Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 8: 13/13

誰(だれ)かSomeone, Somewhere, Not anyone, Not anywhere

The meaning of these words will change, based on whether the sentence is positive, or negative

Structure

WH-Word(1) + か + Particle(2)
WH-Word(1) + Particle(2) + も

(1) どこ、誰(だれ)
(2) へ、に、と

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Pronoun

  • Word Type

    Adverbial Particle

  • Register

    Standard

About 誰か・どこか・誰も・どこも

The constructions 誰(だれ)か, and どこか are used when you want to ask, or answer questions about 'someone', or 'somewhere' (positive sentences). Alternatively, 'no one', or 'nowhere' based statements are made with 誰(だれ)も, and どこも (negative sentences). Structures like this that use 誰(だれ) were briefly discussed in the 誰(だれ) grammar point.

Using 誰(だれ), or どこ is not limited to the か and も particles. へ, に, or と may also be partnered with か or も, to give a more specific meaning.

As can be seen with these examples, か will always precede any other particle in a positive sentence. However, the opposite is true for も. も will always follow any other particles in negative sentences. This is because か will always attach directly to the noun (when altering the meaning of that noun), but も alters the whole phrase, not just the noun.

However, It should be noted that も is not limited to appearing in negative sentences, as can be seen with the final example.

Examples

--:--

    「どこかに友達(ともだち)がいるのですか。」
    「どこにもいません。」

    'Do you have friends somewhere?'
    'I don't have friends anywhere.'

    「誰(だれ)かにそのことを言(い)いましたか。」
    「いいえ、誰(だれ)にも言(い)っていません。」

    'Did you tell someone about that?'
    'No, I didn't tell anyone.'

    「どこかにあるでしょう。」
    「どこにもありませんよ。」

    'It is probably somewhere.'
    'It is not anywhere (I'm telling you).'

    「紙(かみ)を誰(だれ)かに渡(わた)しましたか。」
    「誰(だれ)にも渡(わた)していません。」

    'Did you hand off the paper to someone?'
    'I did not hand off the paper to anyone.'

    「どこかへ出(で)かけますか。」
    「どこへも行(い)きたくないよ。」

    'Do you want to go somewhere?'
    'I don't want to go anywhere, man.'

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誰か・どこか・誰も・どこも – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (15 in total)

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    Wh-words are the English question words that mostly begin with “wh” such as why, who, when, where and so on. It’s not related to Japanese, the user just went with a familiar term to refer to question words.

  • Superpnut

    Superpnut

    Okay thanks! I thought that was what they meant but I was kinda worried it was a secret code for something and got a bit nervous. I guess to many people it’s obvious but I’ve never heard of it before

  • X11

    X11

    Why is へ used being used with the verb 言う？ 誰だれかに 言いいたいけど、まだ誰だれへも言いわない。Is this an exception? I havn’t seen へ be used with any other verbs, other then when travelling or going some where ie いく。is へ also used with the verb 言う or is it only used with 言う when used with 誰も？ as in 誰へも？ are there any other verbs that don’t mean speak that take へ when used with 誰へも？Is へも the same as にも？ and if it is, is it only used like that when using 誰も and is not used with any other words, for isntance although I can say 僕にも but I can’t say 僕へも？ or is this a mistake on Bunpro’s part and 誰へも Is ungramatical and not said by anyone?

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