Thursday, May 30, 2019

grammar - Why is 「の」 used in 何十もの?


I was studying the words 何十/何百/何千, and I often see the particles「も」and「の」after.


For example,



彼は何十冊もの日本に関する本を持っている。




Or,



高速道路は何千もの車で渋滞した。



The「も」I think is used to emphasize that there's a large quantity, but what is the purpose of 「の」?


I also found some sentences with a similar pattern, but 「の」 is not used.


Example:



彼は何十冊も英語の本を持っている




Why is that the case?



Answer



It is all about grammar and nothing else.



「(Number) + 」 functions adverbially to modify a verb.


「(Number) + + 」 functions adjectivally to modify a noun.



Let us look at your example sentences:




「彼{かれ}は何十冊{なんじゅっさつ}もの日本{にほん}に関{かん}する本{ほん}を持{も}っている。」



「何十冊もの」 modifies the noun 「本」.



「高速道路{こうそくどうろ}は何千{なんぜん}もの車{くるま}で渋滞{じゅうたい}した。」



「何千もの」 modifies the noun 「車」.



「彼は何十冊英語{えいご}の本を持っている。」




In this sentence, 「何十冊も」 modifies the verb phrase 「持っている」.


What would happen if you inserted a 「の」 following the 「も」, then?


In the new sentence:



「彼は何十冊もの英語の本を持っている。」



「何十冊もの」 will simply modify the noun 「本」 instead. The meaning of the sentence will virtually stays the same. The new sentence will just have a different grammatical structure.


EDIT: I did not mention this, but this usage of 「も/もの」 always indicates that the speaker thinks the quantity in question is rather large as the questioner stated.


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