Particle の: Possessor and Modifier

In the first entry: Japanese Nouns: State-of-Being, we briefly mentioned the particle の with the sentence pattern: Noun の Noun. As you may have notice already, this is a very useful, powerful particle. In this lesson, you will master all of its functions.

Explanation for How the Particle の Works

Although we have picked up two major roles in the title, they can be further subdivided. This is actually very simple because the form remains the same as “Noun の Noun” and there is a common rule: the first noun modifies the second noun. Let’s go over each function.

Five Functions of the Particle の

Possessor: Noun A Possesses Noun B

This is a very simple function. の can express who the possessor is.

Author (Creator): Noun A Creates Noun B

There are many cases in which the author and the possessor of a work are different. の can express who the author is. The important point here is that since there is no difference between the forms of the functions; possessor and author, you need to judge which function の works as based on the context.

ピカソの絵え（だ / です）。

This sentence can be interpreted as both “It’s the picture that Picasso painted” and “It’s Picasso’s picture.”

Explanation: Noun A Modifies Noun B

This is a little difficult in comparison with others. With this phrase: “my father,” you are not a possessor or a creator of your father, but you would like to EXPLAIN that we’re related. In such situations, you can use の to explain something.

Position: Noun A (Basis) and Noun B (Direction)

You can express positions by using two nouns with の. The first noun works as a basis and the second one works to show a direction. Here are relevant key words.

Vocabulary

Apposition: Noun A Equals Noun B

In English, you can express apposition like this, “I’ll meet my teacher Mr. Kuroda.” In Japanese, you cannot place two nouns in a row. You have to place the particle の in between them. This is the last function of the particle の.

Advanced Topic

Combination

You have learned several functions so far. Don’t be confused because some of them can appear in a single sentence together. Here are examples.

Omission

As you know, Japanese allows you to omit various elements. The sentence pattern: Noun の Noun is not an exception. You can omit the second noun if the context clearly tells what or whom you’re referring to.

This can be

This can be

Replacement

In English, you can use the expression: "The red apple is sweet. The green one is not sweet." Since it’s clear that you’re talking about apples, the second apple is replaced with “one.” Japanese also has a similar concept. When the context clearly tells what or whom you are referring to, の can replace the noun.

Be careful. These are only applicable for things or materials. If you use this to people, you will look very rude. Also, you cannot use this for something physically unavailable. Please check the following.

Wrong Example

The reason is that “奥おくさん: wife” is a person and “暑あつさ: heat” is not a physical thing.

Exception

Let’s dig into how to show positions. How can we describe where the bank is? When you use the particle の with the function: Position, it will be like this:

Then, what happens if the context clearly tells that we’re discussing the position while treating the hotel as a basis? Here is an exception. We cannot omit or replace base nouns.

Wrong Examples

銀行ぎんこうは、の隣となり（だ / です）。

銀行ぎんこうは、のの隣となり（だ / です）。

Summary

1. The particle can express:
   • Possessor
   • Author (Creator)
   • Explanation
   • Position
   • Apposition
2. The particle  の can be omitted or replaced with a few exceptions.

Now, you have a clearer picture about the particle の, which means you have completed the major Japanese particles. Great job! One thing that you still need to learn about particle is that there are combinations of particle called “Combined Particles.” You may have seen this kind expression: 東とう京きょうでは and 東とう京きょうでも. That’s what you will learn next.