-1

Context:

まずは家中を掃除して、一年の汚れを落とします。年末は寒いし、忙しいし、あまり掃除をしたくないなあと思う人もいるでしょうね。でも、これは歴史のある行事、「すす払い」がもとになっていると言われています。

What does “~がもとに~” mean in this context? Is "がもとに" a intransitive verb form of "をもとに"?

Improve this question
1
  • 1
    がもとに/をもとに are not verbs in the first place. I'm not sure what you mean by transitivity here.
    – sundowner
    Commented Jan 9 at 15:13

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

Not sure what you mean by "Is がもとに an intransitive verb form of をもとに?". As Sundowner points out (を)もとに isn't a verb in the first place.

The verb here is なる (to become). もと here can be translated as "basis". So Xがもとになっている literally means "X has become the basis" or, more naturally, "based on X".

これは歴史のある行事、「すす払い」がもとになっていると言われています。
It is said that this is based in the historical event Susuharai.

Improve this answer
1
  • Thanks a lot for your explanation, I mistook " ~(が)もと" for a verb at first, so asked the confusing question, but I understood it all after reading your explanation.
    – Theseus
    Commented Jan 15 at 1:56

You must log in to answer this question.

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