The rentaikei + の (no) substantivates the verb, or in other words,
turnes the verb into a noun. It has the same function as 事 (koto)
meaning "thing" or "matter".
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今、読むのは本だ。 (Ima, yomu no
wa hon da.)
What I'm reading at the moment, is a book. |
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Since the verb has now become a noun, you can use it as the grammatical
object, subject or indirect object if you wish. This results in
combinations with the particle の (no) and other particles.
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買いたいのが高い。 (Kaitai no
ga takai.)
The one I want to buy is expensive.
高いのを買わない。 (Takai no wo
kawanai.)
I'm not going to buy the expensive one.
聞いたのは鳥です。 (Kiita no wa
tori desu.)
What I heard was a bird.
小さいのにあります。 (Chiisai no
ni arimasu.)
It's in the small one.
速いので行ってみたい。 (Hayai no de
itte mitai.)
I want to try and go with the fast one. |
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NOTE: Besides "no ni" and
"no de" you may also encounter "noni"
and "node".
Their functions are quite different.
The Rentaikei + のだ (no da)
The rentaikei + のだ (no da) gives the main verb some emphasis, but
in translations it's usually left out. The "no da" construction
is often used to put some variation in one's writing or speaking
style to make it less monotonous.
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明日、行くのです。 (Ashita, iku no
desu.)
I'm going tomorrow. (literally: It's that I'm going tomorrow.)
新しい車が高いのだ。 (Atarashii kuruma ga takai no
da.)
New cars are expensive. (literally: It's that new cars are
expensive.) |
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The Rentaikei + の? (no?)
The rentaikei + の? (no?) is short for のだか。 (no da ka.). The function
is the same as the rentaikei + か (ka) except that it is only used
in informal speech. In combination with polite forms か should be
used.
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明日、行くの? (Ashita, iku no?)
Are you going tomorrow?
新しい車が高いの? (Atarashii kuruma ga takai no?)
Are new cars expensive? |
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NOTE: Verbs preceding の (no) cannot
be in the polite form. These are incorrect or have a different meaning.
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聞きましたのです。 (Kikimashita no desu.)
(incorrect)
高いですの? (Takai desu
no?) (incorrect)
速いですので行ってみたいです。
(Hayai desu no de itte mitai desu.)
(incorrect)
速いですので行ってみたいです。 (Hayai desu node
itte mitai desu.)
I want to try and go there because it's fast. |
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Related pages:
Rentaikei
+ か (ka)
Interrogative
forms
The particle "か"
(ka)
The particle "の"
(no)
The particle
"ので" (node)
The particle "のに"
(noni) |
