Making Sense of Japanese Grammar

41. To say something more complex, use complex noun phrases

41 To say something more complex, use complex noun phrases A child first learns sentences like “Jenny hit me,” which consists of a simple subject, a verb, and a direct object. As a child grows up, he/she starts using sentences such as “The girl who was sitting next to me hit me.” This is precisely what you want to do in Japanese, and in order to do so, you need to learn how to make more complex noun phrases. Analyzing complex noun phrases in English makes the process easier: the photo Akira showed to Naomi the video I borrowed from the public library How are these phrases made? Imagine the following situation, which can be expressed with the sentence “Akira showed the photo to Naomi.” Akira showed the photo to Naomi. In order to describe “the photo,” you would take “the photo” out of the event and describe it with the rest of the event, as in the following: the photo [Akira showed ( ) to Naomi] The same operation takes place in Japanese, except that the direction in which we move “the photo” is the opposite, because a head noun must be final in a Japanese noun phrase (see Unit 36), or because the order of modification is from 99 outer context to inner item (see Unit 37). Akira-ga shashin-o Naomi-ni miseta. [ ( ) ] [Akira-ga ( ) Naomi-ni miseta] shashin The particle -o disappears in the resultant complex noun phrase (see Unit 42 for an explanation). You can now use this noun phrase in a sentence in place of a simple noun. That is, if you can say, Kore-wa shashin-ja nai. “This is not a photo.” then you can also say, Kore-wa Akira-ga Naomi-ni miseta shashin-ja nai. “This is not the photo Akira showed Naomi.” Note that you must use a direct-style verb in a modifier (e.g. miseta instead of misemashita), because indication of politeness is irrelevant in the middle of a sentence. Checking your comprehension: What is the meaning of the following sentence? Akira-ga Naomi-ni miseta shashin-wa dore-desu-ka. 100 For related topics, see also Units 36, 37, 38, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 59. ...