こと – As a Noun Phrase
こと is a noun that expresses intangible things, circumstances, and so on. In my last post, I explained what こと means, and how to use it as a noun. This word actually though can be used more broadly by turning whole phrases or sentences into nouns.
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こと as a Noun
Ok, so first take a look at the sentence below, where こと is just a normal noun:
面白いことを聞いた
I heard something interesting
Here, こと is just an unspecific something. Just looking at こと by itself, we don’t know what it is. However, we do know that since こと only refers to intangible things so it is not a shoe, cat, cup, or house. The meaning of the word こと is filled in by the other words in the sentence. Here we know that it is interesting and since we heard it, we are probably talking about something that someone said.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/Ok, so that is how こと is used as a noun. You can think of it as something unspecified where the sentence fills in the details. So, remember that, and if you need more details of how こと is used in this situation check out the article “こと – All about that Thing, Koto”.
こと Makes Phrases into Nouns
Ok, now that we understand how こと is used to mean something by itself, let’s look at how こと transforms full phrases into Noun Phrases.
As stated above, こと when used as a noun is just an unspecified intangible thing which the words around it fill in the details for. In that situation, we are talking specifically about こと. So in the last example sentence, we are talking about something, and the fact that it is interesting is just added detail.
We can also use say こと to talk about an entire phrase. That is focusing on that phrase and not the actual word こと. Take a look below:
彼は走ることが好き
he likes running
Here, こと does not make the sentence mean intangible things that run but instead turns the verb run into a thing, running.
