Today, in this course, we will learn how to put a sentence in the explanatory form のだ, that is particle の + verb だ, so we can give an explanation. This course will be rather light and we’ll see some very important concepts later. It has some points in common with the end-of-sentence particles course we saw previously and will also be linked to asking a question in Japanese. So, this is a very important course.
So, in Japanese, how do you put a sentence in the explanatory form ? Quite simply, we just have to put の + だ at the end of the sentence after the verb, like this :
Verb + particle の + verb だ
Or, if you prefer, written this way :
Verb + のだ
Note that you cannot have an end-of-sentence particle between the verb and のだ. Directly after the verb, we put のだ.
And this therefore makes it possible to give an explanation to the interlocutor, which of course requires a context that calls for explanation. And to illustrate all this with an example, let’s start with a very simple sentence :
泥棒は菓子屋にいる。
どろぼうはかしやにいる。
The burglar is in the candy store.
Well, that’s a very easy sentence as we know how to do it. Now if we want to put this sentence in the explanatory form のだ, we’ll say :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるのだ。
どろぼうはかしやにいるのだ。
It’s because the burglar is in the candy store. / It’s because there is a burglar in the candy store.
Good. Our sentence is in the explanatory form. The difference between the two is that the first sentence is an informative sentence, it simply gives information; and the second sentence is an explanatory sentence, it gives an explanation.
The « It’s because » translates the explanatory form, which therefore implies that a question has been asked and therefore that the context requires an explanation. Let’s suppose the caller asked a question like « Why is the alarm ringing ? » and you answer « It’s because there is a burglar in the candy store ».
So that’s why the alarm is sounding. You give an explanation of why the alarm is sounding.
Please note, we will have a special case when the base sentence that we must turn to the explanatory form already ends with だ. For example :
栄三は天才だ。
えいぞうはてんさいだ。
Eizou is a genius.
If we put のだ after the verb, it gives us :
栄三は天才だのだ。
But this is not correct. We cannot have the verb だ twice. So, we replace the first だ with the particle な.
栄三は天才なのだ。
えいぞうはてんさいなのだ。
It’s because Eizou is a genius.
Understand that this is systematic. Each time we have a form with the particle の following a verb だ, this same verb だ will be replaced by the particle な. We will see other forms later in の so remember that. It will always be the case.
Now you know how to put your sentence in the explanatory form のだ. Once it’s done, it gives you a new sentence. The だ which is after the の, is the new verb that is at the end of your sentence, which means that after this だ, you can put for example an end-of-sentence particle. You can end your sentence by :
[the sentence] + のだよ
[the sentence] + のだね
So, since we can put any end-of-sentence particle before the だ, we can also put the particle か to put our explanatory sentence in the interrogative form.
Below is an example to illustrate this. Let’s go back to our example from the beginning :
泥棒は菓子屋にいる。
どろぼうはかしやにいる。
The burglar is in the candy store.
We now know how to put this sentence in the interrogative form. This gives us :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるか。
どろぼうはかしやにいるか。
Is the burglar in the candy store ?
Now let’s take the sentence in the explanatory form :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるのだ。
どろぼうはかしやにいるのだ。
It’s because there is a burglar in the candy store.
We put this sentence in the interrogative sentence. This gives us :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるのか。
どろぼうはかしやにいるのか。
Is the burglar in the candy store ? / Is there a burglar in the candy store ?
Now the question that arises is what is the difference between 泥棒は菓子屋にいるか。 and 泥棒は菓子屋にいるのか。 ? In the first question we ask for information, in the second question we ask for an explanation. And so, when we ask for an explanation, the answer is also in the explanatory form, we are giving an explanation. Which brings us back to what we said above.
As we saw in the end-of-sentence particle course, the particle か is not mandatory when we ask a question :
泥棒は菓子屋にいる?
どろぼうはかしやにいる?
Is the burglar in the candy store ?
We can do the same when we ask an explanatory question :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるの?
どろぼうはかしやにいるの?
Is the burglar in the candy store ? / Is there a burglar in the candy store ?
Remember to pitch the intonation at the end of the sentence with the question mark in writing to indicate that it is indeed a question.
There you go, we have four ways to ask a question in Japanese in the neutral form. We will see another time how things go in the polite form.
I take this opportunity to give you the same thing in the case of a sentence that ends with だ.
栄三は天才だ。
栄三は天才か。
栄三は天才?
And now when we get to the explanatory form, we have :
栄三は天才なのだ
栄三は天才なのか
栄三は天才なの?
Without forgetting to pitch the intonation at the end of the sentence in the last case.
Now that we have seen all the possible and imaginable cases, it is time to share with you four details of use which are of the utmost importance.
