I've come across the title of this book:
文句の付けようがないラブコメ
And while i do understand the meaning, I don't quite get the usage of の there. Or, in other words why it is used over を. Any help would be much appreciated.
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Sign up to join this community文句の付けようがないラブコメ and 文句を付けようがないラブコメ are both fine and mean the same thing.
The former is fine simply because verb-stem + よう
works like a noun, just as many other words after a verb forms a noun phrase (e.g. 寿司の食べ方を学ぶ, お金の使い過ぎを反省する). Of course you can use の to connect two nouns.
I'm rather having trouble understanding why the latter is fine at the same time...usually we cannot modify a noun with を. Anyway, this verb-stem + よう
also takes を and other adverbial modifiers, too.
- 手の出しようがない。 = 手を出しようがない。
There's nothing we can do.- お礼の言いようがありません。 = お礼を言いようがありません。
I can't thank you enough.- 東京へ(は)行きようがない。
There's no way I can go to Tokyo (due to an accident, etc).- 健康に(は)暮らしようがない。
There's no way I can live healthily.
It seems to me like verb-stem + よう
sometimes works like a noun and sometimes like a verb, but I don't know if this is the correct way to explain this. I hope someone will post an authoritative reference.