Breakdown of watasi ha douryou ni sigoto no soudan wo simasu.
はha
topic particle
私watasi
I
をwo
direct object particle
のno
possessive case particle
にni
indirect object particle
仕事sigoto
work
同僚douryou
coworker
相談するsoudansuru
to consult
相談soudan
consultation
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha douryou ni sigoto no soudan wo simasu.
Why is は used after 私 instead of が?
は is the topic marker, showing that 私 (“I”) is what the sentence is about. が marks the grammatical subject, which you’d use when you introduce new information or focus on who/what is doing something. Here, the speaker already knows they’re talking about themselves, so they use は to set 私 as the topic.
Why is に used after 同僚? Could we use を or と instead?
に marks the target or recipient of the action—in this case, the person you consult.
- を would mark the direct object, but the direct object here is 相談 (the consultation), not 同僚.
- と would mean “together with,” implying a joint discussion rather than asking your colleague for advice. So 同僚に相談する is “consult your colleague.”
Why is の placed between 仕事 and 相談?
の links two nouns, with the first noun modifying the second. Here, 仕事の相談 literally means “consultation of work,” i.e. “a consultation about work.” の turns 仕事 into the topic of the consultation.
What role does を play before します?
を marks the direct object of する. Because 相談 is a noun here, you need を to show that you “do” the consultation: 相談をする (“to do a consultation”).
Can we just say 相談します instead of 相談をします?
Yes. 相談する is a valid する-verb, so you can drop を and say 仕事の相談します. However, including を (i.e. 相談をします) is more natural when you treat 相談 firmly as a noun.
Why is します used instead of する?
します is the polite non-past form of する. It’s used in formal or courteous situations. する would be the plain (casual) form, suitable among close friends or in informal writing.
Can 私 be omitted in this sentence?
Yes. Japanese often omits the topic or subject when it’s understood from context. Just saying 同僚に仕事の相談をします still clearly means “I’ll consult my colleague about work.”
Could we change the word order, for example 同僚に仕事の相談を私はします?
While Japanese word order is more flexible than English, that example is technically grammatical but very awkward. The natural order is Topic (私は), Indirect Object (同僚に), Object Phrase (仕事の相談を), then Verb (します).
What’s the difference between 同僚に相談する and 同僚と相談する?
- 同僚に相談する means “to ask your colleague for advice” (your colleague is the advice-giver).
- 同僚と相談する means “to discuss something with your colleague” (you’re having a mutual discussion).