I have a doubt about the use of ～てみる


とっさにシートに **触ってみたら** 、ぞっとする程冷たかった。

Does the structure in bold mean: "I have immediately tried to touch the seat"?




I would not translate the structure in bold (触ってみたら) that way.

> とっさにシートに触ってみたら、ぞっとする程冷たかった。

First off たら is indeed a conditional and it's key to understanding the
construction as a whole.

The latter part means "it was cold enough to make me shiver."

  * ぞっとする = [to shiver](http://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%9E%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A8%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B).
  * [程]{ほど} is an expression of degree
  * 冷たかった = it was cold.

The left hand part means "when i tried to touch the seat"

*シート = either seat or sheet * 触る (here conjugated as 触って) = to touch * ~てみる is a helping verb that means to "try"

I'd actually say とっさに = for a brief moment applies to the entire construction.

So then we get "when I tried to touch the sheet/seat for a moment it was cold
enough to make me shiver"




I would not translate the structure in bold (触ってみたら) that way.

> とっさにシートに触ってみたら、ぞっとする程冷たかった。

First off たら is indeed a conditional and it's key to understanding the
construction as a whole.

The latter part means "it was cold enough to make me shiver."

  * ぞっとする = [to shiver](http://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%9E%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A8%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B).
  * [程]{ほど} is an expression of degree
  * 冷たかった = it was cold.

The left hand part means "when i tried to touch the seat"

*シート = either seat or sheet * 触る (here conjugated as 触って) = to touch * ~てみる is a helping verb that means to "try"

I'd actually say とっさに = for a brief moment applies to the entire construction.

So then we get "when I tried to touch the sheet/seat for a moment it was cold
enough to make me shiver"

