# Particles と, も, の

https://langs123.com/en/japanese/sentence-basics/particles-to-mo-no/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> **と** joins nouns, **も** means “also”, **の** links a noun to the one it describes, and **から** and **まで** mark the start and the end. The owner or description comes first, then **の**, then the noun: アンナさん**の**本ほんです。

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| And | noun + **と** + noun | パン**と**たまごを食たべます。 | I eat bread and eggs. |
| With | A person plus **と** is the companion. | ともだち**と**行いきます。 | I go with a friend. |
| Also | **も** replaces **は**, **が** and **を**. | 私わたし**も**学生がくせいです。 | I'm a student too. |
| Of | noun + **の** + noun | これは私わたし**の**本ほんです。 | This is my book. |
| From and until | **から** marks the start, **まで** the end. | 9時じ**から**5時じ**まで**はたらきます。 | I work from nine to five. |
| And others | **や** lists examples; **と** lists every item. | りんご**や**バナナを食たべます。 | I eat apples, bananas and the like. |
| Or | **か** offers a choice between nouns. | コーヒー**か**おちゃを飲のみます。 | I drink coffee or tea. |
| Trap | In noun + **の** + noun the owner or description comes first. | これは**日本語****にほんご****の****本****ほん**です。 | This is a Japanese book. |
| Trap | **と** joins nouns only; verbs join with the **て**-form. | パンを食たべ**て**、コーヒーを飲のみます。 | I eat bread, then I drink coffee. |

## Overview

- A group of nouns takes one particle, after the last noun. パン**と**たまご**を**食たべます。 (I eat bread and eggs.)
- These particles join nouns only; verbs join with the **て**-form. See The て-Form.
- **は** and **が**: see は and が. **を**, **に**, **で** and **へ**: see Particles を, に, で, へ.

## Joining nouns: と, や, か

- **と** lists every item, **や** lists examples and leaves others open, **か** offers a choice.

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **と**: and, with every item named | パン**と**たまごを食たべます。 | I eat bread and eggs. |
| **と** after a person: with | ともだち**と**日本にほんへ行いきます。 | I go to Japan with a friend. |
| **と** between the two names of a pair | アンナさん**と**ジョンさんは学生がくせいです。 | Anna and John are students. |
| **や**: and others of the same kind | りんご**や**バナナを食たべます。 | I eat apples, bananas and the like. |
| **か**: or | コーヒー**か**おちゃを飲のみます。 | I drink coffee or tea. |

- **か** also ends a question. See Questions.

## も: also

- **も** takes the place of **は**, **が** and **を**, and follows every other particle.

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Also, in place of **は** | 私わたし**も**学生がくせいです。 | I'm a student too. |
| Also, in place of **を** | コーヒー**も**飲のみます。 | I drink coffee too. |
| Also, after another particle | 日本にほん**にも**行いきます。 | I go to Japan too. |
| Both: **も** after each noun | アンナさん**も**ジョンさん**も**学生がくせいです。 | Both Anna and John are students. |
| Neither: **も** twice with a negative | コーヒー**も**おちゃ**も**飲のみません。 | I drink neither coffee nor tea. |

## の: of, belonging, description

- In noun + **の** + noun, the first noun describes the second.

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Whose it is | これは私わたし**の**本ほんです。 | This is my book. |
| A relation between people | アンナさん**の**ともだちは先生せんせいです。 | Anna's friend is a teacher. |
| A kind or subject of a thing | これは日本語にほんご**の**本ほんです。 | This is a Japanese book. |
| The group a person belongs to | 私わたしはだいがく**の**学生がくせいです。 | I'm a university student. |
| **の** in place of the noun: mine, yours | この本ほんは私わたし**の**です。 | This book is mine. |
| A chain of **の**: the last noun is the head | これは私わたしの先生せんせい**の**本ほんです。 | This is my teacher's book. |

## から and まで: from and until

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A span of time, from start to end | 9時じ**から**5時じ**まで**はたらきます。 | I work from nine to five. |
| Where someone comes from | アンナさんはアメリカ**から**来きました。 | Anna came from America. |
| A distance between two places | うち**から**えき**まで**10分ぷんです。 | It is ten minutes from home to the station. |
| One of the two alone: a start or an end | 9時じ**から**です。 / 5時じ**まで**です。 | From nine. / Until five. |

- **から** after a clause gives a reason. See そして, でも, から: Linking Sentences.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| アンナさんもは学生がくせいです。 | アンナさん**も**学生がくせいです。 | **も** takes the place of **は**; the two never stand together |
| ともだちに日本にほんへ行いきます。 | ともだち**と**日本にほんへ行いきます。 | going together takes **と**; with **に** the friend would be the goal |
| 9時じから5時じにはたらきます。 | 9時じから5時じ**まで**はたらきます。 | the end of a span takes **まで**; **に** marks one point in time |
| パンを食たべますと、コーヒーを飲のみます。 | パンを食たべ**て**、コーヒーを飲のみます。 | **と** joins nouns only; two verbs join with the **て**-form |