Questions tagged [relative-clauses]
連体修飾節（関係節）. A type of subordinate clause which modifies a noun phrase.
237
questions
1
vote
2
answers
148
views
Why is ある required in あるはずない?
From the first episode of Death Note, the main character utters to himself that something can't be possible:
ふん、まさかな…そんなわけあるはずない
Question: What is the ある doing in this sentence? If はずない is an i-...
- 917
2
votes
2
answers
172
views
Confused about object of 迎える in this sentence
I am currently on lesson 9 of Japan Foundation's まるごと B1-1. There is a text about a woman celebrating Christmas for the first time at her American partner's home. It begins with the sentence "...
- 153
2
votes
1
answer
145
views
に particle with 乾く and 響く
I'm playing a visual novel and there is the following sentence:
時折響く、司会者のバカみたいにカン高い笑い声。
真っ白くて日当たりの良いこの部屋に、乾き、響いていた。
The 乾き here is confusing. I know it might be related to 日当たりの良い部屋, but either the ...
- 609
3
votes
2
answers
170
views
「ずっとお母さんがコーチは嫌だ」
ずっとお母さんがコーチは嫌だ
I don't want my mom to always be my coach.
I am wondering what grammatical role お母さんがコーチ takes. Is it a noun phrase? Why is there nothing between コーチ and は. Also do these work?
...
- 10.7k
0
votes
0
answers
46
views
Difference between ことのできる and ことができる [duplicate]
I came across this sentence while reading a visual novel (Clannad):
そして、クラスの中で、唯一俺が心を許して話すことのできる人間だった。
Why does this sentence use ことのできる instead of ことができる for the potential form? Does it change the ...
- 105
0
votes
1
answer
91
views
その店で去年{○働いていた/×働いている}男性がテレビに出た。 - why is that?
According to this website (I think it is 初級を教える人のための日本語文法ハンドブック), if there are no time adverbs in an adjective clause, you have to use ていた or ている to mean an action in the past.
However, if a time ...
- 449
1
vote
2
answers
136
views
入れた男 ending a sentence, is 男 the subject
I recently started to learn some Japanese, to get some practice I'm trying to translate and analyse some bits of One Piece, that I'm already familiar with. Right at the very start there's this ...
1
vote
2
answers
148
views
Relative clauses with various nouns
As far as I know, the relative clause should be placed immediately in front of the noun it modifies. For example, in sentence [木の下で休んでいる人の眼鏡], relative clause [木の下で休んでいる] modifies the noun [人]. Then ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
64
views
The effect of adjectives on adjectival verbs
Recently I was reading「鶴の笛」by (林芙美子) and came across this sentence:
足の悪い鶴は、みんなのいなくなったさびしい沼地のふちの葦のしげったところに立ってみんなが飛びたって行った空をみていました。
The English translation of this sentence by J. D. Wisgo says:
The ...
0
votes
1
answer
65
views
Choice of 入れた in 缶に入れた蚊取り線香
A passage from the second chapter of 夜は短し歩けよ乙女 by 森見登美彦:
先ほどまで、ご主人は奥さんと一緒に本棚に囲まれた内側にいて、レジを打っていました。私と樋口さんが姿を見せると、あとを大学生のアルバイトに任せて出てきてくれました。そして案内されたのは店舗の背後にある木立の奥です。そこには缶に入れた蚊取り線香の煙がふんわり漂い、...
- 3,276
1
vote
1
answer
95
views
彼がいる場所、彼がいるその場所、彼がいる学校
I am trying to understand what makes a 文節 内の関係 or 外の関係. And if 外の関係, which one.
彼がいる場所
彼女と初めて会ったところ
Am I correct in thinking these two can only be 外の関係の内容補充修飾節, because I can't put the 被修飾名詞 back ...
