにも）あまりにも（あまりにも）血極 NIGHT
その傷跡に狂ったまま迸るーーー・・・・
心砕かれて　もうこれ以上はないぐらいに

Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)
Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)
Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)

そう「愛」なんて生易しいフレーズ

（フッ）喜んでんじゃねぇよーーー・・・

心を支配する歪んだ想い、
古びた自分、出来ればジッと見つめて
期待に潰れた肢体を投げ出して、
あの夜の月を消していけば、グローリア

愛を信じて、愛を嫌う嘘つきさ　やっぱり死んだら？
「この 願いだけは、叶えたいから」と
掠れた声の先は、四面楚歌の状況さ
You Wanna My Sadistic ーーーーー・・・・
「結局欲しいんだろ？・・・・・・」

これからも（これからも）これからも（これからも）血極 NIGHT
この牙のまま、突き刺してく、そうだろうーーーーー・・・・？
理屈じゃないんだ、もうこれ以上はないぐらいに

Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)
Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)
Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)

なあ「欲」なんてありきたりなフレーズ
（フッ）傷ついてんじゃねぇよーーーーー・・・・・

You Wanna My Sadistic ーーーーー・・・・

「バーか、感じてんじゃねぇよ・・・・・」

あまりにも　あまりにも
血極 NIGHT、その傷跡に狂ったまま迸るーーー・・・・

心砕かれて　もうこれ以上はないぐらい

Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)
Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)
Bite & Vomit (Bright Red Blood)

そう「愛」なんて生易しいフレーズ
（フッ）喜んでんじゃねぇよーーー・・・
イジめ抜いてやるーーーーーー・・・・・

***

Creeping along the window, a somewhat precarious siren
If you gaze into this broken mirror, won't you suddenly come to your senses?
Tightly embracing your slender body
An insanity to cleanse the shadows of that day

Whatever it is you fear, whatever it is you desire, you're cornered now
"Because that pain alone is the meaning of your existence"
Looking into your faded eyes makes me truly ache to bite you
You wanna my sadistic
"I'll torment you to the very end~"

So much (too much) so much (too much), this bloody night of ecstasy
Gushing from the many scars that remain strewn about your body
Your heart is so woefully broken beyond repair

Bite and vomit (bright red blood)
Bite and vomit (bright red blood)
Bite and vomit (bright red blood)

Ah, this "love" is such a simple phrase
(Ha) There's no way you'll enjoy it~

These distorted thoughts that dominate my heart
Gazing upon your worn self, if you're able to remain still
You shall sacrifice your body, crushed by anticipation
If the moon is erased upon that night, there will be glory

This love that you believed in, this love you claim to hate, what if it dies, anyway?
"Because I only want to grant this single wish"
The ragged voice you held, as you were forsaken by everybody
You wanna my sadistic
"You want it after all, don't you?~"

Even after this (even still) Even after this (even still), this bloody night of ecstasy
These fangs shall remain thrust into you, isn't that right?
There's no way I can help myself at this point

Bite and vomit (bright red blood)
Bite and vomit (bright red blood)
Bite and vomit (bright red blood)

Ah, this "greed" is such an ordinary phrase
(Ha) It won't hurt at all~

You wanna my sadistic

"Idiot, you won't even feel it~"

So much, too much
This bloody night of ecstasy, gushing from the many scars that remain strewn about your body

Your heart is so woefully broken beyond repair

Bite and vomit (bright red blood)
Bite and vomit (bright red blood)
Bite and vomit (bright red blood)

Ah, this "love" is such a simple phrase
(Ha) There's no way you'll enjoy it~
And so I'll continue to torment you to the very end~~

Question Word ~ても

When ても is used with a question word, the meaning transitions to something like "no matter ~" or "without regard to." This holds true even when the question word and the ても portion are split up by other words, and in fact that's often how it appears.

世界中、どこに行っても、マクドナルドが食べられる。
Around the world, no matter where you go, you can eat at McDonald's.

