Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 6: 8/13

とQuotation

Structure

(Quotation) Phrase + と + Verb(*)

Verb + と + Verb(*)
［い］Adjective + と + Verb(*)
［な］Adjective + (だ) + と + Verb(*)
Noun + (だ) + と + Verb(*)

(*) Verbs like 言(い)う、聞(き)く、思(おも)う、考(かんが)える、仮定(かてい)する and the like are used

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Particle

  • Word Type

    Case Marking Particle

  • Register

    Standard

About と

One of the regular functions of と in Japanese is as a quotation particle. This use is called 引用(いんよう) in Japanese, which basically translates as 'reference', or 'citation'. This way of using と can appear after almost any type of word (or phrase), but requires だ when used after nouns or な-Adjectives.

と as a quotation marker will almost always be followed by a verb that shows what type of 'quote' it is. This can be words like 言(い)う, 思(おも)う, 考(かんが)える, 聞(き)く, etc. However, at the end of a sentence, the verb will often be omitted.

As with other instances of the particle と being used, this use simply expresses the relationship between (A) 'what was communicated', and (B) 'how it was communicated'.

Examples

--:--

    彼(かれ)はとても親切(しんせつ)だと聞(き)きました。

    I heard that he is very friendly.

    「彼(かれ)はここに来(き)ますか」と聞(き)いた。

    I asked, 'Is he coming here?' (asked)

    「晩(ばん)ごはんを作(つく)った」と言(い)った。

    I said, 'I made dinner'.

    「重(おも)いですか」と聞(き)きました。

    He asked, 'Is it heavy?'

    先生(せんせい)が「危(あぶ)ない」と書(か)いた。

    The teacher wrote, 'It is dangerous'.

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      と – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (23 in total)

      • MikkaT

        MikkaT

        But what about the question mark on the second one?
        The translation in the example is:

        Do you think that Mt. Fuji is beautiful?

        I still don’t understand that one.

      • IcyIceBear

        IcyIceBear

        Oop sorry I just woke up didn’t see the ? (⁠´⁠(⁠ｪ⁠)⁠｀⁠）

        In that case I would say

        Do you think that Mt. Fuji is beautiful? (This that is a quotation helper too isn’t it? )

        Do you think “Mt. Fuji is beautiful”?
        “Mt. Fuji is beautiful” you think?
        (Obviously in normal translations I wouldn’t write it this way, but to help you understand)

        Again と is just quoting thoughts here. You understand the questions just fine✨ Just know that , と comes before おもう a majority the time. For me, I didn’t think about how the とwould make sense in English, just that I needed it before using おもう to make sense in Japanese. がんばって it’ll get easier as you learn more and grow

      • MikkaT

        MikkaT

        ありがとう I hope it will and it is good to know that it is common with おもう

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