Breakdown of watashi wa sensei no shitsumon ni sugu kotaeraremasu.
はwa
topic particle
私watashi
I
先生sensei
teacher
のno
possessive case particle
Questions & Answers about watashi wa sensei no shitsumon ni sugu kotaeraremasu.
Why is の used between 先生 and 質問? Does it just mean "teacher’s question"?
Yes. の is linking 先生 (teacher) and 質問 (question) in a possessive/attributive way.
先生の質問 literally means “the teacher’s question(s)” (questions belonging to / asked by the teacher).
This is the very common Noun1 + の + Noun2 pattern:
- 田中さんの本 = Tanaka’s book
- 日本の会社 = Japanese company
So here 先生の質問 is simply “the teacher’s question(s).”
Why is the particle に used after 質問 instead of を?
The verb 答える (to answer) normally takes に, not を, for what you answer to.
The basic pattern is:
- X に 答える = to answer X / to reply to X
So:
- 先生の質問に答える = answer the teacher’s question(s)
Using 質問を答える is ungrammatical or at least very unnatural. Think of に here as marking the target of your answer.
What is the role of は in 私は? Could I use が instead?
