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Subject: Re: grammar of "no"
From: tarachan
Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2001 05:44:27 GMT
References: 1
"No" works in the possessive sense and gets literally translated as "of" as in "watashi no inu" (the dog of mine). Saying it that way in English just provides some consistency of translation since it works in other situations, like places, "Hokkaidô no Sapporo" (Sapporo of Hokkaidô, or Hokkaidô's Sapporo).
If you say an English phrase like that, something of something, then the reversal rule works. You're confused because you are using the normal English phrase "my dog," where the "me" comes first. Just remember to actually use "of" in the English phrase.
"No" is not always used as a possessive, it has other uses. In the phrase "otoko no hito," the "no" is not a possessive. It is not saying the person of the man, it means man person. In this case, "no" is acting like "na" as in "kirei na hito." "No" makes the noun "otoko" an adjective. "No" can sometimes be inserted into phrases like this, but it really sounds clumsy, and is usually unnecessary. For example, if you don't know the word for professor, you could say "daigaku no sensei" (a university teacher). I only use it this way when I don't know the actual noun "professor."
You can still use the "of" rule to figure out these other meanings. Remember it as, A no B = B of A. It's worked well for me, even when it's non-possessive. Just remember the meaning of "otoko/onna no hito" as a slight exception, though it isn't really used anyway.
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