この漢字は何回覚えても、すぐに忘れてしまう。
No matter how many times I memorize this kanji, I instantly forget it.

試合に負けてどんなにくやしくても、泣いてはいけない。
No matter how frustrated you are in losing a game, you must not cry.

この問題はいくら考えても分からない。
No matter how much I think about this problem, I don't get it.

それで

それで comes at the beginning of a sentence prior to a stated fact, conclusion, or decision. It translates as "because of that", "that's why", "so", or other similar meanings.

Now this sounds awfully similar to から usage, but you can't always use それで where you can use から. それで can't precede opinions, judgments, requests, or commands. So while から can fill in for それで, the reverse is not always true.

今日は試験が二つもあったんです。それで、昨日はコンサートに行けませんでした。
I have two tests today. That's why I couldn't go to the concert yesterday.

田中はヴァンパイアハンターんだよ。それで、逆巻兄弟は彼が大嫌いんだ。
Tanaka is a vampire hunter. That's why the Sakamaki brothers hate him.

昨日はとても天気が悪くて、寒かった。それで、試合を見に来た人が少なかった。
The weather was really bad yesterday - it was cold. Because of that, there weren't many people who came to see the game.

世界でパンダがあまりいないんです。それで、動物園でたくさんがいるんですよ。
There aren't many pandas in the world. For this reason, a lot of them are in zoos.

んだけど / ですが

A sentence + んだけど / ですが can be used as a "preliminary remark by the speaker to inform the hearer of the speaker's desire, the current situation, etc." Following this statement, there is often a question related to that desire/situation, asking for advice, or making some other type of request. Although けど and が translate to English as "but", we wouldn't necessarily use "but" when translating these sentences because it provides a different type of open-ended meaning.

先生、この文法がよく分からないんですが・・・
Sensei, I don't understand this grammar very well, so... (could you please explain it to me?)

今夜の月がきれいんですが、一緒に見に行きませんか？
The moon is beautiful tonight, so do you want to go see it together?

友達の誕生日にプレゼントを送りたいんだけど、何がいいと思う。
I want to send my friend a present for his birthday, so what do you think would be good?

この映画、面白そうなんだけど、一緒に見に行かない？
This movie looks interesting, so why don't we go see it together?

I know that I used "so" in all of these translations, which may make it sound like these sentences need から instead. But から implies a stronger "because" or "since" meaning in the first half of the sentence, which isn't really the case with these situations.

ということなの

The pattern X は Y ということなの can be used to express that "X means Y", or simply "X is Y." It carries a more formal sound and is typically used in text.

外国語を勉強するということは、他の国の文化を勉強するということなのだ。
Studying a foreign language means studying the culture of another country.

お金持ちになることは、幸せになれるということなのだろうか。
I wonder if becoming rich means that I can be happy.

バレンタインデーにチョコレートをくれたということは、彼女は君が好きだということなんだよ。
Her giving you chocolate on Valentine's Day means that she likes you.

と言える

A speaker may end a sentence with と言える (often followed by でしょう or だろう) to express something like "it can probably be said that." It's used in formal situations to soften an opinion that's being stated.

日本語を勉強してる外国人は多くなってきていると言えるだろう。
It can be said that there's grown to be a great number of foreigners who are studying Japanese.

ユイによると、彼らがサディストだと言えるでしょ。
According to Yui, it's probably safe to say that those guys are sadists.

現代はコンピュータがなければ暮らしにくい時代になったと言えるだろう。
You could say that nowadays, we've reached a period where daily life is difficult if you don't have a computer.

リーさんは世界で一番美しい人の一つだと言えるでしょう。
It can be probably said that Lee-san is one of the most beautiful people in the world.

そういう / こういう / ああいう

そういう, こういう, and ああいう can be used to refer to someone/something the speaker sees or perceives. The first is for something near the listener, the second is for something near the speaker, and the third is for something further away from both.

