Unit 3 · だれの · Part 1

Joining nouns with の

の

Goals

By the end of this part, you can…

Join two nouns with の: a Japanese teacher, my company
Say which one you mean, without a long sentence

A conversation you can have in Japanese

TanakaIs that a Japanese book?

YouYes, it is my Japanese book.

TanakaIs your father a company employee?

YouNo, my father is a doctor.

In this part

Warm-up — vocabulary

Say it in Japanese

Tap to check your answer

motherおかあさんokaasanfatherおとうさんotousanolder sisterおねえさんoneesanolder brotherおにいさんoniisanyounger sisterいもうとimoutoyounger brotherおとうとotoutofamilyかぞくkazoku

Grammar 1

Joining nouns with の

の joins two nouns, and the one that owns or describes goes first: にほんごのせんせい is a teacher of Japanese, わたしのかいしゃ is my company. English runs the other way round, so read の backwards into English.

Builds onSaying what something is (X は Y です)

1See how it works

Pattern

A(of)のno BA's B / B of A

The modifier comes firstにほんごのせんせい is a teacher of Japanese. Turn it around and せんせいのにほんご is the teacher’s Japanese — also correct, but a different thing.

Iわたしwatashi(of)のnobagかばんkaban(polite)ですdesuIt is my bag.Japaneseにほんごnihongo のnoteacherせんせいsensei ですdesuShe is a teacher of Japanese.Mr. Tanakaたなかさんtanakasan のnowatchとけいtokei ですdesuIt is Mr. Tanaka's watch.

2Build the piecetwo nouns → A の B

e.g.わたしwatashi・かばんkabanI, bag→わたしwatashiのnoかばんkabanmy bag

1たなかさんtanakasan・ほんhonMr. Tanaka, book→たなかさんtanakasanのnoほんhonMr. Tanaka's book2にほんごnihongo・ほんhonJapanese, book→にほんごnihongoのnoほんhona Japanese book3かいしゃkaisha・ひとhitocompany, person→かいしゃkaishaのnoひとhitosomeone from the company

3Say it in Japanese

This is my company. これkore はwa わたしwatashi のno かいしゃkaisha ですdesu。My father is a doctor. ちちchichi はwa いしゃisha ですdesu。

Summary

This part at a glance

Grammar 1

Joining nouns with の

A のno B

わたしwatashi のno かばんkaban ですdesuIt is my bag.

Drill — fill in the blank

Choose the right word

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1. It is my bag.わたしwatashi かばんkabanですdesu。のno2. She is a teacher of Japanese.にほんごnihongo せんせいsenseiですdesu。のno3. It is Mr. Tanaka's watch.たなかさんtanakasan とけいtokeiですdesu。のno

Drill — translate

Write it in Japanese

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1. It is my bag.わたしwatashiのnoかばんkabanですdesu。2. She is a teacher of Japanese.にほんごnihongoのnoせんせいsenseiですdesu。3. This is my company.これkoreはwaわたしwatashiのnoかいしゃkaishaですdesu。

Reading — read it aloud

にほんごのほん

At the office. Ms. Suzuki asks about a book and about the family photo on the desk.

すずきそれsoreはwaなんnanですかdesu ka。

たなかにほんごnihongoのnoほんhonですdesu。

すずきたなかさんtanakasanのnoほんhonですかdesu ka。

たなかいいえ、かいしゃiie、kaishaのnoほんhonですdesu。

すずきあのanoひとhitoはwaだれdareですかdesu ka。

たなかわたしwatashiのnoあにaniですdesu。

すずきおにいさんoniisanのnoしごとshigotoはwaなんnanですかdesu ka。

たなかいしゃishaです。かいしゃdesu。kaishaのnoひとhitoじゃjaありariませんmasen。

Reading — questions

Answer in Japanese

Tap to check your answer

1. それsoreはwaなんnanのnoほんhonですかdesu ka。にほんごnihongoのnoほんhonですdesu。2. だれdareのnoほんhonですかdesu ka。かいしゃkaishaのnoほんhonですdesu。3. たなかさんtanakasanのnoあにaniのnoしごとshigotoはwaなんnanですかdesu ka。いしゃishaですdesu。

By the end of this part, you can…

Say it in Japanese

Joining nouns with の

This part at a glance

Choose the right word

Write it in Japanese

にほんご の ほん

Answer in Japanese

にほんごのほん