Re: vampires?

From: necoandjeff (spam_at_schrepfer.com)
Date: 03/18/05 

Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 00:11:38 GMT

Bart Mathias wrote:
> Gabor Farkas wrote:
>> Chris Kern wrote:
>>
>>> [...]
>>>> so "no" is used in this case to create a noun, like "iku no" ?
>>>> but then why does a noun follow it?
>>>
>>> "no" here has the same function as normal -- X no Y means that Y is
>>> described in terms of X. In this case X is "machi de" which means
>>> "in town" ("de" is used rather than "ni" because it's the location
>>> an action is taking place).
>>> [...]
>
>> thanks for the explanation... just a little more..
>>
>> when should i use "de no" ?
>>
>> because even in your example, i would say "toshi de shigoto" or maybe
>> "toshi no shigoto" ..but not both of them together..so..when should
>> one use the "de no" form?
>
> I hope you follow Chris' able explanation of why the "-no" is
> necessary, but let me emphasize the point a bit.
>
> In Japanese, every word is in a form that tells you whether it links
> with some following noun, or some following verb/adjective or adverb.
> The last particle in a word that ends in one or more particles must
> serve that purpose. So if you want to modify/qualify a noun using a
> word that doesn't by nature link to a noun, then you must add a "-no"
> (there are other things that work in special cases).
>
> Often these things are abbreviations of longer phrases, where there
> would have been a verb or adjective in noun-modifying form has been
> omitted, because the sense is established well enough by context.
>
> In the case of "machi-de-no uwasa," it can be considered an
> abbreviation of something like "machi-de sareru uwasa" or "machi-de
> kiku uwasa." The verb is no more essential than it would be to have
> to say, in English, "rumours bandied about in town" or "rumours you
> hear in town," instead
> of "rumours in town." But the "in" has to stay; you can't just say
> "rumours town."
>
> In the end, Japanese is pretty much like English, except for the
> spelling.

What an obvious conclusion...

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