Breakdown of sono uwasa wa machigai deshita.
はwa
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
そのsono
that
間違いmachigai
mistake
Questions & Answers about sono uwasa wa machigai deshita.
Why is その used here?
その means that and points to something close to the listener, already mentioned, or known from the context.
So その噂 means that rumor or the rumor we’re talking about.
A learner might compare it with:
- この噂 = this rumor
- その噂 = that rumor
- あの噂 = that rumor over there / that rumor more distant from both speaker and listener
In many real conversations, その often means the one you just mentioned.
Why is there a は after 噂?
は marks the topic of the sentence.
So その噂は means something like:
- As for that rumor, ...
- About that rumor, ...
It does not simply mark the subject in the same way English does. It sets up that rumor as the thing being talked about.
A very literal breakdown would be:
- その噂 = that rumor
- は = as for
- 間違いでした = was wrong / was mistaken / was false
Why is it 間違い and not an adjective like 間違った?
