Using the 'wa' particle twice in a sentence...

Hello everyone,

I'm a little confused about the use of particles in a module 4.2 sentence: 

わたし に は そんな に おもしろ そう に は みえません。
Watashi ni wa sonnani omoshiro sō ni wa mie masen / It does not look very fun to me.

I understand the usage of わたし に は (to me/as for me), but am confused by そんな に おもしろ そう に は.  From what I've gathered so far, は can be used with other particles to define the topic, but I don't understand why には is used a second time.  It the particle combination a contrast statement of saying "compared to other reading material" - otherwise, the usage of に seems odd?  It doesn't really fit my understanding an research of that particle when used like this.

I saw the same question posted a couple of months ago by someone who is also stumped by it .  Thank you very much for any help you can offer.
 

Hi イリニ、 I think in this case, it's easier to think of "ni wa" by itself as "as for..."

So I would read the sentence more literally as: As for me, as for "seeming/looking interesting/fun", not see. {I know that sounds like Yoda, but... :D }

In this sense, my translation would be more like: "As for me, as for seeming/looking interesting/fun, I don't see it."

I think it helps to think of は as a topic maker in this case. The first 私 (わたし) には marks that it is you/私 who is "not seeing" something, and the second には marks that the topic is the "something seeming/looking fun".

Another way this could have been written (which would be more in keeping with the translation} is: 私には、面白　(おもしろ) くな　そうです。- As for me, it doesn't seem/look fun/interesting.

Oh!!!  Well... It didn't occur to me to think of the sentence in that way, or construct it like that ...!  It's enlightening as well as a little confusing :-)

When I look at the sentence, would it also be correct to say:

わたし に は そんな に おもしろ そう  みえません。
Watashi ni wa sonnani omoshiro sō mie masen

Thank you so much for clarifying this - the explanation was so helpful.
 

そんなに implies a kind of "in *such a* condition" or "to *that* extent", so it's an adverbial expression and a noun is still needed, like "book" (本/ほん) or "thing" (事/こと).

The tricky part is that in Japanese, we have to make a noun phrase so the verb is at the end, so we wouldn't say "a book/thing that looks that much fun (I don't see)", we have to say "a that much fun-looking book/thing (I don't see)" (or, loosely translated, "It (the book/thing) doesn't look *that* interesting to me.")

All the qualifiers of the noun go before the noun so the structure would be:

わたしには　そんなにおもしろそう　ほん (本)/ことを　みえません。

The object that you "can't see" is the book/thing, so it gets the particle を。

Edited: I just thought of another way using の instead of こと：わたしには　そんなにおもしろそうの は　みえません。

Ok thank you, I think I see.  So, the second には that I omitted is needed because it's a way to reference the manga book  (as for: whatever is being talked about).  Would that be right?

Exactly, it's because of the change in reference from "me" to "fun thing".

Got it  - thanks a million!!

こんにちは (Konnichiwa) toru e and イ リ ニ,

Thank you for your question!
This is a tricky one! 

As you've both realised, the first に　は (ni wa) means "as for," so when we use it with the noun わたし (watashi), we can say "as for me." However, the second に　は (ni wa) actually means something a little different.

The に (ni) in おもしろそう　に　は　みえません (omoshirosō ni wa miemasen) is actually part of the grammar construction に　みえます (ni miemasu). When we add に　みえます (ni miemasu) to a な (na) adjective, we can say that something "looks like" or "appears as if." Basically what it's saying is something like this:

おもしろそう　に　みえません。　つまらなく　みえます。 (Omoshirosō ni miemasen. Tsumaranaku miemasu.)  "(It) doesn't look interesting. (It) looks boring."

We can imply all of this just by using は (wa): 

わたし　に　は　そんな　に　おもしろそう　に　は　みえません。
(Watashi ni wa sonna ni omoshirosō ni wa miemasen.)
"As for me, (it) doesn't look that interesting (it looks boring)."

If you want to read a little more about how to use は (wa) to show contrast, you can check the section on は (wa) in this brand new lesson:
https://members.rocketlanguages.com/members/japanese/lessons/5045/2-7-Joining-Words

イ リ ニ, to make your example sentence correct, you would need to add a に (ni) before みえます (miemasu). The rest is perfect! 

toru e, unfortunately, わたし　に　は　そんなに　おもしろそう　ほん (本)/ことを　みえません would be grammatically incorrect. Instead, you should say this:

わたし　に　は　そんなに　おもしろそう　な　ほん　に　みえません。 (Watashi ni wa sonnani omoshirosō na hon ni miemasen.) "(It) doesn't look like an interesting book."

Since そう (sō) is a な (na) adjective, we need to add a な (na) to modify the word "book."
Also, it's true that normally you would use を (o) with みえません (miemasen); however, since we're using the grammar structure に　みえます (ni miemasu) "looks like," we need to use  a に (ni) here instead.

I hope this helped! Please let me know if you have any other questions!

べんきょう　を　がんばって　ください！ (Benkyō o ganbatte kudasai!)

こんにちは (Konnichiwa) イ リ ニ,

Thanks for the lovely feedback, and good luck with your study! :)
べんきょう　を　がんばって　ください！ (Benkyō o ganbatte kudasai!)