猫はネズミを追いかけたが、捕まえる事はできなかった。

cat; shamisen; geisha; wheelbarrow; clay bed-warmer; bottom; submissive partner of a homosexual relationship

topic marker particle; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis

mouse; rat; dark gray; dark grey; slate (color, colour)

indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.

to chase; to run after; to pursue

indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; still; and

to catch; to arrest; to seize

thing; matter; incident; occurrence; event; something serious; trouble; crisis; circumstances; situation; state of affairs; work; business; affair; after an inflectable word, creates a noun phrase indicating something the speaker does not feel close to; nominalizing suffix; pretending to ...; playing make-believe ...; alias; aka; nickname; alternative name; also known as

to be able (in a position) to do; to be up to the task; to be ready; to be completed; to be made; to be built; to be good at; to be permitted (to do); to become intimate; to take up (with somebody); to grow; to be raised; to become pregnant