These words can also be used to refer to someone/something that the speaker has just mentioned. Here are some guidelines:

• そういう - used when the speaker has just mentioned someone/something
•  こういう - used when the speaker has stated something factual about someone/something
•  ああいう - used when the information that either party mentioned is known to both

日本人は丁寧で親切だ。そういう話をよく聞く。
Japanese people are really polite and kind. I often hear that kind of story.

面白くて元気が出る、そういう本を探しています。
Something interesting and lively - that's the kind of book I'm looking for.

動物園でパンダの赤ちゃんが3匹生まれたそうだ。こういうニュースはうれしい。
I hear that three baby pandas were born at the zoo. I'm so glad to hear that kind of news.

トム：日本のスポーツクラブの先輩と後輩の関係って面白いね。
山田：うん、ああいう関係って、他の国ではあまり見られないだろうね。
Tom: The relationship between senpai and kouhai in Japanese sports clubs is interesting.
Yamada: Yeah, that kind of relationship isn't seen very much in other countries.

In this case I wrote out all the examples Tobira gave for this grammar point so I can better understand the usage for each one. I also need to research why the verb 出る is used in that second sentence, because that confused me initially.

Verbs Ending in ずに

If you take a verb and conjugate it to the plain negative form, then drop the ない and add ずに, the meaning becomes "without [verb-ing]" or "instead of [verb-ing]." This form is synonymous with the verb form ないで, and the に is sometimes dropped. Of course, する is an exception verb here, and it becomes せずに.

辞書を見ずに新聞が読めるようになりたいです。
I want to get to where I can read a newspaper without looking at a dictionary.

妹が晩ご飯を食べずに、部屋に行って泣いたんだ。
My little sister went to her room without eating dinner and cried.

両親に相談せずに、留学することを決めてしまった。
Without consulting my parents, I've decided that I'm going to study abroad.

スバルは何も言わずに笑った、プレゼントをくれた。
Without saying anything, Subaru laughed and gave me a present.

のではないでしょう / だろうか and じゃないかな

Adding one of the following phrases at the end of a sentence can express the speaker's/writer's conjecture or opinion on a matter in an indecisive fashion:

• のではないでしょうか
• のではないだろうか
• んじゃないかな

The first two are only used in written language, with the second being the more formal of them. The third is obviously more casual. It often translates as something like "I think that..." or "Isn't it that...?"

地球温暖化問題はもっと大きくなっていくのではないでしょうか。
Global warming will continue to become a bigger problem, will it not?

もっと日本語を勉強したほうがいいんじゃないかな。
I guess maybe I should do more Japanese studying.

あのクラスは、毎日宿題や小テストがあるので、大変なのではないだろうか。
I think that this class is tough, since we have homework and quizzes every day.

猫と住んでるはいいんじゃないかな。
Living with a cat is nice, I think.

ある + Noun

ある + noun can be used to refer to a specific instance of something, without actually naming that instance. For example, if I'm complaining about "some celebrity that's on TV", I could use ある有名人 in my sentence.

ある日、突然、日本人が話す普通の日本語が分かるようになった。
One day, I suddenly got to where I could understand normal Japanese that Japanese people speak.

今ある子が外に庭で立ってるんだよ。
Some kid is standing outside in the garden right now.

昔、昔、ある所に、おじいさんとおばあさんが住んでいました。
Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived an old man and old woman.

クリスマスに友達がある有名人の抱き枕をくれた。
For Christmas, my friend gave me some celebrity body pillow.

Non-Past Verb + ように

A non-past verb + ように can be used to state a purpose or the manner in which something is to be done. It often translates as "so that", in the sense of "You need to speak loudly so that people can hear you."

This is quite similar to ために, although there are instances where ために can be used and ように cannot. One example is the following sentence:

新しい車を買うために、お金をためています。
I'm saving money in order to buy a new car.

