LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 162 JLPT N4
Watching It Happen (の as nominalizer)
Like こと, which you already know, の can also nominalize a whole clause, turning it into a noun. の is the natural choice with preference verbs (好き, 上手, 下手) and, especially, with verbs of direct perception, seeing or hearing something happen right in front of you.
Takuya loves watching sports.
Takuya goes to bed early.
In Real Life
好き, 嫌い, 上手, 下手, 早い, 遅い, all naturally pair with の rather than こと, an idiomatic preference that’s easiest to just memorize by pattern. こと would technically be understandable in most of these but sounds noticeably less natural.
I saw that there was a man there.
I could hear someone talking on their phone.
In Real Life
見る, 聞く, 聞こえる, 見える always take の, never こと, when the object is something you directly witnessed happening, a live event caught by your own eyes or ears, rather than an abstract fact you simply know about.
Starting a new life today makes me happy.
In Real Life
こと usually fits better when the nominalized clause is abstract, a fact, an idea, a decision, ことができる, ことになる, ことにする, all patterns you’ve already learned. の fits better when it’s something concrete, immediate, or personally felt, closer to watching a scene unfold than stating an abstract truth.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to clean | |
| to go out | |
| life, living | |
| freedom | |
| something to look forward to | |
| lonely | |
| to get a job | |
| to be late | |
| graduation ceremony | |
| mean, unkind | |
| to fight, argue | |
| beside, next to | |
| to be audible | |
| to be visible | |
| to notice | |
| to witness | |
| scene, site | |
| sense, feeling | |
| abstract | |
| concrete, specific |