や (In-Exhaustive Listing) Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Conjunction
Essential Meaning: And X (among other things)
Construction:
- Noun や Noun
- E.g. クリスやマーク [Chris and Mark (among others)]
Notes:
- や is used to in-exhaustively list noun phrases that relate to a specific time and place. To make a general in-exhaustive listing, とか is used instead. To in-exhaustively list sentences or predicates, たり~たり~する is used.
- E.g. *昨日はデパートに行きましたや映画を見ました。[I went to the department store and watched a movie (among other things).] This sentence is ungrammatical because や can only be used to list nouns and noun phrases, not verbs or predicates.
- E.g. 昨日はデパートに行ったり映画を見たりしました。[I went to the department store and watched a movie (among other things).] たり~たり~する is the appropriate structure for in-exhaustively listing actions.
- E.g. 僕はビールやワインを飲んだ。[I drank beer and wine (among other things).] や is the appropriate conjunction here because it’s a listing of nouns and it refers to a specific time and place where the beverages were drunk (as opposed to a general listing, such as one’s favorite drinks).
- Because Noun 1 や Noun 2 is itself a noun phrase, it can be used anywhere a regular noun can be used.
- E.g. As the subject: 山本さんやスミスさんがテニスをしている。[Yamamoto-san and Smith-san (among others) are playing tennis.]
- E.g. As the direct object: 僕はビールやワインを飲んだ。[I drank beer and wine (among other things).]
- E.g. As the indirect object: 土田さんは大川さんや鈴木さんに手紙を書いた。[Tsuchida-san wrote a letter to Ogawa-san and Suzuki-san (among others).]
- Noun 1 や Noun 2 can not be used in place of X in the structure XがYだ because が is an exhaustive marker in this structure and would not make sense in concert with an in-exhaustive noun listing.
- や is similar but not identical to とか. The difference is that とか is used to make a general and casual list of example items, while や is used to list items that relate to a specific time and place.
- E.g. A: スミスさんは例えばどんな日本食が好きですか。B: 天ぷらとかすき焼きとか刺身ですね。[A: What are some examples of Japanese foods that Mr. Smith likes? B: He likes tempura, sukiyaki, and sashimi (among other things).] This is a general list of foods that Mr. Smith likes. It doesn’t relate to a specific time or place. Thus, とか is appropriate.
- E.g. A: 昨日料理屋で何を食べましたか。B: 天ぷらやすき焼きや刺身を食べました。[A: What did you eat at he restaurant yesterday? B: I ate tempura, sukiyaki, and sashimi.] This is a specific list of items that the speaker ate at a specific time and at a specific place. Thus, や is appropriate.
Example Sentences:
山田さんや大川さんが来た。[Yamada-san and Ogawa-san (among others) came.]
山本さんやスミスさんがテニスをしている。[Yamamoto-san and Smith-san (among others) are playing tennis.]
僕はビールやワインを飲んだ。[I drank beer and wine (among other things).]
土田さんは大川さんや鈴木さんに手紙を書いた。[Tsuchida-san wrote a letter to Ogawa-san and Suzuki-san (among others).]
WILD Examples:
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