In this case, ために is used because both 新しい車を買う and お金をためています are actions that can be controlled by the same subject. ように is to be used in the case that a certain consequence will arise as the result of an action, where there is not direct control. Thus ように cannot be used above, but both ために and ように can be used in the sentence below:

学生が勉強する ( ために / ように )、先生は毎日宿題を出します。
Sensei gives homework every day so that the students study.

朝寝坊をしないように、目覚まし時計をセットしておきます。
I set my alarm clock (in preparation) so that I don't oversleep.

先生は、学生が分かるようにやさしい単語を使って説明した。
Sensei gave an explanation using simple language so that the students would understand.

日本で働きたいのなら、日本の会社に就職できるように、日本語をもっと練習しておいた方がいいですよ。
If you want to work in Japan, then in order to be able to get a job with a Japanese company, you should practice your Japanese more.

Verb Stem + 合う

A verb stem + 合う forms a compound verb with the added meaning of "to each other." The exact translation will depend on the original verb used, like 話し合う as "to talk to each other" or "to discuss." Sentences with this type of verb often also use お互いに which also means "each other" or "one another."

この問題について、グループで話し合って下さい。
Discuss this problem in groups, please.

毎日学校で、リーさんとアリスお互いにほめ合うんだなぁ。
Every day at school, Lee-san and Alice compliment each other.

大きな災害の時は、みんなで助け合うことが大切だ。
When there's a major disaster, it's important for everyone to help one another.

アヤトとライトはずっと見詰め合ってるんだね。
Ayato and Laito have been staring at each other for a long time.

まず - First of All

The word まず is used at the beginning of a sentence or phrase to mean "first of all", "to begin with", or simply "first." How simple!

朝、起きたら、私はまずコーヒーを飲む。
When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is drink coffee.

学校に着いたら、まず先生に話さなくちゃよ。
When you get to school, you need to talk to your teacher first-thing.

今日はみそ汁を作ります。まず、次の材料を準備して下さい。
I'm going to make miso soup today. To begin, please prepare these ingredients.

まず、お兄さんに謝らなきゃんだよ。
First of all, you need to apologize to your brother.

なんて and など

なんて can be used for a few purposes in Japanese. First, it can be placed after a noun or verb phrase to serve as a more colloquial version of など for the usual "things/people/etc. like" meaning.

Second, it can serve to add emphasis within a sentence. In this case, it can be placed after a noun or sentence to emphasize your feelings on it (surprise, disgust, happiness, etc). It can also be used to look down on something, belittle it, or again emphasize a given quality.

Note that など can also be used to add emphasis in the same way as なんて, but again, なんて is more colloquial.

今日、小テストがあるなんて、知らなかった。
I had no idea there was a quiz today.

すしが嫌いな日本人なんて聞いたことがない。
I've never heard of a Japanese person who dislikes sushi.

ローラーブレードなんて簡単だよ。スケートの方が難しいと思うよ。
Rollerblading is just easy. Skating is more difficult, I think.

こんなまずい料理をおいしいなどと言ったのは誰だ？
Who the hell said that this terrible dish tasted good?

The translation of that last sentence was taken from here. This is an example of など being used to add emphasis in the same way as なんて, although I'm not sure if the "hell" part of it is too strong. I'm going to further study these points for clarification.

考えられている / 思われている

A plain form sentence + と考えられている / 思われている can be used "to introduce a generally-accepted opinion regarding some matter." The former is generally used for something concluded via logic, while the latter is more for intuition. Note that they are used to indicate the speaker's or writer's opinion.

日本の食べ物は体にいいと考えられているが、実は、てんぷらやトンカツなど、油をたくさん使うカロリーの高い料理も多い。
It's thought that Japanese food is good for you, but in reality, there are lots of high-calorie foods like tempura and tonkatsu that use a lot of oil.

オーストラリアのビーチは世界で一番きれいなビーチと思われている。
It's thought that Australia's beaches are the most beautiful in the world.

将来は、宇宙にも人間が住めるようになるだろうと考えられている。
In the future, it's thought that humans will come to be able to live in outer space, as well.

