Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 3: 4/18

ことConverting a verb into a noun

Can also express something that is concrete - a fact.

Structure

Verb + こと

Details

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    Standard

About こと

In a very similar way to のは, こと is used in Japanese for nominalization (creating a noun-like phrase). However, unlike のは, which is a combination of two particles, こと is a noun. To use こと, just add it to the end of a verb in its dictionary form.

こと (or (こと) in its kanji form) is a noun that is often translated as 'thing', and in this way, literally means 'the thing that is (A)' when used for nominalization.

As we can see from these examples, ない can also be used between the verb and こと, to form a 'not' statement. There are other auxiliary verbs that may be used with こと in this way, but ない is the most common.

Although this lesson discusses こと pairing with the dictionary form of verbs, it can actually pair with any standard verb form. Standard form just means anything that does not finish with the polite ます.

Fun Fact

Unlike もの (another noun used to describe 'things'), こと is a noun that is frequently used to describe things that are 'intrinsic'. This basically means things that are describable, but not necessarily always observable (feelings, conditions, events, etc.).

Caution

When a sentence (usually short) finishes with こと, it quite often has the nuance of being a rule, or command. This こと is not actually a noun, but a sentence ending particle.

こと as a particle will almost never be written in the kanji form. However, it does originate from the same word.

Examples

--:--

    日本語(にほんご)(はな)こと(むずか)

    Speaking Japanese is difficult.

    スポーツすること()

    I like playing sports.

    ダンスすること(たの)

    Dancing is fun!

    (おお)(こえ)(しゃべ)らないこと

    Not talking loudly.

    フォークじゃなくて、お(はし)使(つか)うこと

    Not using a fork, using chopsticks.

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こと – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (21 in total)

  • Jake

    Jake

    Conversion of a Verb into a Noun

    Structure

    • Verb + こと, > *Verb[ない] + こと

    View on Bunpro

  • jamie

    jamie

    I’m confused. Are they the same?
    のが好き=ことが好き?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey

    In this case (with 好き・嫌い) の and こと can be used interchangeably.
    BUT の is used much more often.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    This might help:

  • jamie

    jamie

    Thank you very much for your explanation.

  • Jul3

    Jul3

    I’ve been struggling a lot with this grammar point. Most things I’ve encountered on Bunpro up to this point, I’ve been able to just understand from the meaning page and the examples, without having to do outside reading, but this one was a real struggle to comprehend. I didn’t find the linked articles in BP helped me… however, I found this page https://jlptbootcamp.com/2011/02/jlpt-n4-grammar-battle-of-the-nominalizers-no-and-koto-2-of-2/ to be useful.

    Also in the forums, user Kai helped me explain some of the other uses of こと (i.e. ending a sentence in こと) that appear in the Bunpro examples that I didn’t find in the articles I read either: https://community.bunpro.jp/t/have-you-done-your-bunpro-review-today/1120/308?u=jul3

  • domm

    domm

    I’m a little confused by this example sentence:

    この部屋の中で遊ぶ こと はしないでください。

    Why use こと here? It’s followed by する, which, in a way, turns the noun back into a verb.

    So couldn’t I just get rid of both and use

    この部屋の中で遊ばないでください。

    instead to mean the same thing?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey

    They are very similar.

    It is a difference like between:

    • please refrain from playing in this room. (the こと one)
    • don’t play in this room please
  • domm

    domm

    Ah, that makes sense. Thank you for the explanation!

  • deltacat3

    deltacat3

    In this example sentence…

    想像することは大切なことです。
    Using your imagination is important.

    If こと turns a verb into a noun, then what is 大切 using it for here?

  • Pushindawood

    Pushindawood

    @deltacat3 When こと is paired with a verb in plain form (dictionary form) it nominalizes it. However, when it is by itself, it simply means “a thing” or “a matter.” Therefore, 大切なこと means “the thing that is important” or “the important thing.” If we were to translate the above sentence more literally, we would get “The thing that is important is using your imagination (lit. ‘imaginating’).”

  • deltacat3

    deltacat3

    @Pushindawood Thank you kindly for the insight, this is now making alot more sense. Can’t believe I neglected to remember that こと is still a noun at the end of the day haha!

  • JT421

    JT421

    Had a question on one of the sentences related to this grammar point.

    大きい声で___。「喋る」
    Not talking loudly.

    I went for (or at least tried to, didn’t realize verb was godan): 大きい声で喋っていない。

    This was wrong since it was looking for the こと. It seems weird to me like that. Like the sentence is incomplete, cause it looks like its just a noun phrase with nothing else going on. Maybe I am missing something?

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    This こと is one way to state rules. Things one must do. It’s kind of similar to signs in English that might read “no loud talking”. It’s fairly authoritative, not a polite request.

    Some more examples.

  • MegaZeroX

    MegaZeroX

    One thing I’m a little confused about is that, from what I’ve read, の should be used when there is some emotional attachment while こと should be used when there isn’t. But then why is スポーツをすることが好き allowed? Shouldn’t that be スポーツをするのが好き?

  • flowsnake

    flowsnake

  • Superpnut

    Superpnut

    I think this grammar point needs a bit more of an explanation. I read each forum posts and checked the links and I think it basically means to add “ing” after something?
    Because I don’t even have a guess to what “Conversion of a Verb into a Noun” means, and under information all you have is "No specific context information for こと” which isn’t exactly helpful.
    Most of the explanations are just stating the difference between の and こと as “nominalizers” but you guys gotta understand, I’m stupid. I don’t have a clue what a nominalizer is.

    So could someone tell me if I’m on track with こと being kind of like “ing” after a word? Or give please show me an english parallel so I know what I’m being shown

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    Converting a verb into a noun means taking a verb and somehow creating a noun from it by transforming it in some way. In English, there are many ways to do this, for example:

    • The verb “educate” can be converted to the noun “education” by adding the nominalizing suffix “-ion”
    • For the verb “sail”, we can use its gerund “sailing” as a noun, which is formed in the same way as the present participle by adding “-ing”
    • For the verb “fart” we can just use the existing noun “fart” with no changes

    Like you wrote, adding こと to a verb in dictionary form results in a noun with a similar meaning as the gerund in English:

    • 食べる to eat → 食べること eating
    • 歌う to sing → 歌うこと singing

    But it’s not 100% the same as adding “-ing” because the present participle is also formed by adding “-ing” and looks identical, but does completely different things that こと can’t do.

    Anyway now that we have a noun instead of a verb, we can use...

  • Superpnut

    Superpnut

    You a hero for this one

  • TurboSushi1

    TurboSushi1

    I’m confused, I think. I thought 〜ている was adding ~ing to the end of a verb.

    Is this the difference in English?

    〜ている I am eating. (The ~ing focuses on the continuous state of eating, as a verb)
    〜こと I like eating (The ~ing focuses on the act of eating, as a noun)

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