Kinō-no chōsa-kekka-o hōkokusho-ni matomemashita. (I put the results of yesterday's research together into a report.)

Situation 1: Ms. Gray gives a report to her boss, Mr. Okubo.

グレイ： きのうの調査結果を報告書にまとめました。

大久保： ああ、ありがとう。相変わらず仕事が早いね。

Gurei: Kinō-no chōsa-kekka-o hōkokusho-ni matomemashita.

Ōkubo: Aa, arigatō. Aikawarazu shigoto-ga hayai-ne.

Gray: I put the results of yesterday's research together into a report.

Okubo: Oh, thank you. You're as quick off the mark as ever.

Today we will introduce the proper use of two verbs, まとめる and まとまる. まとめる is a transitive verb that means to collect or put lots of separate things together in a united whole. Examples: あした北海道(ほっかいどう)に行(い)くので、荷物(にもつ)をまとめた (I packed my things because I'm off to Hokkaido tomorrow); 週末 (しゅうまつ)に１週間分(いっしゅうかんぶん)の食料(しょ くりょう)をまとめて買(か)う (I buy food in bulk for the whole week on the weekend). まとめる is also used when organizing ideas or a plan. 卒論(そつろん)をまとめて提出(ていしゅつ)し なければならない (I have to complete my thesis and turn it in); スタッフの意見(いけん)をまとめた (I summarized the opinions of our staff). まとめる can be used in the context of 交渉(こうしょう, negotiations), 契約(けいやく, contracts) or 商談(しょうだん, business negotiations), where it means "to settle." Example: この商談(しょうだん)を何(なん)とかしてまとめたい (Somehow, we want to settle these business talks).

Situation 2: Continued from Situation 1.

大久保： グレイさんの報告書はいつも読みやすいね。この前 のも、よくまとまっていたよ。

グレイ： ありがとうございます。以前の会社でずいぶん 鍛えられたんです。

Ōkubo: Gurei-san-no hōkokusho-wa itsumo yomiyasui-ne. Kono mae-no-mo, yoku matomatte-ita-yo.

Gurei: Arigatō-gozaimasu. Izen-no kaisha-de zuibun kitaerareta-n-desu.

Okubo: Your reports are always easy to read. Your last one was well put together, too.

Gray: Thank you very much. I learned a lot of the skills at the last company I worked at.

The intransitive verb of まとめる is まとまる. This means "to be collected/united/organized" or "to reach an agreement." Example: 考(かんが)えがまとまらない (I've not collected together my ideas/I can't kick my ideas into shape). まとまった before a noun such as お金(かね, money) means "a lot of" and is used as in: 家(いえ)を建(た)てるには、まとまった額(がく)のお金(かね)が必要(ひつよう)だ (When building a house, you need a large amount of money.)

Bonus Dialogue: Mr. Sere and his girlfriend, Yuri, are chatting at a coffee shop.

セレ： あーあ、考(かんが)えがまとまらないなあ。長時間労働(ちょうじかんろうどう)を減(へ)らすにはどうしたらいいか、レポートをまとめなきゃならないけど。

ゆり： その点(てん)、うちの会社(かいしゃ)は残業(ざんぎょう)があまりないし、在宅(ざいたく)ワークもできるし、働きやすいよ。

セレ： そういえばそうだね。

ゆり： 休(やす)みもまとめて取(と)ることができるしね。お給料(きゅうりょう)はいまいちだけど。

セレ： うちもみんないろいろ考えているんだけど、話(はなし)がなかなかまとまらないんだ。

ゆり： こっちは組織(そしき)が小(ちい)さいから、まとまり やすいのよね。

セレ： いいね。でも、たまには残業するんでしょ。

ゆり： うん。どうしてもまとめたい契約(けいやく)があるときとか、しちゃうけど。

セレ： そうか。...あ、いけない。お金(かね)を下(お)ろすのを忘(わす)れてた！

ゆり： ここのお金は私がまとめて払(はら)っておくから、心配(しんぱい)しないで。

Sere: Argh, I just can't get my ideas into shape! What should we do to shorten our long working hours? I've got to finish a report about this.

Yuri: As for that stuff, our company is a good place to work. We don't do overtime and we can work from home.

Sere: Come to think of it, you're right.

Yuri: We can take our days off all in one go, though our salary leaves a lot to be desired.

Sere: Everyone in my company is thinking about this, too. But it's difficult to reach an agreement.

Yuri: Our company is small and pretty cohesive.

Sere: That's good. But, you sometimes do overtime, right?

Yuri: Yeah, like when we really want to wrap up a contract.

Sere: Ah, right. ... Oh no, I forgot to get my money out.

Yuri: I'll scrape together some cash for this. Don't worry.