Hot answers tagged copula
15
Yes, it can be used in a question, as long as the sentence also contains a question word: だれ, なに, どこ, etc.
誰だ？ = Who's there?
何やってんだよ = What (the hell) are you doing? - (Note that よ can be added at the end)
Both of your examples fit this pattern: どうして and どこ are the question words.
Without a question word, you are much less likely to see this pattern, ...
14
It is a contraction of です, but you will also hear (mostly younger guys) putting it (without the っ) on greetings. こんにちはす！こんばんはす！Here's a real example (written like it's spoken).
っす Is not normal polite Japanese. Think of it as almost using a です when the situation is uncertain; for example, a group of young guys who've met fairly recently. です・ます are rather ...
11
'です' does follow i-adjectives. It's purpose is to add politeness. I see no problem with it, but maybe I am missing something. Was there a particular example that was discussed when the person said it is dangerous? The only thing I can think of is that the expression can be made milder by adding the sentence final particle ね, which indicates addresser's ...
11
Everyone's done a great job of answering this one, so I'm just going to add a quick answer. The なの that you're asking about is really just の. The な is only there if you use it after a noun or a na-adjective (きれい, 大変, 非常). The most common way of using this の is as a question marker.
そうなの - Is it really?
This is the same as そうなんですか but less formal.
...
10
It's hard to answer this specific question without getting into the more general topic of the ～のだ construction, which, as jkerian mentioned, can mark an explanation for a certain context, which may be either explicit or implicit. Put succinctly, ～のだ provides supporting information. This information is often a reason, but it may be a cause, basis, conclusion, ...
9
Perhaps your teachers told you ～のだから (～んだから) is incorrect not because it is never used (you already know it's very common) but because you can't simply drop it into any sentence.
While digging around on Google, I came across a very nice PDF published by the Japan Foundation which explains the use of ～のだから. You can read it on your own (it's even got ...
8
なの relates to the ～のだ construction, and as such provides explanatory, secondary, or supporting information (which could be a reason, a cause, or other fact the speaker feels would aid in the listener's understanding). Note that the な is only used if the preceding word is a noun or な-adjective. Following a verb or い-adjective, only の is used:
...
8
Following an い-adjective with です is perfectly acceptable, as in the following examples:
あの人はひどいです。
昨日は楽しかったです。
I don't see any vulgar aspect to 美しいです failing contextual clues that could make nearly any description vulgar.
Something that may be getting confused in all of this is that while the polite form of an い-adjective is followed by です -- ...
8
You are misunderstanding where the difference is.
彼は映画スターであり、政治家もだ。
There are two は in this sentence: 彼は and 政治家は, but the latter is hidden behind も. You thus have the following: 彼は映画スターである and 政治家も映画スターである。
彼は映画スターであり、政治家でもある
There is only one は in this sentence: 彼は, but there are two "である", the latter being augmented with a も. You thus have ...
7
Well, since I have no examples to go off of, I'll guess at which type of scenario you're thinking of. It can mean like "But" or "Well (then)" in a kind of defensive sort of way. Usually giving a reason for some action. Like なぜかというと. Ex:
お皿{さら}のものはみんな食{た}べなさい → Eat everything on your plate.
だってお腹{なか}が一杯{いっぱい}なんだもん → But I'm full!
7
This is not an answer but a collection of comments based on my personal feeling, but I post it as an answer because it is too long for a comment.
First, here are two clear facts:
のある simply does not have the same meaning as である. ピアニストのある私の姉 is incorrect.
Replacing AであるB with AのB sometimes causes ambiguity. For example, ピアニストの姉 can mean either “(my) ...
7
This actually most likely Oosaka-ben's variation of 「や」as「よ」, becoming something like:
なんか買ってくれよ！
The usage is explained in more detail here:
http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%82%84?dictCode=OSAKA (Japanese)
EDIT
The original quote from the just in case site downtime happens:
...
6
なんだ is a pattern that is sometimes called the "extended predicate". The exact best way to express this in English is subject to debate.
Usually the usage follows a pattern of explanation of some question that either has been asked explicitly or could be asked implicitly. For example, if A-san is telling B-san that s/he wants to go with B-san to Tokyo, ...
6
Err, I don't agree with your initial statement. I think that generally you are taught that い adjectives are followed by です.
I think that it is never dangerous to say "美しいです" and that you should put a です all the time, until you reach enough confidence to know when you may drop it, and just say 美しい.
However, い-adj + だ is basically just wrong. There are ...
6
"It was Bucky that...", by comparison with 救出{きゅうしゅつ}した のは バッキーであった, is an easy trap to fall into, but I don't think it's right.
The sentence こうしてバッキーは４人を救出した describes events from an objective global perspective, but the wording in the sentence in the question takes a small amount of time to reflect on Bucky himself as he existed at that point in time -- ...
6
I regret not writing "こわい。だから[...]" with a 句点 in my original comment.
The precise way to express it would have been: if こわい and だから are parts of separate clauses, it can be grammatical, otherwise not.
