Breakdown of ibento no sankasya ha kankyou nituite hanasiaimasita.
はha
topic particle
のno
possessive case particle
イベントibento
event
環境kankyou
environment
参加者sankasya
participant
に ついてni tuite
about
話し合うhanasisiau
to discuss
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Questions & Answers about ibento no sankasya ha kankyou nituite hanasiaimasita.
What is the function of の in イベントの参加者?
の is the genitive (possessive) particle. It links イベント (event) and 参加者 (participant[s]) to mean “participant(s) of the event.”
Why is は used after 参加者 instead of が?
は marks the topic of the sentence (“as for the event participants…”). It can also imply contrast or emphasis on what follows. If you used が, you’d simply identify the subject without shifting the focus onto it as the context for the rest of the sentence.
What does について do in 環境について話し合いました?
について means “about” or “concerning.” It attaches to a noun (環境, environment) to indicate the subject matter of the discussion. So 環境について話し合いました means “(they) discussed about the environment.”
Why don’t we use the object marker を with 環境 here?
The verb 話し合う (“to discuss”) conventionally takes the topic of discussion with について, not を. Saying 環境を話し合う sounds unnatural; Japanese prefers 〜について話し合う when talking about “discussing” something.
What’s the difference between 話す and 話し合う?
話す simply means “to speak” or “to talk” (often one-way). 話し合う literally means “to talk mutually,” i.e. “to discuss” or “to have a discussion,” implying an exchange of opinions among participants.
Why is the verb in the past tense 話し合いました?
Because the action took place in the past. To change the time frame:
- Present/future: 話し合います
- Progressive: 話し合っている
- Negative: 話し合いません, etc.
How do we know 参加者 refers to multiple people when Japanese doesn’t mark plurals?
Japanese nouns often serve both singular and plural roles. Context tells you whether it’s one person or many. If you need to emphasize plurality, you could say 複数の参加者, add たち (参加者たち), or specify a number (参加者が十人).
Are the spaces between words required in written Japanese?
No. Standard Japanese is written without spaces:
イベントの参加者は環境について話し合いました。
Spaces in study materials help beginners identify word boundaries, but native texts omit them.