いずれに猫が一世を風靡すると思われている。
It's thought that cats will take over the world someday.

毎～のように

The phrase 毎 X のように, where X serves as a time word like day, week, month, etc., is used to mean "almost every..." So 毎日のように would mean "almost every day."

映画が好きなので、毎週のように映画を見に行っています。
Since I love movies, I go to see one almost every week.

毎年のように友達とビーチに行ってる。
I go to the beach with friends almost every year.

このサイトにアクセスすると、毎回のようにフリーズしてしまう。
Whenever I access this site, it freezes almost every time.

毎日のように鍵を置くか忘れちゃう。
I forget where I put my keys almost every day.

Volitional + とする and とした

The volitional form of a verb + とする can be used to express someone attempting to do something. This differs from using みる to try something because みる is about "trying something out", such as trying a new food for the first time. とする is about attempting to perform an action.

明日仕事があるんだから、早く寝ようとする。
Since I have work tomorrow, I'm going to try to sleep early.

赤ちゃんはお母さんに歩きに行こうとしている。
The baby is trying to walk over to his mom.

The する portion of this phrase can be made past tense to describe a scenario where someone tried to do something but failed, or where someone was going to do something but didn't, for some other reason. The phrase is often [verb] + としたけど to mean "I was going to do X, but..." or "I tried to do X but..."

ケーキを作ろうとしたけれど、卵がなかったから、作れなかった。
I was going to make a cake, but since I didn't have any eggs, I couldn't.

早く寝ようとしたけど、結局は徹夜した。
I tried to go to sleep early, but I ended up staying up all night.

電車に乗ろうとしたら、目の前でドアが閉まってしまった。
When I went to get on the train, the door shut right in front of my eyes.

リーさんがアリスにキスしようとしたけど、殴られた。
Lee-san tried to kiss Alice, but he got punched.

なるべく

Placing なるべく before a verb phrase can add the meaning "as much as possible" to that phrase. If there's an adverb modifying the phrase, then なるべく would generally mean "as [adverb] as possible" for that verb phrase.

作文を書く時は、なるべく漢字を使うようにして下さい。
When writing an essay, please make an effort to use kanji as much as possible.

宿題がない週末は、なるべく家を掃除するんだよ。
On weekends when I have no homework, I clean the house as much as possible.

なるべく辞書を使わないで、この記事を読んでみて下さい。
Please try to read this article using a dictionary as little as possible.

ライトに会うと、なるべく抱くんよね。
Whenever I see Laito, I hug him as much as possible.

かな as "I wonder"

かな can be added to the end of a sentence to mark a question or remark that's addressed to either oneself, or those in the speaker's current group. It's often translated as "I wonder..."

春休みは何をしようかなあ。
I wonder what I should do for spring break.

シュウは誰か好きかな。
I wonder if Shuu likes someone.

このアパート、よさそうだけど、ちょっと高すぎるかな。
This apartment seems nice, but I wonder if it's too expensive.

今日アヤトとライトは学校に行ったかな。
I wonder if Ayato and Laito went to school today.

ようにする

A plain, non-past verb + ようにする can be used to indicate "one's conscious effort to do something for some purpose." It's often used to describe habitual actions, although it can also reference a single action or event. It can be translated as "make an effort to do [verb]" or "try one's best to do [verb]."

先生今日は授業に遅れてすみませんでした。明日からもっと早く家を出るようにします。
Sensei, I'm sorry I was late for class today. Starting tomorrow I'll do my best to leave home earlier.

仕事に間に合うようにしたほうがいいよ。
You'd better make an effort to be on time for work.

環境のために、紙をリサイクルするようにしてください。
Please make an effort to recycle paper for the sake of the environment.

日本語のクラスを取ったら、各テストに勉強するようにするよ。
If I take a Japanese class, I'll do my best to study for each test.