- 10.7k
2
votes
1
answer
96
views
Meaning of 巡り合う好機 in this passage
A passage from the first chapter of 夜は短し歩けよ乙女 by 森見登美彦:
あな恐ろしやと思いながら肩身の狭い思いをしてカウンターをすり抜けると、その奥に隠れ家のような薄暗い空間があって、羽貫さんが四人のナイスミドルの方々に交じってお喋りしていました。
紅い布張りのソファに座ったおじさん方は、皆さん紅いネクタイを締めています。...
- 3,276
-1
votes
1
answer
149
views
What is the Order of Operations for translating sentences which have both passive form and relative clauses?
The bolded sentence in the following excerpt contains the passive form of a verb which is also being used in a relative clause. Should I translate the verb as a relative clause first, then transcribe ...
- 1,460
1
vote
0
answers
118
views
2
votes
1
answer
104
views
Noun+の+adjective+Noun: エネルギー消費の大きい生き方
エネルギー消費の大きい生き方に敬礼
Those who expend great energy in their lives, I salute you.
I've seen this pattern used several times, Noun+の+adjective+Noun, but I've never really understood if the adjective is ...
- 37
2
votes
2
answers
161
views
Nuances and correct usage of verbs modifying nouns
I found this very interesting older post and there are couple of things I am uncertain about.
Could I also technically write "ロックしたSIM/ロックしているSIM" to mean "ロックされたSIM/ ロックされているSIM", ...
- 319
3
votes
1
answer
116
views
Is this relative clause correct?
彼女からは警戒心が剥き出しの刺々しい雰囲気はない
In this sentence, 刺々しい雰囲気 appears as the noun here and being modified by 警戒心が剥き出し. But how could a complete sentence like 警戒心が剥き出し take the particle の to modify another noun? ...
- 421
2
votes
1
answer
118
views
Is 「子供を映画へ連れて行く約束した」 ungrammatical?
子供を映画へ連れて行く約束をした。
I promised to take my child to a movie.
Here's my parsing:
子供を映画へ連れて行く | relative clause
約束をした | verb phrase
We need a noun in order for it to be modified by a relative clause, so ...
- 1,480
1
vote
1
answer
108
views
Question regarding subjects in relative clauses
I may be completely off the mark here, but this my understanding. I am a native speaker of neither Japanese nor English.
２０１８年、SNSで実施した１２９４人の読書のアンケート...
Does this sentence mean that it is a survey ...
- 319
0
votes
1
answer
118
views
How to parse アニメが日本語に興味を持ったきっかけ
アニメが日本語に興味を持ったきっかけというのもあったし、普通にアニメも好きだったんです。
I don't understand how the part "アニメが日本語に興味を持った" can be a modifier for the noun きっかけ if I'm talking about myself. The way I would go about ...
- 319
1
vote
1
answer
48
views
What does the の do in それ以上は一切の言い表しようもないほど ...?
本当に死んでいる....それ以上は一切の言い表しようもないほど....彼女は完全に死んでいた。
My understanding is that 一切の言い表しようもない is a clause inside ほど, but I do not understand what 一切の means. I know that の can sometimes mark the subject in ...
- 297
2
votes
1
answer
92
views
How to tell which noun is being modified in 二人だけの世界
In the song あの夢をなぞって (Ano Yume o Nazotte), the third line is
音の無い二人だけの世界で聞こえた言葉は「好きだよ」.
The translations to English give this as some variation of
In that soundless world with only two of us, the ...
- 21
0
votes
0
answers
71
views
meaning of というように [duplicate]
I'm interested in the grammatical function and overall precise translation of the conjunction made of two particles(?) in the following clause. My attempt: "being tall, (as/like/for example/of/...
- 161
2
votes
2
answers
95
views
A counter example to the rule on tense in relative clauses?
In the comments to this question I learnt that
明日、林さんに会うときに、この本を返そう
and
明日、林さんに会ったときに、この本を返そう
have the same meaning, although 会った is more common.
