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29. The person marked with the particle -to is a “reciprocal” participant in an interaction
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29 The person marked with the particle -to is a “reciprocal” participant in an interaction There are two ways to use the phrase particle -to. In one use, it corresponds to “and” and connects two nouns to create an extended noun phrase (see also Unit 39): Hiroshima-to Nagasaki “Hiroshima and Nagasaki” Naomi-to Akira “Naomi and Akira” In the other use, -to connects a noun phrase to a verb, as in the following, and corresponds to “with”: Naomi-ga Akira-to hanashita. “Naomi talked with Akira.” Naomi-ga Akira-to atta. “Naomi met with Akira.” Naomi-ga Akira-to soodan-shita. “Naomi consulted with Akira.” What is the difference between this use of -to and the use of the particle -ni in the following? Naomi-ga Akira-ni hanashita. “Naomi talked to Akira.” Naomi-ga Akira-ni atta. “Naomi met Akira.” 71 Naomi-ga Akira-ni soodan-shita. “Naomi consulted Akira.” The difference is that the to-marked person contributes to the interaction as a co-participant with the subject; the action is bilateral, or reciprocal. The ni-marked person interacts with the subject, but the subject is the primary actor; the action is unilateral, or one-sided. These two types of relationships may be graphically represented as: Bilateral Unilateral Actions such as consultation and talking can be either unilateral or bilateral. When the action is inherently bilateral, as in the case of fighting or marriage, only the option with -to is possible: Naomi-ga Akira-to kenka-shita. “Naomi quarrelled with Akira.” Naomi-ga Akira-to kekkon-shita. “Naomi married Akira.” Checking your comprehension: What might be the function of the auxiliary verb -au below? (Why can you not use it with the particle -ni?) Naomi-ga Akira-to hanashi-atta. “Naomi talked with Akira.” * *Naomi-ga Akira-ni hanashi-atta. 72 For related topics, see also Units 28 and 39. ...