Monday 22 August 2016

grammar - Use of 何か in this sentence


Please explain the grammar behind how 何か is used in this sentence



そこにはきっと何かお話があるに違いない。



I'm translating it as




There must surely be a story there



But I don't understand what 何か is doing. Can I translate it as "something of a story", or "some story"? Two nouns next to each other seems odd. Thanks.



Answer




「そこにはきっと[何]{なに}かお[話]{はなし}があるに[違]{ちが}いない。」



This 「なにか」 is frequently used in the form of 「なにか + Noun/Noun phrase + Verb/Verb phrase」 and it means:



"Verb + 'some sort of' + Noun"




This would generally indicate that one has not found out the exact nature of the "thing" described by the noun (and one would like to find out more about it). It is only natural to use 「なにか」 if you have little knowledge of the thing you are speaking about.


Without further context, my translation would be:



"There must be some kind of (untold) story there."


"There has got to be a deeper story (or "reason") behind it."



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