How to write "Whose book is this?"

W

WillisTron

後輩

2 Oct 2012

20

0

• 4 Oct 2012

• #1

I was thinking it was like this;

dari wa boushi no des ka?
Who (subject) book(possesion) is this?

or could it be

Dari no boushi wa des ka?

Thanks in advanced

 

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

18 Jan 2006

3,652

310

• 4 Oct 2012

• #2

Who is not 'dari' but 'dare'.
You can add '-no' to make it possessive.

'Boushi' means hat or cap, book is 'hon' in Japanese.

Kore wa dare no hon desuka?
(this who's book is, if literally translated word by word. Remember that this kind of translation does not really work to learn the language.)

 

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

Twenty-year veteran

15 Mar 2002

16,758

2,298

• 4 Oct 2012

• #3

You write it "Whose book is this?"

The possessive pronoun is "whose".

"Who's" is a contraction of "who is".

 

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

18 Jan 2006

3,652

310

• 4 Oct 2012

• #4

Sorry Mike, I do know whose, "who's" my coinage for dare-no. (It really is contraction for who is...)
Apologies to OP if this caused any confusion.

 

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

Twenty-year veteran

15 Mar 2002

16,758

2,298

• 4 Oct 2012

• #5

It's one of the many small points about English that American schools have either quit teaching or American students have quit learning.

 

W

WillisTron

後輩

2 Oct 2012

20

0

• 4 Oct 2012

• Thread starter
• #6

Thank you very much, that clears things up!

 

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

Twenty-year veteran

15 Mar 2002

16,758

2,298

• 4 Oct 2012

• #7

Thanks to you, Willis, for being a good sport.

 

J

Jimi

先輩

5 Aug 2009

34

0

• 6 Oct 2012

• #8

Kono hon wa dare desu ka.
Kono, not kore because it functions as an adjective in this case, i always rember it as Kore no "noun". I think Dare no hon wa desu ka is grammatically fine, but it feels weird because it allready implies it belongs to someone. It is kinda like "This book of someone from who is it?", where "Kono hon wa dare desu ka" is like "About this book from who is it". This is also why you dont write the No particle behind dare, or after kono itsellf.

Also, in your first guess you switched the "person" with the "object" so, "hon no dare" which is something i am incapable of describing in english :? Dare no Hon is the correct way.

 

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

Twenty-year veteran

15 Mar 2002

16,758

2,298

• 6 Oct 2012

• #9

Wrong on all counts.

Your opening try is "Who is this book?"

 

J

Jimi

先輩

5 Aug 2009

34

0

• 6 Oct 2012

• #10

Mike Cash said:

Wrong on all counts.

Your opening try is "Who is this book?"

Click to expand...

Oh snap. You are totally right. Ignore my comment. Sorry for the confusion i might have caused you.

 

Elizabeth

先輩

22 Apr 2003

9,839

135

• 6 Oct 2012

• #11

WillisTron said:

I was thinking it was like this;

dari wa boushi no des ka?
Who (subject) book(possesion) is this?

or could it be

Dari no boushi wa des ka?

Thanks in advanced

Click to expand...

It could also be "Kono hon wa dare desuka"? to nicely avoid who's, unless you mean it for "who has."

 

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

18 Jan 2006

3,652

310

• 6 Oct 2012

• #12

Elizabeth said:

It could also be "Kono hon wa dare desuka"? to nicely avoid who's, unless you mean it for "who has."

Click to expand...

It means 'who is this book'.
You meant 'kono hon wa dareno desuka'? - but then it is 'whose' again...

 

Elizabeth

先輩

22 Apr 2003

9,839

135

• 6 Oct 2012

• #13

undrentide said:

It means 'who is this book'.
You meant 'kono hon wa dareno desuka'? - but then it is 'whose' again...

Click to expand...

Oh yes. I hope the OP is not as confused as I am. lol. But that is a funny typo. Sorry I was typing at work.

 

S

Speedy Japanese

先輩

10 Oct 2012

35

0

• 10 Oct 2012

• #14

Throw my hat in the arena with "Kore wa dare no hon desu ka"

Equates very well with your original question and avoids the repetition of the word hon in the sentence as it appears singularly in the original question.