Lesson 3
こと・の・という — Building Blocks
- 1 こと と の koto to no the two nominalisers When you turn a verb into a noun, sometimes it is こと and sometimes の — this page sorts out which.
- 2 〜という ~to iu called / that is Naming something, passing on what you heard, and tying a whole idea to a noun — one little phrase, several jobs.
- 3 〜というのは ~to iu no wa what X means is Opening up a word or an idea — the "what this means is…" pattern.
- 4 〜というと・といえば ~to iu to / to ieba speaking of ~ Naming the first thing that springs to mind when a topic comes up — the way conversations turn.
- 5 〜のではないか ~no de wa nai ka isn't it that…? Putting your view forward gently instead of asserting it — the written and formal way.
Lesson check
All 5 forms of this lesson together — pick the right one from its look-alikes, the way the exam does. 6/8 completes the lesson.
🔒
「子どもが公園で遊んでいる＿を見た。」 — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:A scene you saw with your own eyes.
Before sense verbs like 見る or 聞こえる, only の works — never こと.
「私の趣味は、写真をとる＿です。」 — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Ending the sentence with 'is ~'.
In 〜は〜ことです only こと works; の can't nominalise before です like this.
「『さくら』＿店を知っていますか。」 — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Linking a name to the noun 店.
N という N = 'a ~ called ~'. というのは and といえば can't link straight onto a noun.
「『残業』＿、決まった時間の後も働くことです。」 — which introduces a definition?
💡 Hint:What follows is 'it means ~'.
〜というのは〜ことです = 'X means Y' (a definition). というと brings up an association, not a meaning.
「日本の冬＿、やっぱり温泉だね。」 — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:The first thing that comes to mind when a topic comes up.
〜といえば = 'speaking of ~' — the first association. というのは gives a definition, and winter isn't defined as onsen.
「空が暗くなってきた。午後から雨が降る＿。」 (your own guess, said softly) — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:A 'maybe…, don't you think?' feeling.
〜のではないか = a soft guess, "won't it…?", and it ends the sentence. The other three need more to follow, so the sentence would be left hanging.
「来月から給料が上がる＿話を聞いた。」 — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Joining a whole clause onto 話.
Clause＋という＋話 = 'the news that ~'. の can't join a clause straight onto a noun (上がるの話 ✗).
「来年、国へ帰る＿にしました。」 — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:A decision you made yourself.
〜ことにする = 'decide to ~', and this frame takes only こと, not の or という.
Your score: /8