I’m just wondering if there’s any difference between the meaning of these. ｘ Like is there a nuance difference or something between sentences like テニスをすることはたのしいです。and テニスをするのはたのしいです。
Verbs that generally have to do with the senses normally use の and verbs that have to do with communication deal with こと. The exceptions are: when a nominalized verb comes before です and idiomatic expressions which use こと (e.g.: ことがある).
It’s an interesting topic.
I postulate that の is in essence always short for のもの / のこと (depending if it’s a physical thing or more of a concept etc.). In situations where the aim is to nominalize, I feel it is most obvious.
テニスをする – to play tennis
+の = テニスをするのこと – Playing the Tennis Thing / Playing Tennis
But in practical use, it seems that there is no single rule that covers how it is used in every situation. Sometimes just the の is used, sometimes のもの / のこと is used, and sometimes just the もの or こと is slapped onto the word or phrase. Like 食べ物 (たべもの) just means “food” and that’s just how it is.
Oftentimes multiple options are viable and see use. While sometimes only one of them is used.
As for differences in meaning, I’d say that の is the more vague option because it lacks the added information that もの and こと bring to the table. So if you want to be more specific as to what exactly you’re talking about, もの and こと variants provide more information.
6 comments
Verbs that generally have to do with the senses normally use の and verbs that have to do with communication deal with こと. The exceptions are: when a nominalized verb comes before です and idiomatic expressions which use こと (e.g.: ことがある).
It’s an interesting topic.
I postulate that の is in essence always short for のもの / のこと (depending if it’s a physical thing or more of a concept etc.). In situations where the aim is to nominalize, I feel it is most obvious.
テニスをする – to play tennis
+の = テニスをするのこと – Playing the Tennis Thing / Playing Tennis
But in practical use, it seems that there is no single rule that covers how it is used in every situation. Sometimes just the の is used, sometimes のもの / のこと is used, and sometimes just the もの or こと is slapped onto the word or phrase. Like 食べ物 (たべもの) just means “food” and that’s just how it is.
Oftentimes multiple options are viable and see use. While sometimes only one of them is used.
As for differences in meaning, I’d say that の is the more vague option because it lacks the added information that もの and こと bring to the table. So if you want to be more specific as to what exactly you’re talking about, もの and こと variants provide more information.
things that are more experiential and personal tend to use の, and everything else is こと. a lot has been written about this, including [being posted multiple times here](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/9f0vng/%E3%81%AE_vs_%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8_when_nomalizing_verbs_whats_the_difference/).
* [https://www.imabi.net/nominalization.htm](https://www.imabi.net/nominalization.htm)
* [https://www.imabi.net/kotoexpressions.htm](https://www.imabi.net/kotoexpressions.htm)
* [https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/nominalizers-koto-and-no/](https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/nominalizers-koto-and-no/)
* [https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1395/what-is-the-difference-between-the-nominalizers-%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8-and-%E3%81%AE](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1395/what-is-the-difference-between-the-nominalizers-%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8-and-%E3%81%AE)
の is more natural than こと
[This post](https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/03/light-nouns.html?m=1) on light nouns (like こと、もの、etc) might be helpful.
I also linked [a post on nominalization](https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/03/nominalization.html?m=1#grammar) in a reply, but I’ll put it here for ease of access as well.
https://youtu.be/ZRPAzofwXdg
This vid is relevant