くれる and もらえる

I've reviewed this before in a Genki chapter, but reviewing grammar never hurts. A verb in the て form plus くれる, もらえる, くれない, or もらえない translates to something like "could you" or "would you", asking for a favor. It's used with rising intonation to make a request during casual conversation.

初めてケーキを焼いたんだけど、ちょっと食べてみてくれる？
I baked a cake for the first time, so could you try a little for me?

ライト、かぎを取ってもらえない？
Laito, could you get my keys for me?

もし時間があったら、明日空港に迎えに来てもらえない？
If you have time tomorrow, could you pick me up at the airport?

トキにえさをやりてくれない？
Could you feed Toki for me?

ように頼む / 言う

The phrase ように頼む / 言う is used to indirectly quote a request or command that was made. It's likely evident from the verbs themselves, but ように頼む translates more naturally as "to ask someone to [verb]" while ように言う is more like "to tell someone to [verb]."

The structure used here is generally [present tense verb] + ように頼む / 言う. An affirmative ように頼む request is often preceded by a verb in the てくれる form. Negative requests or commands simply use the verb in the ない form.

先生は学生に「漢字を覚えなさい」と言いました。
The teacher told the students, "Memorize the kanji."

先生は学生に漢字を覚えるように言いました。
The teacher told the students to memorize the kanji.

These examples should provide a better understanding of what this phrase actually does. Rather than directly quoting what the teacher said, we're giving a secondhand account (essentially paraphrasing) of what he told them.

パーティーをしていたら、隣のアパートの人に静かにするように言われてしまいました。
When we had the party, we were told by the people in the next apartment to be quiet.

アヤトに買い物に行くならきれいなドレスを買ってくれるように頼んだ。
I asked Ayato to buy me a beautiful dress if he goes shopping.

ウェイターにデザートメニューを持って来てくれるように頼もうか？
How about we ask the waiter to bring over the dessert menu?

スバルは学校の後に家に帰るように言われてた。
I was told by Subaru to come home after school.

ことになった

A non-past verb + ことになった can be used to express that "a situation has changed due to some external force (e.g., a decision was made by someone other than the speaker)." It's important to remember that the speaker did not make the decision that caused the situation to change. Let's compare a couple other similar grammar points to distinguish them.

ことにする - The speaker or subject made a decision to do something.

ことになっている - Something has been decided and the result of that decision is still in effect.

 ことになった - Something was decided in general, and perhaps associated with a single action.

日本にあるオフィスで働くことになったので、日本に引っ越すことになりました。
It's been decided that I'm going to move to Japan since I'll be working at the office there.

来学期田中先生は英語の文学を教えることになった。
It turns out that Tanaka-sensei will teach English literature next semester.

環境をよくするため、来月からリサイクルキャンペーンをすることになった。
The help improve the environment, it's been decided that we'll have a recycling campaign next month.

来週化学のクラスに微生物を勉強することになった。
It turns out that we're going to study microorganisms in science class next week.

More on ていく and てくる

Previously I learned about how ていく and てくる are used to indicate the direction of movement with a verb, or indicate a sequence of actions. The following are examples of each:

図書館で本を借りて来る。
I'll go to the library to borrow some books (and will come back).

買い物する前に、銀行でお金をおそして行く。
Before shopping, I'll get some cash from the bank (and then go shopping).

But ていく and てくる can also be used as helper verbs to indicate the temporal direction of something from the speaker's viewpoint. てくる can indicate that an action or process began in the past and is continuing in the present, or that something has begun to take place.

日本語の文法が面白くなってきました。
I'm beginning to find Japanese grammar interesting.
It's gotten to where I find Japanese grammar interesting.

I did two translations there, one from Tobira and one of my own, to give something a bit more literal that pairs with くる's meaning. Thinking of it as "it's gotten to where", "it's come to where", or "it has become" fit well here because they're talking about something that's begun to take place and yet will still continue.

ていく, on the other hand, can be used to indicate that an action or state will continue from the present and into the future.

