1

I'm confused about the use of the first (bold) の in this sentence:

「先によそへ贈るのを買うのっ」

I'm happy with the use of の as a nominaliser, but if I use it like that I get:

Before that, I will buy "giving a gift" somewhere else.

You can't buy "giving a gift". I would be happy if the sentence were

先によそへ贈るものを買うのっ。
Before that, I will buy a thing to give as a gift somewhere else.

What am I not understanding here?

Improve this question
6
  • 補文標識「の」「こと」「もの」の使い分けについて, 「の、こと、もの」の使い分け
    – broccoli forest
    Commented May 1, 2016 at 6:26
  • @broccoliforest I checked your second link (way above my current standard). Summary: もの=concrete, の=abstract. の can replace a noun representing a concrete thing once established. With the latter I could translate as "Before that I will buy the one I'm giving as a present elsewhere. Now I realise I haven't given enough context, but she was going to buy a present in her current location too, so this translation doesn't quite work.
    – user3856370
    Commented May 1, 2016 at 8:03
  • Ah, it's not that. She doesn't say "elsewhere". 先に means "first, on ahead".
    – broccoli forest
    Commented May 1, 2016 at 16:39
  • @broccoliforest Well then, I'm stumped. I know no meaning of よそ other than "elsewhere" and I can't see a substantial difference between "before that" and "first/ahead". Please help.
    – user3856370
    Commented May 2, 2016 at 9:51
  • 1
    @user3856370 Okay, now I know. よそ doesn't only mean "elsewhere" but "other people (that belong other group than you)". For some reason I kept overlooking you didn't translate the word as it should be. In this sentence, よそへ is qualifying 贈る but not 買う, as it's impossible for 買う to take へ.
    – broccoli forest
    Commented May 2, 2016 at 13:01

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

That の is a pronoun that indicates something aforementioned in the context. (よそ means a family that is not your own or your relatives.)

"I'll buy one to give to other families first".

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .