[JLPT grammar] Using counters (ひとつ, ふたつ…) as adverb.

Today I am going to share the homework correction quoted from my JLPT N5 course!
The student’s sentence is not correct. Can you find the mistake?

 

[Student’s sentence]

テーブルに三つのりんごがあります

*てーぶるにみっつのりんごがあります。

 



 

[My correction]

テーブルに三つのりんごがあります(it is not incorrect, but…)
→テーブルにりんごが三つあります
There are three apples on the table.

三つのりんごがあります is not incorrect, but we usually say りんごが三つあります.

三つのりんご suggest that those three apples are in a group. りんごが三つ feels a little more like it could be any three apples.
In this sentence, you probably don’t want to say that the three apples are a group; you simply want to mention that there are three apples on the table.

Because of the many such situations in our daily lives, the basic sentence structure with counters is as follows;
[Object] が [How many(counter)] あります/います。
These counters are used as adverbs.

e.g.
りんご一つあります。
There is one apple.

先生(せんせい)三人(さんにん)います。
There are three teachers.

車(くるま)六台(ろくだい)あります。
There are 6 cars.

犬(いぬ)5ひきいます。
There are five dogs.

If you want to mention that those multiple objects are a group, you should say;
e.g.
その三人の先生は、全員(ぜんいん)アメリカから来(き)ました。
All three of those teachers came from the US.

六台の車は、全(すべ)て赤(あか)かった。
All six of those cars were red.

 

I hope my explanation helps you. 😊

 

In the JLPT course, all lessons come with homework, if you submit your homework, I will reply with corrections.
I can break down the Japanese grammar and point out mistakes, explaining the structure and nuances of Japanese in an easy-to-understand way.
You can also ask me any questions as much as you want. I will teach you until you get it!

 

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