する (Permanent Attribute) Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Irregular Verb
Essential Meaning: To have (some inalienable attribute)
Construction:
- Subject + Adjective + Attribute + をしている
- E.g. この机は丸い形 をしている。[This desk has a round shape.]
Notes:
- する (Permanent Attribute) is another way of stating X は Y が. It describes a particular part or attribute of the subject when that attribute is inalienably possessed by the subject (i.e. the subject cannot fundamentally exist without the part or the attribute in question). For example, a table cannot exist without legs, so legs are an inalienable feature of a table.
- E.g. この机は丸い形をしている。[This desk has a round shape.] A desk necessarily has some shape. In this case, the desk has a round shape.
- This usage of する takes the structure Subject + Adjective + Attribute + をしている. Note that する (Permanent Attribute) always takes the stative form している in a main clause, but in a relative clause it may also take the past tense. The following examples all mean essentially the same thing:
- E.g. 洋子は長い足をしている。[Yoko has long legs.]
- E.g. 長い足をした洋子 [Long-legged Yoko] This is a relative clause rather than a complete sentence.
- E.g. 長い足をしている洋子 [Long-legged Yoko] This is a relative clause rather than a complete sentence.
- E.g. 洋子は足が長い [Yoko has long legs.]
Example Sentences:
洋子は長い足をしている。[Yoko has long legs.]
一男は丈夫な体をしています。[Kazuo has a strong body.]
この机は丸い形をしている。[This desk has a round shape.]
WILD Examples:
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