Structure
Verb + の + が + 上手
Details
Part of Speech
Expression
Word Type
Adjectival Noun
Register
Standard
About のがじょうず
～のが上手 is a phrase that behaves in almost exactly the same way as ～のが好き, but rather than meaning 'to like' something, it means 'to be good at' something. This particular expression is used with the plain (dictionary) form of verbs only.
In these examples, we can see that there is no difference between Ichidan verbs and Godan verbs. Both will appear in their plain form. In this expression, のが is performing the same function as in the regular のは・のが construction. This function is nominalization (turning a phrase into a noun). However, のは cannot be used with this phrase, as が is always required with adjectives.
Caution
If you want to express that you were good at something (in the past), the verb will still remain in the plain form, but 上手 will change to the past tense.
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お母さんは若い頃、踊るのが上手だった。When my mother was young, she was good at dancing.
Caution
This grammar point can sound a little bit arrogant if you are referring to your own skills, so the word 得意 may also be used if you want to sound a bit more humble.
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歌うのが上手です。I am good at singing. (Like, how am I not famous)
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歌うのが得意です。I am good at singing. (I have confidence in my singing)
Synonyms
Examples
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トムはサッカーをするのがじょうずです。
Tom is good at playing soccer.
漢字を覚えるのがじょうず。
(He) is good at remembering Kanji.
彼は漢字を書くのがじょうずでしょう。
He is good at writing kanji, isn't he?
彼女は、料理をするのがじょうずです。
She is good at cooking.
彼女は歌うのがじょうず。
She is good at singing.
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のがじょうず – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (12 in total)
Asher
Basically, all sentences are made up of 主語 (words that can be a sentence topic), and 述語 (words that describe the sentence topic). Because が will always mark the 主語, が cannot (or should not) mark a verb.
Basically 主語 and 述語 work like this
何が・誰が = 主語
どうする・どんなだ = 述語Because the の turns する into a 何が, it allows it to become a subject.
We could/should perhaps think of a clue to go with grammar points like this.
Megumin
Alright, thank you everyone for the input.
Highly appreciated.
mrnoone
@Megumin @Asher @nekoyama @FredKore
By the way, が in Verb + がゆえ comes from classical Japanese, the が was used for some time in the past to mark an attribute of the follwing noun, just like の does today. The attributive usage was the original use of が, there was no “subject” particle in the beginning.You can see it in some modern set expressions like 我が社 (私の会社) = one’s company, 我が家 (私の家) - one’s house and so on.
This usage also applied to verbs that were in 連体形 (attributive form, like @nekoyama mentioned in modern Japanese it has become the basic form of the verb, but in the past verbs had separate 終止形 (final form) to which auxilliary verbs were attached), you can see it used with expressions like
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