今学期は一週間に10ずつ新しい漢字を勉強していきます。
This term we are going to study ten new kanji a week.

It's a little harder to offer an alternate translation here, but ていく can often be thought of as "continue" or "to go on [verb]-ing."

最近、ちょっと暖かくなってきました。
Lately it's beginning to get a little warm.

技術が発達したために、生活がとても便利になってきた。
Since technology has developed, life's gotten to where it's really convenient.

この地方は北にあるので、夏は午前4時前に空が明るくなってくる。
Since this area is in the north, in the summer the sky is beginning to get bright before 4 AM.

これから、もっと暖かくなっていきます。
From now on it'll start to get warmer.

ゴールデンレトリバーは大型の犬だから、もっと大きくなっていきますよ。
Since golden retrievers are a large type of dog, they'll continue to get bigger.

ロボットがもっと人々の生活を助けるようになっていくだろう。
Robots will continue to help out more with more with people's daily lives.

をしている For Descriptions

The pattern [Noun 1は + Adjective + Noun 2 + をしている] is used to describe a feature of someone or something. It generally focuses on a certain attribute, like describing a person's eyes, an animal's ears, etc. That structure looks a bit convoluted, so let me give an example.

馬は足が長い。
馬は長い足をしている。

These sentences are synonymous. Both of them are stating that horses have long legs, just with slightly different grammar. Thus, the をしている portion is probably best translated as "have."

One last thing is that している often becomes した when the phrase modifies a noun.

このオペラ歌手は、本当にきれいな声をしていますね。
This opera singer really has a beautiful voice.

兄の娘は大きい耳をしてるよね。
My brother's daughter has huge ears.

フレンチブルドッグは短い足をした犬だ。それに、面白い顔をしている。
French bulldogs are dogs that have short legs. They also have funny faces.

今日はスバルに会って、すごくきれいなくちびるをしてるんわね。
I met Subaru today, and he has such pretty lips.

ことになっている

A plain, non-past verb + ことになっている is used to mean that "something has been decided and the result of that decision is still in effect." In my head I sometimes read it as "It has become that..." because that kinda sounds like a formal way of announcing a new rule or decision that's in place. This grammar point is commonly used in such scenarios, along with stating one's schedule.

授業を休む時は先生に連絡しなくてはいけないことになっているが、忘れてしまった。
It's a rule that if we miss class, we have to contact the teacher, but I forgot.

子どもがこのレストランに入ってはいけないことになっているんだよ。
It's been decided that kids cannot enter this restaurant.

私の家では食事の後、自分が使ったお皿を洗うことになっている。
At home after we eat now, we're supposed to wash the dishes we used ourselves.

その美術館の中時に、写真を取ってはいけないことになっているよ。
It's been decided that you're not supposed to take pictures when you're in the museum.

として to Indicate Role

A noun + として can be used to indicate the role, occupation, or capacity of someone or something. It often functions like the word "as" in English, as in "I was working as a waitress for awhile."

この携帯電話は電話をするだけでなく、カメラとしても使える。
Not only can you use this cell phone for calls, but you can also use it as a camera.

トイレである鏡は赤ちゃんにおもちゃとして効くね。
The mirror in the bathroom also works as a toy for the baby.

私の友達はフランスでファッションモデルとして働いています。
My friend works as a fashion model in France.

部屋である机は収納として使われている。
The desk in my room is used as storage.

More on なら

Previously I learned that なら can be used as a contextual "if" type word, although it can't be used universally to express an if statement. As Tobira says, "it's used when the speaker supposes that something is the case or is true and makes a statement, suggestion, etc. based on that supposition.

の is added before なら if the supposition is based on hearsay, i.e., if the speaker has heard what they're saying from someone or somewhere else.

One difference between なら and たら, another "if" form: The sentence structure [Sentence 1 + (if word) + Sentence 2] is often used. In the case of  なら, the action or event in Sentence 1 does not need to take place before that in Sentence 2. However, when using たら, the action in Sentence 1 does have to take place before that in Sentence 2. An example:

本を読むなら、電気をつけなさい。
If you're going to read a book, turn on the light.

