38993
So in the question sentences:

  1. 誰が盗んだのか 
  2. キミが選んだことだろう? 

In (1.), I thought that the の there is seeking an explanation.

But I found another sentence (2.) and I know that こと can follow a verb and 物
can follow an adjective to talk about them like nouns. Both can be replaced by
の.

So if the の in sentence (1.) is not seeking an explanation and makes 盗んだ into
a noun then what has the sentence become and how?

If the の is seeking an explanation then what has sentence (2.) become with
選んだこと(event of choosing)?

More specifically, I am confused with the structure of the following :  
(subject + が + verb/adjective + の/物/こと+ か/question).  
Please explain as detailed as possible.
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2016-09-06T07:37:46.897
38986
2016-09-07T12:54:41.243
2016-09-07T12:54:41.243
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question
grammar particle-の nominalization
Is the の in this question seeking an explanation or changing the verb into a noun-like?
> こと can follow a verb and 物 can follow an adjective to talk about them like
> nouns.

This I think is not quite right. もの follows a verb (eg, 食べたもの = "the thing I
ate") all the time, and こと follows an adjective (eg, 悪いこと = "an evil thing")
all the time. Basically もの is for tangible objects and こと is for intangible
things/ideas.

  * **君が盗んだのだろう?** : の in this sentence is so-called explanatory-no. I think の in this position (between a verb and だ/だろう/です/でしょう) is almost always explanatory の. "You stole it, didn't you?".
  * **君が盗んだんだろう?** : And such の can often be replaced by **ん** in speech. "You stole it, didn't you?"
  * **君が盗んだものだろう?** : This もの refers to the tangible thing which was stolen (e.g., a watch). "This is something you stole, isn't it?"
  * [×] **君が盗んだことだろう?** : This doesn't make much sense because こと refers to an intangible "matter", "event", "situation", etc. You cannot steal a situation.
  * **君が選んだのだろう?** : This の is explanatory-no. "You decided it, didn't you?"
  * **君が選んだんだろう?** : The same as above. "You decided it, didn't you?"
  * **君が選んだものだろう?** : This makes sense if you are talking about some tangible object (e.g., a watch) the listener selected among other options. "It's something you decided on, isn't it?"
  * **君が選んだことだろう?** : This makes sense if you are talking about someone's intangible decision (e.g., studying abroad, quitting a company). "It's something you decided on, isn't it?"
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2016-09-06T15:05:41.553
38993
2016-09-06T15:05:41.553
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38986
answer