Breakdown of kodomo ha kesigomu wo nakusita node, watasi no wo ageta.
はha
topic particle
私watasi
I
子供kodomo
child
をwo
direct object particle
のno
possessive case particle
のでnode
reason particle
〜た〜ta
past tense
消しゴムkesigomu
eraser
無くすnakusu
to lose
あげるageru
to give
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Questions & Answers about kodomo ha kesigomu wo nakusita node, watasi no wo ageta.
Why is は used after 子供, rather than が?
は is the topic marker. By saying 子供は, we set “the child” as the topic of the sentence and comment on what happened to him. If you used が (子供が消しゴムを無くした), you’d simply mark “child” as the grammatical subject without the nuance of “as for the child…”.
What’s the difference between 無くした and なくなった?
無くした is the past form of the transitive verb 無くす (“to lose something”). It means someone lost an object.
なくなった is the past of the intransitive なくなる (“to become lost” or “to disappear”). You’d use なくなった if you want to say “the eraser got lost” without directly implying who lost it.
Why is ので used here instead of から?
Both ので and から can introduce a reason (“because”).
- ので is softer and slightly more formal/polite, suggesting you’re stating a cause objectively.
- から is more direct and colloquial.
In this sentence, 無くしたので politely links the reason to the result.
In 私のをあげた, what does の stand for?
の substitutes for a possessed noun—in this case, 消しゴム. So 私の means “my one (eraser).” It’s a shorthand for 私の消しゴム.
Why is there still a を after 私の?
That を marks the direct object of あげた (“gave”). Even though 消しゴム is omitted, the object marker remains. You’re saying effectively 私の（消しゴム）をあげた.
Why is the subject of あげた omitted? Isn’t it confusing?
Japanese frequently drops subjects when they’re clear from context. Here, it’s obvious that I (the speaker) am the one doing the giving. Adding 私があげた is possible but redundant once you know who the speaker is.
Why are both verbs in past tense (無くした, あげた)?
The sentence describes a completed sequence: first, the child lost the eraser; second, the speaker gave theirs. Using the past tense for both actions reflects that chronological order.
Could I say 私の消しゴムをあげた instead of 私のをあげた?
Yes. 私の消しゴムをあげた is more explicit and equally correct. However, if the object (消しゴム) is understood from earlier context, you can shorten it to 私のをあげた to avoid unnecessary repetition.