The function of
"o"
is to indicate the object of a
verb.
hon
o
kaimasu.
book buy
(I) buy (a) book.
Koohii
o
nomimasu.
coffee drink
(I) drink coffee.
Tegami
o
kakimasu.
letter write
(I) write (a) letter.
Whenever you hear the structural
particle
o
in an utterance or sentence, you
will know that what comes immediately before it will be the object of
the next
verb that comes after it.
The verb that comes after
o
can be an active, passive, or causative verb-form, but
regardless, the verb will always act on what precedes
o
in some way.
Sometimes the verb following the
particle
o
is of a type that in English would
require a preposition such as "in" or "on". But since there are no
words in
Japanese equivalent to this usage of English prepositions, the
structural particle
o
fulfills these functions.
miti
o
aruku
street walk
walk (on) (the) street
sora
o
tobu
sky fly
fly (in) (the) sky
ie
o
deru
house go out
go out (of) (the) house
daigaku
o
sotugyou suru
college graduate
graduate (from) college
For
o,
you should keep in mind that while a transitive verb always has to
have
something to act on, if the "something" is understood from the
context, it
usually isn't spoken:
Example:
Kare wa mou ie
o
demashita ka.
(Has) he already left (the) house?
Hai, demashita.
Yes, left.
Here, both the topic (Kare wa) and
the object (ie) are not spoken in the
reply, since they are readily understood from the context of the
question
that was asked.
Biiru
o
kudasai.
beer please
Please give me (a or some) beer.
Mainiti tenisu
o
simasu.
everyday tennis play
(I) play tennis everyday.
Uti no mae no miti
o
aruite iru hito wa dare desu ka.
house front street walking person who is
Who is (the) person walking (in) (the) street (in) front (of) (our)
house?
Kanojo wa kyonen daigaku
o
sotugyou simasita.
she last year college graduated
She graduated (from) college last year.
Nihongo
o
benkyou shitai'n desu.
Japanese study want (to)
(I) want (to) study Japanese.
Daigaku
o
dete kara nani
o
suru tumori desu ka.
College leaving after what do intend
After leaving college, what (do) (you) intend (to) do?
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