Adding -na after Noun adjectives

Silvx · 18 Jan 2009

I was just wondering, when are you supposed to add -na to noun adjectives? Is it on all positive forms?

I.E. Kono mise wa taihen benri na desu ne?

Would I be able to leave -na out and still get the same thing, or is it improper if it is left out. Just a little confused on the usage of it

Toritoribe · 18 Jan 2009

You need な[na] basically only when preceding nouns.

×この店は大変便利なですね。[Kono mise wa taihen benri na desu ne.]

○この店は大変便利ですね。[Kono mise wa taihen benri desu ne.]
○この店は大変便利な店ですね。[Kono mise wa taihen benrina mise desu ne.]

maushan3 · 18 Jan 2009

Think of it this way...

adding な to a noun makes it an adjective. And when using な you need to add the next noun for the adjective to be of correct use.

I dunno if I made myself clear. Look at Toritoribe's example that explains it perfectly.

I'll use that same example in English:

This store comes in very handy. Notice no adjective.
This store is a very handy store. Notice this "handy" is the adjective that modifies store. Same thing in Japanese.

Mauricio

Glenn · 18 Jan 2009

Handy is an adjective in both sentences, actually. It's just that it's a complement in the first and attributive in the second. Notice "very" modifies "handy" in both. "Very" is an adverb, so it only modifies adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. The point though is the distinction between complement and attributive -- な makes な-adjectives attributive, whereas だ is its complementary form.

Silvx · 18 Jan 2009

Oh I see, So -na is only needed when you are going to precede a noun. thank you very much for clearing it up ^^; and I thought benri meant convienient, well handy is the same thing Thank you for the replies =)

Amigo · 18 Jan 2009

I don't know why but Japanese ladies trends to add NA to NA adjetives and nouns in an informal way to make questions:

KORE WA ANATA NO KASA NA NO? これはあなたのかさなの?
It this your umbrella?

maushan3 · 19 Jan 2009

AMIGO said:
I don't know why but Japanese ladies trends to add NA to NA adjetives and nouns in an informal way to make questions:

KORE WA ANATA NO KASA NA NO? これはあなたのかさなの?
It this your umbrella?

This is correct, however this na is used differently.

From what I know, Na can be used in the following forms:
1. When asking questions informally. ex. これはりんごなの？
2. When talking informally and making an affirmation. ex. 本当にかわいいなぁ！
3. And when used to modify nouns to make them adjectives. 便利な店ですね。

Mauricio

Amigo · 19 Jan 2009

Thank you, Maushan3,

Now I just want to correct myself my poor English.

Is this your umbrella?

Ladies trend to... (without "s")

Toritoribe · 19 Jan 2009

maushan3 said:
1. When asking questions informally. ex. これはりんごなの？
2. When talking informally and making an affirmation. ex. 本当にかわいいなぁ！
3. And when used to modify nouns to make them adjectives. 便利な店ですね。

Indeed, #1 might sound feminine. However this nuance is not only from な; the adnominal form of the copula だ. When used in interrogative sentences, men also use this なの depending on context. Wemen use it more likely in declarative sentences.
e.g.
men:
これ君のリンゴなのか？[Kore kimi no ringo na no ka?]
これ君のリンゴなの？ごめん、食べちゃった。[Kore kimi no ringo na no? Gomen, tabechatta.]

wemen:
これ私のリンゴなの。だから食べないでね。[Kore watashi no ringo na no. Dakara tabenaide ne.]

The sentence final particle な/なぁ/なあ in #2 might tend to be used by male. ね/ねぇ/ねえ would be used more frequently by female.
The adnominal form of the na-adjective in #3 can be used equally by both men and women.

Glenn · 20 Jan 2009

Also worth noting (I believe) is that the な of なの（だ・に）is a version of だ, so it's like きれいだ着物 turns into きれいな着物, and これ君のりんごだのか turns into これ君のりんごなのか. This is different from the sentence final particle of introspection/agreement seeking and the prohibitive command particle (それを食べるな) and the contraction of なさい used in commands (にんじんを食べな... a bit crude, I suppose).

Adding -na after Noun adjectives

Silvx

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Glenn

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