1st Precision
First of all, のだ not only allows you to give an explanation but also to underline a point or a question, to accentuate it, to make the point more important than a normal sentence.
For example, 泥棒は菓子屋にいるのだ。 is not only going to serve as an explanation but also to underline the information we are giving.
泥棒は菓子屋にいるのか。 and 泥棒は菓子屋にいるの? are not only going to be used to ask for an explanation but also to highlight the information we are asking for.
And because of this, the explanatory form のだ, is something that is going to be used very often, whether to give and ask for an explanation or simply to give and ask for information by making it more important. And in particular the « …の? » which will be used a lot to ask a question, which allows a good alternative in the case where, simply after a verb in the neutral form which, as I explained to you in the previous course, is not done too much because a little too brutal.
2nd Precision
Then, know that with a sentence in the interrogative form and a sentence in the explanatory turn itself in the interrogative form, we can also express the discovery, the understanding of a new fact by lowering the intonation with the か at the end of the sentence.
For example :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるか。
(by lowering the intonation on the か)
As if to say : « Ah, okay, there’s a thief in the candy store. ». I discover new information.
I give you another example by taking another sentence :
栄三は天才なのか。
(by lowering the intonation on the か as always)
As if to say : « Ah, okay, It’s because Eizou is a genius. ». I discover new information.
Here. When we have a か and we lower the intonation well at the end of the sentence – whereas in normal times, when it comes to a question, all that is more classic, we raise the intonation – here, in this case, we lower it distinctly. The downward intonation needs to be felt in the voice.
So, it’s no longer a question per se, it indicates that we are making a remark to ourselves, that we are asking ourselves a question while at the same time discovering a new information. We ask ourselves a question to ask for confirmation while half affirming it because we are discovering the fact at the same time. It’s half a surprise and half a confirmation.
Be careful, this case, this way of expressing half a surprise and half a confirmation is only possible with interrogative sentences ending with the particle か. So, in sentences like :
泥棒は菓子屋にいる?
泥棒は菓子屋にいるの?
栄三は天才?
栄三は天才なの?
It is not possible to apply what I have just explained to you because we do not have the particle か on which we lower the intonation.
3rd Precision
Third, know that orally, it is possible to abbreviate the の in ん. For example, in the sentence 泥棒は菓子屋にいるのだ。, the の becomes ん like this :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるんだ。
So, we can say the sentence a bit faster, something that is very present when spoken. It also works with this sentence :
栄三は天才なのだ。
The の become a ん, which gives us :
栄三は天才なんだ。
We can also do this with sentences in the interrogative form :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるんか。
栄三は天才なんか。
This is often done on declarative form sentences, much less on interrogative form sentences. I also think, on a personal level, that this is often the case in manga. Since manga are comics and stories are mostly told through talking characters. For the anecdote, the use of ん to replace the の is reminiscent of the Osaka dialect where this use is still very present. The Osaka dialect, which is spoken in western Japan, is a language a little different from the one spoken in Tokyo.
4th Precision
Finally, now that we know that in Japanese, there are ways of speaking that are more masculine and others that are more feminine, know that women often remove the だ when there is one at the end of a sentence. It gives a little cute side, it’s a little childish. In fact, in Japanese « feminine » and « childish » are very often related. Culturally, women in Japan are very fond of approaching a child’s behavior to appear cute when they seek to please.
So, to illustrate this fourth and last case with a few examples, if we take the three sentences below :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるのだ。
栄三は天才だ。
栄三は天才なのだ。
And when we remove the だ, we have :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるの。
栄三は天才。
栄三は天才なの。
Sometimes women use this form as an exclamation mark. We can replace the だ with an exclamation point or the final particle よ :
泥棒は菓子屋にいるの! (By expressing the exclamation in the tone)
泥棒は菓子屋にいるのよ
Now, if you see a sentence where there is no だ where there should be, you will know what it means, especially if the person speaking is a woman or at least a child.
This course is now complete and it was rather long, but all we have seen is very important. However, remember one thing. Contrary to what many people think, the particle の is not an end-of-sentence particle. If you find Japanese sentences ending with の, this means that you are dealing with the explanatory form のだ which has been used in one way or another whether to ask for an explanation, highlight information…
It is important that you understand all the intricacies of the explanatory form のだ now so that you don’t get tangled up afterwards. Also keep in mind that we will do other courses on other uses of the particle の. You haven’t finished hearing about it.
It is high time for you to move on to revisions… and exercises ! Theme and version, do I still need to say ? Take your time to integrate everything we have just seen, there is no rush. Hang in there and you’ll succeed.
Introduction