Originally posted by: KeithWong9 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/34588859
So you only know の is a \"possessive" particle, and when coming across Duolingo's Tree 2.0, の starts appearing everywhere? Here is my ultimate guide on の.
I have seen many questions around the use of の in the sentences forum, so I decided to make my guide on の and later link it to those questions. I am making this guide into short and long versions. So hopefully TL;DR type of people can read the beginning, while nerds can check the latter part also.
Short version
Generally,の can mean one of the followings:
possessive - AのB is translated to "A's B" or "B of A." There can be flexible translations, see examples.
*私(わたし)のカバン - My bag
*夏(なつ)の夜(よる) - Summer night (or a night in summer)
*東京(とうきょう)の街(まち)- Street/Town in Tokyo
* 九月(くがつ)の中旬(ちゅうじゅん) - Middle September
* マリア先生(せんせい)の授業(じゅぎょう) - Teacher Maria's classproperty - AのB can mean A is a property/trait of B.
*友達(ともだち)の田中(たなか)さん - My friend, Mr. Tanaka- 緑(みどり)のシャツ - A green shirt
*金(きん)の玉(たま) - A golden ball
*誕生日(たんじょうび)のプレゼント - A birthday present (or a present for birthday)
* 新宿(しんじゅく)への電車(でんしゃ) - A train heading to Shinjuku
*五時(ごじ)までのセール - A bargain sale until 5 o'clock
*たくさんの人(ひと) - A large number of people
- 緑(みどり)のシャツ - A green shirt
Marks the subject in a subordinate (adjectival) clause.
*背(せ)の高(たか)い人 - A tall person. We can replace の with が. 背が高い人.
*花(はな)の咲(さ)くころ - The time when flowers blossom. = 花が咲くころ.Acting as a noun - It appears as "a noun + の" or "a clause + の." We call the latter "nominalizing" the clause. の acts as an arbitrary noun. In translation we normally make the verb in the clause a gerund.
*私(わたし)は走(はし)るのが上手(じょうず)です - I am strong at running. の = こと and it makes the verb 走る as a noun.- 写真(しゃしん)を撮(と)るのをやめてください - Please stop taking pictures. の = こと and it makes the clause 写真を撮る a noun.
*このペンは田中(たなか)さんのです - This pen is Tanaka's. の = のもの or のペン and we omit the noun because it is repetitive.
*私(わたし)のを使(つか)ってください - Please use mine. の = のもの
*黒(くろ)いのがいいよ - The black one is good, you know. の = ほう
*昨日(きのう)買(か)ったのだめだ。- The one bought yesterday is not good. の = ほう
* 事故(じこ)にあったから、遅刻(ちこく)したのす - の = わけ. のrepresents causes/effects and can be replaced by ん. 遅刻したんです
*遅刻(ちこく)したので、先生(せんせい)に怒(おこ)られました。 - Yes,ので is particle の + particle で and の = わけ, stating the previous clause is a reason.
- 写真(しゃしん)を撮(と)るのをやめてください - Please stop taking pictures. の = こと and it makes the clause 写真を撮る a noun.
Casual question marker. の at the end of the sentence and with a rising intonation.
*これ、何(なん)っていうの?- How do we call this?
*今日(きょう)は休(やす)みなの?- Is today a day off?Casual affirmative or imperative marker mostly used by female. の at the end of the sentence and with a falling intonation.
*今日(きょう)は休(やす)みなの。 - Today is a day off.
* 遊(あそ)んでないで勉強(べんきょう)するの。 - Don't play and do study.
Long version
の has many usages so explanations have to be long. Firstly, prerequisites:
What types of particles does の belong to
There are 4 main types of particles
- 格助詞(かくじょし) Case markers - These mainly attach to nouns to mark a relationship of the noun to the sentence.
2.接続助詞(せつぞくじょし Conjunctive particles - These attach to clauses suggest the relationship between the previous clause and the latter part of the sentence. - 副助詞(ふくじょし) Adverbial particles - These attach to many types of words to act as an adverb.
- 終助詞(しゅうじょし Sentence ending particles - These attach to the end of the sentence to add a certain meaning or mood to the sentence.
の is mainly a 格助詞 (case marker) and can be a 終助詞 (sentence ending particle) as well.
の [/size]as a 格助詞 (case marker)
There are 5 cases "格" [/size]that の can represent. We will look at them one by one.
- 連体修飾格(れんたいしゅうしょくかく) - binding nouns to nouns
- 主格(しゅかく) - marking subjects
- 同格(どうかく) - "apposition"
- 体格(じゅんたいかく)- acting as a noun.