Since the "turn on the light" action would have to take place before the "read a book" action, the たら "if" form could not be used here.

車を運転するのなら、お酒を飲んではいけません。
If it's true that you're driving a car, then you must not drink.

日本語なら、一日中に勉強出来るよ。
If it's Japanese, then I can study all day long.

日本に行くのなら、JRパスを買っておいた方がいいですよ。
If you do go to Japan, then you should buy a JR pass (in preparation).

部屋でゴミがたくさんあるのなら、捨てなきゃよ。
If there really is a lot of trash in your room, you need to throw it away.

それに to Provide Additional Info

それに can be used at the start of a sentence or mid-sentence to mean something like "in addition", "furthermore", "and", or similar types of "additional language." It means that you're about to provide extra info on whatever you were talking about.

日本語を勉強し始めた時、ひらがなとカタカナ、それに漢字を覚えなくてはいけなかったので、とても大変だった。でも、やめなくてよかった。
When I first started studying Japanese, I had to memorize hiragana, katakana, and on top of that, kanji, so it was really tough. But I'm glad I didn't quit.

リーさんはすごくかっこよくて、頭がいいよね。それに富んでるんだよ！
Lee-san is really handsome and smart. And on top of that, he's rich!

そのアルバイトはあまり大変じゃないし、それに給料もいい。
That job's not very difficult, and the pay is good too.

明日仕事では親分にお茶をいれなきゃ。それに昼ごはんを払わなきゃ。
Yesterday at work I had to make tea for my boss. And then I had to pay for his lunch.

型 As a Suffix

The word 型 can be added to a noun or a select few adjectives to function as something meaning "style", "type", "model", "design", or other similar words. It reads as がた when used as a suffix like this.

ドラえもんは、実はネコ型ロボットなんです。知っていましたか？
Doraemon is really just a cat-type robot. Did you know that?

妹の誕生日に ドラゴン型の毛布を作ってあげたんだ。
I made my little sister a dragon-pattern blanket for her birthday.

父は1950年型のキャデラックのクラシックカーを持っています。
My dad has a 1950 style classic Cadillac car.

毎日学校でリーさんは車型の弁当を持っている。
Every day at school, Lee-san has a car-shaped bento.

同じぐらい / くらい

The particle ぐらい / くらい can be used after 同じ to express "approximately the same" or "about the same." The structure is often noun + と同じ + ぐらい / くらい. As a side note, I looked up the usage of ぐらい versus くらい and people stated that they're interchangeable, although ぐらい sounds more colloquial.

今、私が住んでいるアパートの広さは、この部屋と同じぐらいです。
The size of the apartment I'm living in now is about the same as this room.

東京の物価はニューヨークと同じぐらい高い。
Tokyo's prices are about as expensive as New York's.

そのロボットは人間と同じぐらい上手に自転車に乗れる。
That robot can ride a bike about as well as a human.

田中君は僕達と同じぐらいの年だと思うよ。
I think Tanaka-kun and I are about the same age.

他に as "Other Than" or "In Addition To"

A noun + の他に is typically used to mean "in addition to [noun]" or "besides [noun]." It can also be used with verbs and adjectives to mean "in addition to [verb]-ing" or "in addition to being [adjective]", respectively. In some contexts it's used to mean "except for" or "other than."

このクラスにはキムさんの他に韓国語が出来る学生がいますか？
Is there a student in this class who can speak Korean besides Kim?

今日は授業に出る他は、何も予定がない。
Besides going to class today, I don't have any other plans.

日本では、日本語を勉強する他に、色々な所に旅行にも行きたいと思っている。
In Japan, in addition to studying Japanese, I think I also want to go traveling to various places.

週末は宿題がたくさんあったので、勉強の他には何も出来なかった。
I had a lot of homework this weekend, so I couldn't do anything else besides studying.