I don't understand this correction to my sentence. 日本語を勉強して過ごしています


> でも今ほとんどすべての暇は日本語を勉強することを過ごしています。  
>  "I spend most of my free time studying Japanese"

A couple people corrected me and said it should be: 日本語を勉強して過ごしています。

I know you connect 2 verbs with the te form, but I thought that was 2 verbs
that come after each other like 'get up and go to work'

What am I missing?




After looking into the grammar to be sure, I can say with confidence that the
edits are correct.

The て-form can behave in several different ways, and as you have noticed there
are times where it behaves more like an 'and' in some sentences, but this is
not the only function. There are many grammars that use the て-form, like [～て +
も](https://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-
jlpt-n4-grammar-%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82-temo/), [～て +
いる](http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/teform), and others.

In this particular case, the て-form + 過ごす is another form of grammar meaning
'to spend time verbing'.

Here's a
[webpage](http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/skills/vocab/sentences/?vocabid=86482)
with examples of how to use 過ごす. Sentences in which 過ごす modifies a verb uses
the て-form, and I will list only two of the many examples from the webpage
here:

> **(1)** 私は暇なときはラジオを聴いて過ごすことが多いです。  
>  I often spend my leisure time listening to the radio.
>
> **(2)** 次の日曜日は小説を読んで過ごすつもりだ。  
>  I will spend next Sunday reading novels.

Grammatically, the construction is simple put a verb into the base-て form, and
then add 過ごす. Then, you get the phrase 'pass time verbing.' The amount of time
being passed depends on the context of the rest of the sentence, and it needs
to be designated. However, the general construction really is this simple.

* * *

So what's the difference?

I'm sorry to say it, but your initial attempt was grammatically incorrect. So
sadly, the difference is simply what is and what is not grammatical. I'll copy
the pertinent part below and break it down for you.

> 日本語を勉強すること **を** 過ご[す]

As you are no doubt aware, the を particle denotes a direct object. 過ごす, as it
turns out, takes a period of time as the direct object. As 日本語を勉強すること does not
mark a period of time, it is grammatically incorrect. The period of time does
not have to be specific.

