44057
Today, in my Japanese class, my sensei presented a conversation which went as
the following:

> Person A: Bさんのせんこうはなんですか。  
>  Person B: コンピューターかがくです。  
>  Person A: わたしもコンピューターかがくです。

My confusion comes on the placement of **も**. Since the question is about the
person's major, shouldn't Person A respond with "わたしのせんこうもコンピューターかがくです。" or
even "せんこうもコンピューターかがくです" Otherwise, to my understanding, it assumes as if
Person A is stating, " _I am also computer science! "_

Thus, this brings up my question: is the possessive (せんこう) obviously implied
in this conversation?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-03-03T20:36:50.760
44053
2021-09-14T20:52:45.267
2021-09-14T20:52:45.267
30454
11982
question
particles particle-の questions conversations
Are possessive particles implied in a conversation?
Yes, that's the literal translation and is an excellent example of very common
省{しょう}略{りゃく} ("omission", in this case, of parts of speech) in Japanese. In
Japanese the subject and/or object is often omitted if it is obvious from
context.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-03T20:52:50.423
44055
2017-03-03T21:02:26.257
2017-03-03T21:02:26.257
5229
275
44053
answer
To answer your question, let's forget about も for a while. も is a particle
that can replace は, and this question is actually more about the usage of は.

Consider the following conversations:

> **A** : Bさんのせんこうはなんですか。  
>  **B** : コンピューターかがくです。  
>  **A** : わたしはロボットこうがくです。 As for me, (it's) robotics. (× I am robotics.)
>
> * * *
>
> **A** : Bさんのめんせつはいつですか。 When is your (job) interview?  
>  **B** : きょうです。 Today.  
>  **A** : わたしはあしたです。 As for me, (it's) tomorrow. (× I am tomorrow.)
>
> * * *
>
> **A** : Bさんはどうやっておおさかにいきますか。わたしはバスです。  
>  How do you go to Osaka? As for me, (by) bus. (× I am a bus.)

To understand A's statements, you have to keep in mind that は is a
**topic/contrast** marker, not a subject marker. In Japanese, there is nothing
wrong if you say わたしはコンピューターかがくです (when talking about one's major), わたしはライオンです
(when talking about your favorite animal), わたしはピザです (when talking about the
food you ordered), and so on. See: [What's the difference between wa (は) and
ga (が)?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/22/5010)

Now, let's go back to your original example. When A's major is robotics, there
are two options to say that (in contrast to B's major) without any omission:

  * **(1)** : わたし **の** せんこう **は** ロボットこうがくです。  
(lit. As for my major, it is robotics.)

  * **(2)** : わたし **は** せんこう **は** ロボットこうがくです。  
(lit. As for me, the major is robotics.)

You may be surprised to see Sentence (2) has two は's, but that's okay because
the first は after わたし is used as a contrast marker. No possessive marker の is
used in Sentence (2).

What if A's major is also computer science and you want to use も? Replace は
with も:

  * **(3)** : わたし **の** せんこう **も** コンピューターかがくです。  
(As for my major, too, it's computer science.)

  * **(4)** : わたし **も** せんこう **は** コンピューターかがくです。§  
(As for me, too, the major is computer science.)

But せんこうは is redundant in the Sentence (4) and can be dropped:

  * **(4-2)** : わたし **も** コンピュータかがくです。  
(As for me, too, computer science.)

So, in your example, no _possessive_ particle is omitted nor implied, because
there was no の in the first place!

* * *

§ （わたし **は** ）せんこう **も** コンピューターかがくです is grammatically valid but means
something totally different: "(Not only my hobby but) also my major is
computer science."
CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-03-03T23:58:55.927
44057
2019-04-01T03:50:52.837
2019-04-01T03:50:52.837
5010
5010
44053
answer