名Longer sentences
Turning verbs into nouns
こと and の turn a verb into a noun, so “swimming” can be the subject of a sentence. Choosing between them depends on how direct the action feels.
The basics
Sentence + こと or の
Swimming is fun.
My hobby is reading books.
Which one?
の for what you sense, こと for what you know
の feels direct and close to you. こと feels more abstract. Set phrases must use こと.
| Verb after it | の | こと |
|---|---|---|
| 見る, 聞く, 感じる | Yes | No |
| 止める (stop), 待つ | Yes | No |
| 知る, 忘れる, 分かる | Yes | Yes |
| 好きだ, 難しい | Yes | Yes |
| 考える, 頼む, 信じる | No | Yes |
| ~ことができる, ~ことがある | No | Yes |
| A は B だ (as B) | No | Yes |
の
Things you perceive directly
I heard him singing.
I can see the kids running.
I forgot to pay.
こと
Facts and ideas
Speaking Japanese is hard.
My dream is to become a doctor.
In X は Y です, Y must use こと.
I believe he'll come.
Thing or thought
こと also means an intangible “thing”
Do you remember about yesterday?
こと is for things you can't touch.
I bought something beautiful.
もの is a physical thing.
Do you know about Suzuki?
の こと: “about”.
Careful
Connecting
Before こと and の, use the plain form: だ turns to な for な adjectives and nouns take な or である: 静かなこと, 学生なの. A clause turned into a noun can take は, が or を, but it can't contain the topic は inside it.
Check yourself
Why こと or の?
I saw birds flying.
Your turn
の or こと?
I'll wait for my friend to come.
Say it yourself
About yourself
A new friend asks about your hobbies. Your hobby is taking pictures. You also love watching people dance.
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