Page 231 - Basic Japanese

I’m in good spirits every day (behave in a good-

spirited manner).

あの人は英語を上手に話しますね。

Ano hito wa Eigo o jōzu ni hanashimasu ne.
That person speaks English well.

5.5. The noun の no

You have seen two kinds of no: the particle and the copula-

alternant. There is yet a third kind of no that is a noun. This
noun has two somewhat different meanings, ‘one WHO’ and

‘fact THAT.’ In some expressions this word is used much like
hito ‘person’:

あそこに座っているのはだれですか。
(or あそこに座っている人はだれですか。)

Asoko ni suwatte iru no wa dare desu ka.

(or Asoko ni suwatte iru hito wa dare desu ka.)
Who is the person who is sitting over there?

In some expressions, the noun no is used like koto ‘fact’:

アメリカの映画を見るのが好きです。
(or アメリカの映画を見ることが好きです。)

Amerika no eiga o miru no ga suki desu.
(or Amerika no eiga o miru koto ga suki desu.)
I like to see American movies.

5.6. …の (ん)です …no (n) desu

The noun no followed by the copula makes a special

expression meaning ‘it is a fact that…,’ but it is not easily