- 連用修飾格(れんようしゅうしょくかく) - binding nouns to verbs/clauses
連体修飾格 (binding nouns to nouns)
The majority of の usages is to bind a noun to another. The usages are further categorized below.
- To show possession: 私(わたし)のカバン - My bag; 田中(たなか)さんのベッド - Mr. Tanaka's bed
- To show association: 会社(かいしゃ)の一員(いちいん) - A member of the company; 病院(びょういん)の先生(せんせい) - A doctor of the hospital
- To show the location of a noun: 東京(とうきょう)の街(まち)A town in Tokyo; 日本(にほん)の友達(ともだち) - A friend in Japan
- To show the time of a noun: 九月(くがつ)の旬(ちゅうじゅん) - Middle September;夏(なつ)の(うみ) - The sea in summer
- To show the author or actor of a noun: 校長(こうちょう)の話(はなし) - Head master's words; マリア先生(せんせい)の授業(じゅぎょう) - Teacher Maria's class
- To show relationship of a noun: 友達(ともだち)の田中(たなか)さん - My friend, Mr. Tanaka; おすすめの一品(いっぴん) A dish of today's special
- To show the status or property of a noun: 緑(みどり)のシャツ - A green shirt; 閉店中(へいてんちゅう)のスーパー - A closed supermarket; 五時(ごじ)までのセール - A bargain sale until 5 o'clock; 新宿(しんじゅく)への電車(でんしゃ) - A train heading to Shinjuku
- To show the material used: 金(きん)の玉(たま) - A golden ball; 石(いし)の像(ぞう) - A stone statue
- To show the name of the noun: 三河(みかわ)の国(くに) - Mikawa Province; 「その山(やま)を富士(ふじ)の(やま)とは名(な)づけける」〈竹取〉 - That mountain was called Mountain Fuji;
- To show the quantity or ranking: たくさんの人(ひと) - A large number of people; 三枚(さんまい)の写真(しゃしん) - Three pieces of photograph
- To show the object/target of the action noun: 犬(いぬ)の散歩(さんぽ) - A walk with the dog; 家(いえ)の建築(けんちく) - Building of a house
- To show the purpose of the noun: 誕生日(たんじょうび)のプレゼント - A birthday present; 東京(とうきょう)までの特急券(とっきゅうけん) - The super express ticket bound for Tokyo
- To express a metaphor: 花(はな)の都(みやこ) - A city like a flower; 閃光(せんこう)のアスナ - Asuna like lightning (search for Sword Art Online on this); 「ただ春(はる)の夜(よる)の夢(ゆめ)のごとし」〈平家〉 - It is like a dream of a night in spring.
主格(しゅかく) (marking subjects)
の can be used to mark a subject in an adjectival clause. The subject can be marked by が as well.
- 背(せ)の高(たか)い人 - A tall person. We can also say 背が高い人.
- 花(はな)の咲(さ)くころ - The time when flowers blossom. We can also say 花が咲くころ.
- 私(わたし)の作(つく)ったケーキです。 - It is the cake that I made. We can also say 私が作ったケーキです。
- それは雨(あめ)の降(ふ)る、 寒(さむ)い晩(ばん)のことでした。- That happened on a raining cold night. We can also say それは雨が降る、 寒い晩のことでした。
- 「月(つき)の出(い)でたらむ夜(よる)」〈竹取〉 - A night where the moon is in the sky
同格(どうかく) (apposition)
の can also be used to describe a noun as an equivalent of another noun equivalent, usually a noun phrase. This construct is less commonly seen. We can use で to replace the の in this case.
- 猫(ねこ)の白(しろ)い方(ほう)を飼(か)いたい。 - I want to adopt a cat which is white in color. We can also say 猫で白い方を飼いたい。 or 白い猫を飼いたい。
- ジュースの冷(ひ)えたのが欲(ほ)しい。 - I want a juice which is chilled. We can also say ジュースで冷えたのが欲しい。 or 冷えたジュースが欲しい。
- 「白(しろ)き鳥(とり)の,嘴(はし)と脚(あし)と赤(あか)き、鴫(しぎ)の大(おほ)きさなる」〈伊勢〉 - A white bird, which has a red beak and feet, and the size of a sandpiper.
準体格(じゅんたいかく) (acting as a noun)
の acts as a noun when it is placed after a noun or adjectival clause, but without a following noun. ("a noun + の" or "a clause + の") Generally people refer the latter as "nominalizing" the adjectival clause.