With my current understanding, that the tense in a ...
- 27.5k
1
vote
1
answer
96
views
その小説には、夫に先に死なれた妻の悲しみが丁寧に書かれていた。
その小説には、夫に先に死なれた妻の悲しみが丁寧に書かれていた。
I was always taught that in a passive sentence like the one written above, the DOER in the action is marked by に, So in the case above the doer is the husband, correct? ...
- 724
4
votes
2
answers
888
views
How to parse 「店は人の多いところがいいです」
店は人の多いところがいいです
Book translation: stores are better (to be) located at heavily trafficked places.
My question is related to Relative Clauses: 多い人 vs 多くの人 in which the answerer provides a similar ...
- 1,480
2
votes
2
answers
121
views
Sentence construction 活躍をしてる現場
他のヒーローが俺くらい活躍をしてる現場なんて見たことがない
In this sentence, the main noun in the clause before なんて is 現場, so I would understand this sentence as "I haven't seen a place that the other heroes flourish as ...
- 919
0
votes
1
answer
136
views
How does the transitive and intransitive verbs work when modifying a noun?
How do they work in relation with the particles? Like for example わたしの知らないこと vs 私に分からないこと. I notice that the 知らない doesn’t really go with the particle に like in the other one. Why is that and do ...
- 421
2
votes
1
answer
111
views
Is が wrong in sentences like 私がplaceに行ったことがある?
I saw someone getting corrected for using が in a ことがある sentence, and I was wondering why using が in sentences specifically like 私がplaceに行ったことがある is wrong, I can't seem to wrap my head around it.
I was ...
- 297
2
votes
1
answer
77
views
Sentence seems to have multiple relative clause「気の合う人々のいる場を見つけたら、休まずに通うこと。」
気の合う人々のいる場を見つけたら、休まずに通うこと。
When you find a place with people that matches your interest...
To understand this sentence I tried changing it into
"(あなたは)気が合う人々がいる場"
And I think I seemed to ...
- 297
2
votes
1
answer
238
views
difference between のか/か in question clause
i want to settle this once and for all since i cant find any legitimate source about this grammar pattern and i see very different answers online.
some say they are interchangable, some say the nuance ...
- 43
7
votes
2
answers
176
views
Does Japanese mark restrictive and non-restrictive relatives differently?
I was wondering whether Japanese distinguishes restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses in some way, either structurally or prosodically.
English, for example, marks the distinction ...
- 239
0
votes
1
answer
150
views
Can relative clauses be nested without particles in between?
I searched for other questions about nested relative clauses, and while they seem possible, most examples seem to have particles inside the nested structure:
ワインが詳しい人と飲む機会がないので、楽しみにしています。
Here we ...
3
votes
1
answer
180
views
Arithmetic and relative clauses
Consider the following sentence:
八引く一は七です。
Eight minus one is seven.
This doesn't seem to obey the usual grammar rules. If I think of 引く as a verb meaning 'to subtract' then I have a relative clause ...
- 27.5k
2
votes
1
answer
137
views
How to say "She is the girl I said I like."?
I have some questions about relative clauses. How can I express "She is the girl I said (to you) I like"?
This is my attempt
僕はこの女子が好きなんですよ
I like this girl.
彼女は僕が好きな女子なんですよ
She is the ...
- 1,864
3
votes
1
answer
119
views
Relative clause vs. の to "categorize" a noun
According to my low level of Japanese, I know two ways to "categorize" a noun with an another noun + adjective:
髪が長い男の人が少しいる。
長い髪の男の人が少しいる。
Are these two sentences grammatically correct? ...
- 487
4
votes
1
answer
137
views
Use of は in indirect quotes
This question had the following example:
人間に上下はないと考えるアメリカ人にとって、日本の目上と目下の関係は面倒だろう ?
and the OP was asking about the meaning of は. I'd like to expand on this.
Firstly, I'm assuming that 上下は is part of ...
