The exercises A3 through A6 in the section 33 have a common feature. That is being a complex sentence using the particle “-to”. The particle “-to” has several functions as shown below;
{As a case particle}
(1) Mentioning two nouns in parallel
– Ringo to Mikan (An apple and a mandarin orange)
(2) A person who acts together
– Otouto to Kenka Shimashita. (I got into a fight with my younger brother.) — 1
– Tomodachi to Ryokou Shimashita. (I traveled with my friend.) — 2
“[Person] to” is necessary for the sentence 1., but not always necessary for the sentence 2.
(3) Indicating the end of Quotation of Utterance or Thought.
– Satou-san wa Osake o Nomanai to Iimashita. (Sato-san said that she didn’t drink Alcohol.)
{As a conjunctive particle}
– Haru ni Naru to, Hana ga Sakimasu. (Come spring, the flowers get bloomed.)
In the A3 to A6, we are learning practical uses of “-to” that functions in the way of (3) Indicating the end of Quotation of Utterance or Thought. The sentence construction takes the following;
<1> [Utterance or Thought] to [Predicate].
In the case of today’s exercise A3, 1 can be as below;
<2> [Direct Quotation] to [Verb Predicate].
In the A3, only two predicates are used for [Verb Predicate]. They are “Kaite Arimasu. ((something has been) written.)” and “Yomimasu. (read.)”. Let’s look at the examples;
1. Asoko ni 「Gomi o Suteruna」 to Kaite Arimasu. (What is written over there is “Do not throw the garbage.”)
Note that not double quotations “” but parentheses (Kagi-Kakko) 「 」 are used for direct quotation in Japanese. If you don’t use the Kagi-Kakko 「 」, the sentence would have two meanings;
1’ Asoko ni Gomi o Suteruna to Kaite Arimasu.
=>? What is written over there is “Do not throw the garbage.”
=>? What is written is “Do not throw the garbage over there.”
2. Ano Kanji wa 「Tachiiri-Kinshi」 to Yomimasu. (That Kanjis read Tachiiri- Kinshi.)
“Tachiiri-Kinshi” means “No Entry”.
As to part of quotations, it is a verb clause in 1 and a noun in 2. But this difference does not come from the difference between “Kaite Arimasu” and “Yomimasu”. Of course it depends on the situation, you can say “Asoko ni 「Tachiiri-Kinshi」 to Kaite Arimasu.” to who couldn’t see 「Tachiiri-Kinshi」 is there, and you can say “Are wa 「Gomi o Suteruna」 to Yomimasu” to who couldn’t read the letters of 「Gomi o Suteruna」.
Practice and remember the following conversations;
A : Soko ni Nan to Kaite Arimasuka. (What is written there?)
B : Soko ni 「Kin’en」 to Kaite Arimasu. (What is written there is “No Smoking”.)
(「Kin’en」 is located at almost equal distance from both A and B.)
A : Koko ni Nan to Kaite Arimasuka. (What is written here?)
B : Koko ni 「Okane o Irete Kudasai」 to Kaite Arimasu.
(What is written here is “Put in money here”.)
A : Sono Kanji wa Nan to Yomimasuka. (How do you read that Kanji?)
B : Kono Kanji wa 「Hijouguchi」 to Yomimasu. (That Kanji reads 「Hijouguchi (emergency exit)」.)
(That Kanji is closer to B.)
A : Kono Suuji wa Nan to Yomimasuka. (How do you read this number?)
B : Kono Suuji wa 「Sen Happaku Kyuu-juu Go」 to Yomimasu. (That Suuji reads “one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five (1895)”.)
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This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section33 of “Minna no Nihongo (2nd Edition)” published by “3A Corporation”