4.4 Particles の, と, も, から and まで — Epoché
What you will be able to do Link two nouns with の , which does the work of English of , 's , and a good deal more. Use と for both and and with , and know why Japanese does not need two words. Use も for too , and notice that it replaces は and が rather than joining them. Use から and まで for from and until, in space and in time. Prerequisites : lesson 4.3 — を , に and で , and the test for choosing between the last two. The last of the core particles, and the easiest of the three particle lessons. Each of these four has a close English counterpart, so this is mostly a matter of learning the word and one or two places where it does more than you expect. の — linking two nouns の goes between two nouns and makes the first one describe the second. The order is the same as the English possessive: わたしのほん , my book, exactly parallel to my book . Japanese English あれはかれのいえです。 [1] That is his house. にほんのビールはありますか。 [2] Do you have any Japanese beer? そのがっこうのレベルはたかい。 [3] The standard of that school is high. Notice the second and third. にほんのビール is not "Japan's beer" in any possessive sense; it is "Japanese beer", where English uses an adjective. And がっこうのレベル is "the level of the school", where English reverses the order and inserts of . So の covers English 's , English of , and English's habit of turning a noun into an adjective — three constructions in one particle, with the order always the same: modifier first , as lesson 4.1 promised. の can also stand alone, with the second noun left out, when it is obvious. あっちのほんはわたしのです — "those books are mine" — where わたしの means "my ones". English does the same thing with mine , his , theirs , and Japanese does it by simply stopping after the particle. And の chains. わたしのちちのくるま is "my father's car" — three nouns, two particles, and the modification reads strictly right to left. と — and, and also with と joins nouns into a list, and it also marks the person you do something together with. English uses two different words for these; Japanese uses one, and the context decides. Japanese English ちちとははといもうとがいます。 [4] I have a father, a mother and a younger sister. いぬとねこどちらがすきですか？ [5] Which do you like better, dogs or cats? これ、おともだちとわけて。 [6] Share this with your friends. Two things are different from English. Japanese repeats と after every item except the last, where English puts it only before the final one: ちちとははといもうと is literally "father-and mother-and sister". And と makes an exhaustive list — these and no others. If you want "things like A and B", Japanese has a different particle, や , which you will meet in phase 2. The second sentence above shows something else. English needs or for a choice between alternatives, but Japanese leaves と in place; the question word どちら does the work of making it a choice. も — too, also も means "too", "also", "as well". The important structural fact is that it replaces は or が rather than being added to them. You do not say わたしはも ; you say わたしも . Japanese English うん。わたしもそうおもうよ。 [7] Yes — I think so too. ええ、わたしもしりたいです。 [8] Yes, I would like to know as well. きみだけでなくぼくもわるい。 [9] It is not only you — I am at fault too. In a negative sentence も comes out as "either": わたしもしりません is "I don't know either". And も after a question word means "any" or "none": that is phase 2, but you have already seen it in いつでも and どこにでも . から and まで — from and until These two work as a pair and cover both space and time, exactly as English from and to do. Japanese English えきからタクシーできました。 [10] I came from the station by taxi. ちゅうごくからきました。 [11] I came from China. いつまでごたいざいですか。 [12] Until when are you staying? おそいからいえまでおくろう。 [13] It's late — I'll see you home. Note two extras. から also means because , and that is what it is doing in the last sentence: おそいから is "because it's late". The two senses are easy to keep apart, because "from" follows a noun and "because" follows a whole clause. And までに — まで with に stuck on — means "by" in the sense of a deadline, which lesson 4.3 warned you about. いつまでにひつようですか is "by when do you need it?", quite different from いつまで , "until when?". How English does it Three observations, in ascending order of usefulness. English splits what Japanese joins. And and with are one particle in Japanese, and English's three ways of linking nouns — 's , of , and using a noun as an adjective — are also one. In both cases Japanese has the simpler system, and you should resist the urge to look for the distinction. There is none. English joins what Japanese splits. From is から , but to in the sense of a destination is に or へ , while to in the sense of an endpoint is まで . "From Monday to Friday" is まで ; "I went to Tokyo" is に . English hides two ideas under one word. English has nothing for も 's position. English too floats: "I too think so", "I think so too", "me too". Japanese fixes it to the noun it applies to, by replacing that noun's particle. That makes Japanese unambiguous where English is not: "I saw him too" has two meanings in English and two clearly different forms in Japanese, わたしも against かれも . In real sentences Japanese English あのいえはかれのものである。 [14] That house belongs to him. あれって、かれのうまなのよ。 [15] That's his horse. あっちのほんはわたしのです。 [16] Those books are mine. そのかねはかいしゃのものだ。 [17] That money belongs to the company. にほんのどこでそだったの？ [18] Where in Japan did you grow up? かれらはまるでいぬとさるだ。 [19] They get on like a dog and a monkey. ともだちとしてすきよ。 [20] I like you as a friend. それね、わたしもきづいたよ。 [21] I noticed that too. もちろんわたしもいきます。 [22] Of course I will go as well. それくらいぼくもしっている。 [23] Even I know that much. かれはフランスからきました。 [24] He comes from France. あなたはどこからきましたか。 [25] Where do you come from? いつからつきあってるの？ [26] How long have you two been together? いつからきんえんしてるの？ [27] Since when have you given up smoking? いつまでにひつようですか。 [28] By when do you need it? いいこだからなかないで。 [29] Be a good child and don't cry. — から as "because" Look at sentence five. にほんのどこで is "where in Japan" — の linking a place to a question word, then で because growing up is an activity. Three of the four particles from the la