So I’m studying japanese with the Japanese from Zero book vol. 1 and I got to the lesson how to say “to want”/”don’t want”.
Previously I’ve learned that you make adjectives by adding “の” after the noun, so: (noun) + “の” = adjective.
However, in the lesson that I’m at now, suddenly they’re not adding the particle after the nouns. For example: “あたらしいれいぞうこがほしくないですか” (Don’t you wan’t a new refridgerator?)
Why is it not: “あたらしい**の**れいぞうこがほしくないですか”
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Is it okay to just leave the particle out in some cases then?
5 comments
I wouldn’t say noun + の makes an adjective. It’s more like an attributive. Although, an attributive can act like an adjective. Anyways, I find it strange that they haven’t explained な-adjectives and い-adjectives yet, which are the two adjectives that you’ll see. And い-adjectives don’t connect to nouns with の.
Nouns can be described by prefixing them with an adjectival description. This can come in several forms…
* <noun>の<noun> – this form is used where one noun is described by another. It can also indicate possession. E.g. 先生の車 (teacher’s car).
* い-adjectives. These are true adjectives and can be prefixed directly to nouns, so no intermediate particle is needed E.g. あたらしいれいぞうこ (new refrigerator).
* な-adjectives. These work (grammatically) in a similar way to nouns, but use な when prefixed to a noun. E.g. きれいな花 (pretty flower). [Note – the な is actually a form of the copula だ/です].
You’re confused about a few things.
あたらしい (new) is an adjective not a noun. If it directly precedes a noun れいぞうこ (fridge) it modifies the noun (new fridge). (It is an い adj. You’ll need to know the distinction between this and な adjectives.) No の involved.
But の can be used to join nouns so that the first modifies the second. “Ben の fridge” would mean ben’s fridge, for instance.
あたらしい is an い adjective. い adjectives attach directly to nouns and should not be used with の.
The only reason i would use の after an adjective like that would be if i am using の as a pronoun
Like:
新しいのが好きです。
I like the new one.