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[ARCHIVE] Ultimate guide to particle の

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Fnirk1
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[ARCHIVE] Ultimate guide to particle の

Post by Fnirk1 »

Originally posted by: KeithWong9 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/34588859


So you only know is a \"possessive" particle, and when coming across Duolingo's Tree 2.0, starts appearing everywhere? Here is my ultimate guide on .

I have seen many questions around the use of in the sentences forum, so I decided to make my guide on 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, can mean one of the followings:

  • possessive - AB is translated to "A's B" or "B of A." There can be flexible translations, see examples.
    *私(わたし)カバン - My bag
    *夏(なつ)夜(よる) - Summer night (or a night in summer)
    *東京(とうきょう)街(まち)- Street/Town in Tokyo
    * 九月(くがつ)中旬(ちゅうじゅん) - Middle September
    * マリア先生(せんせい)授業(じゅぎょう) - Teacher Maria's class

  • property - AB can mean A is a property/trait of B.
    *友達(ともだち)田中(たなか)さん - My friend, Mr. Tanaka

    • 緑(みどり)シャツ - A green shirt
      *金(きん)玉(たま) - A golden ball
      *誕生日(たんじょうび)プレゼント - A birthday present (or a present for birthday)
      * 新宿(しんじゅく)へ電車(でんしゃ) - A train heading to Shinjuku
      *五時(ごじ)までセール - A bargain sale until 5 o'clock
      *たくさん人(ひと) - A large number of people

  • Marks the subject in a subordinate (adjectival) clause.
    *背(せ)高(たか)い人 - A tall person. We can replace with が. 背が高い人.
    *花(はな)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 + " or "a clause + ." We call the latter "nominalizing" the clause. 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)を使(つか)ってください - Please use mine. の = のもの
      *黒(くろ)いがいいよ - The black one is good, you know. の = ほう
      *昨日(きのう)買(か)っただめだ。- 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)したで、先生(せんせい)に怒(おこ)られました。 - Yes,ので is particle + particle and の = わけ, stating the previous clause is a reason.

  • Casual question marker. at the end of the sentence and with a rising intonation.
    *これ、何(なん)っていう- How do we call this?
    *今日(きょう)は休(やす)みな- Is today a day off?

  • Casual affirmative or imperative marker mostly used by female. at the end of the sentence and with a falling intonation.
    *今日(きょう)は休(やす)みな - Today is a day off.
    * 遊(あそ)んでないで勉強(べんきょう)する - 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

  1. 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.
  2. 副助詞(ふくじょし) Adverbial particles - These attach to many types of words to act as an adverb.
  3. 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.

  1. 連体修飾格(れんたいしゅうしょくかく) - binding nouns to nouns
  2. 主格(しゅかく) - marking subjects
  3. 同格(どうかく) - "apposition"
  4. 体格(じゅんたいかく)- acting as a noun.
  5. 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.

  1. To show possession: 私(わたし)カバン - My bag; 田中(たなか)さんベッド - Mr. Tanaka's bed
  2. To show association: 会社(かいしゃ)一員(いちいん) - A member of the company; 病院(びょういん)先生(せんせい) - A doctor of the hospital
  3. To show the location of a noun: 東京(とうきょう)街(まち)A town in Tokyo; 日本(にほん)友達(ともだち) - A friend in Japan
  4. To show the time of a noun: 九月(くがつ)旬(ちゅうじゅん) - Middle September;夏(なつ)(うみ) - The sea in summer
  5. To show the author or actor of a noun: 校長(こうちょう)話(はなし) - Head master's words; マリア先生(せんせい)授業(じゅぎょう) - Teacher Maria's class
  6. To show relationship of a noun: 友達(ともだち)田中(たなか)さん - My friend, Mr. Tanaka; おすすめ一品(いっぴん) A dish of today's special
  7. To show the status or property of a noun: 緑(みどり)シャツ - A green shirt; 閉店中(へいてんちゅう)スーパー - A closed supermarket; 五時(ごじ)までセール - A bargain sale until 5 o'clock; 新宿(しんじゅく)へ電車(でんしゃ) - A train heading to Shinjuku
  8. To show the material used: 金(きん)玉(たま) - A golden ball; 石(いし)像(ぞう) - A stone statue
  9. To show the name of the noun: 三河(みかわ)国(くに) - Mikawa Province; 「その山(やま)を富士(ふじ)(やま)とは名(な)づけける」〈竹取〉 - That mountain was called Mountain Fuji;
  10. To show the quantity or ranking: たくさん人(ひと) - A large number of people; 三枚(さんまい)写真(しゃしん) - Three pieces of photograph
  11. To show the object/target of the action noun: 犬(いぬ)散歩(さんぽ) - A walk with the dog; 家(いえ)建築(けんちく) - Building of a house
  12. To show the purpose of the noun: 誕生日(たんじょうび)プレゼント - A birthday present; 東京(とうきょう)まで特急券(とっきゅうけん) - The super express ticket bound for Tokyo
  13. To express a metaphor: 花(はな)都(みやこ) - A city like a flower; 閃光(せんこう)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)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)高(たか)い人 - A tall person. We can also say 背が高い人.
  • 花(はな)咲(さ)くころ - The time when flowers blossom. We can also say 花が咲くころ.
  • 私(わたし)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)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)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)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)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.

  • やかましいうるさいと文句(もんく)ばかり言(い)う - Keeps complaining that it is noisy and annoying.
  • 痛(いた)い痛(いた)くないって涙(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)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)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? - 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? - 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。- 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。- 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。 - 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。 - 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

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