Friday, 10 April 2015

word order - Is this translation of "When are you going to that person's house?" correct?



あなたはあの人の家に行くことはいつですか



Is that correct or natural?


Some people translate it as



あなたはいつあの人の家にいくんですか



or:




いつあなたはあの人の家に行くんですか



I have trouble using いつ, is there any rule to it? you can put it in any part of a sentence?



Answer




あなたはあの人の家に行くことはいつですか



I would say it as 「あなたあの人の家に行くはいつですか。」
This sounds like "When is it that you're going to that person's house?" rather than "When are you going to that person's house?"






あなたはいつあの人の家にいくんですか
いつあなたはあの人の家に行くんですか



Both sound fine to me, and their fundamental meanings are the same (though they might have different nuances or focuses). You would still be understood if you said it as あなたはあの人の家にいつ行くんですか. In Japanese, the word order is often flexible (the verb comes at the end in normal sentences though) as long as you're using the right particles for the right words.


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