…left
rest
remaining
in
…to
…else
Structure
- あと + の + Noun
- あと + Phrase
- あと + number + (counter)
Hi there, I’m having some confusion with the first example of this grammar point. Specifically,
あとの２匹は犬いぬです。
Here why is 「の」being used when it’s succeeded by a counter 「２匹」? To expand on this, are they interchangeable, i.e. 「の」can either be present or not?
Thanks in advance.
@rextruong Thank you for your question! Omitting the の in this sentence would change the intended meaning of the speaker.
あとの２匹 - The remaining two animals are… (dogs)
あと２匹 - There are two animals remaining (they haven’t come yet or been counted/identified)
The の identifies what is being talked about makes あと a noun. I hope this makes sense. Cheers!