Questions tagged [demonstratives]
指示語. Questions regarding those words or particles that function similarly to the set of English adjectives and pronouns including "that", "these", "this", and "those".
34 questions
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neutral-description when X(が) is variously modified
The following is from this guide to が versus は:
Below are subjects that are within the universe of discourse by
default: [...]
Subjects modified with additional information, such as この / その / あの,
今日の,...
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neutral-description が / は when Xが is variously modified
I'm looking for clarification about a passage from this guide about が VS は on Reddit. I'm going to use some technical terms from Susumu Kuno's "The Structure of the Japanese Language, Chapter II....
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Did are/a/ano evolve from kare/ka/kano?
In answer another question of mine regarding Old Japanese pronouns, user Arfrever made an interesting claim:
Coincidentally, kare and kanozyo personal pronouns in Modern Japanese have also developed ...
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そんな VS その - category VS specific
そんな is often translated in bilingual dictionaries (such as jisho) with expressions along the lines of "such, that sort of, that kind of".
This suggests to me that そんな literally refers to ...
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2
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Understanding「そのあと」as the object of 「埋める」 in this sentence?
I am currently reading 《ノルウェイの森》
And there is a sentence that I am quite confused about:
体の中の何かが欠落して、そのあとを埋めるものもないまま、それは純粋な空洞として放置されていた。
I think 欠落する can be treated as lacking of something and 埋める ...
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Why is それは used in this sentence?
The character are walking together and they just meet after a while. The character on the right says "If the wind blows, it still is nice, but it gotten hot"
To that, the second character ...
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How to read そう in front of pronouns, nouns, and verbs?
I know そう definitions include "so, like that, such, and in such a way," and it can act demonstrative before verbs to describe whatever the verb is happening "like that."
I've seen ...
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この vs その when referring to the previous sentence?
My textbook states that sometimes, both この and その can be used to refer to the previous sentence.
Some examples:
先週木村さんという人に会った。{この、その}人は大学の先生だ。
私は子供の頃、よく近くの広場で遊んだ。しかし、{この、その}場所はもうない。
アメリカで新しい薬が開発された。{...
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What is the difference between 当{とう} and この?
I am making a website and needed inspiration for a "404 not found" page in Japanese.
Going to a non-existent page on Amazon.co.jp (ex: amazon.co.jp/aaaaaaa) gives this message:
何{なに}かお探{さが}...
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Is there a kanji form of ああ?
Is there a kanji form of ああ, like there is for [斯]{こ}う, [然]{そ}う, and [如何]{どう}? I've searched online, but neither Jisho.org, Wiktionary, or Weblio list a kanji version for demonstrative ああ, like they ...
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その without a following noun?
A: あの～、すみません。
B: はい。
A: このへんにこうしゅうでんわはありますか。
B: こうしゅうでんわですか？
A: ええ。
B: えーっと...ああ、コンビニのまえにじどうはんばいきがありますね。
こうしゅうでんわはそのとなりにありますよ。
Image
In the sentence こうしゅうでんわはそのとなりにありますよ, why その allowed ...
user34759
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「その＋名詞」ｖｓ「この＋名詞」
I am currently working through the N1 grammar preparation book 「新完全マスター 文法」and one of the later chapters of the book deals with the difference between 「その＋名詞」and「この＋名詞」.
There are two examples given:
...
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こんな、そんな、あんな、どんな + na-adjectives
How do they interact with each other? I know that depending on the part of speech these words may have/have no particle after them, but what about na-adjectives? Do these pronouns have any particle in ...
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What's the difference between "doko ga ... desu ka" and "... doko ni arimasu ka"?
I'm reading a textbook and I have this example:
Takashi-san no ie wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Trying to understand why is arimasu used instead of desu I rephrased it like so:
Doko ga Takashi-san no ...
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Kochira vs Konohito and Donohito vs Donata
I'm reading a textbook and I've encountered these examples:
Kochira wa donata desu ka?
Konohito wa donohito desu ka?
I know the first one is a more polite way of asking about someone, but is there ...
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basic grammar of pointing words
I am having some trouble with kore, sore, are, dore, dore no, kono, sono, ano, dono, koko, soko and doko. I know what they mean but I am trying to put them into sentence and the order of the particles ...
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どうしてこの会話では、話し手と聞き手両方が「そこ」を使っているのに、同じ場所を指すのですか？
日本語
日本語の練習をしようと思ったので初めて日本語で質問を書きました。文法の間違いがあったら編集していただけませんか？
僕はここでこんな会話を読んでいました。
アリス） 図書館はどこ？
ボブ） ここが図書館だ。
アリス） そこは図書館じゃない？
ボブ） そこじゃない。図書館はここだ。
僕はこう翻訳しました。
Alice) Where is the library?
