--- In [email protected], "randhir_nag"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> So would 'no wa' be appropriate in the following case?
>
> hamada san wa ninki ga aru no wa genin ha nandesu ka? - what is the
> reason for Hamada-san being popular>
This would be better rendered as, "Hamada-san wa ninki ga aru koto no
gen'in wa nan desu ka?" or "Doo shite Hamada-san wa ninki ga arimasu
ka?" The above is correct, but at least to me it sounds rather awkward.
> And does koto wa get used in case of nouns?>
"Koto wa", when used at the beginning of a sentence, means something
like, "Regarding the matter (at hand)..."
"Koto" is a word used to nominalise a verbal or other such clause. In
other words, it turns an verbal clause into a noun one, much like the
gerund in English. For example, "Nagai monogatari wo kiku koto" =
listening to a long story, "Shibui kajitsu wo taberu koto" = eating
sour fruit, and "gizoo wo choosa suru koto" = making an inquest about a
forgery. When the use of "koto" is not desired, especially in a series
of clauses being shown as alternatives in a situation, one uses "-tari"
after the progressive form of a verb. You might see something
like, "Hon wo yondari ya TEREBI wo mitari wa shimasen." = He does not
do things such as read books or watch TV. Compare this to, "Hon wo yomu
koto ya TEREBI wo miru koto wa shimasen." Since the use of "-tari" as a
means to list alternatives is more convenient than using "koto" to
nominalise verbal clauses, this is more often seen. Even so, for the
beginner "koto" is easier to use when nominalising verbal clauses.
Master the use of "koto" first before going on to "-tari" and other
more advanced nominalisers.
> newzealan no koto wa anata no iken wa nan-desu ka? - what is your
> opinion about NewZealand?>
"NEW ZEALAND wa doo omoimasu ka?" would be a more natural sentence.
Using "koto" in this instance is redundant since "New Zealand" is
already a noun, so it need not be nominalised by "koto". Also, since it
is presumed that we already know who is talking to who, "anata" need
not be included, except for emphasis when there is ambiguity about the
subject. If you wish to include "iken" [opinion] in the sentence,
something like "NEW ZEALAND ni wa donna iken ga arimasu ka?" would be
good. Even so, the first sentence is more natural.
Of course, as befits a scholar, you might have some doubts about my
sentences. Please feel free to ask for a second opinion.
- Arian I.
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