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I have two sentences:

> このホールで時々コンサートがある (Kono hooru de tokidoki konsaato ga aru)
>
> このホールでコンサートが時々ある (Kono hooru de konsaato ga tokidoki aru)

The former (provided by textbook) should mean "There are sometimes concerts in
this hall".

Does the latter (created by myself) mean the same thing as the fomer? Does it
have a nuance to it (e.g. emphasis on it being a concert?)? Is it even
grammatically correct?
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2015-11-15T19:38:03.820
29249
2021-12-19T00:21:36.700
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question
meaning nuances adverbs
Nuances with placement of frequency words
Unlike English, Japanese does not depend so much on the sequence of words in
the sentence to convey meaning because particles like "de" and "ga" identify
the function of the words they follow in the sentence. "Kono hooru de" tells
the location. The particle "de" indicates a location where activity happens.
In "konsaato ga" the "ga" tells you that "konsaato"is the subject, it's what
we're talking about. "Tokidoki" means at times or from time to time. The "aru"
(= to exist or to have) must come at the end of the sentence but the other
phrases may be arraigned pretty much as you like. "Tokidoki konsaato ga kono
hooru de arimasu." Is different from the two you quoted but works just as well
and means the same thing.

In answer to the wandering coder: the difference is in the addition of the
word "his".
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2015-11-15T20:42:35.317
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2015-11-16T21:14:18.577
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answer
* Does the latter (created by myself) mean the same thing as the former?
  * Is it even grammatically correct?
  * Does it have a nuance to it (e.g. emphasis on it being a concert?)?

Both of your examples are grammatically correct and describe the same event.
But there is a slight difference/nuance in your examples as is shown below:

>   1. **このホールで** 時々{ときどき}コンサートがある。
>
>   2. このホールでコンサートが **時々** ある。
>
>

In Japanese, word order doesn't have as much impact on the meaning of a
sentence that describes an event as in English, but it shows **the focus**
within a sentence. When a frequency word like 時々{ときどき} is close to the verb ある
such as in #2, the time/frequency of the event is focused more.

>   3. **時々** 、このホールでコンサートがある。
>
>   4. **コンサートが** このホールで時々ある。
>
>   5. **コンサートが** 時々このホールである。
>
>   6. コンサートがこのホールで **時々** ある。
>
>   7. このホールでコンサートがある、 **時々** 。
>
>   8. コンサートがこのホールである、 **時々** 。
>
>

時々{ときどき} and other time/frequency expressions are more focused when there is a
pause after it at the beginning of the sentence such as in #3, or when the
adverb is placed right before the verb such as in #2 and 6, or when it is
placed at the end of a sentence such as in #7 and 8.

Verbs (predicates) are the foundation of a sentence, filling in the details
(5W1H: who, what, when, where, why, how) with other words. Subject nouns,
which are normally marked by が in Japanese, play the 2nd most important role
in a sentence; therefore, the subjects are normally focused in a declarative
sentence such as #4 and 5.

このホールで in #1 is focused, because it is placed at the head of the sentence
where the subject コンサートが is expected to be placed.
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2015-11-16T02:33:35.100
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answer