Bob) Here ...
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其れは... and 其の... Trying to restructure sentences using both words
So I have this sentence:
其れはスーサンの鞄です
Can I restructure this sentence into:
其の鞄はスーサンのです
?
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1
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Why is そう used to refer to something the speaker just said?
This is what I know about the こそあど words:
こ〜 is used to refer to something that is close to the speaker
そ〜 is used to refer to something that is close to the listener or something not too far away ...
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「このＸのＹ」– What does この refer to?
I was reading about the upcoming movie この[世界]{せかい}の[片隅]{かたすみ}に - and I thought about what the title might mean. I quickly arrived at "In a corner of this world" (which some sources also seem to list ...
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Why/when should I use the different forms of this and that?
When do I use これ, それ, and あれ vs この, その, and あの to say "this" or "that".
example: why is it
それはペンです
vs
そのはペンです
?
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Using demonstratives with time periods
I want to express 'These past one and a half years...'. E.g. 'These past one and a half years have been really fun!'
What I've come up with so far is: この一年半間で。。。[past tense].
I think I've just made ...
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What's the difference between それ、これ and あれ
What's the difference between these words? I read a lot of explanations in various books but they aren't clear for me. It says that depending on the object distance, the first, second or third needs ...
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What does it mean when この is in front of a personal pronoun?
As in このオレさま and この僕も. I know the literal translation, but I never understood what the intent of it is.
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Why 罪人＝犯罪者のこと、not just 犯罪者？
I was reading a guide to 刑事ドラマ and 時代劇場. Most of the definitions follow the format:
真犯人：本当の犯人。
盗人・盗賊：他人の物を盗む人。
However for one or two words such as 「罪人」 it says:
罪人：犯罪者**のこと**。例：...
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How are こと and こんな being used in this sentence?
I have to translate the following.
メモには、「毎日、家のことをしてくれて、ありがとう。」と書いてありました。
こんなやさしい、ロマンチックな日本人の男の人がいると思いますか。
For the first sentence, I am not sure what the note says.
In the note, "Every day, you ...
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concerning あ こ そ words
Out of curiosity I looked up その in a monolingual dictionary, the first thing I see Is
［連体］《代名詞「そ」＋格助詞「の」から》What on earth is a "case marking particle"? Is this the の particle that simply means "of"?
...
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What is その doing in そのあの子?
The following speech is from a video game called ファイアーエムブレム 新・暗黒竜と光の剣:
父上に万一の事があれば
マルスは
アリティア王家唯一の男子。
世界でただ1人の
神剣ファルシオン
継承者となるのです。
あの子は
アリティアの希望
アリティアの未来。
...
user1478
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Irregularity of あ-series in demonstratives
Why is the あ-series in demonstratives irregular like the following:
ここ そこ あ そこ どこ
(expected あこ)
こう そう あ あ どう
(expected あう)
Is it related to the fact that こ, そ, ど ...
user458
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2
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Is その always or only occasionally a demonstrative adjective?
The following Japanese sentence was translated with その as "the":
その 仕事の一部を誰かにやってもらったほうがいい。
You should get someone else to do some of the work for you.
while I translated it with その as "that":
...
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Extracting from, and introducing to Universe of Discourse using は and が with こそあど-demonstratives
Consider the following:
このりんご（ は / が ）食べないでください。
Person A: どちらが東ですか。
Person B： こちら（ は / が ）東です。
Workbook answers are は for 1. and が for 2.
In 1., I would expect the person to be ...
Flaw♦
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その中( に / で / から ) What is the correct choice of particles?
Excerpt from a JLPT practice question:
Background information: the writer was looking for rental apartments.
次に行ったところは小さい会社ですが、そこの人は大変優しい人でした。 それにいいアパートもたくさんありました。 私はその中[Blank]好きな家を借りました。 今、...
Flaw♦
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What are the origins of the 「こそあど」 demonstratives?
I've noticed the following sets of words that seem to have a very obvious pattern, and, of course, their meanings are very closely related:
これ、 それ、 あれ、 どれ
この、 その、 あの、 どの
ここ、 そこ、 あそこ、 どこ
What are the ...
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What is the difference between その and あの?
Superficially, I get the sense that あの is for something far away from both speaker and listener, and その is for something closer to the listener than speaker. However, I seem to get in trouble when ...
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