ibento no sankasha wa kankyou nitsuite hanashiaimashita.

topic particle

Breakdown of ibento no sankasha wa kankyou nitsuite hanashiaimashita.

• の: possessive case particle
• イベント: event
• 環境かんきょう: environment

Questions & Answers about ibento no sankasha wa kankyou nitsuite hanashiaimashita.

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?