Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 19/20

は～となっているIt is (has been), Have/has become, Happen to be, Has been established

Structure

［な］Adjective + となっている
Noun + となっている

Details

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    Formal

About ～は～となっている

(A) は (B) となっている is a common expression used to show that '(A) is becoming (B)', or (more commonly) '(A) has become (B)'. This expression will only appear with nouns, or な-Adjectives in their 語幹(ごかん) (stem form). (A) は (B) となっている is often translated as '(A) happens to be (B)', '(A) has been established as (B)', or 'it has been decided that (A) is (B)'.

Let's have a look at some examples, and then how this structure is formed.

Despite the different translations, (A) は (B) となっている always has the same meaning, which can be understood as follows:

(A) は - (A) is a constant unchanging thing.

(B) と - (B) is a result. (coming from the case marking particle と's role in highlighting results.)

なっている - (A) is existing in the state 'having arrived at the result of (B)'.

Due to this, the literal translation may be thought of as 'it is now that (A) is (B)' in almost all situations.

Caution

(A) は (B) となっている may be rephrased to (A) は (B) になっている. However, に will remove much of the feeling of a 'result', or 'finality'. Due to this, it will just sound like (A) is becoming (B), but is not necessarily that way yet.

Caution

In writing, おる is not always considered a 'formal' equivalent of いる, especially in set phrases. となっている is often seen as となっており, instead of となっていて. This is particularly common in news articles.

Examples

--:--

    納期限(のうきげん)は４(し)月(がつ)３１(さんじゅういち)日(にち)までとなっています。

    The due date of the tax payment has been established as April 31st.

    アメリカをはじめとして、電気(でんき)は主要(しゅよう)な光源(こうげん)となっている。

    Starting with the USA, electricity has become the main source of light.

    中国(ちゅうごく)では男性(だんせい)の女性(じょせい)に対(たい)する割合(わりあい)は１１８(ひゃくじゅうはち)対(たい)１００(ひゃく)となっている。

    The proportion of men to women in China happens to be 118 to 100.

    フランツ・フェルディナント大公(たいこう)の暗殺(あんさつ)が開戦(かいせん)の原因(げんいん)の一(ひと)つとなっている。

    The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand has been established as one of the causes of war.

    それが標準(ひょうじゅん)となっていて他(ほか)の方法(ほうほう)はほとんど使用(しよう)されない。

    That has become a standard, and other methods are hardly used.

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～は～となっている – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • Pushindawood

    Pushindawood

    it is (has been)
    have/has become
    happen to be
    has been established

    Structure

    • Noun + は / が + Noun + となっている
    • Noun + は / が + な-Adjective + となっている

    となっている can also appear as a conjunctive:
    となっていて or となっており¹

    [Very often translated as “to be”・Can be rephrased to になっている, but となっている is more formal and has more of a sense of finality]

    [Expresses that some change has happened and persists or implies that something has reached its final stage]

    [Often used to explain/convey a new fact to readers/listeners (e.g. in comparison with the previous state of something, expressing a rule, tradition, etc.)]

    [¹In writing, ており is

  • MZa

    MZa

    Could you explain why the と particle is used here? With which meaning? If it is as the quotation particle, i don’t see the logic behind it.

  • jptr

    jptr

    "The verb なる means to be or to become, to turn into.

    Adding と and に in front it changes the meaning a bit.

    The basic differences? While になる is a natural change, となる implies having reached a final stage."

    From this article:
    https://maggiesensei.com/2010/12/10/となる-vs-になる　-to-naru-vs-ni-naru/

  • blacktide

    blacktide

    Based on the post below on Japanese StackExchange, it seems that it’s the quotative particle, although I can’t find a good explanation to why.

    Here are some detailed nuances based on my studies.

    となる is similar to になる but with the following changes:

    • となる can only be used with nouns.
    • となる is more formal and not used often in conversation.
    • となる has a dramatic tone.
    • となる implies reaching a “final stage” as @jptr menti...
  • okayfrog

    okayfrog

    <...
  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    The grammar point for the formal conjunctive is a bit earlier in N3, but いる is a special case: It’s not used in this form and instead replaced with おる.

  • okayfrog

    okayfrog

    oh that grammar point. tbh, I never really understood that point.

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