N5 Topics
L4: The One Who Likes Studying Grammar
Talk about likes and dislike, and learn new uses of の
The One Who Likes Studying Grammar
In this Topic, we're going to learn how の can be used like a noun, and what this actually means for a sentence. We'll also look more closely at two very common and important な-Adjectives, 好き 'like' and 嫌い 'hate', which appear constantly with this grammar pattern.
Grammar in this Topic
好き
Like, Fond of
好き, meaning 'to like', is one of the very common な-Adjectives in Japanese that is used in many different expressions. All な-Adjectives behave similarly to verbs, in that their form changes depending on what comes after them.
For 好き, it will be followed by な when acting as an adjective, or one of either だ or the more polite です when acting as a noun. This distinction is made depending on whether it is linked to another noun, or is independent.
In the example with だ, 好き is expressing that the thing is 'likable' (assertion). However, in the example with な, 好き is expressing 'likability' as a quality of the noun it is attached to.
Caution
好き is considered quite a strong adjective in Japanese when it is directed towards people, so it may be interpreted as romantic interest. 大好き is often translated as 'love'.
きらい
Dislike, Not fond of
嫌い, meaning 'to dislike', is one of the very common な-Adjectives in Japanese that is used in many different expressions. All な-Adjectives behave similarly to verbs, in that their form changes depending on what comes after them.For 嫌い, it will be followed by either な, when acting as an adjective, だ, or the more polite です, when acting as a noun. This distinction is made depending on whether it is linked to another noun, or is independent.
In the example with だ, 嫌い is expressing that the thing is 'dislikable' (assertion). However, in the example with な, 嫌い is expressing 'being disliked' as a quality of the noun it is attached to.
In the same way that 好き can often be partnered with 大 to mean 'love', 嫌い can often be partnered with 大 to mean 'hate'.
Caution
Despite ending in い, 嫌い is one of the few words that is actually a な-Adjective, and needs to be memorized.
のがすき
Like doing, Love doing
～のが好き is a common construction that is used in Japanese to express that you like/love doing something. This particular expression is used with the plain (dictionary) form of verbs only.
In these examples, we can see that there is no difference between Ichidan verbs and Godan verbs. Both will be used in their plain forms. In this expression, のが is performing the same function as in the regular のは or のが construction. This function is nominalization (turning a phrase into a noun).
Caution
If you want to express that you liked doing something (in the past), the verb will still remain in the plain form, but 好き will change to past tense.
This construction can also be used to ask questions about what other people like. This is done through the addition of か.
Adjective + の(は)
The 'one' that... (Indefinite pronoun, Adjective nominalization)
One of the roles that the particle の can take in Japanese is replacing a noun that has already been mentioned, or one that has not been mentioned yet. In this way, it is similar to 'the one that (A)' in English. When using this expression, we will need to use な before の, when a な-Adjective is being used.
When using this expression, の will be followed by は, が, or も, depending on what the speaker/writer wants to express.
Caution
の may be used more than once in the same sentence, referring to the same noun.
の
Verb nominalizer, The one who..., That which...
In Japanese, のは and のが behave in a very similar way to the words 'that' and 'which' in English. This means that they perform a task called nominalization. Nominalization is when a phrase is treated in the same way as a single noun.
Rather than a single noun, we can see from these examples that the phrases 沢山食べるのは and バスに乗るのが are behaving in the same way that a single noun would. In English, this can either mean 'that which', or 'the one who/that'.
This construction can be used after verbs in any tense, except for the polite ます or ません, which are only used at the end of a sentence, or certain clauses.
Caution
の cannot be used as a substitute for こと in set expressions like ことができる, or ことがある. It also may not be followed by だ, である, or です, as this would become the explanatory ～んです, or のです in that case.
Details
The two uses of の that we've just learned can seem awfully similar, so let's directly compare them to make sure we can tell them apart.
The Same But Different
When の is used to turn a verb phrase into a noun, it might feel ambiguous. However, usually the logic of the sentence makes it impossible to confuse them.
Note that in the first example, the first part of the sentence, before が, is describing the noun ‘younger sister’, but in the second example the verb (action) itself is what is being described via the following adjective.
The Same But...The Same?
In some cases, it could be genuinely ambiguous as to what is meant. In these cases, the context will determine the meaning. Although this can seem complicated when compared side-by-side, the situation usually tells you the answer.
There are normally other ways to express the same idea or the context is very clear, so truly ambiguous cases are very rare.
Adventures with Grandma
--:--
ちえこ：「明日は一緒に山に行く？」
さくら：「いいね！富士山を見る？山を登るのは嫌いなの。」
ちえこ：「さくらは、運動をするのが嫌いだよね。田舎の町を散歩するのは好き？」
さくら：「散歩は好きだよ！富士山を見るのも好き。」
ちえこ：「富士山は美しいよね。私は富士山に登るのも好きだよ。」
さくら：「去年の夏休みに文プロのみんなと海外で花見をしたの。公園でバスケットボールをしたよ。みんなで遊ぶのは楽しいね。」
ちえこ：「よかったね！私はさくらが楽しむのが嬉しいよ。」