Examples of the pattern "a noun + の,"
- 私(わたし)のを使(つか)ってください - Please use mine. の = のもの: 私のものを使ってください
- このペンは田中(たなか)さんのです - This pen is Tanaka's. の = のもの or のペン and we omit the noun because it is repetitive: このペンは田中さんのものです
Examples of the pattern "a clause + の,"
- 私(わたし)は走(はし)るのが上手(じょうず)です。 - I am strong at running. の = こと and it makes the verb 走る as a noun. 私は走ることが上手です。
- 写真(しゃしん)を撮(と)るのをやめてください。 - Please stop taking pictures. の = こと and it makes the clause 写真を撮る a noun. 写真を撮ることをやめてください 。
- 鳥(とり)が空(そら)を飛(と)んでいるのを見(み)ました。 - I saw a bird flying in the sky. の = ところ. 鳥が空を飛んでいるところを見ました。
There is a group of usages which is a derivation of this rule. の is in place of わけ, which represents a cause or a consequence. の can be replaced by ん in colloquial form.
- 事故(じこ)にあったから、遅刻(ちこく)したのです - の = わけ. 遅刻したわけです. の can be replaced by ん in colloquial form: 遅刻したんです.
- 遅刻(ちこく)したので、先生(せんせい)に怒(おこ)られました。 - ので is particle の + particle で and の = わけ, stating the previous clause is a reason.遅刻したわけで. 遅刻したんで.
There is a rarely used case: …の…の is used to list examples, similar to the construct \…や…や. …の…ないの using the same adjective can mean that the degree of the adjective is extreme. These examples are usually used with a negative sense.
- やかましいのうるさいのと文句(もんく)ばかり言(い)う - Keeps complaining that it is noisy and annoying.
- 痛(いた)いの痛(いた)くないのって涙(なみだ)が出(で)てきたよ - It was so painful that my tears came out.
連用修飾格(れんようしゅうしょくかく) (binding nouns to verbs/clauses)
Historically の was also used to bind nouns to verbs/adjectives/adverbs but this usage is no longer in modern Japanese. This usage was mainly seen in poems to express a metaphor.
- 「紫草(むらさき)の匂(にほ)へる妹(いも)」〈万葉〉 - My sweetheart with a scent of purple gromwell.
- 「秋風(あきかぜ)にあへず散(ち)りぬるもみぢ葉(ば)のゆくへさだめぬ我(われ)ぞかなしき」〈古今〉 - Just as the red leaves which are not able to stand the autumn wind and fall off, I, who have no clear way in front, am really sad.
の as a 終助詞 (sentence ending particle)
の can be used at the end of a sentence to form either an affirmative sentence or a question. These are mainly casual usages (not used with です/ます). These usages are perhaps derived from the usage where の is used to act as a noun (準体格), since の can be replaced by another noun in these cases just like what we have seen in the examples above.
As a question ending marker
The intonation rises when の is used as a question ending marker.
*これ、何(なん)っていうの? - How do we call this? (Polite form: これは何というのですか。 - の=わけ)
- 今日(きょう)は休(やす)みなの? - Is today a day off? (Polite form: 日は休みなのですか。 - の=わけ)
As an affirmative ending marker
The intonation drops when の is used as an affirmative ending marker. Mainly used by female.
One usage is a plain affirmative ending - it gives a childish impression.
- 今日(きょう)は休(やす)みなの。- Today is a day off. (Polite form: 今日は休みなのです。 - の=わけ)
- 聞(き)きたいことがあるの。- I have something to ask. (Polite form: 聞きたいことがあるのです。 - の=わけ)
Another usage is to order someone usually a child to do something.
- 遊(あそ)んでないで勉強(べんきょう)するの。 - Don't play and do study. の=こと. (Polite form: 遊んでないで勉強してください。)
- 余計(よけい)なことを言(い)わないの。 - Don't say extra things. の=こと. (Polite form: 余計なことを言(い)わないでください。)
Reference
- https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/171157/meaning/m1u/の/ - dictionary on の
- https://kobun.weblio.jp/content/の - dictionary on の (classical Japanese)
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/助詞#口語文法 - Wikipedia on Japanese particles
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_particles - Wikipedia on Japanese particles
- https://kokugaku.net/grammar/no1/ - Grammar notes on の (classical Japanese)
- https://db3.ninjal.ac.jp/SJL/getpdf.php ... 91611490cs - の as a subject marker
- http://harp.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/hju/f ... anabe1.pdf - の acting as a noun and derivations