In speech, you would usually express こわい and だから belonging to different clauses by inserting a pause. With no pause between them (i.e. without breaking the ...
6
Perhaps part of the solution is the dropping of words assumed from context?
明日は雨だ → 明日(の天気)は雨だ
You could consider this as a type of sentence known as "ウナギ文".
http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/language/unagi.html
- has a nice explanation (in Japanese), exemplified by the exchange (ordering in a restaurant):
甲: 僕は天丼にするよ。
乙: 僕はうなぎだ。
Here the second speaker ...
6
The も is required by the 誰. 誰も means "anybody".
But things can come between the 誰 and the も. The case particles generally come before the も, e.g.
誰とも行かない (I will) not go with anybody
In でもない, でない is a negative copula, but the で acts like a case particle and comes before the も.
誰でもない It isn't anybody
In this example even more stuff comes before ...
5
My thought went along the line of Tsuyoshi's, but here is another comment:
On top of である being a bit more formal, I also feel that である tends to be used more in nonrestrictive relative clauses, whereas の tends to be used more in restrictive relative clauses:
ピアニストである姉は… My sister, who is a pianist, ... (nonrestrictive use)
ピアニストとドラマーの姉がいるんだけど、ピアニストの姉は… ...
4
なの is kind of a conclusion used at the end of explanation with a calm/quit sense. Example.,
彼女は大学生なのよ She is university student, you know.
It is just combination of two particles な and の.
なのです is polite form, and なの is same with なのだ just omitting だ after that.
sometime it is used as 〜なんです。
なの is used by females most of the time, but なんです may use by ...
4
It is a (pseudo) cleft sentence with the noun phrase and the topic ellided. I thought there was a variety among native speakers who accept を and who don't.
しかも、かれは大きい庭付きの家を買った
'In fact, he bought a house that has a large garden.' (Original sentence)
しかも、彼が買ったのは大きい庭付きの家(を)だ
'In fact, what he bought was a house that has a large garden.' ((Pseudo) ...
3
だって (at the beginning of a sentence!) is always followed by:
reason, pretext (because, ...etc.)
opposition (but, ...etc.)
So it's not only 'but' or 'like I said'.
It's context dependent and it CAN be translated as because.
(Context is an emo-schoolgirl-drama.)
山崎くん：スマイルぐらいしてよ。なんでオレともう喋らないの？
At least give me a smile. Why don't you talk to me ...
3
It's lazy polite form. Dropped for ease of use and to add a level of casual feel. Used nationwide.
When I worked in bars and a few host clubs this style commonly used in place of normal 敬語 as it is too stiff for young women, who are the majority of our customers. However, we always reverted back to normal 敬語 when an older male, female(ママさん) or couple was ...
3
Ok, so, in "modern" Japanese, the norm is "ある" for things, and "いる" for beings.
However, it seems that it's not a mandatory rule to follow.
〜くださる方がある has probably survived today as a fixed form from more liberal times.
You'll find more such idiosyncrasies around, as in words like 在宅{ざいたく} which means "to be home" but where the root is 在る{ある}.
3
Derek’s answer gives a very accurate description of what のだから means, but let me add a secondary point that is specific to your example: in this case, the title implies that in fact, the speaker likes her brother although the title states the opposite.
From Derek’s answer:
お兄ちゃん sees his 妹's actions as signs that she might actually like him, but in ...
2
お兄ちゃんのことがぜんぜんすきじゃないんだからねっ！！
This is a title for a movie. However, how would this be different if the title had have been:
お兄ちゃんのことがぜんぜんすきじゃないんだっ！！
1) That's because I really don't like him!
2) I really don't like him!
If のだ is used as a way to indicate reason, then why is から also included? When would it be correct to use のだから instead of のだ?
...
2
The question is well put. It is indeed a special case of how 連体修飾 (the relative clause) is used in narrative.
Linguistically this is quite simple to derive:
ハッキーは４人を救出した 'Bucky saved four people' transformed into
４人を救出したハッキー 'Bucky, who saved four people'.
What is interesting is the use to which this particular structure is put.
４人を救出したハッキーであった... is ...
2
Syntactically, it is the copula だ with conjunct が, probably used in a cleft sentence with some omission. が often connects contrasting clauses, but as with this case, it can just connect two clauses that do not contrast. The literal translation is
'On top of the fact that (it) is my uncle who lives close-by (that I am going to talk about), I've heard that ...
2
No. 3 is the correct interpretation, to the best of my linguistic knowledge. As indicated in the Wikipedia article, だ and its related forms (e.g. です) are derived from で+ある (or some other existential verb) and similar things. Here ある means to exist, and で is a general adverbial case marker, serving simply to make a noun into an adverb. As this is a very vague ...
2
誰の名前でもない means "isn't anybody's name", from the usual question word plus negative construction (like 何でもない).
It would probably take a bit more context to find a good translation. Without further information it's not clear, whether the name that isn't anybody's name modifies 輝き, or just stands by itself.
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