Why do I need to add と in the following sentences?

4 comments

1. と doesn’t only mean and or with. It’s also the quotation particle. Japanese particles are overloaded like that.

   Here, it’s signifying *what* you’re thinking or saying.

   What did the person 言いました? 彼はいい**と**. What do you 思う? 今日は雨が降る**と**

   It’s nothing to do with politeness, and just showing that the previous section is the “quote” that’s being actioned on.

   —

   > 今日は雨が降りますと思います

   It’s not wrong grammatically, but it’s a bit strange? You don’t usually think to yourself in ます form, so it’s not necessary here. Politeness can be “set” by the final verb alone.

   Now, if Person A says to you “今日は雨が降ります” and you’re relating that to a Person B, it’s alright to say something like “今日は雨が降りますと言いました” because you’re quoting what they said.

2. と is used to “quote” thoughts, feelings, and communication. If you’re stating what you think or feel, or what someone says, you generally use と before the thinking/feeling/communication verb, like と思う, と感じる, etc.

   “これはいいと思う” literally means “I think this is good.”

   Don’t use です/ます before と. If you need a です/ます level of politeness, do that with the final verb, as in “これはいいと思います.”

   An extremely common usage of と is before 言う.

3. Certain verbs use と.

   と has more meanings than just “with” or “and” as someone said, it quotes thoughts, feelings, what people say etc.

   と is not polite language, it’s grammar.

   It is better to say:

   今日は雨が降ると思います/思う.

   Typically, the plain form of the verb is used and ます or です isn’t used either.

   Another verb which uses と is 言う since you quote what a person says.

   妹は今日と明日も来ないと言いました｡
   My younger sister said she won’t come today or tomorrow.

   Over time, you will hear と used in other situations that don’t mean “and” or “with.”

4. >can I say 今日は雨が降りますと思います

   No, because です and ます are a modal expression to speak to someone.