Tuesday, 8 September 2015

grammar - AやBとか, AとかBとか, AやB, AとかB


1) 私は果物、いちごメロンとかが好きです。


2) 私は果物、いちごとかメロンとかが好きです。


3) 私は果物、いちごメロンが好きです


4) 私は果物、いちごとかメロンが好きです。


I know that between 2) and 3) the difference is that 2) is more casual and 3) is more formal (if there is any other difference, tell me please). As for 4), I don't know which are the differences between using one とか in a sentence, or using two like in 2). And what about 1)? what differentiates 1) from 2), 3) and 4)? I don't understand this combination of や and とか in the same sentence.


Could you please help me with that?




Answer



First, I would have to mention this even though it is not part of your question. The 「[私]{わたし}は[果物]{くだもの}、」 part at the beginning sounds very unnatural and almost ungrammatical even in the context of very casual speech.


It would need to be changed to:


「果物(で)は、」


「(私は)果物の中で(or 中では)」 ← The personal pronoun is not necessary. It sounds more natural without.  



I know that between 2) and 3) the difference is that 2) is more casual



True. 「とか」 is already a pretty casual word, and by repeating it, it makes it even more casual.




and 3) is more formal



I would not necessarily use the word "formal" here. The phrase "stuff like strawberries and melons" does not sound "formal", does it?


I would only go so far as to say that 3) sounds "less colloquial" or "less casual" than 2). In general, one could safely say that 「や」 sounds less casual than 「とか」, but one should also remember that if repeated, 「や」 could sound pretty casual/informal.



As for 4), I don't know which are the differences between using one とか in a sentence, or using two like in 2).



As discussed above, 「とか」 is already quite casual even when it is used once in a short sentence. The more times you use it in a sentence, the more casual and colloquial it will sound. It is somewhat analogous to the repeated use of the word "like" in English by some speakers. You would want to avoid it at all costs.



And what about 1)? what differentiates 1) from 2), 3) and 4)?




1) sounds OK and quite natural. It sounds less "sloppy" than 2) and slightly more casual than 3). (#3 sounds the least casual.) 1) also feels almost the same as 4) in terms of casualness (to my Japanese ears).


To nitpick, 1) would suggest more strongly that there are other kinds of fruit (besides strawberries and melons) that the speaker likes than 4) does.


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