- 27.5k
0
votes
1
answer
88
views
Syntactic structure of "what is something which is done"
What is this sentence syntactic structure?
お国では何語を話すのですか。
If what the sentence is all about is "which language", why does the action verb ("to talk") need to be nominalized?
I ...
- 491
1
vote
1
answer
59
views
Can we use a comma to separate the noun of a relative clause verb?
「ひとはだれしもが、心に灯台を持っている。その光に従って生きるだけで幸福になれる」と信じる著者が綴った、奇跡のファンタジー体験ノベル！
Is the comma after 綴った separating the 奇跡のファンタジー体験ノベル from 綴った, or the sentence ends in 綴った?
Also, how can I translate ...
- 609
1
vote
1
answer
98
views
How can there be 2 X が in this sentence? [duplicate]
This sentence is an excerpt from https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10012813311000/k10012813311000.html
京都大学の西浦博教授は、東京都でこれから新しいコロナウイルスがうつる人がどのように変わるか計算しました。
Is my understanding correct?
うつる人が is the ...
- 537
1
vote
1
answer
70
views
Meaning of もの in this sentence
The sentence is:
芸術は思いをかたちにするもの
What does this mean? Does it mean "Art is about giving form to thoughts/feeling", "Art is the thing that gives thoughts/feeling form.
I am unsure of ...
- 13
1
vote
1
answer
122
views
Long relative clause grammar rules
This is a sentence from Tobira's book ch11 読み物.
江戸時代は約250年も続き、当時の江戸は世界中で一番人口の多い、独自の芸術文化が発達した清潔で文化レベルの高い都市だったと言われている
The part that confuses me is 独自の芸術文化が発達した清潔で文化レベルの高い都市. So far I know that you can ...
- 59
0
votes
1
answer
77
views
Is the sequence -んだと missing?
I found this sentence in a textbook:
来月までには出来あがらないと思います。
It was translated as "I think that we'll not make it until next month".
But the と particle after the negated verb is confusing me. I ...
- 103
2
votes
2
answers
104
views
Mixed modifiers with a noun
Can you do that, modify a noun by mixing modifiers?
Say, something like this:
昨日買ったきれいな白い夫子の帽子
昨日買った
きれいな
しろい
夫子の
each is modifying 帽子.
- 582
1
vote
1
answer
91
views
Syntax of 住み心地のいい小さな家
I was randomly reading a grammar book (despite I'm still being in N5) and found the follow sentence:
住み心地のいい小さな家
The sentence was alone, without context, and it was translated to something like "...
- 161
3
votes
1
answer
361
views
Can the passive agent be gapped?
Can the passive agent be gapped in a relative clause? I mean, can the head of a relative clause be the passive agent (the word that would be marked by に)?
- 3,276
2
votes
0
answers
78
views
Explanation for 変わった and 似た as adjectivals
I often see the two verbs 変わる and 似る used in their た-form when modifying nouns and I'm not really sure exactly how to make sense of them.
変わる: e.g. as in 「変わった人」. Here I'm wondering why it's not just ...
- 1,379
0
votes
2
answers
173
views
Verbs joined with くて and modifying a noun
I understand that くて joins verbs but what happens if they modify a noun? For example:
お金がなくて食べない料理 - I don't have money and hence this is food that I won't eat
見た目がなくて届かない想い - I don't have the looks ...
- 2,063
1
vote
1
answer
162
views
Can't understand why this sentence is written this way
The sentence I am talking about is ジュースが出る大きいな桃 .
I don't understand why 大きいな桃 is written at the end. I would say something like:
ジュースが大きいな桃から出る
Thanks
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
182
views
Which of the following forms are allowed in relative clauses?
I recently discovered that Relative clauses are mostly made with dictionary form verbs/adjectives, but [the answer here]says my “...
sentence indeed has three relative clauses marked by (1), (2), and ...
- 1,460