の中で~が一番~ - Grammar Discussion

Out of all ~, ~ is the best/most ~.

Structure

  • Category + の・中・で + qualifier + が・いちばん
  • Category + の・中・で・いちばん

[out of some category, something is the most ~]

View on Bunpro

Why is 中 left as a kanji while 一番 is converted to hiragana in the structure section? Just curious :wink:

No real reason :laughing:

I have changed it to kanji :+1:

Sorry for (extremely) slow answer :bowing_man:

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Hello, in this example sentence, BunPro gives 今いままでの変顔へんがお写真しゃしん の中なかで 、どれが好すき?

But in the review question, it says the correct answer is の中に. Which is correct?

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@julian_s Sorry about that! I have updated the review question to accept the correct answer (の中で). Cheers!

この中でいちばん 好きな食べ物は何?

I’m not sure where the こ at the start comes from, as the grammar explanation doesn’t imply when this would happen. Is the example implying この is being used to refer to the subject (foods) being near us and thus the の from の中で is dropped/merged to avoid a double の?

Or I guess maybe in a sense it just becomes another variation of これ, この, ここ, etc…?

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@Invertex
Hey and long time no see! :star_struck:

Very good question!

This is simply この.
Basically, we have a noun 間, with particle で (間で), that has to be modified (qualified, described).

When we modify (qualify, describe) noun with another noun we use particle . (We look at の from a wider perspective now, not just indicating possession)

So, 私の犬 means “my dog”. 私 modifies (qualifies, describes) 犬.
[鶏のスープ means “chicken soup” (actually, チキンスープ is more common, just giving an example of modification)

Notice that chicken in chicken soup works similar to adjective, it describes soup. We can also call it modifying or qualifying.

The same thing happens when we modify nouns with demonstratives (words like “this”, “that” pointing something we are talking about):
So:
“この犬” this dog
“その犬” that dog
This is the very same の, we used in 私の犬 example.

(When we don’t modify (describe, qualify) the noun, we use これ・それ・あれ
これは犬だ。 This is a dog.
それは犬だ。That is a dog.
あれは犬だ。That over there is a dog.)

So coming back to our 間.
We want to modify a noun 間 with demonstrative, so, just line with 犬 example we need この・その.
There is no need for second の, the の in structure section just expresses の that has to be attached to a noun modifying the 間, but この already has の attached because it is already in noun modifying form. (actually, in Japanese この・その・あの are called 指示形容詞 which means demonstrative adjectives)

Therefore we get この中で いちばん 好きな食べ物は何?
Another thing is that この might refer to something close to the speaker/writer in spatial (material) sense, or in a time sense.
So it might refer to some dishes on the table close to the speaker, or the speaker might have just listed some foods a second ago and is referring to them.

I hope it helps,
Cheers

PS
I have added この to the structure section

PS2
Always wanted to say it, cool glasses :+1:

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I’m confused as to why で is present in this grammar point. I don’t think I’ve seen it being used like this before? I can’t get my head around it.

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I believe (but I’m no grammar guru myself, so take it with a grain of salt) that it is the で for Components. So の中で is <possessive> + 中 (among / within) + で (for components as it is among all the components, the best one).

Very badly explained, but this was my interpretation. Hopefully someone else will still come along to give you a clearer answer or tell you if my interpretation was wrong!

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On that same page, the next section で for Categories actually calls out this grammar point. :slight_smile:

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Haha, damn should have re-read the article instead of just linking it because I knew it existed :stuck_out_tongue: Thanks for the correction, much appreciated!

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I just got to this grammar point. In the information it says

In Japanese ‘(A) の中で (B) が一番 (C)’, is a regular expression that is used for showing that something is ‘the most (C)’, usually an adjective.

And that’s the layout I’ve been seeing, but the first sentence I got in the quiz is a bit different.

動物どうぶつなか一番いちばんきな動物どうぶつなんですか。
Out of all animals, what is your number one favorite animal?

It threw me for a loop because it doesn’t have the (B) が portion of the structure I’m used to and I didn’t realize you can put のなかで and いちばん together like that.

In my mind the sentence would be closer to 動物の中で何が一番好きですか

Can someone explain the nuances of the sentence structure Bunpro used? Because I don’t really understand it.

Thanks!

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Hey @doublesbrian!

It’s basically because 一番 is working as an adverb that modifies the following adjective here.

高い Expensive → 一番高い The most expensive
大きい Big → 一番大きい The biggest
好き Likeable → 一番好き The most likeable (or, your favorite!)

[動物の中で] Out of all the animals
[一番好きな動物] The most likeable animal
[は] Speaking of this (the most likeable animal out of all the animals)
[何ですか?] Which one is it?

This is also correct! Remember that there are many ways to say the same thing. To me, your sentence doesn’t feel as natural as the other one, but it’s not wrong.

Hope this helps!

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Thanks for the reply! I knew the way the site was using it was probably more natural but didn’t understand it until you broke it down for me! I appreciate it!

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